......And the big day came. I bought the ticket many months ago, in February. After the concert last year I wanted to see her again. And I was very happy that she came to Bucharest. Have to say that was something wrong from the beginning. That Gold Bar in front of the stage shouldn’t have been there. But some people had to make money. It was very expensive and seemed especially dedicated to those who wanted to be seen there, not necessarily to real fans. And this was my big problem during the show. I had a ticket in “gazon A”, or “filed A”, right behind the Gold Bar, and far away enough from the stage.
......I liked the concert, speaking about the show. The stage is impressive. Millions of lights, moving parts, dancers, singers, costumes matching the songs, a car, a piano, Justin (on screens, but still Justin). There were some changes in the set list. I didn’t know one song. But I knew all the others.
......Here’s the setlist for the 2009 leg of the tour
.....
......I liked the concert, speaking about the show. The stage is impressive. Millions of lights, moving parts, dancers, singers, costumes matching the songs, a car, a piano, Justin (on screens, but still Justin). There were some changes in the set list. I didn’t know one song. But I knew all the others.
......Here’s the setlist for the 2009 leg of the tour
.....
1. "The Sweet Machine" (Video Introduction) (contains elements from "Manipulated Living", "4 Minutes", "Human Nature" and "Give It 2 Me")
2. "Candy Shop" (featuring video backdrops from "Green Pink Caviar")
3. "Beat Goes On"
4. "Human Nature" (contains excerpts from "Gimme More")
5. "Vogue" (contains elements of "4 Minutes" and "Give It To Me")
6. "Die Another Day" (Remix) (Video Interlude)
7. "Into the Groove" (contains elements of "Toop Toop", "Body Work", "Jump", "Apache" and "Double Dutch Bus")
8. "Holiday" (contains elements of "Celebration" and "Everybody", with excerpts from "Jam", "2000 Watts", "Billie Jean", "Another Part of Me" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'")
9. "Dress You Up" (contains elements of "My Sharona" and excerpts from "God Save the Queen and "Mickey")
10. "She's Not Me"
11. "Music" (contains elements of "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit", with excerpts from "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" and "Heartbeat")
12. "Rain" (Remix) (Video Interlude) (contains elements of "Here Comes the Rain Again" with an excerpt from "Hung Up")
13. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You"
14. "Spanish Lesson"
15. "Miles Away"
16. "La Isla Bonita" (contains excerpts from "Lela Pala Tute")
17. "Doli Doli" (Kolpakov Trio solo) (Dance Interlude)
18. "You Must Love Me"
19. "Get Stupid" (Video Interlude) (contains excerpts from "Beat Goes On", "Give It 2 Me", "4 Minutes" and "Voices")
20. "4 Minutes"
21. "Like a Prayer" (contains elements of "Feels Like Home")
22. "Frozen" (contains elements of "I'm Not Alone" and "Music (Deep Dish Dot Com Remix)" with excerpts from "Open Your Heart" and "Hung Up")
23. "Ray of Light"
24. "Give It 2 Me" (contains elements of "Fired Up!" (Club 69 Mix)
2. "Candy Shop" (featuring video backdrops from "Green Pink Caviar")
3. "Beat Goes On"
4. "Human Nature" (contains excerpts from "Gimme More")
5. "Vogue" (contains elements of "4 Minutes" and "Give It To Me")
6. "Die Another Day" (Remix) (Video Interlude)
7. "Into the Groove" (contains elements of "Toop Toop", "Body Work", "Jump", "Apache" and "Double Dutch Bus")
8. "Holiday" (contains elements of "Celebration" and "Everybody", with excerpts from "Jam", "2000 Watts", "Billie Jean", "Another Part of Me" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'")
9. "Dress You Up" (contains elements of "My Sharona" and excerpts from "God Save the Queen and "Mickey")
10. "She's Not Me"
11. "Music" (contains elements of "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit", with excerpts from "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" and "Heartbeat")
12. "Rain" (Remix) (Video Interlude) (contains elements of "Here Comes the Rain Again" with an excerpt from "Hung Up")
13. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You"
14. "Spanish Lesson"
15. "Miles Away"
16. "La Isla Bonita" (contains excerpts from "Lela Pala Tute")
17. "Doli Doli" (Kolpakov Trio solo) (Dance Interlude)
18. "You Must Love Me"
19. "Get Stupid" (Video Interlude) (contains excerpts from "Beat Goes On", "Give It 2 Me", "4 Minutes" and "Voices")
20. "4 Minutes"
21. "Like a Prayer" (contains elements of "Feels Like Home")
22. "Frozen" (contains elements of "I'm Not Alone" and "Music (Deep Dish Dot Com Remix)" with excerpts from "Open Your Heart" and "Hung Up")
23. "Ray of Light"
24. "Give It 2 Me" (contains elements of "Fired Up!" (Club 69 Mix)
.....
