An Intimate, Feel-Good, Dance-Filled Evening With Robyn

I was sort of ambivalent about going.  My boyfriend had to work and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go it alone.  But then again it was Robyn...

There's Madonna, there's P!nk, and then there's Robyn!  These are three ladies, all of a different stature in the world of pop music, and Robyn surely holding the least, but none of these three are more dear to my heart than the other.  Each of these ladies have had an indelible impact on the soundtrack of my life and so how can any of them visit my town and me not go see them?  As the week wore on and Robyn's first ever visit to the "World's Most Famous Arena" drew closer, I became more and more excited at the prospect of watching once again what I believe to be pop music greatness in action.  I bought myself a ticket yesterday afternoon and excitedly boarded the train into the city straight after my workday.

This was the third time I've seen Robyn in concert, and though each of the three concerts were very different, they were all great in their own way.  Robyn has a knack for making pop songs that actually mean something.  They're thoughtful and real, and the dance undertones of her music make her a very special entity in the pop/dance music world.  During her over 20-plus years in the business, she has amassed quite a base of adoring fans, as evidenced in my Song of the Day post from this morning, and her energy and enthusiasm while performing is largely unmatched.

Back in November, Robyn announced the Honey Tour in support of her first album since 2010's monumental Body Talk series.  The tour started and will finish in her native Scandinavia, but in between she included shows across the U.S., and her New York stop would bring her to Madison Square Garden.  

Robyn Turns Madison Square Garden into smoke-filled after-hours club

I am not a professional concert-reviewer by any means, but I do what I can, and this headline from the NY Post's Chuck Arnold says it best.  For more than two hours last night, a sold out crowd of Robyn's fans, including me, danced and sang along as if they were in the more intimate setting of a late-night club.  

The Swedish songstress segued perfectly through the songs of Honey, blending them with tried and true favorites from Body Talk, 2005's Robyn, and even her 2015 collaborative dance floor jam with La Bagatelle Magique, Love Is Free, a definite highlight for me.  Indeed, from the moment she entered the stage performing her new Send to Robyn Immediately/Honey, the crowd was on its feet, where it stayed until the very last of five encores.  

The entire evening was a euphoric experience which by now has famously carried over into the subways after the show was over.  Check out the two videos of impromptu dance parties down below MSG on Billboard.

Well, that's all I've got to say about my wonderful Friday evening.  I can't wait till next time!  Please check out some photos of the show, as well as the set-list below...

Send to Robin Immediately

Honey

Indestructible

Hang With Me

(Paola cover)

Beach2k20

Ever Again

Be Mine!

Because It’s in the Music

Between the Lines

Love Is Free

Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do (The Mekanism Remix)

Dancing on My Own

Missing U

Call Your Girlfriend

Encore:

Trust Me

Stars 4-Ever

With Every Heartbeat

Encore 2:

Human Being

Who Do You Love? (Joakim Remix)

(Kindness feat. Robyn cover)

Song of the Day - Dancing On My Own - Robyn (& a few thousand friends at MSG, NYC)

I am basking in the afterglow of Robyn at Madison Square Garden in NYC last night and though I was going to post the lead single to the Honey album she is supporting on the tour, Missing U, I accidentally came across this video, posted by one of my fellow concert-goers after the show last night.  It is a scene that gave me goosebumps and one which I recorded myself, not only because it is probably one of my favorite Robyn tunes, but the mutual adoration in the building between singer and fan was obvious.  Of course this is not exactly the same as being there, but it's still pretty darned special!  Here's Robyn and Dancing On My Own...

Song of the Day - Ever Again - Robyn

Robyn.  One of my favorite singers of all time is coming to the Garden this week, and I don't have tickets!   After such a long wait for something new, we Robyn fans were finally rewarded last October with Honey, her first solo studio album since Body Talk, which is one of the most precious of gems in the soundtrack of my life.

Honey has been lauded as one of the best records of the year, and admittedly, I haven't given it the attention it deserves, neither in my listening habits or on this blog.  But having her on the horizon in my neighborhood brings her back to my forefront and I'm going to pay her some attention now.  Here she is, looking as fabulous as she's ever looked, performing the perfectly chill Ever Again, on the Ellen Show.  Check it out...  

Song of the Day - Lightning - The Wanted

The immensely talented Alessia Cara played Radio City Music Hall last night in NYC in what turned out to be a great show, not only from the headliner, but the two opening acts, as well.  Up and comers Nathan Sykes, formerly of The Wanted, and Canadian singer/songwriter Ruth B both gave inspired performances in warming up the crowd for Cara.  Being a fan of The Wanted, I couldn't help but want to post one of their tunes today in favor of one of Sykes' new tracks from his forthcoming debut solo album, Unfinished Business.  I will get to that soon, I promise, but in the meantime sentimentality takes over and herein I present one of my favorite Wanted songs...  

