Drowned World Tour diary US - Mad-Eyes - Madonna tour stories, anecdotes, song details

DROWNED WORLD TOUR - DIARY US

Philadelphia - NYC - New Jersey - Boston - Washington - Miami
Atlanta - Detroit - Chicago - Las Vegas - Oakland - LA
European tour diary

Saturday, July 21st 2001

Madonna kicks off the US leg of the Drowned World Tour with a first concert in Philadelphia. And she makes it a memorable show again! After 19 European shows in a red kilt, she changed her outfit. She comes on stage with a black & white kilt and a polkadot shirt. She has see-through sleeves on both arms now and the white protection-bandage has disappeared. The picture on the left shows her new outfit during Impressive Instant. The choreography of this song also slightly changed. Before kicking into Beautiful Stranger she asks the audience "Do I make you horny?", which makes the crowd go crazy. The 'Get your tits out' song was obviously meant as a British joke, as it isn't included in the show anymore.
The most surprising detail of the show is the change of the setlist. The follow-up to Secret isn't Gone, but You'll See this time! She is all alone in the spotlights, at the left corner of the stage, where she used to perform Gone as well.
She introduces Oh Dear Daddy as "a song she'd written especially for the first US show, a song that has never been heard anywhere before, EVER". ;-) As usual during this part of the show, Madonna communicates with the audience a lot. Commenting on the song lyrics - a father that gets killed and afterwards gets barbecued - she says: "That's just an example of something bad happening to somebody and turning it into a good thing", using a Dolly Partonesque-accent. Earlier in the evening she already said that "it's good to be back in the good ol' US of A".
On the right, you can see Madonna on her way to the venue in a 'You suck'-shirt, showing off the amazing results of her work-outs.

Sunday, July 22nd 2001
The second show in Philadelphia resembles the one from the night before. It seems that the new setlist, including You'll See instead of Gone, will be played on every US show.

Wednesday, July 25th 2001

"It's so great to be back in New York Fucking City!". Madonna's back in one of her hometowns New York City, where she kicks off the first out of five gigs tonight. Another outfit change as she appears on stage with a black & white striped shirt instead of the polkadot shirt from Philly. And the bandage is back. She's had a haircut; it slightly covers her face. Other show details are equal to the shows in Philadelphia. There aren't any mistakes or technical difficulties, this is one of her best shows. Before Ray Of Light she yells "Give it up, New York City!". Among the celebs attending the show are David Bowie and Iman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Beck, Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), Adam Horowitz (Beastie Boys), Jerry Seinfeld, Maverick partner Guy Oseary and his girlfriend supermodel Eva Herzigova, and of course Guy Ritchie. Extraordinary about the New York show is that a remarkable lot of both celebs and fans are wearing extravaganza outfits as a tribute to their idol. From girls in a Like A Virgin wedding dress to guys in cowboy outfits or Scottish kilts.
Meanwhile, Madonna still proves to be a clothing trendsetter, promoting her new punk image. On the right, Madonna walking around in NYC in a shirt that says "London - juicy couture for nice girls". British news paper The Sun wondered if it had anything to do with the shirt she wore earlier this week! ;)

Thursday, July 26th 2001
Another great show in New York. Though there are a few technical problems. Most notably, during Human Nature, the bull doesn't work. Madonna justs rocks on it and jokes about it afterwards. Before getting into Oh Dear Daddy she says "Frank Sinatra was right, if you can make it here you can make it anywhere!". Strangely enough, the opening outfit is again the polkadot shirt that she wore in Philadelphia.
At one point during La Isla Bonita the big screens show Jennifer Lopez in the audience, dancing her ass off! Other attending celebs are Faith Hill, Ben Stiller, Melissa Ethridge, Jon Stewart, Susan Lucci and Carson Daly (MTV).

Thursday, August 2nd 2001

The US tour continues to East Rutherford, New Jersey. For unknown reasons - but that's Madonna - the show changed back to the European setlist, including Gone instead of You'll See. Introducing Oh Dear Daddy she makes a dig at her previous shows in New York by saying "I wrote this song for you guys, not Manhattan!". During this part of the show someone throws a bouquet of flowers on stage. Niki picks it up and gives it to Madonna, who accepts it with a big smile and then puts it in the back. When some idiot in the public throws a bag on stage she replies "Okay guys you better stop throwing things on stage now!" The rest of the show is pretty much the same, without any technical difficulties. The Drowned World Tour continues to please the fans.
Outside the shows Madonna continues her punk image, sporting a "kiss my ass" shirt last saturday.