Just for you know see the difference, here’s the set list of the 2008 leg of the tour
.....
Just for you know see the difference, here’s the set list of the 2008 leg of the tour
.....
1. "The Sweet Machine" (Video Introduction) (contains elements from "Manipulated Living", "4 Minutes", "Human Nature" and "Give It 2 Me")
2. "Candy Shop"
3. "Beat Goes On"
4. "Human Nature" (contains excerpts from "Gimme More")
5. "Vogue" (contains elements of "4 Minutes" and "Give It To Me")
6. "Die Another Day" (Remix) (Video Interlude)
7. "Into the Groove" (contains elements of "Toop Toop", "Body Work", "Jump", "Apache" and "Double Dutch Bus")
8. "Heartbeat"
9. "Borderline"
10. "She's Not Me"
11. "Music" (contains elements of "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit", with excerpts from "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" and "Heartbeat")
12. "Rain" (Remix) (Video Interlude) (contains elements of "Here Comes the Rain Again" with excerpts from "Hung Up")
13. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You"
14. "Spanish Lesson"
15. "Miles Away"
16. "La Isla Bonita" (contains excerpts from "Lela Pala Tute")
17. "Doli Doli" (Kolpakov Trio solo) (Dance Interlude)
18. "You Must Love Me"
19. "Get Stupid" (Video Interlude) (contains excerpts from "Beat Goes On", "Give It 2 Me", "4 Minutes" and "Voices")
20. "4 Minutes"
21. "Like a Prayer" (contains elements of "Feels Like Home")
22. "Ray of Light" (contains elements of "Music (Deep Dish Dot Com Remix)")
23. "Hung Up" (contains elements of "Give It 2 Me" and "4 Minutes")
24. "Give It 2 Me" (contains elements of "Fired Up!" (Club 69 Mix))
....
.......As you can see, she replaces Heartbeat and Borderline with Holiday and Dress You Up. That was the only difference.
.......I had and still have two favorite moments during the show. Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You (when the two huge, round screens come down on stage and a piano comes up from below the stage. Madonna sits on the piano and sometime you can see her, sometime it’s just the projection on the screens). The other moment is La Isla Bonita. The combination between her song and that gypsy-wanna-be song was interesting. I first heard it at a concert in 2008, Live Earth, where she performed with Gogol Bordello.
......Now some pros and cons. I can’t help it to compare what I saw here with the other concert I saw, also from Sticky and Sweet Tour. This one in Bucharest lacked the atmosphere, the feeling of a true concert. Some of you who were there might say that it’s Madonna’s fault. Oh, well, the voice was almost terrible. She screamed and the small live parts sounded bad (it was not the sound system because the backing vocal girls sounded very well). So:
2. "Candy Shop"
3. "Beat Goes On"
4. "Human Nature" (contains excerpts from "Gimme More")
5. "Vogue" (contains elements of "4 Minutes" and "Give It To Me")
6. "Die Another Day" (Remix) (Video Interlude)
7. "Into the Groove" (contains elements of "Toop Toop", "Body Work", "Jump", "Apache" and "Double Dutch Bus")
8. "Heartbeat"
9. "Borderline"
10. "She's Not Me"
11. "Music" (contains elements of "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit", with excerpts from "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" and "Heartbeat")
12. "Rain" (Remix) (Video Interlude) (contains elements of "Here Comes the Rain Again" with excerpts from "Hung Up")
13. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You"
14. "Spanish Lesson"
15. "Miles Away"
16. "La Isla Bonita" (contains excerpts from "Lela Pala Tute")
17. "Doli Doli" (Kolpakov Trio solo) (Dance Interlude)
18. "You Must Love Me"
19. "Get Stupid" (Video Interlude) (contains excerpts from "Beat Goes On", "Give It 2 Me", "4 Minutes" and "Voices")
20. "4 Minutes"
21. "Like a Prayer" (contains elements of "Feels Like Home")
22. "Ray of Light" (contains elements of "Music (Deep Dish Dot Com Remix)")
23. "Hung Up" (contains elements of "Give It 2 Me" and "4 Minutes")
24. "Give It 2 Me" (contains elements of "Fired Up!" (Club 69 Mix))
....
