Madonna has reached a career apex where she’s not so much a longstanding artist, but a living legend. This doesn’t guarantee an all-out commercial takeover for each project she releases, but it does speak to the sheer quality of her body of work: the product sells itself without flashy marketing.
The Sticky & Sweet Tour comprises three hours (two on DVD, one on CD) from a 2008 Buenos Aires concert. The CD component is a given pleaser for longtime fans. It’s the DVD, however, that’s the universal draw. Spanning the breadth of her musical output from 1983’s “Borderline” through 2008’s “4 Minutes,” the show accomplishes a remarkable feat not only in its ability to survey an exciting array of music genres — but also in the infinite spectacle of stage antics, choreography, and fashions that have made M such a long-lasting force. At the same time, the foundation is planted firmly in distinctively contemporary, highly enduring technique.
Indeed, very few artists these days have the luxury to produce a live show of such massive proportions. Over the course of two full, uninterrupted hours comes an abundance of grandiose sets and effects; a voluminous line-up of dancers; precisely engineered sound and sequence; and sharply produced, celebrity-studded video clips.
When M opens the show with “Candy Shop” seated on a throne that’s perched atop a silver stairway, one might be inclined to think the Queen of Pop has bitten off more than she can chew. Certainly, the first few notes out of her robust 5’4” frame sound shaky and timid. Yet, as the determined audience’s cheers mesh with the spectacle of candy-colored lights, she wastes no time picking up momentum. Once she reaches Destination: Center Stage, the “Sweet Machine” can run full-throttle, with agile dance moves and spirited interplay churning out plentiful helpings of sticky rhythm and grooves.
“Vogue 2008” sets the 1990 classic to the Timbaland production of “4 Minutes,” transforming it from a house-driven workout to a minimalist, hip-pop jam. Followed contrastingly by a retrofied update of “Into the Groove,” the scene changes from mechanical futurism to a vibrant, Keith Haring-designed backdrop — over which the 50-years-young performer seamlessly twists and writhes around moving fixtures before double-dutch jumproping in time to the song’s breakdown.
Article comments
1 - pennelainer
Very descriptive, informative and even-handed review.
2 - Cinthia
Madonna is the best, just this
3 - Christine
I love the fact that she is still in great shape! Go Madonna!