I’m a huge Madonna fan. Well, actually, I’m as huge a Madonna fan as it gets as long as that doesn’t imply buying her albums, following her on social media, or buying any magazine or product that features her in one way or another. I will sing Holiday at a karaoke bar any given night, though.
However, I did buy a ticket to see her live on the opening night of her Rebel Heart Tour in Montreal. It was an amazing show in many ways, even when I hadn’t listened to her newest album not even once. The stage was shaped like a cross with a heart in one of the ends – especially fitting for the first half hour of the show, which had heavy references to Christianity, the Crusades, and The Last Supper painting, with Madonna herself being Jesus.
After that, we had a bit of a gang fight, an oriental dance, and then Madonna being a badass rockstar – I am still trying to figure out if she was actually playing the guitar or just faking it.
Then she spiced things up with a very Spanish-sounding medley of Lucky Star, Get Into The Groove, and Everybody, and outfits that made me think of Frida Kahlo.
Finally, she became a flapper girl, giving us a jazzy version of Material Girl, before amazing us all with a beautiful homage to Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose – no better way to thank the French Canadians for their support before saying goodbye to us all!
Oh! But she came back for one last song! The encore was Holiday, which she absolutely rocked, and I think everybody at Bell Center would agree with me on this one. It was the best way to end the concert, and definitely let everyone part on a high note.
The costumes deserve a special mention because all of them were amazing. She designed them in collaboration with Moschino, Prada, Gucci, Swarovski, Alexander Wang, and Fausto Puglisi. Sometimes I found myself wondering if I was at a concert or at a fashion show. It was just so good.
Now, while the concert was great, I felt like I was witnessing the birth of a new Madonna. She was an amazing performer, a great dancer, and a surprisingly good singer, but there wasn’t anything shocking about the show. No surprises, no boldness, or anything that made Madonna famous and has kept her relevant for all these years. What I saw instead was a humble, more mature, less-craving-for-attention, no-need-to-start-a-conversation Madonna. This is not wrong at all, it’s just not what I expected from her.
In any case, the show is great and should please any actual Madonna fan out there – as well as people like me. No matter what she does or stops doing, “Bitch, I’m [she’s] Madonna”.