.......As you can see, she replaces Heartbeat and Borderline with Holiday and Dress You Up. That was the only difference.
.......I had and still have two favorite moments during the show. Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You (when the two huge, round screens come down on stage and a piano comes up from below the stage. Madonna sits on the piano and sometime you can see her, sometime it’s just the projection on the screens). The other moment is La Isla Bonita. The combination between her song and that gypsy-wanna-be song was interesting. I first heard it at a concert in 2008, Live Earth, where she performed with Gogol Bordello.
......Now some pros and cons. I can’t help it to compare what I saw here with the other concert I saw, also from Sticky and Sweet Tour. This one in Bucharest lacked the atmosphere, the feeling of a true concert. Some of you who were there might say that it’s Madonna’s fault. Oh, well, the voice was almost terrible. She screamed and the small live parts sounded bad (it was not the sound system because the backing vocal girls sounded very well). So:
....
......Pros:
- The show. As a whole. Can’t explain more than I already did. You have to be there. But it’s obvious that many people worked to put everything together and it was amazing
- She performed songs for everybody. For those who had the curiosity to listen to the album (Hard Candy) and also for those who didn’t bother to listen to it and counted on the songs they knew from the past
- She changed the songs a little bit in order to match to the new style. Some drums&basses added to Vogue, Music, Rain, and Frozen.
- The stage was high enough for everybody to see her. And from time to time some parts rose with her on top. So no problem regarding the visibility from my point of view.
....
......Pros:
- The show. As a whole. Can’t explain more than I already did. You have to be there. But it’s obvious that many people worked to put everything together and it was amazing
- She performed songs for everybody. For those who had the curiosity to listen to the album (Hard Candy) and also for those who didn’t bother to listen to it and counted on the songs they knew from the past
- She changed the songs a little bit in order to match to the new style. Some drums&basses added to Vogue, Music, Rain, and Frozen.
- The stage was high enough for everybody to see her. And from time to time some parts rose with her on top. So no problem regarding the visibility from my point of view.
....
......Cons:
- The atmosphere. Many people came here because it seemed fancy to be present. They were not very interested in what was going on there. Well, it’s not why you’re going to the concert in first place. I don’t say you have to know the words or things like that, just to get a little bit involved in what’s going on. After Paul Oakenfold finished, at about 9pm, there were 50 minutes of preparation of the stage. This happens at most of the concerts when somebody else opens the show. The Romanian crowd starting boo-ing and whistling. Oh, God. For sure she heard. In other countries people sing, make the wave (it was not the case here, it was just an example), cry the name of the artist and many other things. Here noooo. What’s the point of cheering? Boo-ing is easier. I’m ashamed. She tried several times to heat up the crowd but without any result. She even said at one moment “come on, people, you can do better!”
- The Gold Bar put there to raise more money. This way a lot of real fans where kept in Filed A because of the price of the ticket. 600 lei versus 160 lei in Field A. Nobody thought that the person on stage first sees the people in front of her/him?!?!? Those people in front have to make the noise and cheer. They can make the others do the same. There were some people, less than 100 I think that were doing this. Not enough considering that Emagic said there were about 60.000 people there.
