I saw Madonna's concert at Rogers Arena and while I was going to write a review of the tour, I decided to leave that to all the other bloggers, critics and concert reviewers across the globe. If you want to know what the concert was like, there are plenty of reviews online to get a sense of what "The MDNA Tour" is all about. Besides, if you really want to see it, just look it up on YouTube.
I want to focus on one particular part of the show that has generated a lot of headlines since the tour kicked off in May. I am referring to the section of the show where Madonna performs a strip-tease right down to her bra and panties and stands for a full minute, centre-stage, showing off her ass, with a tattoo emblazoned across her back.
Most people would not be blamed for harshly criticizing Madonna for her peeling-and-dancing routine halfway through the show. After the show, most agreed that it came off as tacky and desperate. At first glance, it did seem like a pathetic bid for sexual titillation and reeked of an aging pop-star trying to prove that she is still relevant and sexy while the sad truth is that her days of cultural and contemporary relevance have long past. At fifty-five years old, Madonna should not be showing off her bra and it seems many people out there would be quite happy to see her disappear. The resounding statement seems to be; act your age Madonna!
I could not disagree more. The fact that she did what she did and continues to do so is the exact reason why I love Madonna.
Whether it is donning a bullet-bra, singing a ballad perched on a cross or the many onstage antics that have gotten her into trouble, Madonna has made a career out of being a rebellious, shit-starter. This is a woman who steadfastly refuses to be told what to do. As a live act, she has never bowed down to what is expected of her and does everything on her own terms. No one tells her what to do or how to conduct herself. If she wants something, she goes for it. She always asks questions, examines societal norms and explores topics that are considered risqué or taboo. Personally, I have always admired this trait in her and it shows that the woman has got balls.
Madonna has always had her fair share of critics and detractors. Her loudest consider her to be washed-up, past her prime and an old, wrinkly pop-star that should bow out of the limelight and disappear. Over her thirty-year career, she has dealt with being written off, yet at every turn, she always sends a bold message of defiance to all the detractors that are waiting for the day that she runs out of steam. Rather than running from her critics, she faces them head-on and has never backed down.
When she stood in the middle of Rogers Arena, half-naked and her pants dropped to her thighs showing off a tight and toned body, it was defiant! Sure, she was showing off her ass, but beyond the brazen sexual titillation was an under-lying rebelliousness. Rather than appearing desperate and trying to prove to the world that she is still sexy, she was sticking a proverbial middle finger to all her detractors that have written her off because of her age. With the crowd screaming and a lone spotlight highlighting her body, was she desperately screaming for attention? Absolutely! But was it to prove her sex appeal? Certainly not! If anything, the giant tattoo on her back saying "Free Pussy Riot" commanded and rightfully deserved most of the attention. But her half-naked display spoke directly to her haters sending the following messages:
"I know what you think of me and I don't care".
"I will not back down"
"You will never tell me what to do"
"You don't scare me"
Is it any surprise that the tattoo inked on her back says "No Fear" at certain dates of the tour? What is the message she is trying to convey here? Well, in her own way, she is reminding her fans to ‘never back down’ and ‘never let others dictate what you do’.
As always, Madonna was using her live shows to push buttons and ask questions that challenge the status quo; in this case, the question being - who says that a fifty-five year old woman cannot be proud of showing off her body?
This is what makes Madonna so compelling. Putting aside the high-energy dance choreography, the over-the-top production and sheer spectacle of the show, the most arresting aspect of Madonna, as a live act, are the visual interpretations of her music and the themes she addresses. It is one thing to hear her song "Girl Gone Wild", but another to see it as a rebellious confessional amidst Gregorian chants and a cathedral-like setting. Watching her sing "Papa Don't Preach" after she goes on a gun-shooting spree feels like a cathartic experience and watching her perform "Hung Up" with a gun to her head adds a dramatic undertow to the performance.
Madonna's biggest strength as a live act has always been her talent for combining dramatics in the interpretation of her songs. No one does this better than her, especially when it comes to double-entendres such as rebellion and confession, strength and vulnerability, masculine and feminine, etc. These universal themes permeate through all of Madonna's live shows and provide a heightened sense of irony and symbolism to each performance.
Going back to the section of her defiance in stripping to her bra, she immediately follows that with a emotional and soul-bearing performance of "Love Spent" where she is fitted into a corset by a male dancer who tightens it until she is out of breathe. Where, just a few minutes prior, she was standing alone onstage ablaze with rebelliousness, defiance and emanating strength, she is now vulnerable and completely at the mercy of her male counterpart.
Regardless of whether you love her or cannot stand her, there is something to be admired in the gravity of the moment where she shucked off her shirt and posed for the crowd to see. It was another demonstration of a woman doing things on her own terms and not letting anyone dictate how she will present herself to the world. In her own way, Madonna demonstrated strength and empowerment by daring to challenge the conventionally-held view that once a woman hits a certain age, she needs to act a certain way. As someone who recently divorced Guy Ritchie and is in the process of purging herself from the ghosts of two failed marriages, she has every right to blaze in defiance and do things her own way. Like all of us, she is trying to figure herself out and find her place in the world while holding true to herself. For maintaining this warrior and rebellion spirit and not buckling under pressure, Madonna embodies traits of strength, feminism and empowerment that all of us can learn and take something from.
