“Madonna may be pressing the same old ideological buttons, but the Confessions tour is a stunning musical makeover,” Christopher John Treacy writes this morning on the Boston Herald after the her first concert at the TD Banknorth Garden.

“The ’80s electropop sound of Madonna’s latest permeates the entire two-hour show, and last night she tore up the arena for the first of three Boston appearances.”

“Emerging from a one-and-a-half-ton disco ball, Madge appeared in riding gear, complete with top hat and crop. A sly grin came over her face as the crowd gave her the iconoclastic embrace that keeps her performing – it’s what gets her off. Thus truly being in her element as the center of attention, she gave us her all in return.

Bondage-noir imagery dominated the show’s first quarter, featuring a fantastic cover of the Donna Summer-Giorgio Moroder classic, “I Feel Love” between her opener, “Future Lovers” and latest single, “Get Together.” Though it’s impossible to tell how much vocal management is going on during the more demanding, theatrical numbers, Madonna sounded rehearsed and on target.

The juxtaposition of her broken-boned X-rays and a video montage of equestrian accidents to soundtrack “Like A Virgin” isn’t that much of a reach – it’s a contemplation of innocence getting shattered, much the same way bones break.

Madonna spoke to the crowd several times, inviting (and even demanding) us to sing and dance with her. She teased, asked if we loved her – asked if we’d die for her. But moreover she was spirited and friendly; the Confessions show is obviously a blast for her, but it’s also exhausting work.

“Live To Tell” featured an authoritative and impassioned vocal performance, sang from the rumored cross-and-crown of thorns stage set. The bitchy house vibe of “Sorry” had the entire floor jumping in a unified mass.

The muted industrial tones of “Like It Or Not” came across with deliciously sassy irreverence, as did “Let It Will Be” later in the set.

After a series of images that seemed to feature famed liars, (George Dubyah, Condoleezza Rice, Nixon, Chairman Mao, bin Laden), Madonna transformed herself into a punk vixen, strapped on her electric guitar and launched into a raunchy “I Love New York,” followed by a similarly edgy “Ray Of Light.”

“Music” got a righteous mash-up with The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno” and Maddy dressed as Travolta with a white bell-bottomed leisure suit. Her dancers sailed all over the stage on roller skates. “Erotica” was renewed with an updated, catchy euro-disco pulse, as was “Lucky Star,” which transcended the original’s teeny-bopping tone.

Madonna closed with “Hung Up,” her vocally weakest number. But by that point, we’d have forgiven her for just about anything.

From BostonHerald.com.
Pictures by Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi/Yahoo! news.