From Michele:
Let me start by saying MADONNA ROCKED AS USUAL! The crowd in NJ is tough though. She really had to push them in the beginning to get some love. Toward the end everyone stayed on their feet I guess b/c of all the classics she delivers then! She still seemed to be having a good time and admitted to it at one point in the show!
I have been to eight shows now and I still love it! There is no one like Madonna and there never will be! I will be seeing her from the fourth row tomorrow night 7/8/04, for my nineth and final show of the Re-Invention Tour (but HEY YOU NEVER KNOW!) I will miss her for sure!
Quick notes: she messed up a line in Like A Prayer and dropped her stick again in Into the Groove like she did on opening night in NYC. Oh well, the QUEEN is human after all!
Can't wait for tomorrow night. She has cancelled her second NJ show on me twice in the past, I hope three times in not a charm!
To those who haven't seen it yet HAVE A GREAT TIME when you go. She is worth every penny and every minute of your time!

From Mike:
Amazing. I never called myself a diehard fan before, but I had always found Madonna enjoyable. When my girlfriend bought the tickets, I thought, sure, why not? I've seen many great performers in concert before, such as Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, and others. After tonight, Madonna is definitely up in the top of that list.
The crowd was very mixed, people of all ages and from different walks of life. Simply put, she'd friggin ROCKED. I was partial to Like a Prayer; incredible! She had the entire arena singing and moving with her.

From Alex:
I am a 30 year old performer from New York City. Madonna has been an inspiration for me throughout my entire life. I sat in the 2nd row at Continental Arena in NJ....(This was my 6th show as I saw 4 in NYC and July 4th in Philly).
This show was very special to me because not only did Madonna and I make eye contact a few times throughout the night....but during 'Crazy for You' she made sure she sang to me, matter of factly, while pointing to me and nodding her head 'yes, you!'....and while she sang....all I could do is mouth the words 'Thank You' to her, over and over again. She found that to be 'cute' I guess. But in all honesty, I thanked her for being who she is and for making so many wonderful contributions to our society as a musician, singer, artist, rebel, and trailblazer.
We all tend to forget all the doors Madonna has opened for artists and performers out there. She is the true rags to riches story, the American Dream. Living that dream and conquering it all.
We tend to forget that she is the female artist with the most top 40 hits in history (Over 60 and counting). We tend to forget that she is the artist with the most #1 dance songs in Billboard history (34 to be exact). We tend to forget she pushed the envelope when other artists wouldn't dare. She has been crucified, publically burned at the stake and scrutinized and the woman still continues and goes on not caring what people say about her, because she is passionate about the messages she needs to convey as a performer. And that is extremely admirable.
I thanked her for her honesty and vulnerability and for being a true artist of all kinds. It all came to a final kiss as she sang to me. This is my Madonna moment. It is mine to treasure for the rest of my life and no one could take that away from me. The way she affected me tonight will forever be an imprint....and I am so glad I got to 'thank her' for all her work and love she gives.
No other artist has stayed at the TOP for 21 years consecutively like she has. And I truly don't believe anyone will come close. There are many artists who come and go....dissapear for 3-10 years and have a 'comeback'. Madonna has managed to grow and develop right before our eyes, year after year, after year. She is still amazing to look at, beautiful, smart, witty....and still has so much to say and contribute.
We should all feel blessed to have her doing what she does best. Entertain us all with her words, her visuals, her non-stop dancing and most importantly....her music.
Once again....Thank You Madonna!

From Erik:
After seeing her twice in Madison Square Gardens, I finally saw Madonna from the floor! 12th row and it was like a dream - the catwalk was right above me! The show was phenomenal as usual!
From that close, I was most amazed by the amount of choreography in every number - how all those dancers have to be exactly in step to pull it off! You can see what a hard-worker Madonna is! From that close, I could also tell how much fun she was having; she smiled so much.
I was right there for Nothing Fails and Crazy For You, which were amazing. I caught her back-up singers' eyes during Don't Tell Me (the Bittersweet Symphony addition was a fantastic touch!) and I think I caught Madonna's eyes a few times when all those around me sat down and I was still on my feet singing and dancing my heart out! How could you not at this show?
Madonna dropped her stick during Into the Groove and laughed it off, and she was back to the Kabbalists Do It Better shirt.
The high points of last night's show for me were Nothing Fails, Into the Groove, Music, and of course, American Life and Holiday when she walked right over me! It was fun to be amongst the endless confetti rain at the end of Holiday!
The crowd was a bit slow to get going, but they eventually did, and cheered and sang at all the right spots!
I was happy to hear a lot of people singing along to the new songs - nice to know some fans are keeping up with the new stuff.
It was an unbelieveable good time and I am sad my Madonna summer is over! To all those who have yet to see this show - ENJOY!

