Madonna
London Wembley Stadium
11th September, 2008

View: press box, mid right tier

Madge bounded on at 9:05 for nearly two hours and 19 mostly more recent songs, backed by dozens of dancers and players, making for a musical extravaganza that, at times, played like a West End musical. While you couldn’t fault the routines and theatricality, from the off on Candy Shop, Madonna focused on the moves, lipsynching or just not singing over passages of dance, which grated somewhat. Still, the crowds thrilled to a vintage car wheeling its way down the catwalk stage on Beat Goes On, a slower Vogue was beefed up with riffage, and Madonna skipped through Into The Groove and danced on the DJ booth. A travelator was utilised on Heartbeat, a rocked-up Borderline led into a self-deprecating She’s Not Me, and Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You saw Maddy enveloped in a shielding circular video screen – very cool. Cowelled monks appeared for Spanish Lesson, La Isla Bonita went very Gogol, and when Madonna’s live vocals came to the fore, as on You Must Love Me, they shone. A trancey Like A Prayer, singalong Ray Of Light and rocked-up Hung Up led to the final dance-fest of Give It 2 Me, which she had.

Reviewed by Tim Jones
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