Madonna fever reached boiling point in Brazil last weekend as she arrived in Rio de Janeiro to do 2 shows of her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour at the Maracana Stadium, on the 14th and 15th December: her first shows in Brazil for 15 years since "The Girlie Show" world tour in 1993.
I was at that one in London, also the "Blonde Ambition" world tour in 1990 and the one before that; the "Who's That Girl" world tour in 1987... Yes it would appear that I'm a Madonna fan, along with my Sister who accompanied me to all of the above shows in London.
I was at her concert at the Maracana Stadium in Rio on Monday 15th December and it was phenomenal! At 50 years old this woman has the energy of someone half her age... granted that she has had some work done and trains like an athlete every single day so who wouldn't have the body of a racehorse?!
This is a photo of Maracana Stadium for anyone who doesn't know of it:
On her first night (14th December) in Rio it was raining non-stop but the show went on, although for many songs she had a security guard holding a large black umbrella over her and she slipped and fell once on the wet stage... she should be more careful as she could risk having to get a hip-replacement at her age!
I was lucky as on Monday night when I went it didn't rain and so I guess the show was more energetic, it certainly was energetic.
This was the Madonna I remembered from those past shows in London... I always thought she got a little bit too serious while she was married to Guy Ritchie, maybe she felt she had to conform to married life and be the typical English housewife, English Mother... "her indoors" to an Englishman, she seemed as if she was becoming boring.
Now she seems more liberated, refreshed, and the joy overflowed into her amazing performance on Monday night, although I hear the divorce has cost her around 92 million Dollars so maybe she's only smiling on the outside....
Half way through the show she asked someone in the front row of the audience to request a song for her to sing, she said "But if I don't like the song I'm not singing it!" the request was "Dress You Up" and she started singing it acapella and getting all of us in Maracana Stadium to join in with her... a rare intimate moment in such a vast stadium which is normally home to historic football matches between Brazil and the world.
In all she sang 25 songs and the show lasted for just over 2 hours, the crowd went wild, like Brazilians really know how to! The experience of being in that stadium with 60,000 people going crazy for the 50 year old diva and singing along to all her songs is something everyone should experience at least once in their life! The atmosphere alone makes you get goosebumps, it was a huge party inside Maracana, a carnaval.
Madonna and her 3 children were staying at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, the city's most luxurious hotel, where anyone who's anyone has stayed: Princess Diana, Elton John, U2, Freddie Mercury, George Michael.. the list goes on and on...
She took over the whole 7th floor penthouse suites of the hotel and the paparazzi and fans were camped outside every day and night hoping to get a glimpse and a photo of her and her children, which she rewarded them with sometimes.
Apparently she was planning to visit some sites in the "Cidade Maravilhosa" (wonderful city - Rio de Janeiro) on her days off with her children, which would include visiting the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer Statue) and one of Rio's largest favelas... who knows: maybe she wanted to get an idea of how poor people live, or maybe she's looking to adopt another child...
The "Sticky & Sweet" world tour shows us a new Madonna, and there's been so many eh? this woman that re-invents herself every year in order to survive the music industry and continue to stay popular, of which she succeeds 100%.
I would say that the Madonna of this year is "Muscular Hip-Hop Madonna" but her show had many of her old hits as well as the new stuff from her new CD "Hard Candy"
I must admit that I really miss "Slut Madonna" from her 1990 "Blonde Ambition" world tour days... I'll never forget that hot summer night in Wembley Stadium in London when she pranced around the stage in her coned pointy bras, swearing constantly and faking a 4 minute orgasm to the sounds of a middle-eastern "Like A Virgin" as she gyrated on a red velvet bed.
I remember there was a family standing next to me, we were only about 12 feet from the stage, the Father staring at her in a trance whilst the Mother covered her Daughter's eyes... obviously they were at the wrong concert! Didn't they know that "Slut Madonna" had not long released a pornographic book called "Sex"?!
At the end of the show on Monday night she put on a Brazilian football shirt, with the number 10 on the front and her name on the back, and sang her last song.
The crowd went absolutely wild!!
All in all it was an unforgettable night, a night of new songs, old songs, songs from my youth, songs that remind me of exact moments in time.
Songs performed by a true professional, a real performer whose shows are a feast for the eyes, nothing short of spectacular!
In the meantime I'm still hoping the re-invention cycle of this woman will turn full circle and that "Slut Madonna" of the 90's will return... although looking at these photos maybe she already has!
