From N.Sabatasso:
Hiya, just returned from Anaheim. Fantastic show, better crowd than Vegas, with some livelier banter from M, i.e. at the beginning of 'Crazy For You,' she thanks us for sticking by her through 'thick and _fucking_ thin.'
There were some other subtle differences....for some reason 'Nothing Fails,' sounded noticeably better but that could be my imagination.
'Papa Don't Preach' and 'Into the Groove' were the high points for me. For anyone who hasn't liked what they've seen, Reinvent Yourself! :-p

From Sino Tour:
Bravo, Madonna! it was such a surreal experience to have a legendary artist like her perform just a couple of feet away. As a pit contest winner, we had a glimpse of all the behind the scenes action as well as witnessing the diva sing and dance in front of a sellout crowd.
For me, the highlight of the night was during the 'Don't Tell Me' number when she sang a verse from the song and pointed her finger straight at me....I almost s*** in my pants! Seriously, she was just a foot away!
Most of the dancers (really amazing ones) came by and high-fived us during the closing number. This will be a night I'll never forget....it was pretty cool to see Madonna hug her dancers and bandmates behind the huge screens that flashed, 'reinvent yourself.'
Much thank to mtv.com for the tickets.

From Brett:
I went to Madonna's show last night at the Pond in Anaheim. I was very excited all day long yesterday and could not wait for the show!
Now that it's all over, I'm quite satisfied. The audience favorites were when she sang Burning Up and Material Girl back to back!
The 2 giants of the night were Like a Prayer and Crazy for You, everyone singing in unison!
Some people complained saying 'there's no encore?', but didn't realize she did take a final bow and came back out immediately!
My only compliant was that she didn't speak to the audience at all except at the beginning of certain songs. She didn't take a few minutes out just to talk or joke around.

From Scott:
Madonna gave a GREAT performance, as usual. One heads up I wanna give to all the rest of the hardcore fans. Just hours before the Forum shows in LA 2nd and 3rd rows popped up on Ticketmaster.
Last night 3 hours before the show, FIRST ROW came up on Ticketmaster. Not first row back floor, not first row loge, FIRST ROW!!! I sat there. My boyfriend traded the front row seat he had bought hours before for my seat so I could see her close.
It was great and disappointing. GREAT to see Lady M SO CLOSE, but disappointing to know that all the real fans had bought tickets already and were sitting further back.
The people up there that bought tickets that day were just standing and watching. Didn't show too much emotion. My other friend, who got a ticket that day as well, and I were were jumping and dancing so much.
Madonna winked at us during Vogue. So check out ticketmaster!!!

From RikyRomeo:
I went to the Madonna concert at the Arrowhead Pond on June 3, 2004. I got my seats last minute on Ticketmaster. The seats were amazing....1st Row Center Floor Seats!
OMG, Madonna sang to me one of my favorite songs, 'Deeper & Deeper'. She squatted in front of me, out stretched her arms to me and made complete eye contact with me while she sang, 'I Can't Help Falling In Love With You....I Fall Deeper and Deeper The Further I Go....'. Through out the whole show she kept looking at me. My friend and the stranger next to me kept remarking that she kept looking directly at me.
During 'Nothing Fails' Madonna locked eye contact with me while she sang, 'I'm Not Religious But I Feel So Moved, Makes Me Want To Pray, Pray You'll Always Be Here....Her stare was so strong that I nervously started laughing and turned away from her. When I looked back she locked her eyes on me and I locked my eyes onto hers. It was amazing. I will never forget this experience! Long Live The Queen!

