From Kate:
Just returned from the Madonna concert. So utterly amazing. Madonna began Like a Prayer with God Bless America and after the song Madonna said we were the best crowd so far. Everyone was on their feet.
The concert was way too short, but overwhelming. Best performances were Burning Up, Music, Like a Prayer and Imagine. 'Stop all wars' - I couldn't agree more. I wish she had more of an impact on American foreign policy.

From Hans:
The concert was fantastic. She sounded great and danced her ass off. It was nothing like Drowned World at all – it was fun, poignant, danceable, and absolutely worth every penny.

From Vitug2:
Washington is usually a conservative town, but with gay pride only blocks away and Madonna in town, the town was set on fire.
Madonna gave her most thought evoking and endearing concert performance to date. She demands audience participation and we were more than happy to display our affection.
After singing Like A Prayer she told the croud that we were the best croud she's played for so far. Material Girl, LAP, were the biggest hits of the evening, but the croud roared when she came out on the stage extension. By the end of the show fans were seen grabbing up pieces of confetti left over from the closing song.
Outside of the venue fans were still energetic and dancing, and the streets were alive with Madonna fans as far as the eye could see. Everyone commented on a flawless performance and voice! I think this would make a great live album....to help close out that damned contract with the treasonous warner brothers....but more importantly because her voice left me in awe. She was 100 times stronger since her performance in Evita, 'Lament' was proof. The women is and will be a true icon.

From Eric:
Unfortunately, I was too drunk to remember much of last night, which means I'll probably have to spring for another ticket to the Philly show.
I do, however, remember Madonna announcing that we were the best audience they'd had on the tour so far - take that West Coast!

From VABlue:
I've seen Madonna live only once. That was when she came to Washington, DC a few years ago and performed during her Drowned World Tour. I've always been a fan but didn't appreciate that concert so much due to the techinicalities of it. She didn't seem to connect to the audience. It was more of like watching a broadway show.
However, this time around I was incredibly impressed. She seemed so warm and connected to the entire audience; very stripped down and bare bones performing which was a huge change from the last time I saw her. The crowd screamed to every song.
At one point in the show she said 'You guys are the best audience we've had so far!' That led to another round of screaming and applause. It seemed to go by so FAST. It started and it seems like minutes later it was over, without realizing you had been standing there watching for two hours.
I loved the opening 'The Beast Within' video montage. It made chills go up my spine. I had a great seat, 2 rows off the floor right in the corner, next to the confetti machine. When the confetti burst during Holiday it rained down right on top of me for a good 60 seconds. I took a few pieces home as souveniers.

These were the show highlights in my opinion:
Beast Within
Vogue
Like A Prayer
Papa Don't Preach (a cool effect happened as the female dancers and Madonna joined hands in a ring-around-the-roses dance and the lights were lowered. It turned them into these silhouettes, and with their long kilts they looked like little girls with dresses on. I'm sure it was intentionally done. It caught my eye immediately. Very artistic.)
Music (special effects were awesome).
Holiday (classic).

From Trinity:
I was amazed when Madonna was singing Mother and Father and her mic pack on her back was acting up.
She kept fooling with it and playing with her ear piece and then you could see her look left of the stage and shake her head.
A few seconds later a guy came out and replaced her pack on stage while she was singing. She didn't miss a beat, her voice didn't waiver, she was perfect....knowing Madonna, they probably practiced that too.
Then, as quickly as he left the stage, she looked back to the left and smiled and started singing stronger! That was my favorite part.

From Mike:
Madonna proved that she is the best performer the world has ever known in Washington, DC, last night. She looked like a school girl on stage! Giddy, having a wonderful time. She was flawless!
And because many people (including me) were seeing her perform Vogue for the first time other classics, the crowd was booming....roaring. It was amazing. You could feel everyone's energy. She commanded that room like an icon.
However, there was also a problem with the crowd. I was expecting everyone to be singing 'Nothing Fails' along with her! And they weren't! And that is because most of the people at the concert have not bought, nor listened to American Life! And that is a shame! I was singing 'Nothing Fails' and everyone around me was looking at me like 'How do you know that song?' She did a gorgeous job, but that would have definitely been better to hear 20,000 other people singing it as well.
I could almost tell that Madonna was a bit surprised and I have to say it felt like an awkward moment. But after it was over, the crowd gave her a big applause.
Same with 'Hanky Panky,' the majority of people were not grooving and many used this time as a bathroom break. I'd rather pee on myself than leave a Madonna show!

