Confessions Tour diary - North America

28 July 2006

There've been a few fait-divers articles about Madonna's Confessions shows the past few days.

Some newspapers were eager to report that 'Titanic' actor Leonardo DiCaprio acted a hero while attending the show in Madison Square Garden on July 18th. When a fan in a wheelchair ended up with a bad view caused by everyone standing around her, DiCaprio invited her to stand next to him in a no-standing zone.

In another report the media stated Madonna's 'demands' on tour, among which the demand for a clean toilet seat at every show, which has to be checked and then sealed. Liz Rosenberg didn't bother to deny, stating "Everyone wants a clean seat, don't they?"

And finally, British gossip newspaper quoted a 'tour insider' who said Madonna uses vodka to get rid of sweat stains in her tour costumes: "It's fantastic for perspiration marks. Alcohol kills the bacteria, keeping stage clothes fresher. It's a trick they use in opera houses because the big divas perspire a lot."

New York City - 20 July 2006

Madonna played her 6th and final night tonight at MSG in New York... And at 9:00, it was clear... she was about to face her loudest and craziest audience yet!

"I'm sad this is my last night in NY. I'm mad. Let's make a protest! Let's all protest! I can play Madison Sq Garden every night and not play anywhere else! No other pop stars can be here... No basketball games... Nothing but me! Can We Protest? Im Never F**KING leaving NYC"! It was truly an amazing moment! The crowd was over the top.

After the last chords of I LOVE NEW YORK were played, she screamed into the mic, " That's right mother F**KERS... I DO love New york!"....

M also had a few words for the pot smokers in the front row. "I need a drink of water tonight... You guys are smoking so much reefer! Are all of my front row bitches stoned tonight!?"
The crowd was so amazing tonight... It was like a virtual sing-a-long and the screams were deafening! Madonna was VERY pleased and she gave her favorite city her ALL!

New York City - 30 June 2006

There have been some negative fan reports from the first show at New York's Madison Square Garden. Looks like not too many people in the crowd were real fans, and they didn't respond much to the Confessions songs. Not even I Love New York got the expected feedback.

Madonna wasn't having her best night either, wasn't smiling much and didn't seem to feel the show. probably like she said in the RIT documentary: "You gotta work hard for a New York crowd"...

Montreal - 23 June 2006

Madonna hadn't been to Montreal since the Girlie Show 13y ago, so the city went pretty wild for her Confessions duo-gig this week. Before Drowned World, she kinda apologized for staying away for such a long time. She referred to her French-Canadian roots, to which the audience responded with lotsa cheering. The crowd was very responsive and loud throughout the whole show.

Chicago - 20 June 2006

Madonnafan Joe Barco reports from Chicago (show of June 18th): "She started at 8:45 (1 hr, 15 min late). She asked if we were sweating, and then said that she had asked them to turn the air conditioner off "you know, to save the environment. [Pause, Laugh] If you are too hot, just take your clothes off." Someone got chastised for "throwing shit on my stage, motherfucker." She was back to saying "fuck" and "suck George Bush's dick" during I Love New York. And she got some people singing along for La Isla Bonita and Hung Up. She said "I'm not just saying this to kiss your ass, because I don't have to... but you are the best audience so far."

This is the 3rd show I've seen now and she definitely seemed more into it than the previous shows in San Jose. Not that she was unenthusiastic then. It just seemed that she was having more fun last night. The balloons were still gold, but they now all had 'Confessions Tour/Madonna' printed on them. The SJ shows had gold balloons with no printing on them. Kayne West was in attendance, in the first row of section 122 directly across from my row. Yes, I had a better seat than Kayne West."

Fresno - 6 June 2006

After a final date in LA on saturday, Madonna turned Fresno on fire last night. She was so enthusiastic that she yelled "This isn't Fresno, this is Fres-Yes!" However, she got ennoyed a few times; when a fan threw something on stage at the beginning of Drowned World, she screamed "Don't throw shit on my stage, motherf*cker!". The sound technician got the same treatment at one point: "Turn on my mic motherf*cker!". After a few more "motherf*ckers", she apologised for all the cursing.

San Jose - 1 June 2006

Many fans have complained about the poor sound quality of The Pavillion in San Jose. But they rave about the show! Madonna complemented the crowd, saying it's great to see an audience really getting into the show. She sneered at the boring Las Vegas crowd: "Who said Vegas is a party town?!". She also commented on a fan wearing a shirt that read "Front Row Bitch".

Before Like It Or Not, Monte had to retune his guitar so Madonna talked a bit to the crowd. During I Love New York she had to retune her own guitar. She messed up some lines and skipped the 'You can suck George Bush's dick!' line.

Las Vegas - 29 May 2006

Time goes by so... fast! Madonna's Confessions Tour already stormed through Las Vegas. She cheekily opened her show with "Good evening, winners and losers!". Later in the show, she made another Sin City reference, when introducing her vocalist Isaac Sinwani: "This is Isaac, I found him at a crap table."

L.A. - 25 May 2006

Madonna has wrapped up her first 3 nights at the LA Forum. She'll return to LA early June, after her tour stops in Las Vegas and San Jose. So far, everything in the show went pretty smooth. During one of the shows, Madonna got a bit pissed off when her mic pack fell off and she missed the beginning of a song. It's also a pretty intense show for the dancers and they still gotta get used to it a bit. Cloud had a minor fall during one of the shows and was visibly annoyed by it. A fan also reported how one of the dancers had some trouble with taking off his rollerskates, which caused him some trouble with his costume change.

As with her two previous tours, Madonna kept very little space for audience interaction. During the line "Los Angeles is for people who sleep" in I Love New York, she quickly added "But not you guys!". Like in Coachella, she replaced the line "Just go to Texas, isn't that where they golf" by the more explicit "Just go to Texas, and you can s*ck George Bush's d*ck!"

22 May 2006

Yesterday eve, Madonna kicked off her brand new Confessions Tour at the LA Forum. This same week two years ago, she was at the same spot, opening her Re-Invention Tour. Back then, she managed to get raving reviews after a rather disappointing reception of her album American Life. This time the Confessions album has brought her career back to the top, and the expectations for the tour rose as high. And only Madonna can comply to such expectations. In front of 18.000 fans she put on an incredible show. With more than a dozen dancers, mostly the same as those who danced with her on the November promo tour, two backup singers and her usual band, she "turned the world into a dance floor" as she had promised when she announced her tour a few months ago.

Half the show was build up around the songs from Confessions On A Dance Floor. Contrary to the Re-Invention Tour she only included a few of her 80s classics. But on the other hand, they were used for some of the most controversial parts of the show. She sung Live To Tell - performed for the first time in 16 years - while hanging on a big mirrored cross and wearing a thorn crown on her hand. Naturally, the Catholic church has already reacted in rage ;-). Like A Virgin - back for the first time in 13 years - was sung on a mechanical horse saddle. This was only one of the many references to her love for horseback riding. In fact, the equestrian style was the main theme of the show, with Madonna and her dancers were leather costumes (equestrian or S&M? Gaultier and Madonna wouldn't be who they are if they wouldn't include some double sense costumes). The big video screens showed video imagery of Madonna and horses from the shoot by Steven Klein. During Like A Virgin, there were even X-ray images from Madonna's broken bones, which she suffered after her horse accident in August last year.

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