From Holy_Day25:
On June 2nd, I had two (2) second-row, floor, center tickets for the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. I was at work for half the day but hardly got anything done because I was too distracted from excitement! My seats were the best seats in the house, bar-none!
Madonna strut her stuff in front of us most of the concert and she made PLENTY of eye contact and had a bunch of smiles for the audience, especially those of us in the front!
During the 'Imagine' song, my friend and I were commenting on a few of the video backdrops but since it may have looked like we were just talking, when Madonna stood in front of us, she shot us a dirty look as if to say, 'Shut up, I'm singing here.' Oops! Then she was all smiles again when she sang 'Music/Into the Groove' and so forth.
She made a couple of really funny comments during the show, too. Right before singing 'Material Girl,' she said, 'This song is so old, it's new again!' She seemed to love the laugh that generated from the audience, because it made her have the biggest grin, ever!
She threw her 'Kabbalists Do it Better' T-shirt into the audience at the end of 'Crazy For You' and if you REALLY want to have a chance at getting the T-shirt, make sure you're sitting to the left of the stage, anywhere between 2nd-5th rows, on the farthest (audience's) left side! I went to two of her concerts and she threw it out the same side each night!
I also was AMAZINGLY lucky to get 2nd row, very slightly off-center (towards the right of the stage), floor tickets (I thought I'd DIE of happiness!) for the June 3rd show, too! These seats were even better than the June 2nd show because it's the one spot that Madonna seems to look into the audience the most.
When she did 'Vogue' and was strutting around, she walked over to our side and posed with a hand on hip and looked directly at me. She'd already noticed me and my friend at the concert the night before and when she made direct eye contact with me this time (as I was singing at the top of my lungs), she totally broke into a smile! It was SO great!
Then she sang many of her songs right in front of us and because I was singing my heart out with her throughout the entire concert, she seemed very pleased with that and whenever she walked past us or stopped in that particular spot, she made direct eye contact with us and nodded her head with a smile as she sang on. I was thrilled beyond words, especially because Madonna needs to be shown that we really appreciate her terrific hard-work. The woman works her BUTT off in this show!
People, DO NOT SIT at her concert! During the June 3rd show, the audience was a little weird in the front in that some opted to sit down. This personally offended ME, nevermind Madonna, so it was doubly funny when she came up to the front and told these people, 'What are you doing, sitting down? If I'm standing up here, you'd better be standing up, too!' She actually looked quite put off, especially because these people took their sweet time standing up. I was SO thrilled that Madonna did this that I jumped up and down, screaming, 'You tell 'em, Madonna!' and she laughed.
After that, those same audience members tried to win back her attention by waving to her but Madonna did not make any eye contact with them from then on. Good for her! Also, Madonna's sister was in the audience and when Madonna sang 'Mother & Father,' she said, 'I dedicate this song to my sister, who's here with us tonight (then she pointed to her). I love you!' That was very sweet. I could be wrong, but her sister looked about 5 months pregnant, too!
Madonna's manager also sat in front of me for a few seconds before the show and turned to me and said, 'I just want to see how good these seats are.' He also asked, 'How did you get these tickets?' Of course, I had a VERY good source for getting tickets and I wasn't about to tell her manager, for heaven's sake, so I just smiled at him without saying anything and he said, 'Oh okay, you don't have to tell me.' Of course, I didn't! But I didn't get them for free, in case anyone wondered. I paid for my seats, like everyone else!
My favorite parts of the show were....well, it's difficult to say, because I loved the entire show. Madonna really surpassed herself this time and I much preferred this concert to the Drowned World Tour (hey, she seemed to have more fun with this one!). Madonna sang her heart out and did an AMAZING job during 'Like a Prayer'.
She seemed to have the most fun during 'Material Girl,' 'Papa Don't Preach,' and the last set of songs when she's in the kilt costume. Her Missy Elliot version of the 'Into the Groove' song ROCKED because she looked like she was having A LOT of fun and she shared this with the audience by way of smiles and lots of nods to those of us who sang along with her the whole time!
She also seemed to especially like the one line where Missy's rap says 'Queen Madonna'....both nights, she cracked up at this one.
And finally, before the June 3rd show, the tech people were messing around with the big screen that opens the show so I wondered if there was something wrong with it. It appeared that there was, because when the show ended, right as the screen is about to close to say 'Re-Invent Yourself' the screens behind Madonna went blank and the front screens never closed! For this reason, the audience wasn't sure if Madonna was due for an encore or not, so they stood around for 1-2 minutes, chanting 'Ma-do-nna' but then the house light came up, so everyone started to file out and all the stage rigging was being taken down.
Bottom-line, this was the BEST concert experience for me....EVER! I'm never one to go to the same concert twice, not even Madonna, but this was TOO amazing not to see again and I couldn't pass up the terrific seats that I purchased both nights! Hope everyone has fun, fun, FUN! I'm already sorry that the experience is over but will cherish the memories forever! Oh yeah and I don't have a trace of a voice today AT ALL, from all the screaming/singing at the two concert events. But who cares? What an experience!