From Nicholas:
All I can say is that my extended birthday week ended with the greatest concert in the world. No shirt exchanges on this one. =-)
Before the concert people were doing 'The Mexican Wave' and that was pretty funny. I already saw Madonna with my friends at MSG so I decided to take my mom to this one. Madonna is the only female singer she likes so it was cool to see my mom’s reaction seeing a legend on stage. For her I had front row seats on the middle floor section right behind VIP. The V walk summit was literally in front of me.
During the Flapper Girl segment the section I was in sat down except myself and there was this kid who asked my mother if she could tell me to sit down because he couldn’t see. Why he didn’t ask me directly was a little odd. I turned around and said that for the price that I paid for these seats there is no way in hell I am going to sit down. If you can’t see then you should've gotten better seats. I was glad when Madonna yelled that no one sits in her concerts.
During Into The Groove Madonna dropped her stick and she seemed annoyed for a few seconds. I was talking to this woman and she said how she would have loved to have heard Like A Virgin because it was the song she sang at karaoke when she met her husband. It’s cute how Madonna fans have great stories about how she reminds them of some of their greatest memories.
Madonna really is awesome; she earns every cent she makes. Albeit my second time seeing her live, I still felt like if I blinked she would have disappeared....she seems so good too be true!

From Dana:
She had tons of energy this show. It was my 3rd time so far 2 NYC 1 NJ. She changed some things around b/c of the fact she just wanted to be free and have fun. With Burning up at the end of the sing when she is like dun dun dun dun....she did this scream and acapella like ROL. It was hilarious.
Into the Groove, she dropped her stick again....LOL that was funny to watch b/c she wasn't even mad, she picked it up and laughed at herself. For both American Life and Holiday she seemed to have stayed on the runway the center of it for longer than usual and she looked at me dead in the face and laughed (I had a sec 5 seat right where the runway came down and flashing lights on).
For Don't tell me just like Philly she extented it and kept repeating 'don't tell me....don't tell me' and she said 'to what!' 'to what!' that was very fun. She said 'motherfucka' twice b/c a lot of people were sitting unlike the NYC shows.
Lament I realized wasn't as strong as the NYC shows but it was still amazing. It seems like every time she's on the runway at least one person trips and falls. For the 2nd night NYC she fell, got back up and laughed. Last night, one of the dancers tripped and fell. When she got off the runway for Holiday, she was asking us if we wanted to hear more but of course the show was over and was my best night so far.
What is so great about this show is that you can never go wrong with a floor seat in the front or in the middle of the arena.

From Andrea:
I had the privilege of enjoying the show in NJ last night with my sister. We had floor seats - Section G - and had an amazing time with the Queen of Reinvention!
The energy in the crowd was particularly great at the beginning of the show when each section of the arena did the wave in anticipation of Madonna's arrival on stage. She looked, danced and sounded wonderful.
Songs that really moved me were Like a Prayer, Don't Tell Me, Express Yourself, Music and a slow version of Deeper and Deeper. When the mini-stage came down from the ceiling for American Life and Holiday we had the opportunity to see Madonna close up and my sister and I went crazy - my sister even climbed on her chair - and I was rather surprised few others in the floor area where we were sitting did.
The only slightly negative aspect of the concert had nothing to do with Madonna but rather with a woman sitting in the row behind us yelling at most everyone all night to sit down. Honey, if you don't want to stand and dance the night away with Madonna, don't get floor seats!
In all, a truly memorable experience that I enjoyed just as much as the Blonde Ambition concert I attended in 1989 at Continental Arena.
As she has done at her previous Reinvention Tour performances, Madonna thanked the crowd for standing by her for the past twenty years. All I can say is here's to another quarter century of Madonna!

From Sandy:
I attended last night's show IN THE PIT. Having seen the show last month in NYC, I knew that I was in for the most entertaining concert I had ever seen.
Being super close this time gave me such an appreciation for how talented, hard-working, and appreciative of her fans Madonna is. She looked and sounded great. Everyone in the pit, and the arena for that matter, appeared to have an awesome time.
We really wanted to thank Madonna for entertaining us for so many years, and for the opportunity to get so close! It's incredible that after TWENTY years of being a mega-fan, she is still entertaining us with fresh material, sounds better than ever, and, unlike so many of her 80's and 90's 'peers,' leads an increasingly respectable and inspiring lifestyle.
THANK YOU MADONNA, WE LOVE YOU, and will still be 'Crazy for You' in another twenty years if you give us that privilege.

