Madonna show
So in 1984, when I was a freshman at college, I found myself at the university radio station, working in the engineering department because I was not accepted as a DJ.
Feeling disgruntled, I was trying to make the best of things, and so I took any position I could, and that's how I found myself talking to my new boss, Reggie, a sophomore from Atlanta, who was a bit of a whiz kid, and would later become one of my biggest allies and friends at the station, especially once I became a DJ and he was chosen station manager in his senior year.
But on this afternoon, sometime in the winter of 1984, we were in the engineering studio, which looked into the broadcast booth, and, as Reggie and I talked about projects he had in mind, he spun discs on the turntables.
One song in particular caught my attention. I loved its clean groove, its happy lyrics and its danceablity.
"Who is this?" I said to Reggie.
"It's great, isn't it? It's my new favorite," he said. "It's someone called Madonna."
The song, of course, was "Holiday", and needless to say I went out and bought the record shortly thereafter.
Back then, I had no idea what a phenomenon Madonna would become. Who could have imagined it?
Cut to this past Wednesday, where I found myself in the Wachovia Center, ready to see Madonna's latest extravaganza, the Confessions Tour.
All this time has passed, and I have never seen her live until this week. I was afraid of the theatrics; I didn't want a show that was more choreography than music. I didn't want a show that was simply cookie cutter versions of the record done for the benefit of little girls.
I know I have to eat my words: in short, Madonna's show was quite impressive.
My seats were purchased at the last minute and were thus high up and way over at the side of the stage, but the plethora of screens made that a moot point.
To my surprise, the show focused on her, not the dancers, and the songs were nicely reinvented for the stage.
She sang "Music" to the groove and beat of "Disco Inferno", and she turned "I Love New York" and "Ray of Light" into guitar-based dance songs. "Lucky Star" was all but unrecognizable except for the lyrics.
She hit a few very typical Madonna moments, like singing "Live to Tell" while standing on a cross, but overall I found the show to be surprising and enjoyable.
Madonna may not go down as one of our greatest singers, but she most surely will go down as one of the top showmen of her day.
Feeling disgruntled, I was trying to make the best of things, and so I took any position I could, and that's how I found myself talking to my new boss, Reggie, a sophomore from Atlanta, who was a bit of a whiz kid, and would later become one of my biggest allies and friends at the station, especially once I became a DJ and he was chosen station manager in his senior year.
But on this afternoon, sometime in the winter of 1984, we were in the engineering studio, which looked into the broadcast booth, and, as Reggie and I talked about projects he had in mind, he spun discs on the turntables.
One song in particular caught my attention. I loved its clean groove, its happy lyrics and its danceablity.
"Who is this?" I said to Reggie.
"It's great, isn't it? It's my new favorite," he said. "It's someone called Madonna."
The song, of course, was "Holiday", and needless to say I went out and bought the record shortly thereafter.
Back then, I had no idea what a phenomenon Madonna would become. Who could have imagined it?
Cut to this past Wednesday, where I found myself in the Wachovia Center, ready to see Madonna's latest extravaganza, the Confessions Tour.
All this time has passed, and I have never seen her live until this week. I was afraid of the theatrics; I didn't want a show that was more choreography than music. I didn't want a show that was simply cookie cutter versions of the record done for the benefit of little girls.
I know I have to eat my words: in short, Madonna's show was quite impressive.
My seats were purchased at the last minute and were thus high up and way over at the side of the stage, but the plethora of screens made that a moot point.
To my surprise, the show focused on her, not the dancers, and the songs were nicely reinvented for the stage.
She sang "Music" to the groove and beat of "Disco Inferno", and she turned "I Love New York" and "Ray of Light" into guitar-based dance songs. "Lucky Star" was all but unrecognizable except for the lyrics.
She hit a few very typical Madonna moments, like singing "Live to Tell" while standing on a cross, but overall I found the show to be surprising and enjoyable.
Madonna may not go down as one of our greatest singers, but she most surely will go down as one of the top showmen of her day.
Comments