Madonna kicked off the European leg of her 54-date world Confessions tour in Cardiff
Tens of thousands of fans packed the Millennium stadium in Cardiff to see Madonna kick off the European leg of her worldwide Confessions tour in the biggest venue yet for the show.
A capacity crowd of up to 59,000 people were treated to the sold-out performance by the tireless 47-year old Material Girl as she performed for the first time in Wales.
The tour which began in Los Angeles in May featured "Madge" -- as British tabloid newspapers nickname her -- paying homage to her newfound love of horses since moving to the English countryside with an equestrian theme for the first act of the four-themed show.
The remaining three acts saw the Queen of Pop go native with a bedouin concept, grind out edgy tunes on an electric guitar in the 'Never Mind the Bollocks' section with a round off to the two-hour show featuring a highly-polished disco theme.
The first 3000 fans through the concert doors rushed the stage where they were held in a "golden circle" and got up close and personal to the star.
With an elaborate stage featuring all sorts of disco props for her album "Confessions on a Dance Floor", the sheer numbers speak for themselves.
150 workers were flown in from the United States and 200 local people were hired to bring the state of the art show to life. Stage and equipment weighed 200 tonnes, eight pairs of footwear and seven costumes were worn by the Material Girl, 22 dancers performed, and crystals totalling two million U.S. dollars made up a giant disco ball.
But devoted fans said they didn't expect anything less than the best from the singer.
"I've always liked her, she's a very good singer and a very good artist. We were on the internet and tried to book tickets all over Europe and it was only here in Cardiff where we could get one," said Trygue Brorbik who travelled from Bergen, Norway.
"I woke up at six this morning (0500GMT) and we had about three of her concerts on DVD so put them on telly (television) and everyone gets better but she's got the... everyone's brilliant cast and crew and dancers and that but she's got the edge if you watch little movements she's just got the edge on them," said Manchester native Kylie Castle-Howard.
"She's a woman. She's sexy, she's feminine, she's just the perfect woman. Every woman should aspire to be like Madonna, she's got the qualities. She's a business woman and everything, a mother, all rolled into one. And she works it all out really well," said Helen from Wales.
The Queen of Pop opened the show by descending from a giant disco ball that kept in theme with her current beat-infused sound in what some critics called a return to form for singer who got her start in the New York club scene in the early 1980s.
She wore a fusion between upper-class equestrian frills with skin tight jodhoppers and knee-high boots with a hint of bondage -- all in black -- as she opened with "Future Lovers" from her current album "Confessions on a Dance Floor".
But the Material Girl didn't forget where she came from, belting out old favourites like Eighties smash "Like A Virgin" during which she straddled a horse that was a cross between a merry-go round ride and a mechanized rodeo bull. Fans were enthralled by the spectacular sight.
The show was broken into four parts to span her three-decades long career at the top of the music charts.
In the bedouin section of the performance poignant words and images were flashed on the screen behind her in recognition for the work she contributed to in LiveAid and reflected the singer's growing political influences in her work, especially in her last album "American Life".
Images of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and former Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler were used to address past and present political concerns. At one point she looked out at the crowd and said: "I see all the different flags and I love it and you can change the world".
One of the most exciting performances of the evening was the disco throwback to the Swedish disco band Abba. Madonna donned a cape with the words "Dancing Queen" on the back of it. When she opened the cape, disco lights flashed out of it sending the already exciting crowd into a heady frenzy.
It was a showstopping performance for the last song "Hung Up" which was the first song released off her current album and the 11th UK number one for the Material Girl.
But the lack of an encore and indefinite ending left local fans wanting more, some even said they felt short-changed with one fan complaining: "She took our money and ran".
The tour next travels to Wembley Arena in London and finishes in Prague before moving to Japan in September.
Tens of thousands of fans packed the Millennium stadium in Cardiff to see Madonna kick off the European leg of her worldwide Confessions tour in the biggest venue yet for the show.
A capacity crowd of up to 59,000 people were treated to the sold-out performance by the tireless 47-year old Material Girl as she performed for the first time in Wales.
The tour which began in Los Angeles in May featured "Madge" -- as British tabloid newspapers nickname her -- paying homage to her newfound love of horses since moving to the English countryside with an equestrian theme for the first act of the four-themed show.
The remaining three acts saw the Queen of Pop go native with a bedouin concept, grind out edgy tunes on an electric guitar in the 'Never Mind the Bollocks' section with a round off to the two-hour show featuring a highly-polished disco theme.
The first 3000 fans through the concert doors rushed the stage where they were held in a "golden circle" and got up close and personal to the star.
With an elaborate stage featuring all sorts of disco props for her album "Confessions on a Dance Floor", the sheer numbers speak for themselves.
150 workers were flown in from the United States and 200 local people were hired to bring the state of the art show to life. Stage and equipment weighed 200 tonnes, eight pairs of footwear and seven costumes were worn by the Material Girl, 22 dancers performed, and crystals totalling two million U.S. dollars made up a giant disco ball.
But devoted fans said they didn't expect anything less than the best from the singer.
"I've always liked her, she's a very good singer and a very good artist. We were on the internet and tried to book tickets all over Europe and it was only here in Cardiff where we could get one," said Trygue Brorbik who travelled from Bergen, Norway.
"I woke up at six this morning (0500GMT) and we had about three of her concerts on DVD so put them on telly (television) and everyone gets better but she's got the... everyone's brilliant cast and crew and dancers and that but she's got the edge if you watch little movements she's just got the edge on them," said Manchester native Kylie Castle-Howard.
"She's a woman. She's sexy, she's feminine, she's just the perfect woman. Every woman should aspire to be like Madonna, she's got the qualities. She's a business woman and everything, a mother, all rolled into one. And she works it all out really well," said Helen from Wales.
The Queen of Pop opened the show by descending from a giant disco ball that kept in theme with her current beat-infused sound in what some critics called a return to form for singer who got her start in the New York club scene in the early 1980s.
She wore a fusion between upper-class equestrian frills with skin tight jodhoppers and knee-high boots with a hint of bondage -- all in black -- as she opened with "Future Lovers" from her current album "Confessions on a Dance Floor".
But the Material Girl didn't forget where she came from, belting out old favourites like Eighties smash "Like A Virgin" during which she straddled a horse that was a cross between a merry-go round ride and a mechanized rodeo bull. Fans were enthralled by the spectacular sight.
The show was broken into four parts to span her three-decades long career at the top of the music charts.
In the bedouin section of the performance poignant words and images were flashed on the screen behind her in recognition for the work she contributed to in LiveAid and reflected the singer's growing political influences in her work, especially in her last album "American Life".
Images of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and former Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler were used to address past and present political concerns. At one point she looked out at the crowd and said: "I see all the different flags and I love it and you can change the world".
One of the most exciting performances of the evening was the disco throwback to the Swedish disco band Abba. Madonna donned a cape with the words "Dancing Queen" on the back of it. When she opened the cape, disco lights flashed out of it sending the already exciting crowd into a heady frenzy.
It was a showstopping performance for the last song "Hung Up" which was the first song released off her current album and the 11th UK number one for the Material Girl.
But the lack of an encore and indefinite ending left local fans wanting more, some even said they felt short-changed with one fan complaining: "She took our money and ran".
The tour next travels to Wembley Arena in London and finishes in Prague before moving to Japan in September.
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