M-Tribe visitor Gary went to last night’s show at the United Center in Chicago and he thought he would share some of what went on.

“I am not going to go thorugh the show’s setlist since we all know what it is, but rather give you some of my thoughts on things that hardly ever are brought up in reviews, and share some of my favorite moments” – Gary writes.

“First of all, the show was completely sold out, and it did not start until 8:35 (it was scheduled at 7:30)… the crowd was definately on the wildside and was getting very restless around 8:00. The entire stadium was doing the wave, and hootin’ and hollerin’ like there was no tomorrow.

The thing I really liked about the crowd last night was that everyone seemed like best friends. There were every size, shape, race and religion you could think of. There were soccer mom’s, drag queen’s, jock’s, gay, straight, lesbian, trans, kids, adults, and feather boas all over the place.

People wore Madonna t-shirts of all kinds (I went with my sister and we had t-shirts made up that said : MADONNA Pushed me, on the front, and on the back my sister’s said: Not to Lie and Not to Hate, and mine said: To see the other point of view… we got ALOT of positive comments from people about our t-shirts, so we were happy), people were dressed like her during various stages of her career, and just about everything you can think of…..one of my favorites was a guy who had a silver disco ball hat on, that rocked!

OK, let me talk about the sound at the show… it was absolutely THUNDEROUS!!!!! Our clothes were shaking the entire night, and the thumping inside our bodies was definately something to experience. I have been to many concerts in my life, and this was definately the loudest ever. Besides the fact that the volume rocked, it was absolutely crystal clear perfection.

The opening equestrian sequence is pure billiance! I didn’t think she could top “The Beast Within” from the R.I.T., but she did. When you hear the horses galloping in the distance and it gets closer and closer and all of a sudden the entire stadium is shaking and your clothes are moving, and the pounding in your chest is not your heart, but the sound sytem at full blast you know it’s gonna be a good night.

I particularly liked the mash-up’s she did…..”Future Lover’s/I feel love” opening sequence was great… “Music/Disco Inferno” was awesome, the place was up for grabs….. the closing “Lucky Star/Hung Up” was fantastic, the morph from “Lucky Star” into “Hung Up” was dead on perfection… A couple of my favorite performances of the night were “I love N.Y.” because it was a totally rocked out version that had a bit of a Beatles vibe to it in the presentation, “Sorry” was great, I couldn’t believe how hyped the crowd was during “Sorry“… it’s actually too hard to pick favorites because the entire night was so surreal.

I saw the R.I.T. from the PIT in Las Vegas (thank you MTV), and I wasn’t sure if this show would live up to that experience, but it did, and far surpassed it. Our seats were section 106 dead center, so we saw everything, and had great people all around us.

The other thing that really struck me last night was how much everyone there had a deep connection to Madonna for one reason or another. I often wonder if people of Madonna’s caliber really understand how much they have influenced their fan’s lives? Do they have a real grasp of how deeply they have moved people, and how thankful we are for all the wonderful work they have done, and all the great memories they have given us? I really wonder.

The last thing I want to say is about one of Madonna’s back up dancers, Cloud. He is so talented and stands out from all of the other dancers for some reason. He has an aura about him that shines very brightly, I don’t know if any of you agree with me, but I think he is going to go on and do great things. From the few minutes of footage I saw of him in Madonna’s “I’m going to tell you a secret” documentary he seems like a very nice, kind, respectful, caring person, and I wish great things for him.

OK everyone who took the time to read this, thank you, and if you are going to one of her shows you will have a great time, and probably like me and my sister, those 2 hours will go by like minutes.

Peace to all, Gary

P.S. Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you guys how talkative Madonna was last night. When she sat down on the stairs and talked before “Drowned World” she spent several minutes talking. She said she loved the midwest, and how we were the true unsung heroes of America. She also asked us if it was hot, and if so to take our clothes off because she had asked them to turn off the A/C. Some guy threw his t-shirt onto the stage and Madonna said: “Don’t throw shit on my stage motherf*cker”…..it was very funny. She also told us, a bit later, that we were the best audience she had so far.

So, now all of you who are going to see her need to show Madonna your love and try to top last night’s crowd. You can do it!!!

Thanks to Gary.