From Michael Cooper:
Last night (6/2) was the second time I saw Madonna ont this tour. The first time I saw her was exactly one week earlier on 5/26 at the Forum.
I absolutely love the show and would see it 30 more time if I had the time or money. Last night, though, her voice just simply sounded amazing.
Perhaps she was still a bit sick when I saw her the first time but last night, particularly when she sang 'Lament', her voice just sounded completely and utterly flawless.
She also didn't forget the words to 'Material Girl' like she did when I saw her at the Forum (She had said 'see, this song is so new I forgot the words!' the first time).
The crowd went completely nuts when she did her oldies like 'Like A Prayer' and 'Material Girl' but I was sitting up at the top (I sat in the lower section the first time) and the people up there just seemed less enthusiastic about her newer stuff.
Also, everyone up there sat the whole time, whereas everyone in the lower sections (both when I sat there at the Forum and I noticed in Anaheim too) were on their feet and dancing!
Overall, though, both shows were amazing and I can't wait to see the show again when it's broadcast on TV!

From Vxtor:
What can I say about the show that as not been said already? My favorite moment had to be the understated, lovely version of 'LIKE A PRAYER' - it was just Madonna and the band in a stripped down (musically) version of the classic, and fans of Niki don't dispair, Siedah Garrett gives the 'I'll take you there' refrain the treatment that you want!
The songs are not as 're-invented' as they make it seem, they stay pretty true to the original versions save for 'DEEPER AND DEEPER' which is given a new jazzy twist. And no one is mentioning how fantastic the new material is played live! Yes!
I was estatic with 'BURNING UP' and 'MATERIAL GIRL' but 'DIE ANOTHER DAY' was just as effective and so was 'NOTHING FAILS'. All and all, a fantastic show! You all are in for such a thrill! I can not explain enough! The 'space-ship like' runway/bridge thing brought a lot of us closer than we ever imagined to Mrs. Ritchie than we ever thought!....AMAZING!

From Crewboy:
I just got back from the second night at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.
After seeing two shows on the tour already (once in the Loge at the Forum and last night in the Plaza section of the Pond), tonight I was in the upper deck.
To my surprise, the show plays just as well to those in the back as it does to everybody up front. People don't stand as much (only for the BIG numbers 'Burning Up, Material Girl, Like A Prayer, Into The Groove, Papa Don't Preach') but they were just as much into it with the loud singing and hand clapping.
In fact from the back of the arena, you can truly appreciate the full spectrum of the video presentation that Madge has utilized for this tour. It's a perfect combination of imagery and music.
As for the show itself. From where I was sitting, it's safe to say that this show was NOT a sellout. I'd say she came within 500 seats of selling out as there were patches of empty seats along the top of the arena. Not bad for somebody who was playing their 5th show here in the LA/OC area.
Set wise....no changes. But for an Orange County audience, they were LOUD. Everybody around me was totally impressed with how well she was singing. There were several moments during the show when you could hear the audience singing along with her. I was anxious to see how receptive a Republican OC crowd would be to the video montage that plays during American Life. Not all that much of a reaction. But as she was ending Imagine, she held up the peace sign and starting chanting 'STOP THE WAR, STOP THE WAR' to a huge audience response.
Prior to Like A Prayer, she was prodding somebody who was sitting in the front row to get on his feet. And like last night here in Anaheim, she thanked the audience for supporting her 'for 20 fucking years' then she heard the place go ballistic when she started singing Crazy For You.
The only major technical glitch happened at the end of the show when after HOLIDAY. The video screens failed to close with the 'reivent yourself' message. They just stayed in place. So everybody in the audience saw the platform lower, the video screens turn off as well as seeing Madge and the dancers exit the stage.
All in all....a perfect ending to the Re-Invention Tour's visit to Southern California.