From Fernando:
I CANNOT get enough of 'THE DIVA' herself. She truly is the MASTER OF RE-INVENTION! I've attended 10 shows and each one was PERFECTION. Her voice, the choreography, the stage set up and the fans! Truly amazing and M has OUTDONE herself! I still can't get over her two poses she striked at the beginning of Vogue and walking on her hands and feet backwards! I am off to see her in Miami for the last two shows in the US and simply cannot WAIT! MADONNA, thank you for being my inspiration! I LOVE YOU AND I WILL NEVER TELL YOU TO STOP!

From Rodrigo:
I wanted to repeat what everybody had to say about the july 7th show in East Rutherford: It ROCKED BIG TIME!
But theres one thing that everyone seemed to have forgotten....during the performance of Mother and Father, in the interlude of the song, Madonna sang the first choruses of Intervention, from the 'I've got to save my baby' to 'I want to save his life'....after that, she continued to sing the rap of M & F....
This show was special to me for a second reason....just a year before, my mom had to go under surgery because of a threat of pancreatic cancer....and theres no way better for me to celebrate her being healthy and still rocking than taking her to see Madonna with me!
BTW, say hi to Mario from me (a guy I met at the entrance row!)

From Ian:
I saw Madonna on Sunday night with my 'Esther Does It Better' tank I customized. We originally had seats all the way in the back at the top, but the Director of United Center traded our tickets for 19th row on the side and it was fabulous!
This was the best one yet! Her voice was so strong. You could never tell she had done 26 other shows previous!

From sRe:
Madonna’s opening night in New Jersey was extraordinary. At first it was uncertain to as if the Queen of Pop was in a good mood. It was easy to read by the time Material Girl came around. At the end of the song she yelped and giggled unlike any of the New York shows I attended. The crowd differed than the New York crowd though.
During 'American Life' there was many-a-negative-whisper about the image of Bush and Saddam imagery. It was hard to tell if it was because they were shocked or angered (this might explain Madonna decision to skip over a good part of the South and Midwest in the States). The crowd responded better to 'Hanky Panky' and 'Deeper and Deeper' than the New York show (in New York people started walking around in mass during those numbers).
By the time Madonna hit 'Into the Groove,' she was beginning to noticeably lose her voice. She dropped her 'stick' during the middle of the dance routine and the crowd gasped, but she didn’t miss a beat. She picked it up and went on with the song…giving more energy for the remainder of the show than before. At the end of 'Papa Don’t Preach' she took a towel and wiped her armpits, smiled and wryly apologised.
She seemed friendlier to the audience than ever before (many may not remember, but her last stint in Jersey didn’t fair as well. After apologising to the audience several times about technical difficulties and the heat at Continental Arena, she subsequently cancelled the next night’s show leaving many ticket holders in the cold as they paid upwards of $800 from scalpers for floor seating). All in all, she seemed to have more energy for the Jersey show than the New York shows. It blew any of her prior tours away.
It is my understanding that tickets are still available for the July 8th show. I suggest anyone in the area who has not seen the show, get there immediately. It’s an event not to be missed.

