9.40 pm, only ten minutes late, the lights go out. Undefinable, anticipating music comes out of the speakers. "Do you like my acid rock" is heard. And "Express yourself, don't repress yourself". Everyone cheers as Niki and Donna rise from underneath the stage, sporting a punk-outfit. Everyone stares at the ceiling, as it was reported Madonna might fly on stage. But then there's a spotlight directed to the middle of the stage, right in front of us. Our queen comes out of the smoke; on a sliding path she comes closer (see picture on the left). The crowd goes hysteric as she sings "I traded fame for love without a second thought". She's wearing a red Scottish kilt, with underneath a black pants and leather boots. On top she has a black shirt with zippers across, a see-through sleeve on her left arm and a bandage on her right arm. Later we hear that it's not because of an accident, but to avoid irritation from playing the guitar. And she's small! But she has this powerful look. This is really Madonna!

18.000 fans sing along with Drowned World. Many are crying of happiness. It's so unreal to see her in the flesh, after all those years.
As she's singing the last 'substitute for love', the beat kicks in and the crowd starts dancing on Impressive Instant. Several male dancers join Madonna on stage, wearing strange masks covered with lights. Standing on a lifted stage, she falls back for a bodysurf on the hands of the dancers. As she gets down, they surround her like some kind of huge insects bugging her. She kicks them aside, pushes them back. She comes to the front of the stage; only a meter away from us, crawling on the floor on her back (pictures on the right). We're only two songs into the show and Madonna has already proven what every fan knows: there's only one big entertainer ruling this world!

A heavy rock beat introduces Candy Perfume Girl. Nobody else but the lady herself is playing the electric guitar! Boy, has she improved since the Letterman performance! As a professional guitarist she's rocking on stage. Once again the crowd goes wild. Seductively she sticks her finger in her mouth (picture left). Those who paid attention could read her guitar strap 'FUCK OFF'. Some kind of warning, cause at the end of the song she screams 'fuck off motherfuckers!!'. The lady can say what she wants, the fans will cheer anyway! "We love you too honey!" was my answer. :)
Austin Powers appears on the big screen "Shall we shag now or shall we shag later?". "And you can fuck off too!" blurts Madge, before jumping around on the rhythm of Beautiful Stranger. Maddy, Niki and Donna run to all corners of the stage, tadadada tata ta. Then the ladies pull the shy 'cameraman' on stage, seducing the *poor* boy (picture right). Hey Mo, I'll be your cameraman any time! ;-)

The last song of the 'punk-rock' part of the show is Ray Of Light. As for most songs throughout the show we see an extended video on the big screen, made by Dan-o-rama. As expected this song is one of the highlights of the concert. No matter how little space we have, we just have to dance on this one. Which means one big heaving crowd. Madonna jumps and dances as if her life's depending on it. She's clearly having as much fun as we are. "And I feeeeeeeeeeeeeel!!"
Then it gently slows down, dancers disappear in the dark and Madonna's left alone in the spotlight. "And now, I find I've changed my mind... This is my religion". By this she finishes the first part of the show.

As Madonna goes backstage for a costume change, the stage is left empty except for a jungle-like decor and four white cocoons on the ceiling. With the first tones of Paradise (Not For Me) the sheets fall off and we see four butt-naked (except for that string) male dancers, hanging upside down. The screen shows a mantra-movie starring Madonna, resembling the Geisha-look from the Nothing Really Matters-video (picture left). As the song continues the dancers slowly crawl up. Boy, are they supple or what ?! They come back on the ground, slowly moving towards the front. As Mo sings 'there is a light' they slowly open their mouth and uncover a reddish glow. The tone is set for a more mysterious and theatrical part of the show.
Madonna is back, (re)introducing her Geisha-look with a black wig and wearing a black-and-red dress by Adrienne Phillips with 26ft long sleeves, covering the entire width of the stage (pictures right). Two dancers pull off the sleeves as if it were two giant flags. Madonna gives a beautiful performance of the haunting Frozen. The choreography of the fantasticly dressed dancers seems to be perfectly timed.

With the asian style the tones are difficult to define, but real fans recognize the intro from Open Your Heart. Not yet time for a flashback though; it is actually Nobody's Perfect that starts. This song is without any doubt the most theatrical. Madonna's on stage with a samourai dancer. She asks him for forgiveness, as 'nobody's perfect'. Running after him, resting her head on his shoulder. As he doesn't want to give in she finally kneels and he cuts off her talisman (picture right). A few violins seem to cry because of her defeat.
The silence is broken by the ringing sound which we know from Mer Girl. I really didn't expect this song on tour, as it's so personal and emotional. But it perfectly fits the mysterious, haunting sphere that the show is in now. Madonna slowly walks up the stage on the jungle-like decor... 'I ran and I ran, I was looking for me...'
Then the beat kicks in again! Sky Fits Heaven! The crowd goes hysterical as Madonna jumps of the levelled stage. Wearing a cord on her back (which can be pulled up by dancers at the side of the stage), she seems to be flying with every step she takes. This performance is the most spectacular, no doubt THE highlight of the evening. Madonna continues her fight against the dancers, the 'evil spirits', kicking them in a true kungfu-style, flying and jumping! (picture left)

Now it's her turn for victory. Things calm down again and Mo's left on stage. Now she can finish what she started. "And the ground gave way beneath my feet" she sings while the ground literally opens up and a red glow comes out from the depth. With only some simple percussion in the background, Madonna finishes Mer Girl and at the same time the Geisha-part of the show. But before leaving she takes a gun and shoots the last 'evil spirit' dancer. (picture right)
Time for a new costume change, while a heavy dance remix of What It Feels Like For A Girl is playing. Dancers entertain us on stage, while on the big screen there's an animated movie, again by Dan-o-rama.

