The most shocking thing about Madonna’s “Rebel Heart” tour, which opened at Montreal’s Bell Centre Wednesday, had nothing to do with sex (how could it at this late date?).
And it had nothing to do with religion, though she did offer such token Madonna-esque stunts as nuns swinging on stripper poles and dancers gyrating on holy crosses.
Instead, the surprise of the show came in smiles.
Throughout nearly the entire two hour event, Madonna could barely stop grinning. For anyone who has followed Madonna tours from the start, the sight of it couldn’t help but startle.
Never a warm live performer, Madonna tends to grimace through her concerts, stressing athleticism and discipline over all.
This time, she seemed to having a blast. It helped that she was supported by her best-choreographed, and most rewardingly theatrical, show since her peak “Blonde Ambition” show twenty-five years ago. Together, it made for an infectious night that brought the Canadian crowd to a series of spontaneous, and escalating, standing ovations. It didn’t hurt that she sang “La Vie En Rose,” both in French and in surprisingly bold voice.
The bright tone of the show made for a striking contrast to the star’s last tour, “MDNA,” a dark and violent affair that often ended up puzzling to boot. “Rebel Heart” had no such pretense. In fact, it may be Madonna’s lightest roadshow to date.
That’s not at all to say it’s unsubstantial. On the contrary, the triumph of the “Rebel Heart” tour is how it finds Madonna taking ownership of her legacy with an unprecedented maturity
She began that approach on the tour’s nakesame album, which found her in a newly self-referential mode.
Madonna mirrored that here by featuring no fewer than nine of its tracks, including the show’s opener, “Iconic.” For this initial section of the show, Madonna drew on her time-honored mixture of the erotic and the reverent.
Her twenty dancers, dolled up as medieval warriors, bore cross-topped weapons. In a slow, graceful take on “Vogue,” Renaissance images of religious figures replaced movie stars while Madonna and her dancers posed at “The Last Supper” table.
While the star used to position such displays as social commentary, here they seemed to have more to do with reasserting her own long history with them.
Madonna delved deeper into her personal story in the second act, which found her on the hood of a ’60s Chevy in an auto repair shop, a clear reference to her Detroit roots. She emphasized a rare sincerity here by singing the unashamedly romantic “True Blue,” while playing a ukulele, of all things.
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Madonna came the closest she’s ever going to get to a “greatest hits” display in the third act, where she offered touchstones from “Lucky Star” to “Everybody.” The latter she hasn’t performed live since the early ’90s.
Even so, none of the older songs sounded anything like they had on their albums. To suit the matador-themed theatrical accompaniment, Madonna reimagined them as Spanish-tinged ballads.
Madonna included in her run of oldies “Who’s That Girl,” which she delivered as a solo acoustic ballad. After singing it, she admitted that it took her a hell of a long time to answer just who this particular girl may be.
Then, she went into “Rebel Heart,” a song about the joy of self-discovery. The theme allowed Madonna to run through a wide range of characters in the show — including a ’20s French cabaret star — while maintaining a solid through-line.
It also helped her pull off what may have been the show’s most stunning move. When performing “Like a Virgin,” she appeared on the gaping stage entirely alone, dancing with a freedom and innocence that made her, at 57, seem once again new.
Set List:
Iconic
B***h I’m Madonna
Burning Up
Holy Water
Devil Pray
Messiah
Body Shop
True Blue
Deeper and Deeper
Heartbreak City
Like a Virgin
S.E.X.
Living For Love
La Isla Bonita
Dress You Up
Everybody
Lucky Star
Who’s That Girl
Rebel Heart
Illuminati
Music
Candy Shop
Material Girl
La Vie En Rose
Unapologetic B***h
Holiday
