The show is advertised with an 8:30pm start time. She didn't start until 11pm and went to 1am, on a weeknight. This is her way. She doesn't care either. Pretty lame and inconsiderate.
27
Let me ask the arm-chair critics: what creative work are you doing? She does not have to be perfect. You do not expect a pop icon to be an in-depth politician or philosopher.
And what about that ageism against middle-aged women?
Are you ready to tell the same to Mick Jagger or Bruce Springsteen?
Let them all perform - it is their life - you do not have to go.
31
"Madonna has knocked the importance of talent out of the arena. She's manufactured. She made a lot of money and became the biggest star in the world by hiring the right people." - Joni Mitchell (2002).
22
I wish every "artist" was getting the same attention for their political messaging... but I give her credit. GO MADONNA!
From Las Isla Bonita
12
A Madonna concert? No, more a Madonna puts on stage very talented people who cover her limitations. Smart---but let's be real: it has always been the people of color who play her instruments, are her background vocals, and primary dancers that make Madonna work. She has now discovered the Latin American and Europeans of Latin/Spanish/Portugues origins and uses them accordingly to spectacular results.
I am glad she is clever enough to bring these people to light; sad that it is still a form of the white cover artist---whether Madonna, Brittany or Linda Ronstadt---they take the work of the "indigenous" and as white women, make it palatable to the masses.
Voice is okay, what it always was. Too old for the vamp and vixen. Outfits look ridiculous when she is interviewed. Calm it down, Madonna. Enjoy being less blonde, embrace what you gave Lourdes in looks. That way we can see you and not the matron of Sunset Boulevard. Gyrating to super young guys is just creepy.
16
@Sierra Linda Ronstadt may be technically more white than not but her ethnic and cultural heritage on her father's side was authentic. It doesn't seem fair to put her in the same category (and I say this as someone for whom Madonna is my all-time favorite singer).
19
Let’s give the old girl some credit....she can’t act, dance or sing, but she still has her loyal following paying big bucks to see her perform. I will give her her dues that she does put on a good show even if her singing is not exactly up to par. And all this talk about being an artist disturbs me more than anything....most great artists never ever proclaimed themselves artists. The only art Madonna is truly good at is either stealing or hooking up with hungry talented people and taking their ideas as her own.
21
@tom She's a good pop songwriter and film scorer.
6
"I am not making a dime on this show." So it is a public service she is providing or a therapy session for the over-sixties? My admiration knows no bounds.
12
Madonna is excellent. Favourite is still Bedtime Stories. Would love to see her show. I haven’t seen any mention so far of the cost. The London shows are about £600 per ticket. Some cheaper some more expensive. Super fans don’t care and am sure it still won’t be profitable, but gosh, that’s expensive.
3
Art is alive!
4
I am curious.. If you're a Madonna hater, why are you wasting your predious time following and still commenting. I find it insane. Are your lives that boring?
48
I love her.
18
@Zejee
And I can't stand her. She is a pompous poseur and has zero talent but for self-promotion.
15
@Judy
Then don't worry about her. Focus your energy on goodwill towards others; and if you don't enjoy Madonna, don't worry, many of us LOVE her. There are plenty of people that I can't stand, but I don't put that energy out there—so not necessary.
25
Madonna is not a musician. Her success is based on a series of outrageous publicity stunts.
Great singer? No
Great actress? No
Great dancer? No
Beautiful? That's a matter of judgement. I don't think so.
Publicity manipulator? yes - one of the best ever.
And that's Madonna.
25
@Gerry Maybe, but publicity stunts don't make people listen to a song. This phase of her career proves that. She took her abilities and made herself one of the biggest selling artists in history. So someone liked her music. There are endless other singers who tried the publicity route and failed. It doesn't take an outstanding vocalist to make a great pop song. It takes a smart, innovative, original.
32
@Gerry
Madonna comes from nothing. She has a voice, personality and star power. She will continue to make a lot of people very happy at any given moment of the day. She has applied her imagination, worked hard and the output of her talent has made it possible for a lot of people to afford some very nice things in their lives.
28
Zsa Zsa Gabor put up a fairly valiant fight up until the final curtain.
9
I respect Madonna and everything she has accomplished in her long, remarkable career.