Song of the Day - Roam - B-52's

Today is Field Trip Day!  Every year I take my students to one of the greatest places on Earth, which just happens to be a couple of hours trip from our school. Yes, I'm talking about New York City.  Over the past few years, my class has gotten to experience just a bit of what NYC has to offer, including a trip to see Wicked on Broadway last year, the Statue of Liberty, MoMA, and Central Park, our destination today.

This will be our second trip to one of the most well-known city parks in the world.  I polled some past students about what their favorite trip was in order to get an idea for this year's venture, and to a person, they all said Central Park.  Central Park is such a unique and fun destination for the students because we'll get to mix a little bit of learning along with some time to just roam around enjoying the space and one another.  And such is my choice for today's tune.  Check out Roam...

  

Five Suggestions That Would Have Made "Rebel Heart" a Better Show

It's hard to believe that it's been three days since Madonna already.  This is the first time since then that I've had any time to write about it, so... 

A lot of my fellow Madonna fans aren't going to like some of the things I'm going to say here, but I feel I must.  From the initial reviews and the reactions of my friends who were at the show, it seems I am in a tiny minority when it comes to what I thought of the Rebel Heart Tour.  Perhaps it's because I love her so much I may be overly critical, and I've seen her often enough that maybe I'm just used to something different, but I didn't see the show as all that great.  

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it.  On the contrary, I was up and dancing and having a good time all night long.  Any Madonna concert is not just any old concert.  Her shows, starting with the Blonde Ambition Tour way back when, have been downright legendary and an unparalleled experience in live entertainment.  That being said, the Rebel Heart Tour, to me, wasn't as legendary as, say the Reinvention Tour or even the MDNA show. 

Before I even discuss the show,, check out the setlist, as arranged in four separate acts:

Act One: Joan of Arc / Samurai

1. “Iconic”
2. “Bitch I’m Madonna”
3. “Burning Up”
4. “Holy Water”
5. “Vogue”
6. “Devil Pray”

Act Two: Rockabilly / Tokyo

7. “Body Shop”
8. “True Blue”
9. “Ghosttown”
A10. “HeartBreak City” / “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”
11. “Like A Virgin”

Act Three: Latin / Gypsy

12. “SEX” contains excerpts from “Justify My Love”
13. “Living For Love”
14. “La Isla Bonita”
15. “Deeper and Deeper”
16. “Music (Get Stupid)”
17. “La Vie En Rose”

Act Four: Party / Flapper

18. “Candy Shop”
19. “Who’s That Girl”
20. “Rebel Heart”
21. “Illuminati”
22. “Material Girl”
23. “Unapologetic Bitch”
24. “Holiday”

Pretty cool, right?  You know, from the looks of the songs and from the reviews I've seen so far, this tour seems like it might be a greatest hits tour.  She's performing a  lot of songs she hasn't done in a long time, and the nostalgic tone she's taken on stage so far would seem to suggest that as well.  Well, the setlist would seem to please those fans of her earlier work, but for those of us who've followed her all along, more recent stuff was sorely missing.  That was just one of the beefs I have with the show. 

Here are five suggestions that would have made me happier with the Rebel Heart show.  Perhaps if these elements were present I'd have been on StubHub this afternoon now trying for tickets to tonight's show at Barclay Center in Brooklyn...

1 - A Stronger Opening

Madonna opened the show with Iconic, from the Rebel Heart album.  One of the key elements of any Madonna tour is drama, especially in the opening, and I thought this one was a poor choice in that department, especially in comparison to the Girl Gone Wild opener at MDNA.  Iconic is not my favorite tune off the album.  It probably will never reach single status either.  Living For Love, the upbeat debut single, would've made a much better choice to open the show.  On a side note, Bitch I'm Madonna was done way too early in the show.  Being that it's her latest single, and it's a lot of fun, perhaps it would've been better done right before Holiday at the end.

2 - What Happened to the Last 15 Years?

With the exception of Candy Shop and of course the current album, the most recent song she did was 2000's Music and before that 1992's Deeper and Deeper.  In this fan's opinion, I would much rather have seen performances of maybe Ray of Light, Human Nature, Celebration or Revolver, Hung Up, or perhaps a ditty from the last album.  Turn Up the Radio would've been cool!  Of the older stuff, True Blue was refreshing, Burning Up rocked, and Material Girl was fun, too!   I could've done without La Isla Bonita and yet another subpar version of Like a Virgin (though this one was much better than the last time!).   I know Madge's catalog is deep and wide, and I am sure it must be difficult to narrow things down, but to forget all about three of the last four albums.  Eh!

3 - No Showstoppers

I remember once upon a time, I saw the Confessions Tour in Miami with my nephew and his young Brazilian wife.  Aricalea had never seen a concert before and I took great pleasure in watching her face light up as she watched the spectacle that was that show.  Almost every Madonna concert has numbers where the entire audience is up on its feet, in awe at the happenings on stage. Unfortunately, to me none of the numbers in this show had that something special.

