Canadian fans now have a chance to win pit tickets for the Re-Invention shows at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto with www.muchmoremusic.com

Madonna has made a career out of reinvention - and you've been with her every step of the way.
Now, we're giving you the chance to win VIP passes to Madonna's Reinvention Tour - giving you exclusive access to the Dance Pit right by the side of the stage! It's the ultimate way to experience Madonna live!
If you'll be in Toronto between July 18-21, enter the contest below for your chance to win!

80 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries you can view these pictures here.

madonnalicious visitor George took these great pictures from the first Worcester show on Sunday 27 June - he was on the floor, 4 rows from the stage.
You can view larger versions of all 8 pictures in the tour gallery

 

 

Here are some French articles which focus on Madonna's Kabbalah name Esther, her Nike shoes, Chanel bag, Dolce and Gabbana jeans and the fact that Guy is wearing a trucker hat saying Madonna Is My Homegirl!

 

madonnalicious visitor Adam had the greatest experience at the first Worcester show on Sunday - when the catwalk was lowered Madonna was directly above him!
He managed to get these two pictures of Madonna standing above him on the catwalk - click to enlarge the pictures.

 

Here are some fan report highlights from last night's show at the Worcester Centrum - to read the full reviews visit the fan reviews section:

Please keep sending in your tour submissions to webmaster@madonnalicious.com

From John:
Madonna was in top form from beginning to end....She never stopped! I could not believe it....the show was spectacular!
There was everything from a skateboarder to a flame twirling diva! I believe Madonna has outdone almost everything she has ever done on a tour!

From Eric:
She fell during Holiday and just started laughing! It was GREAT! To see her smile is worth a million dollars! She also atated how she was dedicating 'Crazy for you' to her fans that stuck by her for the last 15 years?! The she corrected herself by saying 'not 15, 20 fuckin years!'

From Mike:
What can I say about last night’s show that hasn’t been said already. I simply loved it. I sang my throat sore and danced my ass off!

New York’s most acclaimed gay dance party comes to Philly to celebrate Madonna’s Re-Invention Tour weekend.
Win exclusive tickets to the VIP Dance Pit courtesy Warner Bros. - be right on stage with Madonna, it’s the most amazing place to see the show! These tickets are not available to the general public at any price!

9pm -10pm: watch rare Madonna videos, commercials & international TV appearances on a GIANT movie screen. 10pm - 2am: dance to your favorites by Madonna, Britney, Usher, Janet, Christina, Outkast, Mis-Teeq & more.

Saturday, July 3: Trocadero Theatre (1003 Arch Street / 215-922-LIVE)
$5 Cover.

One of fellow fansite Madonna Tribe's sources in New York sent them a quick note to let them know that Madonna is carrying around a videocamera to film the fans from her view (for example as seen in the photo of Madonna sticking her head out of her car sunroof with a video camera in hand - published here in The Big M in New York story from the 25 June).

Apparently she's been secretly filming from her car as she leaves her apartment in New York and also on the way home from Madison Square Gardens.

madonnalicious visitor Guffman has sent in these fantastic pictures from the first Worcester Centrum show on Sunday 27 June - he was on the floor, 24 rows from the stage.
You can view all 13 pictures in larger versions in the tour gallery

 

 

Madonna started the first of four nights at the Worcester Centrum last night - here are some highlights from fan reports of the first show - to read 11 full reviews visit the fan reviews section:

Please keep sending in your tour submissions to webmaster@madonnalicious.com

From Eric:
Let me tell you....seeing Madonna with a guitar gave me a hard on! She totally kicks ass! She is evolving as a musician and her voice was, as others have reported, flawless!

From Doug:
During 'Don't Tell Me' someone in one of the pits distracted her and made her laugh so she didn't sing an entire verse, and during 'Nobody Knows Me' her heel got caught in the floor and she slightly tripped, stopped and looked at the floor, and moved on.