From Janice:
I just got home from the concert it was awesome....I'm still pinching myself....I'm speechless! It was great. We started a little late 8:30 not bad.
Madonna dedicated Mother and Father to her little sister Mel who was in the audience. Her voice was impeccable. The crowd favorites had to be 'Material Girl' and 'Papa don't Preach'. 'Holiday' was great when the platform came out over the audience.
She did tell some people in the front row to stand up because there is 'no sitting at my concert to get up, don't make her feel bad'. She threw a 'Kabalists do it best' shirt into the crowd. She thanked the audience 'For standing by her for the last 20 mother fucking years!' It was an exciting night!

From Scott:
Last night was my fifth and final night of Madonna. It was such a bummer to think that there are no more shows here. Very cool to be the first to see it, but also sad to see it go. My favorite tour by far.
Last night Joe Henry was in the audience. She dedicated 'Don't Tell Me' to him by saying, 'This one is for you Joe Henry.' At the end of the song, she took off her hat and bowed toward where he was sitting.
At the beginning of 'Like A Prayer,' people in the first two rows were sitting and she made them get up before she started the song. That seems to always be the case. People in the first two rows RARELY get into it while the people in the nose bleed section are dancing their hearts out.
Madonna also had some brothers and sisters in the audience and dedicated 'Mother and Father' to them. After 'Imagine' she yelled out, 'Stop the war!'
Last night during the dedication in 'Crazy For You' to the fans she said, 'This is for all my fans who have stood by me for the last fucking 20 years!' Got the crowd very excited.
She put on a REALLY GREAT show for the very conservative Orange County (Anaheim) crowd.

From MrJudeLaw:
Well this is the date I got to see her again. I saw her in Los angeles on the 25th which was moved to the 26th. I have to say I was amazed about how much better this show was than the one in Los Angeles, she was excited and the crowed was OMG amazing as well, everybody was more dressed up and the people screamed louder and everyone was a fan, TRUE fans I mean.
Her body was fabulous, it's sad to see other artist perform after you see Madonna, you really realize why she is so big and why she is who she is. She was so small and tiny, but dont forget her Muscles, dont forget those wowowo....Her skin is like milky white and flawless. I could not believe how good she looked and her voice was the best I ever heard it to be....And as for the swearing that Madonna has told her dancers not to do, I guess she is the only one who gets to swear cause she used the F word really hard, it was cool.

From Dice1984:
Well let start off by saying that this was the best concert have been to, the concert started about 8:30. Everyone was wanting the concert to start, but when it did the crowd got wild.
I thought the begining of the show was a little weird (The Beast Within), it was kind of hard to hear the story in the begining because the crowd was loud. The crowd got more pumped when she sang Nobody Knows Me because it's a more upbeat version.
She even got more applause and people where shouting louder when she sang all the oldies like, Crazy For You, Like A Prayer and Into The Groove.
She sounded better than ever the dancers where awesome, the performances where flawless. After she sang Holiday everyone wanted more, I think she should have an encore she should sing Everynody or Dress You Up.

From Abel:
I went to the Thursday night show at The Pond, and it was fabulous of course!
It was the second show I went to, I had been at the Forum on Wenesday, a week earlier. Although I enjoyed the show at The Pond, it was rather 'OC-ish', and definitely not as gay as the Forum show.
I was actually asked by some middle aged woman if I could 'please sit down'. I turned to her and said, 'can you stand up, I paid 300.00 bucks for this seat, I'm gonna stand if I want!
Like I said, the show was still fab, but the crowd didn't seem enthusiastic.
I noticed this time also, that M changed the lyrics from the original 'The Beast Within' cutting out the lyrics that point toward false Jews, and synagogues of Satan...I wonder why, Kaballah perhaps?
Still love my girl and yes, 'Madonna is my Homegirl!' And I loved it when she read the guy in the front row for sitting down and said she wouldn't go on with the show until he stood up becase 'no one sits at my show!' You go M!!!