The Madonna Thread

[PeterG]

Madonna Hospitalized for 'Serious Bacterial Infection,' Halts Tour: 'Full Recovery Expected'

I'm glad that she is at home and seems to be doing fine. Although she is still under medical care. Her world tour was to start next month, celebrating a 40 year career. The tour is being postponed, but the details look like they hope it will still happen, just at a later date.

 

[watchthis!!]

Unresponsive...yikes. I want Madonna to be around for a while. We lost too many people too early Whitney, Amy Winehouse, Prince, George Michael, Laura Branigan, Michael Jackson.

The Weeknd has said he would like to make an album with Madonna. That's going to be amazing!!

 

[Simone411]

A bacterial infection is nothing to take lightly, and I'm pretty sure they gave her a strong antibiotic possibly through IV at the hospital. I know all about those and I happen to have a bacterial infection at the moment. It wasn't serious enough for me to go into the hospital, but I'm having to take a very strong antibiotic that I have to take for a month. I have about 15 days left to take it. It is working, and my wounds are healing. Like Madonna, I'm under medical care (home health), and the nurses are keeping a close eye on my infection.

I want Madonna to be around for awhile longer, too. We're both the same age, and I plan on sticking around awhile, too!

 

[Winnipeg]

I hope she gets well soon!

 

[Miezekatze]

Maybe a weird thread to push up, but I saw Madonna live in Cologne yesterday (my 3rd Madonna concert after 2001 and 2006) and can now die happily

After the German train service tried to ruin my experience by going on strike (I think they're on strike more often than French people by now ), I managed to find some random stranger in the German Madonna Facebook group who gave me a 4 hour hike to Cologne, which actually made the drive more fun I guess, but had me sleep really badly the night before (cause what if she'd bail out or turn out to be an axe murderer).

So it felt kind of surreal to finally make it there and I was actually glad Madonna is always late, cause it meant being able to have dinner with another friend before going to the show and getting acclimated.

I absolutely loved the show which went on for 2:15 hours. I don't think it's possible to compare it to Madonnas other tours, there's so many and many are so long ago, but it definitely wasn't any worse than her older shows, which is amazing considering her age. Even if the dancing is a bit toned down of course (being a bit reasonable for once ), she was a lot physically fitter than I expected.

If there's anything to criticize, it's that even some of the biggest hits like Like A Virgin were only used in costume change interludes and other big hits were only played and sung for short samples, but then if I had to select Madonna songs to sing for 2 hours from 4 decades of music, it would have been an impossible task. And I'm really glad she included some of my rarer favorites like "Bad Girl"!

Generally while the uptempo numbers and the visuals and group choreographies were wonderful, like most of the time I liked the acoustic stuff the most. I loved this moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjUst6wSfHI

Btw, I always have the impression that Madonna is always a bit frustrated with the German audiences, has been for decades, I personally assume it's cause like 50% of them never understand a word she says (which is cause Germans English is still notoriously bad in general and she talks fast and not very clear. I understand nearly everything she said, including the jokes, which most other people didn't, but I had to concentrate pretty hard. We also seemed to be the only town so far, that didn't get a political world peace speech, probably she thought it'd be wasted )
I watched a "I will survive" video from Lisbon and the whole audience already had their smartphone lights on before the song even started, so I'm not surprised she got impatient here

Naturally not many videos up from Cologne yet, so I chose some others:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I hope there will be a professional recording of the tour at a later point, cause those fan videos are always pretty frustrating quality-wise

 

[bardtoob]

I started rooting for Madonna's tour after people became overly critical of her age.

It now appears the tour needed to work out the bugs and she had a knee injury that needs elastic support, like a teenager wears when playing basketball ?

I loved watching the YouTube videos of the AIDS Memorial tribute set to Live to Tell ?

