On July 12th, my ultimate dream came true. I got to see Madonna in concert. My first tour! Giving kudos to my darling wife who purchased the tickets for me, I was so excited when they arrived via Fed Ex (my wife had to contact me at work to let me know they arrived – which was sometime in June).

Anyway, I was able to take a few days off of work in anticipation of the blessed event! From leaving a relative’s house in Island Lake, IL at 4:00 PM, it took us 2 1/4 hours to get to the United Center (traffic in Chicago sucks during rush hour). As we drew near the concert hall, my excitement grew, and grew – I could barely sit still. Besides my wife, Jennifer, my 15 year old sister, Lee Ann and 18 year old cousin, Panacea, came with.

Parking our car across the street from the Malcolm X College (at $13 which was a “steal”), I was so excited to finally arrive. I couldn’t believe that I was a little over two hours away from seeing her! We reached the gates at 6:20 PM and the doors opened at 6:30 PM. The two “kids” went in and went to the food court while I and my wife looked at all the “goodies” for sale. I wanted to ‘save’ my money until the right time before getting anything (including the only item I was intending to buy – the infamous tour book).

We made our way to the 3rd level. Lee Ann & Panacea were in section 321 while Jennifer & I were in section 331.
After we had the girls situated in their seats, Jennifer & I found our sets on the other side of the stadium in section 331. We decided to get a bite to eat, for we were hungry also. As we were eating, Lee Ann & Panacea were running from their section to find us. Come to find out, after they regained their breath, some lady approached the girls and “traded” in their original tickets for seats in section 112 row 7 seats 3 & 4! I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT THEY TOLD ME! They got better seats that me, the original person that wanted to see the divine one?!?!

Go on reading this story from Keven by clicking the Full Article link below.

The girls explained that Madonna would be filming the concert that night and needed people to fill in some seats in the main section! I couldn’t believe what I was being told. Both explained that the lady was to come over to our section and exchange our tickets also. At that point, I was excited and pissed off. Excited for the fact that maybe, just maybe, Jennifer & I might have a better view of the concert than what we originally had. Pissed off for the fact that the girls traded their tickets without getting Jen or I first. About five minutes went by and the lady finally made it over to our section. We moved to section 112 row 7 seats 1 & 2! As we descended to the new section I was screaming with joy! I couldn’t believe what was going on. As we found our new seats (what a major improvement), I began to cry I was so overwhelmed. Not only was I going to see her for the first time, I would have a spectacular view! The people in rows 7 and 8 all received the better view from the original “nose bleed section.” My wife thought I was overreacting just a bit.

Madonna was running late and around 8:45 PM, the show went on! The opening number, “The Beast Within” video montage, was excellent. Reading some of the past reviews, I thought the video was haunting yet very effective. I only hope the new movie/documentary does it justice. I was singing along to the words while more tears of joy became to flow. Then the screens moved back making way for Madonna’s grand entrance for “Vogue.” Again, more tears of joy – she was right there in front of me!

I truly think that “Like A Prayer” was the highlight of the whole concert. It was a great crowd interaction, not to mention the version rocked! (I cried at this point also.) Then “Nothing Fails” brought more tears. It was superb. “Holiday” closed the show and this brought the end of the tears. I turned to look at Jennifer, my wife, and gave her a big hug. July 13th was our 12th wedding anniversary. Spending the night with two fantastic women brought so much joy to my life. I owe so much to my wife for getting those tickets.

I ended up walking out of the venue with a tour book, a poster, a “blinky”, and a set of binoculars. Oh yes, one can’t forget two pieces of confetti from the “Holiday” ending! My wife is planning on framing the poster, tickets, and a map of the venue into a huge frame to be viewed by all – god I love that woman!

OVERVIEW SONG BY SONG:

• “The Beast Within” – As mentioned above, the video imagery was superb! It was a wonderful opening.
• “Vogue” – I was expecting more dancing however it was still great.
• “Nobody Knows Me” – What more is needed than just Madonna on stage. The version rocked!
• “Frozen” – Unlike the Drowned World Tour, it wasn’t flashy at all. You paid more attention to the lyrics than anything else.
• “American Life” – WOW! The catwalk came down and she was so many feet from me! I really liked the transition from the original to the “hard rock” mix. The video imagery was awesome!
• “Express Yourself” – The first true “sing-a-long” crowd pleaser.
• “Burning Up” – Man can that woman rock with a guitar!
• “Material Girl” – Nice, nice, nice
• “Hollywood (Segue)” – Not at ALL what I expected. Wish she would have sang the song versus the video imagery and “circus” intro. I was not impressed.
• “Hanky Panky” – One of the slowest parts of the tour, at least I thought.
• “Deeper And Deeper” – Did not like the “ballad” version of this song. I was not impressed and couldn’t wait for it to end.
• “Die Another Day” – WOW! I love the song to begin with, and love how it was performed on stage.
• “Lament” – Wonderful how she tied this with the ending of “DAD” – It was very effective.
• “Bedtime Story (Segue)” – Again, a new video segment that was excellent. I hope the tour video includes these “scenes” as extras.
• “Nothing Fails” – She happened to be on “my” side of the arena when she performed this song. I was teary-eyed when she performed it and couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
• “Don’t Tell Me” – Just like the video and parts of her last tour, she performed it great. The crowd sang right with her on this one!
• “Like A Prayer” – I believe the highlight of the whole show. Everyone was on their feet dancing and singing, including me and my wife!
• “Mother & Father” – Although the lyrics were changed, I enjoyed the performance. The tie-in with “Intervention” was a great idea.
• “Imagine” – She DID the song justice. I hope she would release a live tour single or release this as a b-side to a new release.
• “Into The Groove” – Another crowd pleaser! Enjoyed the infusion of the GAP commercial version w/ Missy Elliot.
“Papa Don’t Preach” – Yet, another crowd pleaser! I enjoyed the “corny” dance routine….
• “Crazy For You” – Dedicated to the fans – another highlight to the performance.
• “Music” – What an awesome “re-invention” mix. The highlighted stairs were an added bonus.
• “Holiday” – A great song to end the show.

I really enjoyed this experience to share with everyone on the “tribe” as well as my wife. Not a 100% Madonna fan, for she thinks I’m obsessive, I appreciate her attending the show with me and making this a night to ultimately remember.

Review by Keven, thenks for sharing your experience with the Tribe!