Madonna

Last night I ventured over to St. Paul with my friend Mona Wong to watch Madonna perform at Xcel Center.

We got there around 7:45 only to find out that Madonna wouldn’t take the stage until 10:30. DJ Paul Oakenfold started bumping beats ’round 8:40.

I have been having difficulty sleeping since returning form my trip to CA three days ago. I purchased a bag a kettle pop corn and began eating doses of sugary carbs every 15 minutes to try to sustain me…but once the music started my brain chemistry kicked in and I was off.

Madonna’s intro started about 10:35 and from the first moments the actual set was monumental! A massive church scene as “monks” began pulling a massive rope and the ringing of a church bell, chanting Gregorian Chants, with Madonna up in the back ground of the set reciting an act of contrition.

She then kicked things off with “Girls Gone Wild” then went into “Revolver” and “Gang Bang” This was interesting segement because Madonna acted out shooting her dancers and then lover in a seedy hotel room. Each time there was a “BANG” of a gun, red matter would splatter across the back monitor that was the back of the stage.

I read an article were the people at the show in Denver were upset over this scene. Too soon to the Aurora shootings, I guess. She said prior to starting her tour that she is not a gun supporter, and the skit is an artistic statement symbolizing intolerance and “the pain I have felt from having my heart broken.”

It was graphic and startling…as a broken heart usually is. I just kept saying “WOW!” as this segment of the show continued and then finally came to an end.

The show continued and I was just in awe of everything, so wishing I could photograph the event. The lightening and the stage were incredible and from the vantage point I had, I got a awesome over view of the whole production. But that yearning passed as she would perform some song that would just make me start to dance and enjoy the moment.

Highlights for me that made me dance my ass off were: “Hung Up” “Express Yourself/ Born This Way” “Open Your Heart” “Justify My Love” ‘Vogue” “Like A Prayer” “Celebration”

The poignant moment was when she performed “Nobody Knows Me” and flashed on backstage screen the names and pictures of various gay teens who committed suicide due to bullying.

115 minutes and the show was over.

I left the concert on a natural high and with an introspective. Her music has been part of various stages of my coming out and I realized that my coming out is always evolving….because I am aways evolving.

Freddie and I used to spent many hours so close to each other or wrapped in each others arms with “Bedtime Stories” as background music. I haven’t brought myself to listen to that cd since his death…I am kind of glad none of it was played or I would have become a blubbering mass of mess in public.

Without a doubt this show ranked in my top three of all time great shows.

With nine dates left in the US and 12 dates on the South American Tour I wonder…should I see another show?