 

[Miezekatze]

I wasn't sure when the tour started whether her knee was injured or whether the elastic bandage and tapes are a precaution, but since she seems to move better the longer the tour lasts, that of course speaks for an acute injury that's slowly getting better. It certainly makes me hopeful for the tour, despite the length, hopefully they learned from Madame X and are more realistic about the right amount of physical stress. Even though my friend and I both thought it would be even more reasonable to just dance in fancy sneakers or flat boots all the time instead of all sorts of high heels, that make it harder, but then I guess that would be TOO reasonable

I also was positively surprised by the live singing. She didn't sing everything live, like at all tours, some of the dance numbers certainly were definitely playback and some parts were mixed I guess, but the stuff that was live sounded really lovely. Also her voice doesn't sound aged at all yet.
I think she sings live the best when she's alone with her guitar and everything is very reduced, which she didn't do much or at all when she was young and the focus was so much on dancing and big choreographic numbers, I think acoustic fits her extremely well.

I find it quite annoying how much is expected by many media and fans and critics, from performers like her when they get older, because they're basically expected to not do less or do not age and at best just disappear, while old rock bands can tour with the same songs and basically the same tour setup for 50 years and everything think it's awesome they're still around or old male singers can just sit around on the stage without moving (while still getting sick and cancelling shows all the time) and nobody bats an eye.

She's still more fit that most people at 65 I guess and my feet already hurt after standing at a concert for 2 hours, while I'm 44
I seriously doubt I'd be able to do such a tour physically (well that already wouldn't work, cause I can't even walk in high heels )

Btw, she definitely noticed that Germans understood her very badly like I felt at the first Cologne concert, because she made fun of it on the second day in Cologne and posted about it in her Insta story I'm glad she still came back to Germany so often, even if we are a difficult audience

 

[olympic]

I looked at the song set. Mostly pleased, but WHY leave out 'Express Yourself' ... huge engaging hit. It occurred to me she might be focusing on songs w/in her 65 yr. old singing range

 

[orbitz]

From the clips of the concert that I've seen on utube, I personally wouldn't pay any $$$ to see it live. It often looks like Baby Jane is on stage performing. I think MDNA was the last tour where Madonna could really move her body and had elaborate sets. I suspect the current Celebration tour will be her last major tour.

 

[Private Citizen]

It often looks like Baby Jane is on stage performing.

Harsh, but I see it and now I'm going to struggle to unsee it.

I wouldn't go to the London shows because they have curfews, and Madonna comes on so late that she often has to abbreviate the set (or gets a curtain dropped on her head). If I'm paying those prices, I want to see a full show.

I do think you're right about this possibly being her last big tour, which has tempted me, but at least so far I haven't bought tickets or made plans.

 

[vgerdes]

I saw this thread was active today, and I thought... what, she collapsed again? Uh oh.

 

[MacMadame]

I saw this thread was active today, and I thought... what, she collapsed again? Uh oh.

Yeah, I hate when old threads with bad news titles get resurrected. Luckily I read the thread before I made an ass of myself telling people something had happened to Madonna!

 

[olympic]

From the clips of the concert that I've seen on utube, I personally wouldn't pay any $$$ to see it live. It often looks like Baby Jane is on stage performing. I think MDNA was the last tour where Madonna could really move her body and had elaborate sets. I suspect the current Celebration tour will be her last major tour.

She is starting to do what Cher does: Sing and have the dancers / participants move around her

 

[Miezekatze]

I apologized about the thread title re-use , but i wasn't sure where else to put my review and a new thread seemed a bit too much. I guess only PeterG or a mod could change the title.

I think her performance in the show is pretty awesome, considering she's 65 and has a knee-injury and probably a bad hip
Besides I wouldn't attend a concert only because of some dancing anyway (I also bought a ticket for Taylor Swift, who I find to have no dance talent whatsoever, even while being young and yet also includes dance choreographies and dancers in her show).

I wouldn't go to the London shows because they have curfews, and Madonna comes on so late that she often has to abbreviate the set (or gets a curtain dropped on her head). If I'm paying those prices, I want to see a full show.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't go to London either, that makes no sense. What's with this indoor curfew in London anyway?
I think in all other countries a curfew only exists for outdoor concerts because of noise, that seems like a weird rule for such a lively big city. It doesn't seem to exist anywhere else, at least in Europe.
I think she managed to finish the full show on time for the first London concert with a heroic start a 8:45pm , but I definitely wouldn't take the risk either, the second show missed the ending. Basically the first possible starting time is 9:30pm, I guess they just wouldn't officially book dates like that, even if that would make a lot more sense (even if all fans know it anyway and just show up later). I wonder whether it's related to her insomnia, that she talked about at the 2nd cologne date.

