“Even before Madonna took the stage Thursday night to put on one of the more impressive shows to roll through the Valley in some time, there was an entirely different show going on outside Glendale Arena as the pop idol’s fans lined up in the heat” – Chris Hansen Orf reports on the East Valley Tribune.

“So diverse are the performer’s fans that in a single entry line that snaked its way hundreds of feet into the steaming parking lot, one could see mohawks, Madonnabees with jelly bracelets, whole families, drag queens, ravers, senior citizens, fishnet stockings, corsets, body glitter, leisure suits, feather boas, sequins, plenty of cleavage, Madonna-esque painted-on moles, tops that read “Material Girl,” muscle shirts that read “Material Boy” and even a dude in a straw cowboy hat.

But as great as the spectacle was outside, it was nothing close to the spectacle Madonna put on inside the packed-to-the-rafters arena.

Click on the Full Article link below to continue reading this review by Chris Hansen Orf from the East Valley Tribune.

Click on the image below for a slideshow of 27 pictures from the show by Darryl Webb, on the East Valley Tribune website.

It had been 21 years since Madonna made her last Valley appearance, and her fans were ready.

“I became a fan when her ‘True Blue’ album came out,” said Christine Kilbridge, 31, of Scottsdale. “My older brother had her ‘Like a Virgin’ album before that, although I was just surprised that she had her picture taken in her underwear!”

Always pushing the envelope, many fans feel that her gift for stirring up controversy has been as important for Madonna’s career longevity as have her catchy pop songs.

“She is the queen bee of controversy,” said Sheila Ricci, 30, of Scottsdale, who first got into Madonna in junior high, striking a pose to Madonna’s “Vogue.” “She just keeps reinventing the wheel.”

With anticipation at a fever pitch, the lights finally winked out at 8:30 p.m. and the huge video screens came alive with an artsy western scene showing horses romping on the plains. A huge mirror-plated disco ball descended from the ceiling, landing on the long runway jutting into the crowd, and out popped Madonna wearing a skin-tight black riding outfit and wielding a riding crop as she and her bevy of ripped male and female dancers acted out a choreographed bondage scene to the throbbing beat of “Future Lovers.”

The arena was hot, and not just from the sexed-up stage show.

“I have a request,” Madonna said at one point during the sweltering show. “Lets heat this place up! I thought Arizona was supposed to be hot! I’m still dry, and usually at this point in the show I’m dripping wet!”

The sweat in the arena was flowing, from both the fans and Madonna’s athletic dancers, who glistened under the hot lights, but the heat turned the arena into a pulsating dance club and the fans danced and pranced in the aisles with Madonna’s every stage move.

The most striking image of the night was the performance that has angered some religious leaders across the country, where Madonna hangs suspended upon a disco-mirrored cross as she sings her haunting ’80s ballad “Live to Tell” after a video montage preaching anti-violence.

Being that the singer came of age in the infant days of music videos in the early ’80s, every tune, from “Jump” to “Ray of Light” to the closer “Hung Up,” was a singular performance unto themselves as Madonna went through a series of costume changes, and the video screens pumped out images ranging from flower petals to X-rays to swirling psychedelia and even images of horse racing accidents, thematically representing each tune.

Visually stunning, with Madonna in strong voice and impeccable shape for a woman nearing 50, the show delivered on all sensory levels, and fans were not disappointed.

“That was incredible,” said Susan Johnson, 32, of Scottsdale after the show. “I’ve never seen a show like that, ever.”

From eastvalleytribune.com