Madonna Concert

Wendy Garofoli | Nov 04, 2008 | 0

That's right. I was at her Madgesty's concert Sunday night in Oakland and it was off the hook! Madonna may be 50 years old, but she puts infamous Saturday Night Live character Sally O'Malley to shame with her kicks, stretches, and overall agility onstage. Man, that woman can MOVE. If I tried dancing like her, I'd break my back.

Read on for a full review of the show, including my favorite dance numbers, and an account of one of the most random things I've seen in concert in a long time.

It's no secret that Madonna has a huge catalog of hits to choose from, not to mention a roster of new songs to promote. So, it's also no wonder that some fans leave feeling a little disappointed they didn't hear their favorite song. "What about Starlight? Or Papa Don't Preach? Or Take a Bow?" If Madonna played all her popular singles, she'd be on stage for at least five hours.

But, Madge brought home the goods last night with a couple of old-school numbers. One of my favorites was a Pop Art-inspired rendition of "Into the Groove" where Madonna and her dancers, dressed in colorful cartoon confections, were locking and jumping rope. Madonna herself even got into the act, double-dutching for the last minute of the song. Hotness.

Hip-hop was a popular dance style for Madonna last night. She infused her version of "Vogue" with some pop-hop, Britney-esque moves, alongside the classic voguing arm movements we've come to know and love.

Another great number was "La Isla Bonita." All sorts of cultural influences blended together on this song, most obviously Spanish (a brilliant Flamenco dancer was featured for most of the song). But there was also an Indian feel to the instrumentation, which then turned into a Greek dance. The whole thing ended with Madonna yelling "Hopa!" If you thought that was random, the dancers then sat down in a semi-circle surrounding the musicians, campfire style, while the violinists played a traditional Greek song. Mind you, this is a Madonna concert in Oakland. I don't think the crowd knew what to make of it. Me? I ate it up, but I love folk dance and music of all kinds, so I don't count.

At any rate, I was overall super impressed and had a great time, with one exception: There was no encore. Granted, it was a Sunday night, but still! Every concert I've ever been to, there's an encore. Maybe she was tired. Maybe she thought the crowd wasn't into it. I can't imagine why she would think that, though,  when she had a sell-out arena on a Sunday evening on their feet for three glorious hours. But, I suppose it was getting late, and I wasn't getting any younger...though it sure looked like Madonna was.

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Jazz, Hip Hop, Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Performance, dance icons (all tags)