What I don’t understand is why she feels the need to still prove she’s relevant and make such political statements. The last album of hers I really enjoyed was “Confessions on a Dance Floor”. Fun. Angry. Lots of really good music. Since then...meh. At least she is going to more intimate venues but trying to be provocative and being so in the moment are not the same thing.
How about an a cappella version of your hits, with you on the piano... and not all the dancers and flash?? Really connect with your audience instead of lecturing or saying. “Aren’t I still sooooo cool???”
16
@Kathy M, Madonna hesitates to perform full versions of her early hits because she has to pay the people who wrote and produced them. It kills her that those who made her famous are making more money off those songs to this date. There's nothing she can do to change it. Meanwhile, the fans who fell in love with her because of those early hits are punished by exorbitantly high ticket prices and hastily recorded and heavily autotunes new material.
12
@Kathy M
Having seen Madonna in concert MANY years ago,I can say that a cappela will never be her style.She doesn't have the voice (outside of a studio) to pull that off.
She is first and foremost, an "entertainer"- hence the flash,bells and whistles.
I also think the "more intimate venues" are the ones that she can sell out.(which may still aren't)
5
@Kathy M I was really hoping the tepid reaction to Madame X would make Madonna rethink what she was going to do with these shows, and focus a bit more on a career retrospective. Sadly, that's not the case, she has never done a tour that was more focused on a single album than this one.
I've been a diehard fan since Borderline, and have the Madonna tattoo to prove it, but I absolutely hated this album. I bought tickets to the LA show and was thrilled to have the opportunity to see her in such a tiny venue. After hearing the album, then seeing the setlist for this show, I put the tickets up for sale on Ticketmaster today. I'm not even sure if they'll sell, honestly. If I have to go, I will, but I'd rather have my $800 bucks back and never have to listen to this horrible album again.
9
Similar outfit to the one that she wore to the Eurovision Song Contest. Lets hope the Madame X tour is less of an embarrassment than that performance.
6
When Kate Bush does it, you seem befuddled — staging? Costumes? Dancing? — but when Madonna does it, it’s just another show, take a bow. No phones? Kate did that too. Good for Madonna that she’s still out there, but let’s take our Anglophobe goggles off now and then to put things in proper perspective.
11
What's next? Designer crutches? A Prada cane for the stylishly not-blind?
She's so crass.
10
@DMS So is your comment.
20
I’m really happy to discover such favorable opening night impressions. Is this a NYT peace offering following that slam of a piece “Madonna at Sixty?” Haha. Seriously though, I think a lot of fans worried with all the changes for this concert experience... much like fans always worry about Madonna because she’s Madonna and keeps. us. on. our. toes. Brava, Madge.
15
Wearing a black eye patch isn't risk-taking, it's gimmicky, and what Mr. Pareles describes sounds anything but subtle. What Madame X does best is spectacle, but true gravitas is a rarity.
19
@Addison Steele I believe by "taking risks" the author is talking about permorming songs from Madame X rather than playing it "safe" (like the majority of artist) and perfom her greatest hits.
5
I am tired of reading so many comments that refer to Madonna's age and tell her to stop. Madonna is a conqueror. She may be sitting on a throne made of privilege but she fought her way there. Even now she comes up against such insidious ageism and sexism but she does not stop. She is a hero and will be remembered as a pioneer.
And for now she is still the consummate artist, a real joy to watch on the stage, mesmerizing and expressive and unique.
76
@Kistine I agree with everything you wrote except the words “artist”.....she is an entertainer and not in any way an artist.
6
@tom No, she is an artist. She writes, dances, sings, choreographs, she is uniquely expressive. It's silly and petty to say she is not. Perhaps she is not your kind of artist, or maybe you have a highbrow definition of what determines an artist...I don't know, but she is absolutely.
18
I don't get too caught up in celebrity or in theatrics. But I admire someone who has the talent to sing beautifully the song "Evita." Now she is about 61 and is still commanding SRO audiences. I hope she remains healthy.
30
This is what Madonna does best......perform!!! Bravo!!!
34
I enjoy some of Madonna's old songs and she looks marvelous but I think this was a wasted opportunity. I don't want to be bludgeoned with political messaging by Madonna. I would have preferred that she delve deep into artistry and art and creativity and beauty.