From Chris:
I attended the Monday show and boy it rocked! I had seats in the upper side was lucky enought to be re-assigned to Section 3 on the floor. Oh my God!
She was awesome. Her voice was extremely strong and she seemed to never run out of energy. The show kept going without any pause and moved with such ease that you would think the crew had been doing this for years.
It felt like a giant party, everyone was having a blast. Madonna said we were the best audience yet.
Contrary to the reports I had read, I did not find all the images on the giant screens to be overwhelming or distracting.
The highlight of the show for me was the incredible reworked version of Like A Prayer. Please Madonna put out a live cd!

From Shari:
I went to both shows at the MCI center. It was awesome. There are not enough words to describe this show accurately. And the show was 10 times better the second time around. The second night we had a better overall view of the stage and the imagery and artistry that she uses is incredible. I love that she is doing some of her old songs. I have been a fan since my college days, 1983 and she always leaves me wanting more.
I especially loved the Rock performance of Burning Up. She should consider releasing that at some point. The entire audience was on their feet and singing to Like a Prayer. And hearing Crazy For You in person is something this 20 year fan appreciated. That was my wedding song in 1996.
Hearing some of the American Life songs in concert gave more meaning to the songs and I came away adding a few of those to my list of favorites. So, thank you to Madonna for all the years of hard work and entertainment. Keep it coming. I can't wait for the next CD. She truly is an American ICON. Loved it.

From Roman:
We got there early and it turned out we weren't going to be able to go inside for a while after the time we were suppose to be going in. Once we got in they checked our tickets like 3 times to make sure no one snuck in. I was in the Right Pit!
We knew the show would start late - which it did it was only 45 mins I think. I had seen everyone in my group so when I saw this stranger in there with us I was thinking 'I wonder who he is?' Then the security guard told me that he was one of Madonna's dancers. I said hi, he was very cool he danced around a bit while he was hanging out with us then he left and went back stage. I was really excited at this point. Then the lights went down.
Two dancers came out and sat on the swings that came from the ceiling and where raised all the way up far above the center screen. Thats when 'The Beast Within' started. I was so anxious since this was my first Madonna concert my heart was fluttering. I mean I had the best seats in the house!
Then I could see her behind the stage getting ready to come out for Vogue and I was jumping. Then she came out and Vogue was amazing. She did a hand stand at one point in Vogue. It was crazy!
My favorite time was when 'American Life' came on. She was right in front of me I yelled out 'Madonna I love you!' and she smiled at me I almost melted into the floor! Then her dancer was over there and he winked at me. I was thinking to myself 'My God this is surreal!' I could not believe I had the best spot in the entire MCI center. She really made sure we were participating and she would hold her hand to her ear like in a 'I can't hear you' sort of way. We were told we were like the Pep Squad! So she made sure that she heard noise from us.
It was funny because everyone in the stadium kind of did follow our lead on things which means we did what we were suppose to do. Then one of the best moments was when 'Into the Groove' came on. It was amazingly well done the bagpipes the kilts it was like hearing the whole song for the first time even though you knew the lyrics. So much was happening it was almost hard to take it all in.
When the show ended were saw them all hug and then Madonna ran off got into a car and drove off. It was amazing that you could see all of that. I was really surprised at how sad I was that the show had ended. I nearly left a tear drop. I especially like the fact that I left feeling really good about myself and having a positive aspect on life. I'm truly glad I was allowed to have that experience.

From Steve:
By far the best tour she has ever undertaken. Every song was a highlight. Its almost impossible to choose favorites. Even the projection images during the opener and the interludes were worth the price of admission. She has NEVER sounded this good in any other tour! See you in Philly, Madonna!