From Mike M:
I just got back from the first Boston show! I have read reviews from previous shows and seen all of the pictures....but NONE of that can prepare you for a night of the Reinvention Tour. I was blown away. Visually....this show eclipses Drowned World completely. The Beast Within was breathtaking. I got chills....and then to see Madonna arise on the stage made me scream like a 12-year old!

From Rik S:
She was so pumped up after 'Burning Up' that she threw her black hat into the crowd....immediately realizing she wasn't supposed to, she signaled the guy on the second row who caught it to give it back....the guy, of course, was not about to let go....so she used her mic and said 'GIVE IT BACK!' and laughed so hard she had to stop for a second to compose herself.

From madonna1ks:
The craziest time was after 'Crazy For You' when Madonna whipped off her 'Kabbahlists' shirt and balled it up, holding it like a football, ready to throw it into the first few right floor rows. The people were all jumping up as she threw it and then a HUGE pig pile began. The shirt did NOT survive and I watched for ten minutes as the last two fans played tug of war with a shred of cloth. I saw black pieces being passed around and it seems they compromised - everyone would get a Madonna shirt 'swatch'.

Pop superstar Madonna and her family were left stunned after a taxi exploded outside their New York home at the weekend.
The yellow cab burst into flames and the petrol tank blew up as it pulled up outside the singer's Upper West Side property.
Madonna, who is staying in the pad while she performs her Re-Invention tour, was nowhere to be seen, but her husband, director Guy Ritchie, was spotted watching the action from a balcony with three-year old son Rocco and stepdaughter Lourdes.
Manhattan firefighters managed to put out the blaze before it spread, and no one was hurt.
An onlooker says, 'There was obviously something wrong with the taxi when it pulled up outside Madonna's house.'
'Then smoke started pouring out of it and you could see flames coming from underneath it. A few minutes later there was a loud bang and the whole thing went on fire. It was very scary.'

Three press reviews from last night's opening show at the Worcester Centrum are available to read in full in the press reviews section.

Boston Herald - Madonna to fans: I'm Crazy for You
Near the end of her show last night at the Worcester Centrum, Madonna dedicated the prom-night oldie, 'Crazy For You,' to all those people 'who stuck by me for the last 20 years.'
It was a sweet moment in what was a truly spectacular show. Yet, the entire joyously breathless affair had the feel of that dedication to the fans.

Boston Globe - Madonna excels at the unexpected
Even before the mohawked skateboarder began riding the half-pipe during 'Hollywood,' interest in the thin red string circling Madonna's left wrist had vanished. As well it should have. With a two-hour show this gorgeous and this artful, Madonna hardly needed to rely on a spiritual stunt to generate the sort of excitement that, 20 years into her iconic pop career, she's still capable of conceiving brilliantly and executing it masterfully.

Providence Journal - Madonna's show overwhelms, exhausts
Madonna's Re-Invention Tour rolled into the Worcester Centrum for the first of four performances last night, and while there were new touches on several songs, the set-list emphasis was still on dance-floor thumpers, mostly from her last album, American Life. And the visual element was at least a co-star of the show.
The sheer scope was exhausting - costume changes after every few songs, a troupe of 10 backup dancers, a five-piece band, two backup singers, and four giant video screens showing different projections (as well as two more trained on the star of the show).

Tonight Madonna performs at the first of four shows at the Worcester Centrum.

