Thanks to M-Tribe’s Community member Ryan aka Mini_Me for this review and amazing pictures of the Madonna concerts in Fresno.

Be sure to check out all of his 44 photos on our Tribe-A-Pose galleries by clicking here or on any of the thumbnails below, and please check out the site later for more reviews and pictures by Mini_Me.

“Just woke up after the Fresno show…

I didn’t think I could top my Staples Center experience, but I almost did last night.

I bought tickets on Ebay at the very back of the floor, but when I got to the venue, my friend and I walked up to the catwalk and started schmoozing the security guy. He never asked to see our ticket, but shit… I was sweating bullets for the 45 minutes before the show, praying to God that no one would catch on that we weren’t supposed to be there. Finally, the lights went down, the show began, and I was once again pressed against the catwalk, this time at about row 6.

Ends up that on the first Fresno show, the security was VERY strict about people being against the security barrier at the catwalk. Every time people approached, they made them return to their seats. Apparently during the first show, Madonna told people to get up there against the catwalk, but even after she said that, security still made them go back to their seats. She apparently got really pissed by that, so security on the second show was told that after the lights went down, everyone was allowed to approach the catwalk.

For those of you going to other shows… I think that being between rows 6-10 along the catwalk is the BEST place to be… She hits her mark in this area several times, and it was in this area that she touched my hand at the Staples Center.

By the way, Fresno is one of the venues that didn’t show the side catwalks on the seating chart. Someone said they wouldn’t fit, so there’d be screens in their place. There was even a rumor that the setlist might change because of this. However, BOTH side catwalks were definitely there and the setlist stayed exactly the same… so I’m guessing the side catwalks will be at every venue, whether or not they’re on the ticketmaster seating chart.

During Get Together, she layed on the stage right in front of me, singing “It’s all an illusion… there’s too much confusion….”

I screamed to her the same thing I did at Staples: “You’re beautiful Madonna!!” and when she looks up, she looks directly at me and actually smiles this time. Did she recognize me?? I think so!!

And during Jump, when she’s on the platform above me, she once again looked down and smiled.

After Sorry, when she takes off her leather jacket before Like It or Not, Tony from the documentary was right in front of me. She throws her jacket in front of me, and he grabs it and goes backstage.

During I Love New York, she was making a lot of funny faces… rolling her eyes… nodding her head…

After she sings the line “Los Angeles is for people who sleep” she kind of shrugs and says “motherfuckers!” and then says something like “You didn’t hear me say that about Fresno!!!!”

During I Love New York and Ray of Light, Guy Oseary was on the left side of the stage behind the security barrier taking video footage of Madonna on his camera. I snapped a few pics of him, which he caught me doing… he actually gave me a glare after I took the second pic of him.

Before Drowned World, she’s sitting on the edge of the stage on the stairs. She tells us that she wasn’t feeling well today and that she didn’t want to do the show. But… we were giving her so much positive energy, which is contagious, and so she felt great. (Or something to that effect.) She’s rubbing her hand against the edge of the stairs, and the silver disco ball stuff that lines the edge of the stage was peeling off the front of the steps. She rolls her eyes and looks at those of us in the front and tells us “oh great… my stage is falling apart!”

Before Paradise, she tells us that she’d met Isaac in an airport, he said he wanted to sing with her, and she said “OK!”

Music Inferno really is one of my favorite numbers… the skating interlude leading up to it REALLY gets you going… and Madonna looks like she’s having so much fun.

All night, Madonna was smiling more than at Staples… she seemed really into the show…

I noticed that the music between Lucky Star and Hung Up was different last night. Usually, the Abba sample plays in the background, she sings “you may be my lucky star, but I’m the luckiest by far” several times… then she walks over to one of the lifts, sings “Every little thing that you say or do, I’m hung up, I’m hung up on you…” then she descends into the stage for her final costume change. At previous concerts the Abba sample was building during that time… but last night, it was a LOT more acoustic, with Monte playing some heavy acoustic guitar bit… the Abba sample didn’t cut in until after Madonna was below stage… it was pretty cool…

Finally, during Hung Up, Madonna is LIP-SYNCHING the bridge part!!! “I can’t keep on waiting for you…” That whole line MUST be lip synched because as she walks over for the little slow-moving orgy choreography, she hands the microphone to Mirhan BEFORE the “You’ll wake up one day, but it will be too late” line is over… (actually she hands it to him about half way through the word “late,” which is held out for a while, so she clearly didn’t finish singing the note.)

After they do the little crawl up the stage and Madonna sings “I don’t know what to do…” I screamed to her “Go hump that boombox Madonna!!!” and she looked at me for the final time. Then, Cloud, who is right in front of me, looks over at me with a wink and a nod…

Again during Hung Up, while she’s trying to get people to sing “time goes by so slowly” with her… she kept telling the people in the front to sing louder because she couldn’t hear them…

At one point she screams: “What’s the matter??? Is this the first time you’ve heard this song???”

I guess they still didn’t sing loud enough, because right before she sings the chorus for the last time while the screen descends on the stage, she says: “I give up Fresno!”

After the balloon drop, I held my hand out as the dancers were passing in front of me, and Mirhan (THAT HOT FUCKER) gave me a high five on his way back to the stage.

Madonna seemed amused by this girl who got on a chair behind me during Music, wearing a shirt that said “Madonna, I want to fuck you!!!”

Wow!!!

For not feeling well, Madonna gave an amazing show. I’m a little sad, though… it was my last time to see Confessions… now, I have to live vicariously through all of you… Sad

Some Tips:

1. Looks like all cameras will be allowed, even though it’s printed on the ticket that they aren’t. At three different venues, I’ve had no problem getting my camera in. I’ve asked security guards who say cameras are allowed as long as the lenses aren’t big, detachable, or professional and the cameras don’t record video. (Mine actually DOES record video, but I didn’t offer that information.) No security guards gave me trouble about taking pics, even with the flash, even when the security guard was right next to me. Only at the Forum shows did I see security guards shining flashlights into camera lenses if people left their seats during the concert to take pics in front of the catwalk. But… if you’re really close and start flashing pics in Madonna’s face, she’ll get pissed and not look into your section as much.

2. To get on the floor, they’re strict about you having a floor seat ticket. But once you’re ON the floor, you should try to go by the catwalk. In my opinion, the side of the catwalk around rows 5-10 is the BEST place to see the show. Sure, your view of Future Lovers is obstructed, but for the rest of the concert she’s passing right by you and most of her interaction with the crowd is either at the front or along the catwalk. She doesn’t interact with the crowd as much when she’s on the platform at the end of the catwalk.

3. To get her attention, you have to be obnoxious and yell things to her… don’t just scream or yell her name…. yell something else so she looks in your direction… that worked for me a total of 7 times at least.

Thanks to Ryan aka Mini_Me. If you want to send in your reports, your pictures, magazine scans, memorabilia, and everything you would like to see featured on MadonnaTribe.com please use our usual contact email, share@madonnatribe.com. Thank you!