DISCLAIMER: I am not a concert critic and my editor, Gerard Ramos, is a bigger fan of Madonna than I am—but that won’t stop me from expressing my love and admiration for the Queen.
On Wednesday it was the “Feast of Saint Madonna” for a lot of girls and boys and lots and lots more bakla and tomboy. Thank God Manny Pacquiao wasn’t at the Arena at Mall of Asia, Pasay City, or else, he could’ve had a worse beating than what he got from Marquez, Bradley and Mayweather, combined. Not that I underestimate the fighting skills of the People’s Champ, but we are a feisty lot. We may seem limp-wristed to a lot of people, but we do not back down from a fight.
Anyway, our intention that night were far from giving Manny a well-deserved kick in the ass, but it was all clear to us, and it was to have a fabulous good time. And Madonna didn’t disappoint.
For weeks, I have been listening over and over again to Rebel Heart, Madonna’s 13th album, just to review and sing along to them. Although music bible Rolling Stone cited the album as one of the Top 50 of 2015, some critics dissed the album and many Madonna fans felt isolated since it wasn’t as “pop” as her previous outings. But can we blame her? Pop music is almost always reserved for the younger ingenues of whatever generation it comes from. At this time, pop is for the bright-eyed, twerky-assed b*tch. Madonna has graduated from that, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to have fun.
And maybe that’s why I liked Rebel Heart, the album. It was a genuine mix of unadulterated fun. It’s like for decades, she’s been blazing trails in pop music but this is the album that made her really settle into her role as a more mature pop star. It’s like she’s saying, “Kayo na maglabas ng dila at pwet niyo. Kering-keri na ako from where I am.”
That said, Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour as it played out on Wednesday was the opposite.
The Rebel Heart Tour in Manila was supposed to start at 8 pm. Concerts in Manila never start on time. Couple the fact that Madonna always starts her concerts late. For the Manila leg, there was a front-act DJ who played a mix of contemporary and vintage electronica songs while shouting “Put your hands up!” in English and Tagalog. She whipped out song after song and the audience would give the perfunctory whoop, but everyone wanted only Madonna and everybody wanted Madonna to start the party.
And she did. At past 10 pm. When the Queen appeared, the audience went nuts, whatever their petty grumblings prior all forgotten. For her first number, she descended from the ceiling in a cage, and then even hung upside down on a cross for her show-stopping opener “Iconic.” She then pole-danced with her dancers dressed as nuns for the mash-up of “Holy Water” and “Vogue” and even did some quasi-parkouring during an emotional medley of “Heartbreak City” and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” All these prove that when it comes to showmanship, Madonna has it in tons unlike many of her younger peers. In fact, on my way to the concert, I prayed that people would not be all Filipino when it comes to concerts—you know, just wanting to hear the most popular songs of the artist in its original version. But people in the audience responded well to her newer songs.
Still, we can’t deny how the arena went bonkers whenever Madonna would sing her older songs. Among them were “Burning Up,” “Deeper and Deeper,” “True Blue,” “Like A Prayer,” “Who’s That Girl,” “La Isla Bonita,” “Material Girl,” “Like A Virgin” and “Holiday,” the concert’s rousing closer. While they were done in new arrangements skewed to which “suite” the song appeared, the songs still remained recognizable. The set was elaborate and the dancing was snappy. The theatrics of the concert were marvelous, but what makes the Rebel Heart Tour a memorable one was its sense of fun.
In between songs, Madonna would banter with the audience. She even had a moment with stylist Shahani Gania, who in her full drag glory as Superstarlette came onstage as the Unapologetic Bitch! Many times, Madonna commanded the whole venue that every time she asks a question, we had to answer with a
“F— yeah!” And since we’re loyal servants of the Queen, we enthusiastically shouted as commanded, until we were hoarse.
During a seemingly unscripted chatter, Madonna pointed out to a fan to get the crown he was wearing. She then wore it and said that she deserves the crown. For being a true music superstar, it was impossible to argue otherwise. All I could yell that Wednesday evening was “F— YEAH!”
Image credits: AP