If you would like to submit any pictures/reports/reviews from these shows then please email webmaster@madonnalicious.com - each show is unique so madonnalicious loves to get submissions from every concert!

madonnalicious visitor Sunday Morning has sent in these super pictures from the Sunday 20 June show in New York.
You can view all 35 pictures in larger versions in the tour gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The queen of pop has become the queen of ancient Persia - and she's got the Judaic trappings to prove it.
When Madonna - now also known as Esther (as in the Jewish queen who saved her people) - blows into town Sunday for the Boston leg of her Re-Invention Tour, she'll be schlepping more than the string of hits that made her 22-year career. She'll also be flashing the symbols of her newfound faith: Kabbalah, with a capital K, an offshoot of ancient Jewish mysticism.
The Hebrew letters lamed, aleph, vov (which together, as LAV, supposedly form one of the 72 names of God) will light up giant video screens behind Madge's dancing minions. A red string with seven knots (said to ward off the evil eye) will encircle the left wrist of the ex- (she says) Material Girl. A T-shirt reading 'Kabbalists Do It Better' will cling to her yoga-toned body.
Memories of tefillin - scripture-filled leather pouches worn during prayer, which Madonna uses in her music video `Die Another Day' - will hover over the turntable that spins center-stage. The house will be dark on Friday night and Saturday - the Jewish Sabbath.
What, we wondered, would local rabbis and scholars make of Madonna's Jewish routes?
None we asked questioned her intentions, though one did wonder whether she'd been drawn into the fold by the promise of immortality through potential DNA restructuring - a tenet, he'd heard, of the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, where Madonna, 45, practices. The same kind of molecular magic, performed by Centre leader Philip Berg, is rumored to transform upstate New York spring water into healing pre-Flood Kabbalah H2O.
But the experts did marvel at her lack of scholarship. 'I think she's a spiritual seeker and not just a faddist,' said Arthur Green, professor of Jewish thought at Brandeis University and a Jewish-mysticism scholar. 'She uses letters and they inspire her, and I have no objection to that. But I can't say there's any knowledge reflected there.'
Moshe Waldoks, rabbi of Temple Beth Zion, an Independent congregation in Brookline, was more skeptical. 'It's a very strange phenomenon to get involved with the Kabbalah without getting involved with Judaism,' he said. The Kabbalah Centre, which boasts 50 branches, including one in Newton Centre, proclaims on its Web site that 'Kabbalah is about `light' not religion!'
'I think one of the main issues that conventional Jewish leaders have with the Kabbalah Centre approach is that Kabbalah is historically and most traditionally something that was preserved for scholars who had achieved a fluency in rabbinic thought and literature,' said William Hamilton, rabbi of the Conservative congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline.
Rabbi Hamilton has no problem with the letters LAV being projected on a screen, because, he said, it's 'not one of God's names that cannot be erased,' that is, one of the seven names that, when they appear on paper, can't be discarded because they have an 'inherent sanctity.' Rabbi Waldoks doesn't think most people will even be able to distinguish the letters from 'pig Latin' or 'a design.'
The tefillin binding her arm in the music video are another matter. 'That I'd be more critical of because I think that gets into perhaps other associations with leather straps and the like, and I don't even want to go there,' said Rabbi Hamilton. 'A lot of people must think this is a bondage film,' Waldoks cracked.
Though the pop icon's brand of worship doesn't appear to put much stock in the central Jewish principle of mitzvot (good deeds), said the experts, good can still come from her embrace of Kabbalah, which has attracted Jews and nonJews alike for hundreds of years.
'Kabbalah has always attracted very serious followers and trivial, superficial followers, because it makes promises that sound very close to magic, like rewards for study that are not always spiritual but sometimes good fortune and magical powers,' said Green. 'That is not at all the true meaning of Kabbalah, but the element has always been there. Madonna is turning out to be surprisingly serious in her orientation.'
'Often it's the non Jew that gets fascinated who brings Jews to re-examine,' said Waldoks. 'Madonna's interest might ignite more Jews to rediscover. Shabbat observance is not one of the top things Jews do. God works in mysterious ways.'

US magazine Star reports that Madonna has just finished recording a 'Broadway-sounding' album that an insider says will be tied to the movie version of 'Hello Suckers', a movie that she would like to star in.

Even though Madonna's long-time backing singer Niki Harris didn't tour with her this year Niki is going to perform at the Official After-Show party in Chicago on July 11.

