Madonna!

I am a crazy Madonna fan. I don't have a whole bunch of magazine clippings and weird memorabilia - just a normal amount of CDs, books, DVDs, and one t-shirt. So I was insanely excited for tonight's concert at the Forum, despite the hefty $95 per ticket(excluding Ticketmaster ream-you-up-the-ass fees) her first show on the Confessions tour. How cool am I - I took my mom.

My first worry came when my dad called as we were on our way there. Apparently the stage hands at the Forum were on strike, and trying to convince Madonna to cancel the show so as not to cross the picket line. I was nervous, very nervous. There were HORDES of picketers marching the sidewalks and blocking the driveways. As we drove closer, we discovered that they were not in fact asking for the show to be cancelled - merely that people not purchase food, drinks, or merchandise. We happily obliged - I was just thrilled that the show would not be cancelled.

We had nosebleed seats. I was expecting that and was fine. They were WAY far off to the side. But I was determined to make the best of it. Then we got there and discovered our seats were partially obscured by a ginormous light! There was a guy up there explaining the situation. He was very nice - apparently they didn't know until the night before that there would be a stage light there. He was up there to upgrade the fully obscured ticket holders. Long story short, we chatted him up and he UPGRADED US!!

That's right my friends. I watched Madonna from the floor, 28 rows back. $385 seats. it was amazing. Beyond amazing. I hyperventilated - I'm not exaggerating. My mom thought I would pass out. I called my hubby, and my dad, to share the amazing news. My mom said I scared the people next to us. She literally had to lead me down and sit me in my seat. I damn near made myself sick from the excitement.

The show was amazing, as always. Her new album is great, upbeat, super-danceable techno/disco. She opened with "Future Lovers" off her new disc. They lowered a giant disco ball from the ceiling onto the catwalk in the middle of the floor (about 20 feet away from me!) and the disco ball opened to reveal Madge! She and her dancers did a beautiful pony boy set - a throw back to her old fetish numbers.

Speaking of fetish, another highlight was a disco version of "Erotica." very interesting. She played mainly stuff off her new album, plus a few favorites: "Lucky Star," "Like a Virgin," "Music," a techno version of "La Isla Bonita," and an acoustic version of "Substitute for Love". "Live to Tell" was fantastic - an enormous electric-light cross lifted as if being resurrected from stage. Madonna was crucified on it, complete with crown of thorns as she sang.

The show ended with "Hung Up," which was one of the most high-energy songs in a very jubilant line-up. At the end hundreds of gold mylar balloons dropped from the ceiling! After the show was over I asked VERY nicely and one of the crew guys sneaked one to me.

I danced like crazy, all night long. I couldn't stop moving. I am physically and emotionally exhausted. I know I will be sore in the morning. I have a big, ugly purple-red bruise on my hand. Not sure how I got it. But it was AMAZING.

FLOOR SEATS! Can you believe it??