May 22, 200619 yr Author Madonna Hangs On A Cross, Knocks World Leaders Posted: 22 May 2006 - From MTV.com By Corey Moss A better title for Madonna's Confessions tour might be the Go to Confession Tour, as you feel like you need to by the time the show is over. As we've come to expect from Madonna, her latest tour, which she kicked off Sunday at the Forum, is so provocative that it's hard to count the ways. Let's see, there was the whole hanging on a cross, wearing a crown of thorns thing. The riding the rhinestone-studded, black leather carousel like she's the main attraction at the erotic shop across town thing. And, of course, that nasty George Bush comment thing, which she brought back from her Coachella show last month. The show started off nice and sweet with images of horses on the screens and Madonna in full equestrian attire descending from the ceiling in a one-ton disco ball. A closer look at that outfit, however, revealed she's going for the dominatrix look and that whip wasn't meant for a horse. As Madonna sang 'Future Lovers,' mixing in a little of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' for good measure, her leather-strapped male dancers slithered around her like a lost scene from 'Eyes Wide Shut.' 'Get Together' offered more of the same, but nothing could have prepared the capacity crowd for what would follow - and we're not talking about her own X-rays on the screens. Bringing 'Like A Virgin' out of the vaults, Madonna introduced the song by asking the audience if they wanted to go for ride. She then saddled up on a carousel-like set piece and rode it like no carousel should be ridden. The moves sent the room into a frenzy and caused one of the only sing-a-longs of the set, which featured 10 Confessions on a Dancefloor tracks and, unlike the Re-Invention Tour that launched in the same venue almost two years ago, only a few old favorites. As is the case with all of her tours, however, Madonna gives you a lot to watch. Her fourth tune, 'Jump,' might have featured the most impressive eye candy of all. Between the jungle gym that descended onto the runway and the crew of perfectly-toned tumblers racing around, it was like the Olympic gymnastics freestyles finals on Red Bull. For her next tune, Madonna made one of her seven costume changes and returned to the center of the stage a la Jesus Christ on the cross (if that cross were built in 2006....by Marilyn Manson), singing 'Live To Tell.' Like Kanye West on the cover of Rolling Stone, it was a fascinating image, whether or not you think it's immoral. The middle of the set was mostly a showcase of Confessions, including a stirring rendition of 'Issac' featuring the song's namesake guest voice and a video montage for 'Sorry' that managed to knock most of the world's leaders. 'Don't say forgive me,' Madonna sang as pictures of the war in Iraq flashed with shots of President Bush. In 'I Love New York,' during which Madonna played a black guitar surround by her six-piece band suddenly covered head-to-toe in white, the singer not only added 'but not you guys' after the 'Los Angeles is for people who sleep' line, but changed the 'Just go to Texas/Isn't that where they golf' lyric to a derogatory Bush remark. Aside from those references, though, Madonna kept her political comments to a minimum. In fact, she kept all her comments to a minimum, only encouraging them to dance when the time was right, like 'Ray Of Light.' After delivering the back-to-back ballads 'Drowned World' and 'Paradise (Not For Me),' Madonna got back to her business of catering to the dance floor and her band launched into a version of 'Music' that mashed with 'Disco Inferno.' While dancers whisked around her on roller skates, Madonna donned a white suit and danced down the runway to the small stage in the middle of the arena, where she did her best 'Saturday Night Fever'-era John Travolta routine, complete with the 'hitchhike' (you know, thumbs to the side). 'Erotica' was, well....you guessed it (let's just say it was performed in a body suit) and 'La Isla Bonita' was reinvented with a salsa groove. With the exhausted crowd at their peak, Madonna brought out another oldie in 'Lucky Star' but modernized the track with a techno beat that slowly morphed into 'Hung Up.' For the Confessions single, Madonna returned to center stage for the same provocative (told you there were many) performance she gave at the Grammys, only this one included a few new twists. And as the curtain (or in this case, a giant curved screen) came up and the lights came on - no encore for the second straight tour - a message flashed across the screen? Have You Confessed?.