The party takes place at the Sound Bar and the advert that has been published gives this information:

The Sound Bar Official After-Show Party - with a very special appearance by the voice 'behind' the Material Girl for the past 18 years also starring in Truth or Dare.
Join the concert's back-up dancers, singers and....hopefully if she is in the mood....The Material Girl herself!

madonnalicious visitor Michael has sent in these great pictures from the Sunday 20 June show in New York. You can view larger versions in the tour gallery

Madonna was photographed in this Chanel bomber jacket while attending services at the Kabbalah Centre in New York.

Thanks to www.madonna.nu for the pictures.

FOX News' Week in Entertainment published this great article by Lisa Bernhard on the Re-Invention tour:

After seeing Madonna's 'Re-Invention' tour on both coasts — New York and L.A. — I'm looking for ways to re-invent my job so FOX News will fly me to other locales along 'Esther's' tour route. (I mean, is a quick hop across the pond for a Paris show really too much to ask?)
Whatever your feelings about Madonna (given name), Madge (nickname) or Esther (kooky Kabbala name) — and let's face it, all three can be irritating — 'Re-Invention' is simply one of the best stadium shows I've ever seen. It works on every level: 20-odd years of hit songs (some with terrific new arrangements), innovative choreography (not the same tired moves you see from Britney, Janet, etc.), creative costuming (from Scottish kilts to flapper girl skivvies), cutting-edge videography and perfect pacing.
There was only one difference between the New York and L.A. shows I saw — in the land of fair-haired hotties, Madonna made like a blonde and forgot the words to John Lennon's 'Imagine.' Oh, the musical sacrilege! What made it especially amusing was that she mentioned before she started the song that the lyrics are wonderful, important, timely — blah blah blah — so much so that she wished she had written it — and then, mid-song, she drew a blank!
To be fair, she had been ill, and had canceled the previous show. But let me tell you, the face value on my ticket was $300, and if I'd had actually paid for that ticket (rather than shamelessly accepting a complimentary one), I would have wanted every darn word of every song. (I did pay in New York, where my ticket price was a 'cheap' $105.)
It's funny, only Madonna could put together a show in which one minute she's singing, 'Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can' (words she actually remembered) and in the next she's belting out the virtues of being a Material Girl!

madonnalicious visitor SupmanNY filmed this clip of the Steven Klein directed video for The Beast Within at Madison Square Garden.

madonnalicious visitor Howie sent these pictures in from the last night (24 June) of Madonna's residency at MSG. You can view larger versions in the tour gallery

 

 

 

 

 

I saw her on opening night here at MSG, but tonight (21 June), she was smiling from ear to ear....and the best was with Don't Tell Me.....At the end, she had to repeat herself, because the crowd was cheering so loud, that she laughed, and had to repeat herself again, with the drummer doing like an encore beat.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in New York and Mike decided he would take a walk. The next thing he hears are sirens and sees two SUVs coming down the street.
A woman is sticking out of one of the SUVs sunroof with a camcorder....this woman seemed to point the camera in Mike's direction, and as they drove by he stared at her and said, 'Is that Madonna?'....the reply was 'Yes, that's Madonna.'

To read Mike's full story of his encounter with Madonna visit his blog here

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker was in the audience for Madonna's final show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
During Deeper and Deeper SJP ducked out to get a drink - she waited in line with everyone else and happily chatted to other Madonna fans waiting....but the line was moving so slowly it caused her to miss all of Die Another Day.
By the time Lament started SJP had enough of waiting and exclaimed....'I am going back in...I am missing a lot!'....and promptly ran back to the show.

Madonna finished her six night residency at Madison Square Garden last night - here are some highlights from fan reports of the show - to read the full reviews visit the fan reviews section:

Please keep sending in your tour submissions to webmaster@madonnalicious.com

From Scott P:
She elongated the coda of 'Don't Tell Me,' with several dramatic pauses and allowed us to shower her in thunderous praise. She is SO the queen! Love her!

