Sticky & Sweet: Amsterdam and Dusseldorf

Wow! Can I just say wow? My first two shows (out of 4) of the Sticky & Sweet World Tour have been nothing but amazing! But in Amsterdam and in Dusseldorf Madonna absolutely rocked my world, just like she does on every tour I see her (these were my 10th and 11th times I saw her, after the Paris shows on September 20 and 21 the total will be 13 times).

Annelies and I got to Amsterdam around 6 PM the night before the show. We went in the queue, together with the rest of the regular group of people, so as you can imagine we had a great time seeing each other again, and had lots of catching up to do. The weather was, at this point, still fine, so we could even get some sleep. We had built a large tent on top of the barricades, which held us warm and dry until about 11 the next morning. Security then ordered us to remove the tent, after which it started raining like mad. Needless to say, we weren't in for a pleasant afternoon.

Around 6.30 PM we were let into the Amsterdam ArenA, where the Hot Ticket holders were already blocking the first two rows (more on this later), so we had to settle for row 3, after waiting for 26 hours. We positioned ourselfs in the corner of the main stage and the catwalk, and admired the stage setup. At about 7.30 Robyn came up for the pre-show, which was actually pretty good, even though I'm not such a big fan of pre-shows.

Then, at about 9.30, the houselights went down and the crowd started screaming. The fabulous new C-A-N-D-Y intro started (way better than the promo-tour version earlier this year), and all of a sudden, there she was, sitting on her throne: the Queen of Pop, Madonna. She looked fabulous, although I do feel she should work out just a little less. She appeared in a great mood, and her voice was terrific! After opening song Candy Shop she greated the audience and went right into Beat Goes On, for which she placed herself on a oldtimer driving down the runway.

Loads of fantastic songs followed (see the setlist on the bottom of this post) and I was screaming my lungs out. Madonna told us we were her favourite crowd so far (this was only show #5 so it wasn't a big deal) and held her microfone over me during final song Give It 2 Me. After that, the big screens flashed GAME OVER, and the show ended. We were extremely tired, but loved it!

We spent the night in Amsterdam at a friend, and then went to Dusseldorf on Wednesday, for the show on Thursday. We had a good drive and arrived in Dusseldorf at about 7 PM. We decided not to queue all night, since during the Confessions Tour 2006 in Hannover, this didn't prove necessary, so we took our chances this was always the case in Germany, and went for drinks downtown. Luckily, we were right, cause when we arrived fresh at the LTU Arena at 8 in the morning, we were second in line at our security gate. Again, a great day in line, with lots of fun, and better weather than in Amsterdam.

When the gates opened, again the Hot Ticket holders were let in early, but we managed to get a great spot at the end of the runway, to see the show from a very different perspective than in Amsterdam. It turned out, this was a way better place to see the show, so were extremely happy. Madonna was in a great mood, and told us we were amazing. She made us sing Like a Virgin for her (in Amsterdam it was Express Yourself, I wonder how many different songs she will let the audience sing as the tour progresses). She gave me a blow kiss and made me very happy!

So, as highlights, I would say the stunning Evita ballad You Must Love Me, the kick-ass new version of Vogue, and the fabulous intro. Downsides are the fact that Hot Ticket holders are let in early, after we've been in line for 24 hours or more. I know they pay a lot of money for their Hot Tickets, but I just wish these kind of tickets didn't exist, and we could just go back to the way it was before.
Another downside to me is that, when you're not standing at the end of the runway, you miss a coupld of songs Madonna plays there, since you're looking at her back. Still, this is only a minor downside, since in Dusseldorf we didn't have this problem at all.

All in all, I love the Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008, and I can't wait to see the show again on September 20 and 21 at the Stade de France in Paris!

Setlist:

Candy Shop
Beat Goes On
Human Nature
Vogue
Die Another Day
Into The Groove
Heartbeat
Borderline
She's Not Me
Music
Rain
Devil Wouldn't Recognize You
Spanish Lesson
Miles Away
La Isla Bonita
You Must Love Me
Get Stupid
4 Minutes
Like A Prayer
Ray Of Light
Hung Up
Give It 2 Me