If I could choose again, I'd probably go to Paris,Madonna seems to love it there and the audience is much better than us Germans.
I'd guess Italy is nice too for atmosphere.

If she ever tours again, I'd really love an acoustic set with her guitar, I think it really brings out the best in her voice.

 

[Private Citizen]

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't go to London either, that makes no sense. What's with this indoor curfew in London anyway?

We love rules . Many of the London venues are in mixed / residential areas that have noise regulations. Labor unions may have something to do with it, too. And the tube stops running around midnight on weekdays (and many lines still on weekends), which makes it 1) very hard / expensive for often lower-wage workers to get home if forced to work beyond their contractual hours (the overtime would not cover the cost of transport), and 2) potentially creates havoc if things end too late and you have masses of people trying to get somewhere with little transportation.

 

[Miezekatze]

Thanks!

Not that public transportation works that great in Germany , but I guess that's better in most places, like most of the times the metros and similar run at least until 1am.

At the madonna concert it was displayed in the arena that the metros run until 1:30am.

Here many arenas also have extra metro lines for events, either existing metros run longer when there's events or like in my town, there's an extra metro stop at the event area and the trains even only run there on nights with big sports or culture events.
But there many indoor arenas are near the soccer stadium for example, so the whole infrastructure for really big events is often at one place. I think it's a good solution also cause it's a nightmare if you get stuck in public transportation with soccer fans as a normal commuter, so it's an improvement if most of them at least get their own trains.

 

[MacMadame]

Thanks to whoever changed the thread title. It's nice not to have a heart attack every time I see the thread.

 

[Miezekatze]

Nice report about the final mega concert in Rio on Saturday:

Madonna gives free concert to 1.6 million people on Brazil's Copacabana beach | DW News

Pop icon Madonna has given a historic performance for a huge crowd of fans at Brazil's famous Copacabana Beach. The Material Girl pulled out the stops with ...

www.youtube.com

The concert was even mentioned in Germanys main daily news show

Luckily I found a download link for the Brazilian live stream and am really looking forward to watching it.

Overall I think this was one of Madonnas best tours after the rocky start and I'm really grateful I got to see it even if only in Cologne,with not quite so passionate Germans

 

[Vash01]

Get well soon, Madonna.

 

[Vash01]

A bacterial infection is nothing to take lightly, and I'm pretty sure they gave her a strong antibiotic possibly through IV at the hospital. I know all about those and I happen to have a bacterial infection at the moment. It wasn't serious enough for me to go into the hospital, but I'm having to take a very strong antibiotic that I have to take for a month. I have about 15 days left to take it. It is working, and my wounds are healing. Like Madonna, I'm under medical care (home health), and the nurses are keeping a close eye on my infection.

I want Madonna to be around for awhile longer, too. We're both the same age, and I plan on sticking around awhile, too!

Get well soon, Angie.

 

[bardtoob]

After 50+ shows, her voice was failing her although the fluidity of her moving had improved.

I found this performance very moving.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

It made me think of the Olympians, World Medalists, National Medalists, and general members of the skating community lost to HIV-AIDS

 

[Miezekatze]

I watched the documentary "Becoming Madonna" yesterday, as a long time fan I was really impressed how much material it showed that I had never seen before! (i had read there's unpublished material, but i didn't expect it to be so much).
It was also very moving to hear so much commentary from her late brother Christopher.

I thought the part about the beginning of her career was excellent, with a lot of rare materials. Then it focused a bit much on the media reaction about her (even if it brought out the bigotry and misogyny of the showbiz and media of those times out very well) and I wouldn't have needed so much coverage of her marriage to Sean Penn.

The part about her personal losses during the AIDS crisis and how she responded and what she did in order to educate about safer sex was excellent and very moving and I loved how much space the documentary gave to Martin Burgoyne and also Madonnas first ballet teacher, who both died of age.