From Chad:
She bent over laughing after squirting water into the audience at the end of Papa Don't Preach. Her voice was top notch. Like A Prayer was the show-stealer for the night - she demanded that there be no sitting to the people in the front rows. How could anybody be sitting? LOL!

From Alex:
She mentioned how sad she was that this was her last night at the Garden and proceeded to ask the audience if she wanted her to leave....which of course everyone screamed NO! It was a magical moment in NYC and we will always welcome her back anytime she desires to come.

From Mathew:
Well Madonna's no-cursing policy ended last night. Right before Crazy For You - 'This is dedicated to all of my fans who have been with me through thick and FUCK'IN thin! The place went nuts. Classic Madonna.

From Erik J:
Madonna reigns supreme! She was flawless last night! Her singing, dancing, and guitar were phenomenal!
I got goose bumps from hearing 20,000 fans singing along to Like a Prayer, Into the Groove, Papa Don't Preach, and Holiday.

Here are some pictures taken last night by Howie during Hanky Panky.

While wife Madonna is traveling around the country on her 'Re-Invention Tour,' hubby Guy Ritchie is doing what he does best - going behind the camera to direct! Tonight on ET, we go behind the scenes of the Englishman's exhilarating new Corvette commercial in which the busy streets of New York City were roped off for the thrilling ad!
The director of the quirky and eccentric films 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and the Brad Pitt vehicle, 'Snatch,' has directed a number of commercials, including the 2001 BMW Internet spot 'Star' with his celebrity wife in the lead role.
This time around, the Corvette commercial features a young boy in school who begins daydreaming about the sporty car. The boy imagines himself at the wheel doing death-defying stunts like flying through the air and making 360 degree turns and even catching the eye of a young girl also in a Vette.
The 2005 model hits dealerships in August, the same month the fun commercial debuts. Watch for the spot on August 13 during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics.
For your first look at the exciting commercial, tune in to tonight's ET!

Here are some highlights from fan reports of last night's show at Madison Square Garden - to read the full reviews visit the fan reviews section:

We have had some great pictures and fan reports from the New York shows but we would still like you to keep sending them in as each show is unique - please email webmaster@madonnalicious.com with all your submissions :)

From jrandy01:
Madonna went back to the 'Kabbalists Do It Better' shirt - meaning only one night so far with the 'Italians' shirt (Monday). During 'Mother and Father' there was a problem with the projections....when the song started, there was a freeze frame of George Bush with his head on Saddam's shoulder (the last image from 'American Life')....at first I thought she was making a new statement, but it lingered too long, then all the screens were black for a couple minutes. Midway through the song, everything was fixed and Maddy finished the night!

From Matthew:
Madonna continues to be in very good spirits! She was as enthusiastic as she was on Sunday (my second show), at one point squirting water on the audience between songs (water she'd just drunk deeply from). When the imagery for 'Mother and Father' was screwed up ('Bush' with 'Saddam' appeared on the screen from 'American Life' before it went dark, oops), she kinda realized it, looked back and said, 'I need subtitles....!' and kept singing.

From Mikey D:
OH MY GOD. THE BEST SHOW I EVER SAW. Madonna is a goddess. It was totally industry night cause so many people were sitting some guy even asked me to sit cause he couldn't see....I told him 'screw you you're at a madonna concert you better get on your feet'....thank God I was there with friends cause we were jammin baby.

From B. Wesley Heath:
Just a quick note about three of her MSG shows (6/16, 6/21, and 6/23): they just got better and better. Whether it's her voice getting stronger, her dancing becoming more fluid, or the whole machine just working its kinks out, the performances are markedly improving on an already great production.

