Friday, September 12, 2008

A Special Confection

It's no secret I've been a lifelong fan of Madonna. I'm not proud of it, but not ashamed, either. Part of the reason I bought a VIP ticket to Tuesday night's stop on the Sticky & Sweet Tour in Frankfurt was the hope I might actually get to see her up close. And, oh, how I hoped. I hoped so hard I nearly busted blood vessels is my eyes.
Things didn't exactly work out that way, but I'm okay with that. What I'm here to talk about is the show--the two-hour spectacle orchestrated by Madonna herself, who has no signs of slowing down, even though she just turned 50.
But first, the opener. Madonna hasn't had an opening act in any of her stateside shows since 1993, and only occasionally has openers on overseas dates. Luckily, Frankfurt got the added bonus of Swedish pop star Robyn. You might remember her from her late-90s hit "Show Me Love." She continued to record in Sweden, but has gained new popularity in the States with her recently released self-titled album. It's full of dirty pop hooks and slicked-out beats. I don't know what it is about the Swedes, but they sure know how to write a catchy tune. Her performance was minimal, but energetic. She took the stage with her two drummers and a synth player, and didn't stop dancing the whole time. She looked so tiny and cute, and her vocals were spot on. She even threw in a brief cover of Nenah Cherry's "Buffalo Stance." Yeah, it was pretty sweet.
After Robyn's 45-minute set, there was a brief set change. The seats that had been empty quickly filled, and there wasn't an inch of free space on the floor. While I was walking through the train station earlier in the evening, I overheard several people talking about how Madonna was in town. A big deal? You bet.

Madonna in Frankfurt
Originally uploaded by currtdawg
When the lights went down, everyone went wild. After a lengthy video screen intro, Madonna emerged at the top of the stage on a giant pink throne, dressed in a black 1920s art-deco costume, and singing "Candy Shop." It was good to see her on stage again, as she's a natural performer with a mesmerising stage presence. She went all out (again) with video screens moving all over, elevating platforms, and more lights than Las Vegas; and still, it's hard to take your eyes off her.
As this tour is in support of "Hard Candy," nine of the twenty songs performed were from that album; and they were mostly very well-done. She's been doing this for a while now, and knows how to play down her weaknesses and accentuate her strengths. Since this album was more of a collaborative effort than previous ones, there were a lot of video screen appearances from the likes of Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, and, of course, Justin Timberlake. Plus, there was the much-discussed video of Britney Spears during "Human Nature," which was almost an anti-event. My favourite part of the night was the second act, when Madonna retraced her 80s New York days and featured artwork by Keith Haring. And I don't care how many times I hear it, I'll never get sick of "Into The Groove."
But the show wasn't without its flaws. I prefer Madonna when her persona is a little darker, so I tend to roll my eyes a bit when things get a little cheesy, such as when she battled her doppelgangers during "She's Not Me." The wig she wore in the fourth act had horrible bangs and made her look like a drag queen. "Ray of Light" was almost an exact repeat from the last tour. And I can understand her desire to play guitar on a few songs in order to prove herself, but does she really have to put the extra-long distorted rock-show ending on all of them? Plus, she had 16 dancers--twice as many as she normally brings. But I guess debating excessiveness at a Madonna show is rather futile.
Despite all that, there were also moments of pure brilliance. She was at her best when she took old songs and put a new spin on them, like an electrified "Like A Prayer," the celebratory "La Isla Bonita," and the punk rock version of "Borderline," a song she hasn't performed since 1984. Equally inventive were the mash-ups, such as infusing "4 Minutes" with "Vogue" and "Rain" with the Eurythmics' "Here Comes The Rain Again." At the end of the third act, she came centre stage with her acoustic guitar and sang "You Must Love Me." Now, Madonna has never been the most gifted singer in the world, but this bare version really highlighted her skills. It makes me wonder what would happen if she decided to forego the big, high-production show and play a few stripped-down sets in small clubs. It might not be what people expect, but I bet she'd gain some street cred.
Maybe it was because this wasn't my first time to see her, or maybe it was because I didn't like the "Hard Candy" album as much; but I just couldn't get as excited about seeing her this time like I was two years ago. But all that excitement came rushing back when I saw her up on the stage. True, the evening didn't go as well as planned, but seeing Madonna live is an event that should never be missed.

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