From Cornell:
Its been over 12 hours since I've left Continental Airlines Arena and the stares, the smiles, the sweat, the winks, and handshakes from Madonna, Donna, and the dancers are all still fresh in my mind, body, and soul. A friend of mine won pit tickets through z100 and we were fortunate enough to be up close and personal, in your face with the one and only Madonna. It's an understatment to say that I had a good time.
It was my third and final show, upon seeing the concert twice in NYC and it was a good finale for me and for everyone in the pit as well. The harmony in which we danced and grooved and yelled in unison behind the screens during The Beast Within was tear-inducing, joy profusing moments of being one with everybody. We yelled 'MADONNA! MADONNA! MADONNA!' and after that the whole Arena started to do the wave, going faster and faster until the lights went out.
The show then began and from the moment we saw the two dancers climb up the swings, we knew we were in for a treat of our lives. We caught a glimpse of Madonna breathing and shaking in the box where she is raised. Then Vogue began. Her first Vogue whisper was to the right pit which she gave us a wink and we all went crazy! THere were many moments where she would come to us and stretch out her hands and we'd all ply to grab it. I only touched a finger.
However, I did get a hold on the dancer who break dancers in his one hand during Hollywood. All the boys and girls with me were flirting with him. He was definitely HOT!
Hmm....more interaction with Madonna. Alright, after Deeper and Deeper, she comes to the right side of the stage on the stoop and she takes off her headband. We all though she was going to throw it at us and she certainly did tease us. Everyone all started climbing up and streching their hands and the security guards held us back but we kept grabbing. She then dropped the headband on the floor and saids 'oops' with a smile. She then procedeed to sing Die Another Day.
One of the winners in the pit was a girlfriend of one of the dancers - SETH - the guy that Madonna pushes down on the floor during Express Yourself. He came over with Madonna and he gave his girlfriend a kiss. The girl wasn't exactly the nicest though and not actively dancing at all which was annoying because she took the first spot against the wall. Everyone was jumping and the girl and her friend had their chins resting on the back of their hands, but it's alright, everyone else were fanatical Madonna fans in the pit.
I'm 19 and our age ranged from 16-49. There was a guy Tom who had been to the very first VIRGIN TOUR and every single tour since then. They made great conversation as to what she's done. We were part of the younger group. The group was just born when Madonna had her first single out back in the early 80s. But now I have other things to say lol sorry.
I wrote on my chest MATERIAL BOY in black letters for Madonna to see so then I took off my shirt during MAterial Girl but she didn't come over. Donna and Siedah were smiling and pointing at my chest as we jumped and sang with them. But Don't Tell Me was the highlight of the night. I learned the dance routine back in high school for the song and I danced along with Donna and the dancers are she was on our side. She then gave me a nod and smiled. Then Madonna and her dancers came over and did another routine which I also followed them.
Madonna noticed my bare chest and my dancing and she gave me a nod as well but no smile. I was apprehended by a guy in a suit to not go further into the side area where I can touch but that was enough for me to know she saw me dance. Overall, it was a different experience for each and everyone in that arena last night. She dropped her stick during Into the Groove dance routine. She said cheers when she took a break to drink from her water bottle after Papa Don't Preach. She was having the best time and we projected that energy back.
To all the pit winners, be crazy! Try to get yourself noticed and you will get yourself smiles and handshakes.
What else....ooh the guitar players throw out their guitar pics and it says Madonna Re-Invention tour in them so try to grab those. My friend caught two so I'm lucky enough to now have a pick to play with my dusty guitar =) Also, if you know you won't have the chance to touch Madonna, try focusing on the dancers and Donna and Siedah because they are easier to talk and give handshakes too....plus the dancers are all hot and flirty. Especially the breakdancer.
OK I think I've said everything and maybe someone else from the pit will say other things that I didn't cover but so far that my was night. Oh and I had a final this morning....and the pit was helping me study for my final. Testing me first on Madonna lyrics then about laws in business.....it was definitely a night to remember.
OK have fun to you guys that are still seeing the show in upcoming venues. Till the DVD comes out, enjoy!

From Mr Blondie:
I saw her at MSG. This time I had 16th row floor.
She kept making fun of these people who were dead front and center who were sitting down, and she ended up dedicating 'Crazy for You' to all the people who stood up for the entire night. It was really funny. She DOES care what people think.
Like A Prayer was still great. She omitted the scene where she's supposed to catch the stick. I thought Hanky Panky was a bit flat, but she made up for it with a stronger Deeper and Deeper.
Question: Is it true Madonna doesn't like air conditioning? Someone muttered that at MSG, and it was HOT tonight in NJ. At one point, she used a towel someone handed her just to wipe up her sweaty armpits, which she once said on Regis & Kelly she has a problem with.

From Marcus:
Awesome is all I can say. I have seen all 5 tours and this is absolutely the best Madonna has ever sounded live. The best! Not one flub through the whole show. It went smooth like silk.
I thought The Bedtime Story video was beautiful. Best she ever looked. I'd have to say favs were Burning Up and Material Girl. You could just feel the energy in the whole place. It went by so fast. I was sad when it ended. I definitely am seeing this concert again.
So my critique is: Vocally and song choice-wise it was by far Madonna's best tour. Visually it was sparse. It is Madonna's most minimal show to date. I am so glad I went. I can't wait to again.