Friday, August 3rd 2001
Madonna is ill!! She's having laryngitis; an infection of the troat. Tonight's show is cancelled. According to a statement from promoter Clear Channel Entertainment the sold-out concert will not be rescheduled. Refunds will be available at the point of purchase, and online and telephone orders will be automatically refunded. Nothing is said about any other cancellations. She has four days to recover before her first Boston gig. Let's hope that's enough!

Monday, August 6th 2001
For the first time in three days Madonna appears in public as she leaves her New York apartment. She seems to feel better, so it's looking good for the Boston fans. However, some angry fans who missed out on the cancelled New Jersey concert awaited Madonna outside her apartment and started shouting as soon as she came out. Poor Maddy...

Tuesday, August 7th 2001

Looks like Madonna recovered from her laryngitis. She rocks the Boston Fleet Center like she did her previous shows and fans are happy to see her on stage looking more than just healthy. During the punk-rock part she's wearing her black & white kilt and polkadot shirt, which seems to be her US outfit, except for that one show in New York. She also performs You'll See again. In New Jersey she might haven chosen to do the vocally less demanding Gone to save her voice.

Here's a great review from the Boston Herald by Sarah Rodman:

Madonna proves her pipes not a problem

Giddy-up cowboys and cowgirls, Madonna is in Boston to take you on a ride.
Last night, in the first of two sold out shows at the FleetCenter, the chameleonic pop star showed a variety of her latest faces to stunning effect. From geisha girl to cowgirl, the crowd moved with every dainty step and joyous boot stomp of the Material Mom in a whirlwind 90-minute performance that had few lulls.
Much has been made of the fact that Madonna is doing less than a handful of her pre-1994 hits on her current "Drowned World Tour", which means no "Borderline", "Vogue", "Express Yourself" or "Live to Tell" to name a very few.
The Michigan-made music mogul seems to be saying to her longtime fans, "if you want the greatest hits, play the record. If you want to see what I call entertainment now, come along for this ride and trust me."
At $250 a pop for the best seats in the house that was a lot to ask, but whether she played your favorite song last night or not, no one can say that Madonna didn't work her butt off putting on a spectacular show both musically and visually.
For starters, she sounded terrific, and not just good for Madonna, but good period.
Since Madonna is the first to admit she is not the best singer in the world and after having cancelled a show last week in New Jersey due to laryngitis, some fans were nervous about Madge's pipes. But whether she was belting out the defiant yet vulnerable pop ballad "You'll See" or hitting those stratospheric notes on the frenetic techno hit "Ray of Light" Madonna has never sounded better or more plainly live, no lip synching.
That meant that instead of constant hoofing, Madonna, who turns 43 next week, judiciously sprinkled dancing throughout the show - a simple yet expert country line dance during "Don't Tell Me" drew huge cheers - and often let her troupe of ten extremely limber dancers show off their acrobatic and fresh moves around her.
The show was separated into five parts correlating with the characters "rock 'n' roll punk girl", "geisha girl", "cyber cowgirl", "Spanish girl" and "ghetto girl". So if you got bored with one - and the geisha section did seem a little lengthy, beautiful but slow - another one was right on its heels.
The night began with the punk girl and in this guise, clad in ripped black pants and a kilt Madonna, her six-piece band and mohawked dancers emerged amidst flickering lights and on her many leveled stage to the midtempo tronica of "Drowned World". This set also included the paisley pop of "Beautiful Stranger" and saw Madonna strap on the first of several guitars, to show off the fruits of recent lessons on the rock edged "Candy Perfume Girl".
The geisha/Japanese-centric section followed with Madonna in one garment that had 26 foot long sleeves during the chilly soundscapes of "Frozen" and kicking some "Crouching Tiger" style moves on wires for the melding of "Mer Girl" and "Sky Fits Heaven".
The cowgirl portion featured the slowest mechanical bull ever for the unapologetic "Human Nature", Madonna ably strumming "I Deserve It", an ode to her hubby Guy Ritchie and even singing a hillbilly song about killing her daddy and barbecuing him. The Spanish section included an invigorating and much more sultry and organic reading of the flamenco-laced "La Isla Bonita" and ghetto fabulousness in the form of a fake fur and fedora popped up for exuberant closers "Holiday" and "Music", during which she was flanked by indispensable singer/dancers Niki Harris and Donna DeLory.
If you're taking that ride tonight, be sure to bring your dancing shoes.

