Thanks to M-Tribe visitor Davina for sending in her story and great pictures from both Madonna’s nights at the Centre Bell in Montréal on June 21 and 22.

“What can I say about the show? I had a BLAST! To try to keep it all in a nutshell, I met one of Madonna’s dancers (Steve) a few hours before showtime outside the Bell Centre, as he was taking pictures of the area. I had a little conversation with him. He told me that he’s worked for artists like Prince, Busta Rhymes, and Daft Punk! When I asked what it was like to work for Madonna, he said that she’s THE QUEEN and that she treats them very well. I gave him a hug and wished him good luck for the show. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a picture of us together, because at that point, my camera was hidden between my legs, in my tights. Don’t ask how I did it. It was all a blur.

I also heard Madonna’s soundcheck on the first night. Because it was so early before showtime, security didn’t care that people were roaming around designated parts of the venue. She sang, for example, Futures Lovers/I Feel Love and it was beautiful. I even heard her speaking, but the sound was too muffled that I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

When I finally made it past security into the main part of the building, I headed straight for the merchandise stands. I spent way more than I could afford to, coming out with two shirts, two photos, a mug, a keychain, a dog tag, a tourbook, and a poster.

The show itself was nuts. My mom and I were on the very right side of the floor in row 6, so when Madonna came on the right catwalk, she was just meters away from us. At the beginning of JUMP, she actually LOOKED AT ME for about a second and I waved to her like a maniac. It honestly wasn’t long, but for me, it felt like an eternity. I know that many Tribers have touched her hand, have had her sing directly to you, and have maybe even met her, but for me, just Madonna looking at me was enough to remember for a lifetime!

I have two complaints, however…First, my mom and I being less than five feet tall, had trouble seeing over the tall heads in from of us, especially when Madonna was on the end of the middle catwalk. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but it was quite frustrating.

Second, we had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to the most obnoxious jerks ever! They came into the show part way through either Future Lovers or Get Together (I can’t remember), so we had to move to let them through. They were so tall that they contributed to the majority of my visual obstruction. Not only that, but they spent most of the time either talking to their friend on a cell phone, yelling things in French, or yelling at each other. They also went in and out, in and out, so my mom and I had to move each time to let them through. Once they got beer, another they probably took a piss, and another they went to socialize with their Bell Centre staff friend. Near the end of the show, one of them basically told me he was a scalper, and he told me they got rid of all of their tickets (except, I guess, for the seats they were sitting in). I wanted to pop his head off.

When the balloons came down, my mom and I ran to grab some (one for my mom, one for me, and one for my roommate). When we got back, one of the scalpers had the audacity to ask me for one of my balloons. He only wanted one for the sake of wanting one just like they were there to see Madonna just for the sake of seeing Madonna. They weren’t true fans. They were profiteers. I was so close to ripping off their reproductive organs at that point.

For the second night, my mom, my roommate, and I went. We still had excellent seats, close to the floor, so we could see the entire show. It was gorgeous. The screens, the dancers, the political/social messages, EVERYTHING! My roommate was very impressed at the high calibre of the show and she couldn’t believe it when it was over! It was definitely not long enough.

Anyways, as for Montreal (we travelled from Victoria and had never been there before), it was such a friendly place. Everybody was so willingly to help with directions and such. The shopping and the food was excellent as well, and the whole city was feeling Madonna mania. She was on the cover of every newspaper and stores even had promotions related to her. For example, La Senza on St. Catherines, decked out the store as a tribute to Madonna and her Confessions album. They had dancers in the window, as they did their thing to Madonna remixes. Another store had “Madonna 4 President” written across the window, and many stores had these “Madonna For President” shirts for sale. My roommate actually got me the pink one. Another store was decorated with discoballs. The mannequins of this store also had Boy Toy belts on one day and then, a couple days later, they were dressed like Madonna from the Frozen video along with with fake black crows in the display window.

No matter where we went, we ran into people wearing Madonna merchandise. Just imagine 18,000 people times 2 nights. That’s more than double the population of my hometown!

Oh, and one final thing, I was lucky enough to find the hotel where Madonna stayed, and I walked along the red carpet that they had put out for her. I didn’t, however, have enough time to stand outside and wait for her, because there were too many places and attractions to check out in such a short period of time.

Thanks Madonna and Montreal! We had an amazing time, and I really hope that the next time you go on a tour, you’ll come to Vancouver for a change. We will treat you like the queen that you are if you do!