May 23, 200619 yr Author http://www.ultimatemadonna.com/t_press_01/dailystar_2006.05.23_01_big.jpg http://www.ultimatemadonna.com/t_press_01/dailymail_2006.05.23_01_big.jpg http://www.ultimatemadonna.com/t_press_01/2006.05.23.jpg
May 23, 200619 yr Author Yes, she played Jesus in his crown of thorns. And James Brown in his cape. And John Travolta in his white suit. Did I mention the glam sequence in which she donned nearly the exact costume the legendary that Bryan Ferry wore in his early Roxy Music publicity shots and played electric guitar, effectively turning herself into a rock god? Opening her Confessions tour Sunday at the Forum, Madonna, still as hot for the Big Gesture as she was when she sullied a wedding gown on MTV in 1984, struck one indelibly male pose after another, as if to absorb the power of them all. In the nearly two-hour show's most obviously controversial sequence, the 47-year-old was positioned on a giant steel mesh cross, singing her poignant ballad "Live To Tell" while pictures of suffering children swirled about her. What was so fascinating wasn't the message of compassion this outspoken children's advocate attached to her heretical stance; it was the way she held it, arms outstretched and face serious, for the entire song, until the shock wore off and it seemed less like blasphemy than an ardent attempt to understand what makes such an image so compelling. If the dizzyingly elaborate Confessions revue said anything in particular, it was that images - Madonna's stock in trade - have a way of veering out of control and gaining new meanings. by by Ann Powers, The Los Angeles Times
May 23, 200619 yr Author http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/dailymirror_230506.jpg Sydney Morning Herald: Madonna has launched her first world tour in two years, delighting an enthusiastic Los Angeles crowd by hanging herself from a cross, insulting US President George Bush, and dusting off some of the sexy moves that have sustained her career for more than 20 years. The Confessions tour will keep her on the road for two months in North America, and then resume on July 30 in Wales for a five-week stadium swing through eight European cities. Shows in Japan are also on tap for mid-September. The 47-year-old dance diva spent two hours yesterday churning out most of the tunes from her new album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, as well as a few old hits such as Like a Virgin, Ray of Light and Lucky Star. The audience at the Los Angeles Forum included Madonna's Kabbalah guru Rabbi Yehuda Berg, socialite Nicole Richie, and gay icon Rosie O'Donnell, who upgraded herself to a premium seat on the floor and left her spouse alone in the stands. The meticulously choreographed Vegas-style routine began 50 minutes late when a giant mirror ball was lowered from the ceiling to the end of a catwalk stretching deep into the floor. Out popped Madonna, in S&M-styled riding gear and whip, singing the new tune "Future Lovers" as four bare-breasted male dancers writhed around with ball gags in their mouths. Later on, she donned a crown of thorns and suspended herself from a giant mirrored cross to deliver the ballad Live to Tell. Video screens showed images of third-world poverty and reeled off grim statistics. During one of her half-dozen costume changes, another video montage juxtaposed images of Bush, members of his administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with footage of Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Midway through the new song I Love New York, she deviated from the script and made a crude reference to Bush and oral sex. Beyond that, she barely spoke to the audience, largely focusing on keeping control of a busy nightclub-style stage that boasted 15 dancers, four musicians and three backing vocalists. For the most part, she joined in the tricky choreography, her voice evidently not affected by the aerobic workout. She did pause for a few songs during which she appeared to play a shiny Gibson Les Paul guitar. A disco segment near the end, where she dressed in a Saturday Night Fever-style white suit to perform "Music" thrilled the crowd, as did the Like a Virgin routine, when she climbed aboard a carousel-style black leather saddle. There was no encore, and the lights came up as soon as she had completed a medley of Lucky Star and latest hit single Hung Up while sporting an illuminated white cape with Dancing Queen embroidered on the back. Billboard magazine has forecast ticket sales could reach the $US200 million ($265 million) range, making it the most successful tour by a female artist. Cher holds the record with $US192.5 million ($255 million) from 273 shows on a "farewell" world tour that began in June 2002 and lasted almost three years, according to Billboard.
May 29, 200619 yr Author Madonna did hit back with this Madonna: Jesus wouldn't mind my stunt Pop superstar Madonna has furiously hit back at criticisms the crucifixion stunt on her Confessions tour is disrespectful to Christians, arguing her motives are honourable. The singer sparked a religious backlash on the first night of her Confessions tour in Los Angeles when she mounted a six-metre (20-foot) high mirrored crucifix and sang Live To Tell. But the 47-year-old claims the iconic image was only employed to spur audience members to donate to her AIDS relief charities. She tells the New York Daily News, 'I don't think Jesus would be mad at me and the message I'm trying to send. Jesus taught that we should love thy neighbour.' Accompanying the stunt were images of third-world poverty, which were flashed across huge video screens at the venue, and a reminder that 12 million African children are now orphans because AIDS has killed their parents. Also to watch Live To Tell with Madonna on the cross here's the link http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s...opic=6190&st=40 In my view she did a great job of getting the point across & the media totally over look it & get the wrong idea.
May 29, 200619 yr Author From The Sunday Times (UK Newspaper) http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/thesundaytimes_280506.jpg
May 31, 200619 yr Author http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/new_050606_page2.jpg http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/new_050606_page1.jpg
May 31, 200619 yr Author http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/heat_030606_page1.jpg http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/heat_030606_page2.jpg
June 7, 200619 yr I'm hoping for 1 more tour then a greatest hits tour then maybe she should stop touring :(
June 21, 200619 yr Author http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/extra/2006/chicagotribune_190606_news.jpg
