Madge lays down the magic

It was months back that our Madonna tickets were booked for her show in Melbourne on Sunday night, but only minutes before entering the pre-concert party that the excitement really kicked in. From the moment VIP ticketholders registered for their lanyards, a definite special treatment was sensed. Indeed, most ticketholders who had paid the extra few hundred dollars to be chaperoned, entertained, fed and beverage-fuelled before the big gig would have to agree it was worth every penny.

For the avid fan it was like being a kid in a candy store, the real treat only a couple of hundred metres behind the walls of this very room, getting ready to go on stage and do what she does best: deliver non-stop, unabashed entertainment for her loyal fans and followers.

As a reminder of the living legend that she is, party organisers ensured that just about every hit single was given a spin at the pre-concert soiree. Footage of previous live shows were projected onto big screens. Champagne and wine flowed freely, delectable canapes were served, photographs taken with hot guys in shorty-shorts and drag queens gussied up to the nines. In short, the atmosphere was magical, if not decadent.

Once ushered into the Rod Laver Arena to take our seats, the vibe was positively spine-tingling. Even as a music journalist who’d been to hundreds of concerts before, I suddenly felt like a hopeless fanatic, afraid I’d faint at the mere presence of one of music’s greatest icons.

But the moment Madonna rises to the stage, you suddenly feel strangely connected to the woman – like she’s some high-school girlfriend simply putting on an end-of-year show – only with millions of dollars invested in this particular one. While the ensemble of dancers, holding their giant props against a mammoth backdrop of visual effects is a grand sight to behold, all that razzle-dazzle blurs into the background and your sole focus becomes of this five-foot-something artist, giving her all; indeed singing for her supper.

To say that Madonna is a consummate showgirl is an understatement. The woman really does go over and beyond the call of duty. Business is business with Madonna, and family just as important, but nothing takes precedence over her art. In fact you’d hardly realise she was going through her own family traumas judging by her performance on Sunday night, in which she gave 100% despite the family dramas and in spite of the media circus following ‘that’ clown-themed private performance days prior.

Kicking her ‘real’ show off with the hard-edged track ‘Iconic’ from her latest LP ‘Rebel Heart’, the message was clear: nothing can stop this iconoclastic artist from putting on the best damn show there is. Dressed in a bold red robe, flanked by dancers in religious regalia, each carrying a tall golden crucifix, the antics of religious deconstruction were on.

What better song to follow this with than the tongue-in-cheek boast of a single ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’ before bringing us back down memory lane with a fresh, guitar-laden rendition of classic single ‘Burning Up’.

The over-the-top Catholic themes continued with ‘Holy Water’ during which she proceeded to gyrate against a half-naked nun to lyrics about the joys of oral sex. In ‘Devil Pray’ she genuflects before a priest before grinding against his body all the while asking Mother Mary for ‘help’.

Although there’s no actual reference to news stories of sordid activity behind Vatican walls, you just know the artist’s aim is to provoke further discussion on the hypocrisy of organised religion at large. Heck, even the Last Supper gets an OTT reimagining as an orgy scene, Madonna propped in Jesus’ old position, her back arched, legs spread-eagled.

Nope, the chipping away at old-school Catholic dogma just won’t stop for this ol’ girl.

Further reinterpretation of classic songs follow, including fresh renditions of ‘True Blue’, ‘Deeper And Deeper’, ‘Like A Virgin’ and ‘Like A Prayer’, the 21-song set rounded out with a splendid cover of Edith Piaf’s ‘La Vie En Rose’ and official closing number ‘Unapologetic Bitch’.

Of course the demand for an encore was great, hence seconds into the crowd’s footstomping for ‘More!’ came the tinkling strains of her first hit in Australia, ‘Holiday’.

Being at a Madonna concert is one of the greatest escapes there is. You can kick back and know that every minute of it is going to be a burst of brilliant entertainment.

Rumour has it Madonna may tour Australia again in 2019. I’ll pray to any god, bastardised or otherwise, that I get to see her live once more.  Antonino Tati

Photography by Lorena Tati and Chantel Cawthorne.

Madonna’s ‘Rebel Heart’ Australian Tour continues Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th March at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, then Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th March at Allphones Arena in Sydney.