16
@ana While my interest in Madonna has waned over the past decade, I remain a fan and I continue to appreciate her "artistry and art and creativity and beauty." I am confident that many of the naysayers commenting on this review haven't listened to Madame X or, for that matter, anything that Madonna has recorded in the past decade. There are way too many people expressing un- and ill-informed opinions these days...
21
I have listened and seen all the shows, because I think she is an artist that cares, but that being said, the music itself is uninspired....she is a performer, but was hoping for more connections between old and new on this tour....
3
Madame X didn't seem to think cellphones were a distraction when she saw Hamilton and texted throughout the performance, as reported by various annoyed cast members on social media.
66
Great review, Mr. Pareles. I'm very looking forward to seeing Madonna on Thursday with an open-mind and judgment-free attitude. A shame some of the commenters here couldn't even *read* a review without doing the same.
30
@Mike I am certain most of the negative commentors didn't even attend the show.
11
Time's up.
32
@Eleanor Kilroy
I respectfully disagree - Madonna remains an interesting, provocative, and beautiful woman.
50
I agree, and please change of wardrobe
3
@Eleanor Kilroy. Then you are free to ignore her. But no need to be snarky.
14
-- there was no denying the conviction.
OMG the last sentence of this review just made my day.
LOL!!!!
6
Anxious to see this. She wants/needs to perform, and never disappoints. She's wealthy enough to sit home, but she pushes herself. She's a fantastic entertainer.
61
"Contrasting freedom and slavery after “Come Alive,” she announced that slavery “begins with ourselves,” forgetting that the slave trade was not the same as being “slaves to our phones.”
61 years old and still can't shake the tendency to be unintentionally hilarious.
38
@mpound
I found myself laughing at her, and I was feeling a little guilty, but then I realized, it's because she takes herself and her over-the-top show SO seriously. It begs to be ridiculed.
One of her dancing bulls stepped on her cape at the Brit awards a couple of years ago, and a video of her falling down the stairs went viral. I feel a bit of shame, but it's pure slapstick!
22
When will she go away?
47
@Mimi Harrison Why should she? Audiences and stadiums are filled with her fans. She certainly has shown to have a lot more stamina, and staying power, than a lot of other singers that have come along.
50
@Mimi Harrison
If you have to ask you surely know nothing about Madonna. To those of us who do know a bit about her, the answer is self-evident: Never.
11
@Mimi Harrison. That's mean. You don't have to like her, just as no one has to like any artist. So just because you are free to write a comment; is it necessary that you do? If you don't like her. Ignore her. Then, in effect, she will have gone away, for you.
32
The ticket price to see Madam X were really high. No venue close to home, so the cost of the trip and concert was something that I could not afford this time.
4
It was a great show. I’m not sure I love the new album but it was better on stage than listening to it. Madonna is a great performer. Still cheeky and funny. It was great to have her down and dance with the audience. What a great experience! I’m so lucky to be able to attend the opening night.
52
I was going to go until I read the whole No Cell Phones thing. I'll respect that and just watch the show on Netflix when I'm sure it'll come out next year or something.
13
@Montgomery Maxton I mean, if you are going to a theater show to watch it through your cell phone, you might as well just wait for the broadcast special?
35
Madonna is simply the best in every version of herself.
I am a little bit younger than her, but i was the fan since her first beginnings,and whatever revolution she made I agreed!
I wanted sooo much to attend one of her shows,but unfortunately couldn't afford it.
Anyway, there is a rare day that i don't listen to at least one song of hers.
Love and adore till the end!!
40
I don't know, the whole phony eye patch thing is really disturbing to me, and only creams out "I'm desperate for attention!".
68
@Paul Shindler
As an Ophthalmologist I have to agree that the eye patch thing is bothersome and really, a bit insulting to those who have to wear them for medical reasons. This is not a fashion accessory any more than a mask for a TB patient would be. It is just ridiculous. Kind of sad.
74
Speaking as a simple human, I see the eye patch as symbolic rather than an affront to the blind. I see it is meant to show that we don’t always see the nuances. I see that often times we have our eyes open and fail to see what is happening. I know that having a ‘disability’ gives me a different perspective. I’m not a fancy doctor, my brain doesn’t work as well as it should but I know a character in costume when I see one.
50
@Allen J. and I see it as trying trying trying to be cool. I wore an eye patch when I was in my 20's. At 61? Nope. it's like these older people dying their hair pink or blue because they feel invisible and want to stay relevant
28