The closest thing that came to a showstopper was during Illuminati, which was really an interlude played over the speakers as the icon went backstage for a change of costume.  As the lights went up, several flexible poles were fixed on the stage, each with a different dancer standing atop.  The choreographed number was pretty darned cool and one of my favorite parts of the entire show...and Madonna wasn't even on stage!

4 - No Ghosttown?

I said in my review of Ghosttown that it was one of the biggest power ballads Madonna ever performed, as big as Live to Tell or Rain.  Though it was on the setlist, she skipped that one on Wednesday.  

5 - Encore Encore 

The last time Madge played the Garden, I had complained that she didn't even hit the stage until around 11 p.m.  This go around was much better, as the festivities began shortly around 9, a much more conducive hour, especially for a weeknight.  This night, however, it also seemed that the concert was made ever so much shorter as there was absolutely no build-up between the finish, Unapologetic Bitch (which to me was sort of anti-climactic, even when she brought out opening act Amy Shumer to the stage and officially dubbed her a member of Madge's gang), and the encore, Holiday.  It seemed that within a minute of finishing the former, the singer returned to the stage with her very first big single, an appropriate finish, but the whole thing was way too abrupt.   

So there, I think I do have some legitimate beefs with the Rebel Heart Tour, and this particular stop at MSG.  If any of you die-hard Madonna fans take offense to any of my suggestions, please don't.  I've been following Madonna since day one...her songs are a huge part of the soundtrack of my life since I was a teen.  It may not sound like it, but I did have an awesome time the other night.  I think I just could've had an even better one... 

Song of the Day - Deeper and Deeper (Rebel Heart Tour) - Madonna

One of the best numbers of the Rebel Heart Show at Madison Square Garden last night was her rendition of this favorite track off Madonna's 1992 Erotica album.  One of the biggest questions surrounding any new Madonna tour is how she will perform the oldies on her set-list. Oftentimes, she reincarnates old ditties into whole new songs, and sometimes the finished product can be totally unrecognizable,  other than the words (Just Google Like a Virgin on the MDNA Tour!) .  For this one, she pretty much stuck to the original and it was pure fun!  Check out Deeper and Deeper...  

Song of the Day - Girl Gone Wild (MDNA Tour Opening) - Madonna

Tonight is the night!  Madonna.  Madison Square Garden, NYC.  The Rebel Heart Tour.  Excited!  If you've ever seen a Madonna show before, then you know how the excitement builds and builds like as the time draws nearer and nearer to showtime.  A Madonna concert is like no other, and from the reviews of this show so far, this one's gonna be right up there with the rest and the best of them.  If you've never seen a Madonna show before, well then check out the opening number to her last, the M.D.N.A. Tour.  This opener was especially dramatic and I remember getting chills when I saw it live.  Ah, memories...

  

An 80's Song of the Day - Tell It To My Heart

I feel the night explode

When we're together...

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Last night, I ventured into NYC to celebrate my friend Eric's birthday.  The party was taking place at Culture Club, an 80's themed nightclub that I've somehow managed to miss during the many years it's been around.  Several of my friends who'd been there told me that it was going to be a lot of fun, and boy was it!  I tell ya, the 80's was a great decade for music and pop culture in general, and this place featured it all.

newyearsevecentral

It's really too bad that a lot of people, for one reason or another, couldn't make it, because the night would have been that much more fun.  In all there were four of us, Eric, me, and Tom and Daved, and we had a blast taking it all in.  The place is very kitschy, and it covers the 80's in a variety of ways, with 80's pop culture decor in every corner of the space...movie posters, iconic figures painted on walls, Ferris Beuller's Day Off playing on a video screen, drinks named after 80's figures, and of course awesome 80's music.

examiner

The only negative thing I could have said going into the place was that it is a straight club.  But it is New York City and....well, somewhere during the evening, Tom said it best: You know, this is what I love about New York City.  There's all different kinds of people.  

And no one judges!  I added.

It's true.  Being in the city that never sleeps is as anonymous as it gets.  You see all types of people all the time, so none of it is a big deal to anybody.  And so we danced, the four of us.  We danced to all kinds of 80's music, and even some tunes on the fringes of the decade, both before and after.  There was 80's metal rock, early 80's leftover disco, freestyle, dance/rap (This is How We Do It), music from 80's icons like Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson, and some good old fashioned 80's dance music, which bring us to our Song of the Day.

One of my favorite songs that we danced to last night was Taylor Dayne's Tell It To My Heart.  This Long Island gal packed some voice, and with classic, fast moving 80's style dance beats, this one is a bona fide classic.  So if you spent your formative years during the great decade of the 80's like I was, then click play and relive a fond memory or two...

Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour Is Coming!

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September 16th!  

That's the day Madonna will be bringing her Rebel Heart Tour to Madison Square Garden in NYC. With just about a week to go before the total album is finally released, Madonna has announced plans for a world tour to support the album, beginning August 29th in Miami (with only one stop in NYC!?!), and making dates in 35 cities. Tickets go on sale as early as March 9th and you can read more about it on Ultimate Madonna.