In her career spanning more than 40 years, Madonna continues to captivate audiences with her artistry and fearless approach to self-expression. She can also show up whenever she damn well wants to, and given her recent health scare, we are happy to just see her at all.
Madonna’s appearance Wednesday at Chase Center fared decently with a kickoff just before 10 p.m.; her high-energy performance wowed audiences with stunning visual effects and powerful vocals that showcased her enduring stage presence. This is how we should all be at 65 years old:
Few stars have reinvented their image as masterfully as Madonna, a fact highlighted in Celebration. The evening’s emcee, Bob the Drag Queen, set the tone by appearing in a reimagined version of Madonna’s iconic Marie Antoinette outfit from the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, signaling to fans that the event would be filled with tongue-in-cheek nods.
“I didn’t know everyone was going to get so dressed up, I would have worn something nicer. How do I look?” Bob said while holding up Madonna’s signature monocle from Express Yourself.
Center stage gave us a classic three-layer design that recalled the wedding cake setup from the 1984 and 2003 VMAs. And alongside her dancers, Madonna served up 17 archival outfits recreated for the show, 40 pairs of boxing gloves, and 45 wardrobe trunks.
None of this felt more apparent than during Vogue, when Madonna sat alongside another drag queen and ranked a bevy of runway walks a solid 10 or “CHOP.” One of the performers included the singer’s daughter Estere, a twin who impressed with DJing and vogue-ing.
More of Madonna’s kids appeared: her son David Banda played guitar, and Mercy James, now 18, showcased her classical piano skills, joining her mother for a mellow rendition of “Bad Girl.”
Then the time came for Madonna to relate to us — the San Francisco story. She road tripped here from Michigan in the 1970s with her wicked stepmother, who “grounded” her after discovering Madonna snuck some tampons in her sleeping bag.
“She said wearing tampons was like having intercourse,” she said. “Now look here: I’ve worn tampons and had intercourse, and there’s absolutely no similarities.”
Madonna couldn’t leave the car when they arrived in San Francisco, but she felt enchanted just looking out the window at our city. “My mind was blown. People were walking around the streets in their bare feet.Girls were wearing flowers in their hair, they didn’t have bras on.Guys had long hair. There was a sense of freedom and happiness, and joy,” she said. “San Francisco looked like heaven to me.”
The celebratory atmosphere shifted with a tribute to those lost to the AIDS epidemic. In a theatrical moment, one of Madonna’s dancers collapsed on the rotating stage. She checked his pulse, then covered his body with her coat before they both descended into the floor. The ensuing video montages and silhouetted Madonna high up in a box was, in a word, beautiful. And heartbreaking.
Screens showed archival photos of icons while Madonna looked onward: Hydeia Broadbent, Freddie Mercury, Klaus Nomi, and Keith Haring appeared among other portraits. Eventually, the photos filled our vision inside Chase Center.
I’ve always loved Madonna but cannot claim myself a genuine stan, and Celebration marked my first experience seeing her live. Much like Swan Lake that premiered with SF Ballet recently, Madonna’s music has been a soundtrack in my life since childhood. I always heard she put on an incredible live show, and I feel privileged to have seen it in my lifetime.
I think it’s amazing she continues to show up despite an $850 million net worth, selling 300 million records globally, and taking home seven Grammys. But I guess money isn’t everything. “Aging is a sin,” Madonna said Wednesday. “I think the most controversial thing I’ve ever done is stick around.” I remember this from a recent video she released:
Honestly there’s very little negative I can report about this show, except that we heard it ended with the song “Celebration” — the namesake of the tour itself. The last song Wednesday was “Bitch, I’m Madonna” and we can only speculate why. I personally didn’t miss it.
Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic.
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Setlist for Madonna’s Celebration Tour
Act 1
“Nothing Really Matters”
“Everybody”
“Into the Groove”
“Burning Up”
“Open Your Heart”
“Holiday”
Act 2
“The Ritual”
“Like a Prayer”
Act 3
“Erotica”
“Justify My Love”
“Hung Up”
“Bad Girl”
Act 4
“Vogue”
“Human Nature”
“Crazy for You”
Act 5
“Die Another Day”
“Don’t Tell Me”
“Mother and Father”
“Express Yourself”
“La Isla Bonita”
“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
Act 6
“Bedtime Story”
“Ray of Light”
“Take a Bow”
Act 7
“Bitch I’m Madonna”