From M:
I attended both shows in DC. I sat in section 400 on the 13th. The crowd was dead up there, but I still enjoyed the show.
The show I attended on the 14th was out-of-this-world. I sat about 20 rows from the stage, so when the v-shaped stage came down, I was just to the left of the end of the front.
When Madonna came to the edge I screamed so loud. From beginning to end, I was on my feet dancing. I attended the show alone, but didn't give a damn because everyone there was there to have a good time. I have a newfound respect for all of her songs.
My favorite part in last night's show was when she forgot to say 'Come on boys, do you believe in love....' and was like 'Shit!' and then said it. Priceless.
I also loved the way she threw in some of 'Intervention' into 'Mother and Father.' The sound system was incredible. There's just so much going on in the show with the music, video monitors, dancing, sets, that sometimes it's hard to focus. It all makes it all the more better though. I can't believe how fast the show goes. Only an indicator on how much fun you have!
She is such an inspiration and it was a dream come true to see her up close and in person.

From Brian:
I went both nights of the DC concert and let me tell you I don't believe anyone can work the crowd like Madonna. Her voice was by far the strongest I've ever heard of any performer (including her other concerts) and when she started signing 'Express Yourself' a couple of cords early in the second show (which was followed with an ohhh shit) it just reiterated that she didn't use any enhancements or trickery to enhance her voice.
My favorite was the first show and just went crazy (I try so hard to give the love back) when she noted that our audience was the best of the tour yet. Who would have figured us conservative DC folks were so crazy once the lights went out :-) My personal favorites were 'Crazy For You' (my wife's favorite Madonna song - she couldn't believe it would ever be played live) and I must confess 'Lament' was awesome since I've been waiting for her to sing something from Evita.
Also, I loved 'Holiday', 'Deeper and Deeper', and 'Music' which has been a favorite since it brings back great memories for a special family member who is no longer on this earth.
If 'Nobody Knows Me' didn't get you to shake your feet I don't know what would and it was amazing to see entire sections of the audience jumping in unison to 'Like a Prayer.'
The last two nights just reminded me why I've been a fan for 20 years and why you should never miss Madonna in concert. Occasionally someone will think I am just crazy for being such a huge Madonna fan but I was just reminded these past two nights that they just have no clue of what they are missing ;-) I am ready to sign up for another 20 years and can't wait to see her again in Boston (I planned a special trip with me & the wife just to see her) on June 27th.
If anyone has connections to get me in the pit it would be so much appreciated as I can assure you I would well deserve the spot. I would promise to give it all of my love right back and get the audience worked up for my all time favorite performer.

From Kelly:
I was in the 7th row on the side when I saw Madonna that first night in DC. She looked right at me and my son - we locked eyes for a nanosecond, but it was surreal actually seeing my Idol of over 20 years looking at ME! I blew constant kisses her way each time she came over to our side of the stage, which was a lot! She threw out her Kaballists Do It Better shirt, but I was about 3 rows from catching it....
Her headset went out and was quickly fixed. The stagehand got right behind her and fixed it as she still sang flawlessly during the time he was rehooking her headset. Her voice was flawless and clear as a bell. I especially liked Nobody Knows Me and I loved Imagine and started to cry.
When she did her oldies, the crowd went nuts. Especially Holiday and Burning Up were my oldies faves of the evening. She also said DC was the best audience so far!
The second night we were farther away, but they were great seats also because there was no one in front of us in our section! It was nice to see it from afar to get another perspective from the night before - being so close up, you can't really see the entire show and what's going on.
She started a song with the wrong words (can't remember the song), but it was about 1/2 way through - she apologized to the audience and kept going....no one really cared. The audience was charged when she did her older hits. She was every bit as good as the first night and she thanked DC and said we were awesome.
The screens were awesome and I especially loved the beginning with shots taken from the X-Static Process Book shoots and from W magazine. The Beast Within was awesome, as was Bedtime Story! Those trapeze artists were fab! I really enjoyed both shows and am thankful that I got to see it both nights in DC and from two completely different perspectives!
MADONNA ROCKS THE UNIVERSE!