- The dust. It was an open air concert because for the moment we don’t have a stadium to host so many people. This was a midway solution. Madonna was available and willing to come here and we needed a space. This was improper. It’s a park. The organizers didn’t think what would happen if 60.000 walk in the dust. I tell you what happened. In about 1 hour we were all breathing dust. When the lights of the stage and around us were turned on there was something that seemed fog. It was dust. We couldn’t go get water because it would have been impossible to get back to the place we left. I think the people on the stage were bothered too. But what could they do? Dear organizers, go to concerts abroad. They cover the original surface with something. So the crowd doesn’t sit in the dust and breathe dust.
- Toilets. Field A didn’t have any. We were sent to Field B. But at the gates we were told that if you get out we won’t be allowed back. What?!?!
- Madonna’s voice. Bad. Baaaaaaaad. Playback most of the times or distorted by synthesizers. During the few moments of live singing she either screamed or it was false. Sorry for that, but that’s the truth. I’ve been her fan since childhood. It hurts saying things like that. But there are moments when not everything is milk and honey. Maybe next time.
......Again, this is my opinion. Romanian crowd is not prepared for big concerts. People are not used to this. We have one big concert a year. It’s not enough but as we don’t have proper spaces, it’s the most it can be done.
......Enough comments. My only wish was to have bought that 600 lei ticket. I think I would have felt better and enjoyed the concert even more.
- The atmosphere. Many people came here because it seemed fancy to be present. They were not very interested in what was going on there. Well, it’s not why you’re going to the concert in first place. I don’t say you have to know the words or things like that, just to get a little bit involved in what’s going on. After Paul Oakenfold finished, at about 9pm, there were 50 minutes of preparation of the stage. This happens at most of the concerts when somebody else opens the show. The Romanian crowd starting boo-ing and whistling. Oh, God. For sure she heard. In other countries people sing, make the wave (it was not the case here, it was just an example), cry the name of the artist and many other things. Here noooo. What’s the point of cheering? Boo-ing is easier. I’m ashamed. She tried several times to heat up the crowd but without any result. She even said at one moment “come on, people, you can do better!”
- The Gold Bar put there to raise more money. This way a lot of real fans where kept in Filed A because of the price of the ticket. 600 lei versus 160 lei in Field A. Nobody thought that the person on stage first sees the people in front of her/him?!?!? Those people in front have to make the noise and cheer. They can make the others do the same. There were some people, less than 100 I think that were doing this. Not enough considering that Emagic said there were about 60.000 people there.
- The dust. It was an open air concert because for the moment we don’t have a stadium to host so many people. This was a midway solution. Madonna was available and willing to come here and we needed a space. This was improper. It’s a park. The organizers didn’t think what would happen if 60.000 walk in the dust. I tell you what happened. In about 1 hour we were all breathing dust. When the lights of the stage and around us were turned on there was something that seemed fog. It was dust. We couldn’t go get water because it would have been impossible to get back to the place we left. I think the people on the stage were bothered too. But what could they do? Dear organizers, go to concerts abroad. They cover the original surface with something. So the crowd doesn’t sit in the dust and breathe dust.
- Toilets. Field A didn’t have any. We were sent to Field B. But at the gates we were told that if you get out we won’t be allowed back. What?!?!
- Madonna’s voice. Bad. Baaaaaaaad. Playback most of the times or distorted by synthesizers. During the few moments of live singing she either screamed or it was false. Sorry for that, but that’s the truth. I’ve been her fan since childhood. It hurts saying things like that. But there are moments when not everything is milk and honey. Maybe next time.
......Again, this is my opinion. Romanian crowd is not prepared for big concerts. People are not used to this. We have one big concert a year. It’s not enough but as we don’t have proper spaces, it’s the most it can be done.
......Enough comments. My only wish was to have bought that 600 lei ticket. I think I would have felt better and enjoyed the concert even more.
Beats Goes On
Human Nature
Tribute to Michael Jackson
The Devil Wouldn't Recognize You
I agree with all you said. Anyway, I loved the show!... again!
ReplyDeleteSo that's what was happening on the scene... I was in zone B and from my position Madonna was ant sized. I could make out her hands and feet but nothing else. I would look at the screens to see her general look (colors mostly) and then try to identify her on stage from the other dancers. The sound was bad. Her voice was bad. Dj Tiesto has so much better audio...
ReplyDelete