Will she? Won’t she? When the first set of pictures started trickling in from our wire services from Madonna’s first MDNA tour performance on Thursday, we began wondering in the office if she would edit elements of her routine.
In a country where international artists are often reportedly briefed about cultural sensitivities, Madonna’s obsessions with religious imagery — a giant crucifix and a dangling censer for a centrepiece in her opening sequence — and racy acts in the form of shirtless male dancers in glittery heels and drag, would surely be toeing a fine line, we thought.
But as any Madonna fan would have rightly reminded us, the entertainer, throughout her almost three decades in the industry, has never been known to compromise.
And so it was that the UAE witnessed one of its most racy, most potentially controversial and definitely most extravagant concert ever on Sunday night — a school night for a majority of the approximately 22,000 fans who turned up at the du Arena on Yas Island.
But as dramatic as the opening sequence was, it didn’t all begin so smoothly. Opener DJ Benny Banassi, a Madonna collaborator, took to the stage at 8.30pm to perform a few of his remixes.
The reception was best described as stale, at least close to the stage where, predictably, the excitement centred around the artist that was to come next. Only the crowd didn’t know they had to wait for a long, long time as they jostled for space and fanned themselves.
A few fights broke out as sweaty bodies fought for the best view of the stage, which, thankfully was extended into the crowd. A teenager, who was trying to push his way through rudely, was punched in the face and quickly pushed away by a group of people.
By 10.30pm, boos had rippled through the venue a number of times as the Michael Jackson compilation album playing in the background went for another loop. At 10.40pm, the stage lights finally dimmed and the arena went into a frenzy.
Then, as dancers in monk cloaks took off their robes showing off their toned bodies wearing tights and high heels for the opening Girl Gone Wild, it quickly became clear Madonna was staying true to the script. For the next hour and forty minutes, she twirled, teased, danced, mimed some songs and (not that we needed reminding), shouted how hot it was.
The production was spectacular, unlike anything the UAE has ever seen before, as giant visuals on screen blended with the transforming stage. The choreography was breathtaking, with dancers popping up from and disappearing into different parts of the stage at various points as Madonna was hoisted, elevated and even tied up at one point.
With all the those physically demanding dance moves, it’s easy to forget Madonna is 53 years old. Those up close were only reminded of that when she walked to the edge of the extended stage with a guitar for I Don’t Give A and fans got a close look of her weathered hands.
Or, when she did a version of her 1992 hit Erotica with her shirtless 24-year-old boyfriend Brahim Zaibat. Or even when her son Rocco, now 11, joined the background dancers.
But by the time her biggest hit from the MDNA album, Give Me All Your Luvin’ came on, probably one of the most lavishly produced sets of the night with drummers suspended from the ceiling, it was clear Madonna was calling on younger audiences to join her fold.
It would have been wrong to expect a run-through of many of her iconic hits. The tour, she seemed to say, was called MDNA for a reason.
But the older fans were not entirely left out. From Papa Don’t Preach to a steamy unplugged rendition of Like A Virgin and from Human Nature to Like A Prayer, which got almost everyone dancing, Madonna moved through the decades she has spanned musically. Her mash-up of Express Yourself and Lady Gaga’s Born this Way, which she quickly followed up with her 2008 song She’s Not Me, was well received.
Celebration, the song (and compilation album) from 2009 was her last as the stage burst into colours and dancers wearing headphones. Madonna pretended to be a DJ as son Rocco took centre stage and grooved along.
But it was during the song I Don’t Give A, which features Nicki Minaj (who appeared on a video) which was the defining moment of the night: “There’s only one queen,” she rapped. “And that’s Madonna.”