From Danialle:
Last night was AMAZING! I was sitting front row and could not believe I was so close to M! She of course looked fantastic and sounded great! Security was tight and they would not let me take pictures AT ALL (I took one and the guy told me not to do it again....I tried again and he said don't make me tell you again, so I put it away and just enjoyed the experience). And what an experience it was!
She didnt spend as much time on my side of the stage as I would have liked, she favors the right side of the stage a bit more (her right, not mine). But during Like A Prayer she came to my side and sang the words 'you're here with me, its like a dream' right to me and for that moment it was just me and her and it was the most amazing moment for me....and if I had been trying to take pictures I would have missed it!
It was a great show, she was very talkative and playful (yelling at people to stand up) and dedicated Crazy for You to everyone who has been standing up all night.
She TOTALLY messed up Material Girl by singing the second verse first, so when she got to the second verse she was all messed up....she just laughed and shook her head during the whole song! Fantastic!
I wish I had pics to share, but it wasn't worth getting kicked out over....I enjoyed my experience and in the end I'm glad my camera was in my bag....I wouldnt trade my moment with M for all the pictures in the world!

From Michele:
Words are not nearly enough to truly express my experience last night at CAA, but I will try. I had 4th row seats Section 9 Row D. Thank goodness the side of the stage that I knew Madonna spent a lot of time on (i.e. Nothing Fails, Crazy for You, Into the Groove.)
I saw eight Re-Invention shows before this one, but NOTHING will ever compare to last night! The whole section was awesome, full of die hard fans including myself and my friend that I was with. We were all standing the entire show, screaming, singing, jumping, doing everything possible to show our love for MADONNA! Well, guess what it worked.
After Nothing Fails, she said while pointing to our section, 'I love these people over there, they have been standing the whole night.' Then she went on to state how the center section was not like us at all.
Even better than that was when she dedicated Crazy For You to us, by saying 'I want to dedicate this next song to all these MOTHER F*CKERS right here (pointed down at our section) who have been standing all night! She loved us and saw that we loved her.
I believe I made eye contact with her twice and both times I made sure to say I love you to her. I have been a fan since 1984 and my two dreams came true last night. To see Madonna up close within the first five rows and to have her see me showing my love and appreciation for her.
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

From Joe-Joe:
I was asked by a friend of mine to go see THE MOTHER and me being the DIEHARD fan I instantly said yes, we were going to sit in section 107 which for me to even be going was great, but when she called me and said she got floor seats section 9 row D I almost died. That would have put me inches away from the QUEEN BEE herself!
When we got there and sat in our seats I felt my heart beating like it was gonna pop out my chest. We got there around 7:30 which was torture as I knew I had over and hour to go but knowing what I was in store for I kept my cool, when MADONNA came on I seen her in a way I've never experienced....I will never be able to sit anywhere else again. You can see MADONNA and you can really see MADONNA....there really is no way to really describe the feeling you get when your in her presence, all I can say is that these little 20 year old POP-tarts can not hold a candle to this ICON.
I really wanna thank my girl Michele for making and spending one of the greatest experiences of my life!
If you ask me It was the perfect show she was happy, sounded great, looked bangin and she knew what section had it goin on cause she mentioned it like 3 times that we were the best....those old farts in the middle should have stayed home and and drank prune juice! How do you go to see MADONNA and sit....thats like going to the beach in a sweatshirt and jeans....I mean c'mon.
The girls in our row where really cool to see the concert with cause the were real diehards too. I snuck a camera in I dont know how good they came out but if any are worth it I'll send them in. Go see her as much as possible even if you have to sell your body....lol!

From Silver:
I arrived around at 7:00 or around there. I was desperate to see Madonna. Knowing that this was the first concert I attended and it was the first Madonna concert I ever saw. I was in the 230 section, it was an amazing view. We could see Madonna and behind-the-scenes. They built the stages very quickly.
Finally the show started and Madonna read something from 'The Beast Within' which I must admit scared the hell out of me. Then I cheered as I heard 'Vogue'. It felt as the crowd was amazed everytime Madonna spoke. I loved the performance but I thought she performed it somewhat different.
During the song 'Material Girl' I heard Madonna saying she forgot the lyrics. So I and the millions of other fans there helped her out. The 'American Life' performance was great as well. The song 'Into The Groove' is one of my favorites and the version with bagpipes is Madonna first and I was in shock and with joy when I saw this performance.
The concert is something I will remember and tell my future children and further generations. Even if you saw her once, its never enough to see her again and again.