The comparatative video clips of Ronald Reagan speaking on AIDS also let me remember that he WAS indeed a horrible person, even if we tend to look back mildly today in comparison with Trump. Not really warranted

 

[Lynn226]

The comparatative video clips of Ronald Reagan speaking on AIDS also let me remember that he WAS indeed a horrible person, even if we tend to look back mildly today in comparison with Trump. Not really warranted

Reagan had oratory skills and a smile Trump doesn't have. That's why people remember him differently than he was. Trump doesn't seem to have the emotional intelligence to understand how his behavior is experienced by others.

 

[olympic]

I watched the documentary "Becoming Madonna" yesterday, as a long time fan I was really impressed how much material it showed that I had never seen before! (i had read there's unpublished material, but i didn't expect it to be so much).
It was also very moving to hear so much commentary from her late brother Christopher.

I thought the part about the beginning of her career was excellent, with a lot of rare materials. Then it focused a bit much on the media reaction about her (even if it brought out the bigotry and misogyny of the showbiz and media of those times out very well) and I wouldn't have needed so much coverage of her marriage to Sean Penn.

The part about her personal losses during the AIDS crisis and how she responded and what she did in order to educate about safer sex was excellent and very moving and I loved how much space the documentary gave to Martin Burgoyne and also Madonnas first ballet teacher, who both died of age.

The comparatative video clips of Ronald Reagan speaking on AIDS also let me remember that he WAS indeed a horrible person, even if we tend to look back mildly today in comparison with Trump. Not really warranted

does it delve into her teenage years, her family life and college years, and pre-fame in NYC?

 

[Twilight1]

I never watched Fame the movie but totally watched the show.

Here is Madonna's audition for the film.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

 

[Miezekatze]

does it delve into her teenage years, her family life and college years, and pre-fame in NYC?

It's 1:30h and basically covers her early time in NY until 1992 (I'm not sure, maybe there's going to be a 2nd part?)

It doesn't focus on her teenage years and childhood years, but there are some moments (like how her mom's early death impacted the family). For me the material from her NY years had a lot of new stuff. I vaguely knew that she had dance classes and was involved with Breakfast Club, but I didn't know for example that she was a drummer in the band for 1,5 years and there also was raw footage from her first band where she sang before she was discovered that I had never seen before.

I'm born in 1979 and from Germany,
I was a huge fan of Madonna from about 1990 on and I read and watched and bought everything I could find, but of course most of it was German material and I had didn't get all the live coverage from the 80s, so for me it was very different from other documentaries I've seen on her, because it covered all the years that happened before I joined the timeline "live".

Maybe for Americans more of the material is already known, but AFAIK some of it has never been published anywhere before.

 

[Twilight1]

It's 1:30h and basically covers her early time in NY until 1992 (I'm not sure, maybe there's going to be a 2nd part?)

It doesn't focus on her teenage years and childhood years, but there are some moments (like how her mom's early death impacted the family). For me the material from her NY years had a lot of new stuff. I vaguely knew that she had dance classes and was involved with Breakfast Club, but I didn't know for example that she was a drummer in the band for 1,5 years and there also was raw footage from her first band where she sang before she was discovered that I had never seen before.

I'm born in 1979 and from Germany,
I was a huge fan of Madonna from about 1990 on and I read and watched and bought everything I could find, but of course most of it was German material and I had didn't get all the live coverage from the 80s, so for me it was very different from other documentaries I've seen on her, because it covered all the years that happened before I joined the timeline "live".

Maybe for Americans more of the material is already known, but AFAIK some of it has never been published anywhere before.

My first karaoke song.was Like a Prayer.

My childhood best friend and I loved Madonna. We bought Bop, The Big Bopper and other teen magazines so we could put posters and pictures up all over our rooms. I was into her with her Like a Virgin album and MuchMusic was like a Canadian version of MTV so I watched anything I could of her.

She had a rough life and while I don't like everything about her, her advocacy for gay rights, AIDS awareness impacted my generation for sure. (Well I should just speak for me)

The fact she is still going strong is super cool to me.

 

[Cachoo]

I am not crazy about her personality but she had to be unflinching, insistent, exasperating and tough. I vaguely remember when she fired the powerful William Morris agency and I thought dayum girl. She was always pushing boundaries back in the day. I love her for that.