Thursday, August 9th 2001
After the setback in New Jersey, Madonna seems to be fit again, playing another great gig last night. She's been on the road for exactly two months now. On both sides of the ocean the Drowned World Tour is a huge success! Maddy rulezzzzzz!! :)

Friday, August 10th 2001

It's almost 10pm when Madonna comes on stage at the MCI Center in Washington DC. She apologizes for being so late, saying her airplane was late due to bad weather and that she "didn't think she will make it". Although she seems to be in great shape, she switches back to Gone again, which might be a sign that her throat problems have returned.

Saturday, August 11th 2001
Madonna rocks on her second night at Washington DC.
There seem to be some technical difficulties; one of them even stops her from dancing at the end of Impressive Instant. The air-conditioning is only turned on halfway the show. But nevertheless the crowd goes wild for Madonna, who gives them a fantastic performance.
She dedicates I Deserve It to her birthday-son, saying "It was a year ago that my son was born. And even though he's not in the audience tonight, I want to wish him a happy birthday".
For who was wondering, Madonna still takes off her wig at the end of Mer Girl. At first it was thought to be a London-only joke, just like the 'Get your tits out' song (which she didn't perform anymore), but since the crowd loves it, she's kept on doing it on the US shows. Another new concept by Madonna: a blonde Geisha!
Another tour detail: at the end of the US shows all the TV-screens read "THE END", something that wasn't done in Europe. The video showing Ali G saying the show is over was only used in Barcelona and London.

Tuesday, August 14th 2001

15 000 enthusiastic fans fill up the National Car Rental Center in Miami, Florida. The media attention in Madonna's once-hometown (she sold her Miami mansion last year) is huge. Outside the venue a local radio station placed a huge birthday card that everyone can sign.
The show is once again a topper. Even when something goes wrong - think about her solution to a slipping wig - Madonna knows how to cope with it. When she loses her mic during Frozen, the crowd amusingly watches her chasing it. She seems to be a little confused while she's singing I Deserve It, leaving out the entire second verse and then catching up with the chorus.
Tonight it's back to You'll See. She's been in perfect shape since her little setback in New Jersey, and the switching between Gone and You'll See has probably nothing to do with her voice, but is just a variation in the show. If she goes on with switching between the two songs, she'll perform You'll See on the Detroit show, which is being broadcast on HBO and some other foreign TV channels. Unless Madonna has a surprise for us...
The Miami show is also attended by Rosie O'Donnell, Ingrid Casarez, Ricky Martin, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Lenny Kravitz, Jon Secada and Mo's ex-bf Vanilla Ice.

Wednesday, August 15th 2001

Tonight Madonna performs a second time in Miami, right before turning 43. On stage Niki and Donna announce they don't feel like singing Oh Dear Daddy because they have a different song in mind. Madonna shouts "Hey come back here!", not quite understanding what's happening. At that moment all the dancers gather on stage as well as Guy Ritchie who is wearing a shirt that reads 'Starfucker'. They all start singing 'Happy Birthday' for Madonna and Guy gives his wife a huge birthday cake. Of course the crowd goes wild! Madonna blows out the candles, tastes the cake with her finger and kisses her hubby, saying "Thank you baby!". Before leaving Guy turns to his wife and says "Now get back to work Mrs. Ritchie!". Madonna smiles happily and does so.
The rest of the show goes smoothly.

Thursday, August 16th 2001
Madonna is taking a few days off from her tour to celebrate her birthday with her family. She has chosen to relax on a yacht in the Miami waters. She'll be back on stage in Atlanta on Sunday, August 19th.

Read about the other US shows >>