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Madonna's
performance at Slane Castle on August 29, 2004
was not only her first concert in Ireland ever. It was the only
Re-Invention Tour show to happen on a open
venue, the one with the biggest crowd, the one with sun, rain,
moon and fireworks. Tribe member Putneyboy
was there and tells you all about that magic and unique night
while Jamesy added a few exclusive caps from
the show.
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The Re-Invention Tour at Slane Castle
in Dublin was my 9th and final Re-Invention
show and Jesus, what a show to end upon!!!
Initially we were not going to get tickets for Slane as we had
spent so much money already on the UK shows and all the merchandise
but when they went on sale through Icon we couldn't help it.
I went there with my other half and met up with James
(top bloke), we got there around 12pm I think it was so we got
there quite early considering the gates were not due to open
until 4.00pm.
After picking up my tickets from the Icon collection point (which
was a 45 minute walk around the entire village from where we
got dropped off) we got into the venue.
It wasn't as big as
I thought it was going to
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be and I was amazed that we managed to get right down to the
front of the barriers before the pit area started so I was well
chuffed with that.
Oakenfold got the crowd really going but hey, what the hell
was with Iggy Pop??? Everybody around us was booing him and
shouting "F*ck off" while he was on stage - just terrible
and it seemed to go on forever.
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Eventually by the time Madonna came on everybody
around us were bursting with excitement - when she finally
appeared to do Vogue several Irish girls all around us were
sobbing due to the fact after 20 years she was performing
in Ireland - it was all really sweet.
The show itself was fab and always and even turned out to
be extra special due to all the last minute changes due to
the weather conditions.
Before she was supposed to come on stage at 9pm it started
to rain very heavy and continued like this for 30 minutes
which forced Madonna to come on at 9.30 instead.
The first change we noticed was that she had the gold corset
back on again but something was strange with her arms and
legs - then upon close inspection of the screens we noticed
she was wearing a body stocking to keep her warm.
During "Deeper & Deeper" she
changed into a Stella McCartney black jacket
- by this time the rain had started slightly again and the
wind was blowing.
She wore the same jacket during "Mother And Father"
where there was a classic moment of her sat on the stool singing
at the corner of the stage and sat behind her was a huge backstage
guy holding a black umberella above her head for the entire
song (which brought a huge smile to Madonna's face as well
as the audiences).
It wasn't only Madonna having problems with the weather though,
during the skateboarding section of "Hollywood"
dancer Cloud Campos slipped on the ramp when
he went to do his backflip and knocked the skateboarder off
the his board, so they quickly improvised the rest of the
number before it came to a close.
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In betwen songs Madonna
would do her usual adlib and say things like "Rain
Rain go away" (which may i point it actually
did - can this woman control the weather ???)
In between "Papa Don't Preach"
and "Crazy For You" her speech
went something like this "Jesus Christ, I am finally
here, why did it take me so long to get to Ireland".
At the end of the show only a few streamers and confetti were
fired into the air at the front of the stage but at the same
time when she shouted "Dublin, Ireland"
huge fireworks started in the air above the stage, and these
fireworks carried on for a good 25 minutes after the show
had finished - they were spectacular.
It was just a really special show.
The crowd seemed to be a bit quiet but maybe that was just
where I was stood and you couldnt really your hands above
your head or you lost your place and got crushed.
The only downer of the night were the numerous fights that
broke out in the crowd (we are talking tyson like punches
here due to alcohol intake) and the four and a half hours
it took to get back into Dublin.
All in all I am so glad we went because we were not going
to bother due to it being such a huge audience but it turned
out to be a great way to finish my re-invention adventure
and the fireworks topped the night off.
Until next time Madonna, it's been one hell of a summer!
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