Then Madonna rises from underneath the stage, sitting on bales of hay. While playing the acoustic guitar she hits the first notes of I Deserve It. She's wearing a cowboy outfit of black leather. It's a quiet song, and everyone silently enjoys it. But the cheering at the end is loud. 'Did you like that? Do you wanna hear some more?" What else than a big 'YEAH'!
'Don't Tell Me to stop' she asks. We never would Maddy! Second time the chorus gets around she points the microphone towards the public. As one the crowd sings the already classic lyrics. 'WOOOOW' laughs Madge and she jumps to the middle of the stage for that fantastic line dance with the cowboy dancers. The performance resembles a lot what we've seen on other shows already, but live it's all so much better. The rhythm slows down and Madonna's left in the spotlight as she vulnerably sings 'please don't... please don't... please don't tell me to stop...'
But she's far from vulnerable as she starts Human Nature. Another surprise on the show, as she's doing so few pre-Ray Of Light songs. But what a fantastic experience to hear her sing it after 7 years! She takes off her leather jacket. Underneath she's wearing a shirt with a US flag motive. Together with the dancers she wraps herself up in ropes, resembling the video. Then she heads for the mechanical bull that has appeared on the right corner of the stage. "Oops I didn't know we couldn't talk about seeeeeeeeex" she blurts as she's riding it. Simply fantastic!
During this cowboy part of the show Madonna starts talking to the audience more than earlier in the show. She seems to feel more comfortable to interact, and she takes advantage of that as she introduces the next song that's "brand new" and "very personal, because it's about a person". She tries her best to talk with a southern cowboy-accent to Niki and Donna as she sings this funny country song 'Oh Dear Daddy'. It's a stupid, simple song, but when Mo brings it, she of course gives it a new dimension. Well... not really, she's just having fun actually. And the crowd appreciates it.

The next song she dedicates to all the people that have been an inspiration in her life. It's Secret. While she plays the guitar on the lifted stage, the middle screen shows an extended version of the video with images of people throughout life, from baptism to death, rather religiously influenced.
The show gets even more emotional, as Madonna heads for the left corner of the stage to sing Gone. No flashy lights, no dancers, just Madonna in the spotlight (picture right). In the stadium you see hands waving along, people get out their lighters. I never cared that much for this song before, but this performance is so emotional, so vulnerable, so perfect. We just hold each others hands and enjoy this fantastic song, which closes the third part of the show.

Time for the last part already, which can be seen as the spanish-latin part of the show. First Don't Cry For Me Argentina but just an instrumental version. Lots of candles rise at the sides of the stage, creating a special atmosphere in which the dancers perform a partner dance.
Meanwhile a black box rises from the stage. As it opens we see Maddy in a beautiful black Gaultier dress (picture left). Especially the Spanish fans sing along with Lo Que Siente La Mujer. By now, I know most of the lyrics too. The percussion makes this song better than the version which we find on the maxi single. Following the style of the song, Madonna's on stage with four female dancers, who ask her for a dance one by one.

Monty the guitarist makes a great transition to La Isla Bonita. "This song is for Barcelona!" Madonna picks up her acoustic guitar and plays as she's standing in between the dancers and musicians. They form a circle around the flamenco dancer while the fans shout 'olé!'. Maddy encourages the crowd, slapping on her guitar. Again, she looks like having a lot of fun!
The crowd has been going wild all the show, certainly the front row where I was standing. But everyone gets out all the energy left in his body when the classic tones of Holiday come out of the speakers. Madonna, Niki and Donna come out on stage. Madonna's wearing a black shirt saying 'mother' in the front and 'f*ckers' on the back. Donna hands her a white fur coat. They also got these funny little hats which they later throw into the crowd. They dance and jump around on stage, from left to right corner. It makes me even think of Blond Ambition; it's so super energetic! It's just amazing how an 18-year old song (people, this was only her third single!) can get 18000 people go completely MAD! Of course the lyrics are so well-known that everyone's singing and shouting along! If there's one party song, it's definitely this one!

It doesn't take too long after Holiday or we hear "Do you like to... boogie woogie". Music, the perfect way to end a perfect show. All dancers on stage; Madonna gives her best for the last time. On the screen we see the perfectly timed video collection, ranging from the Burning Up video to What It Feels Like For A Girl. Nobody wants to think about this being the end of the show; everyone just dances, sings and enjoys the last minutes of this huge spectacle, under a rain of gold glitters...
But then it's over. The three final beats of Music, Maddy's fist in the air and the car crash from the WIFLFAG video. The crowd keeps on cheering. Then Ali G appears on screen: "Go home, she ain't coming back. They've got the Backstreet Boys in this venue tomorrow and let's face it, you don't wanna be around for that!"

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