They say to thank god for unanswered prayers... I get it as I sure was happy we did not get tickets for Madonna's first show - Sunday night - as it poured rain that night and she even slipped and fell at one point, yikes!
Monday night's show was fantastic - cool weather for Brazil, which was welcome, in that crowd! We had floor "seats" so we were especially thankful for the lack of rain. As we walked down the platform and I saw the huge glittering "M"s I admit I got a little choked up. I was so excited!!!!! I figured I would cry when I first saw her (this was pre-pregnancy me thinking this... so I figured I was really in trouble now!) but I held it back until she sang "You Must Love Me" from Evita... loved that.
She opened (an hour and 37 minutes late - this is according to our friend who "wasn't watching his watch") with Candy Shop from her new album, and had a good mix of old & new, she played for over 2 hours. Highlights for me were Borderline (she did sort of a rocker-style version, loved it), Devil Wouldn't Recognize You & Heartbeat from the new album, La Isla Bonita (which she really seemed to Brazilian-ize - went over really well!), especially with one of our friends, that was his one song he wanted to hear! The Brazilian crowd seemed to love it most when she sang Human Nature, 4 minutes, Vogue, Ray of Light and Music.
I was shocked at how calm the crowd was, reportedly there were 70,000 people there and we were a bit timid to find a place to stand closer to the front as we didn't want to get squished (me especially!) but it all stayed quite civilized, which almost made me sad we hadn't gone up further. Better safe than sorry, especially in my condition!
She closed the show by waving a Brazilian flag.
I can't even describe in words how much energy Madonna has. To be honest it's frightening in a way. I don't understand how she literally whips herself from one end of the stage for hours on end, day after day - it has got to be the most exhausting show ever to perform, and she does it for days on end at 50 years old. No wonder the woman is so ripped (and oh, is she ripped...) She seemed much more "Edgy" and maybe even hard is the right word, in person in concert rather than when I have seen her on television, had to comment on that as well (for example she called us motherf*...ers more than once... and yelled for people to "show the queen you love her" and staked a claim she will never leave). She sure has been through a lot and it does show!
I was so grateful for the opportunity to see Madonna live, especially at Maracana, it was an experience I'll never forget. It was overcast that night but every so often I'd lift my head to look up and remember we were outside and the odd star would reveal itself from behind the clouds. What a venue! Great night.
Here is a photo of some of the madness outside the Copacabana Palace, where she is staying.
For updates on all things Madonna-in-Rio, the Made in Brazil blog has got it under control! Check it out there is even a video of her before-show prayer!
We didn't take many photos - mostly video (and if you've seen the soccer santa post, you'll forgive me as you'll know how terrible I am still at posting video...)
Recent Comments