From Hector:
Madonna exclaimed: 'Alright New York City, the party is JUST getting started! I want everyone to stay up and dance along to this next song' Then the opening chords and lyrics began: 'Life is a mystery. Everyone must stand alone. I hear you call my name; and it feels like home'. All of the hairs in my body STOOD UP and the crowd went absolutely BALLISTIC!

madonnalicious visitors torontoboy and torontophoenix took these pictures at Monday night's show at Madison Square Garden.
You can view large versions of all 32 pictures from torontoboy and torontophoenix in the tour gallery

   

   

   

 

 

 

French website www.nrj.fr have reported that extra tickets for Madonna's Paris concerts at Bercy will be on sale at 10.00am on Wednesday June 30 and are ONLY available from the venue.

Madonna, Lourdes and Rocco watched from behind-the-scenes as Guy shot a new commercial in New York on Fathers Day (Sunday 20 June).

You can view the pictures of The Ritchie Family on set here.

Fans in the UK should tune into TOTP this Friday at 7.30pm on BBC1 (Euro 2004 football schedule permitting) to enter a very exciting Madonna competition....

These fantastic pictures were taken at Monday night's show at Madison Square Garden by Slyguy :) Larger versions are available in the tour gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The US magazine In Touch featured this new picture of Madonna taken last week in New York City.

Click on the image to enlarge.

madonnalicious visitor Omar has sent these great pictures from the 16 June show at Madison Square Garden. Click on the images to enlarge.

 

 

 

Two out-takes from the Steven Klein shot Re-Invention tourbook were shown in the 20/20 ABC interview last week - here are some screen captures of them.

Meath County Council has formally granted a licence for the Madonna concert at Slane Castle this year.
The gig is due to take place on August 29 and will be first Sunday concert at the Co Meath venue since Bob Dylan performed in the 1980s.
About 30,000 tickets have already been sold. The licence for the concert stipulates that gates may be opened prior to 2pm if gardaí advise it on the day and also that locals shall have unrestricted access to the village for religious services on Sunday.

During last night's show Madonna made a costume switch - instead of her usual Kabbalists Do It Better t-shirt - Madonna and her dancers wore the Italian's Do It Better t-shirt as previously seen in the Papa Don't Preach video.

Many thanks to all the fan's who have been sending in tour reports/reviews and pictures/video clips. PLEASE keep sending them in!

To submit a review/report or pictures please email madonnalicious

Here are some highlights from fan reports of last night's show at Madison Square Garden - to read the full reviews visit the fan reviews section:

From jrandy01:
Notable, for the first time ever she was without the black knee support she's been wearing, and she and her dancers were wearing 'ITALIANS DO IT BETTER' shirts during 'Papa Don't Preach' and 'Crazy For You', instead of the Kabbalah ones we've been seeing. Madonna will never be de-throned.

From Chad:
She was very pumped tonight and loving every minute of the adoration of 20,000 fans. Once again, contrary to published reports, the house was filled to the brim. Someone threw a t-shirt on stage and the dancer kicked it away for her. You could see that she was so over that. Long live the Queen.

From mday:
After last night's outrageous show I was left thirsty for more! MADONNA IS LIKE A DRUG! I was UP FRONT on the floor and she made all my dreams come true. The whole thing was very liberating! It was a beautiful thing to be with so many people around me who also shared the love for Madonna. We were all mesmerized by her smile.

From Mikey P:
OH MY GOD! She was just sooooo FABULOUS! She just blows me away everytime I see her! No one can compare to her! Not even BARBRA!

From Michael Parisi:
The audience last night was simply full of loving, devoted fans who really helped reciprocate their adoration for this truly talented and amazing artist! Can't wait to see her again on July 8th in New Jersey!

From DJMarek78:
The video imagery throughout the whole show is just spectacular and it really makes the stage seem like there's more to it than it really is, especially for the opening of 'Vogue'.

From Ruben:
I loved it when she started Express Yourself with 'come on boys' all the gay men in the audience went crazy - what a fantastic start to pride week in NYC!

Thanks to madonnalicious visitor Terry for this picture of Madison Square Garden (above) and to Howie for these pictures from last night's show (below) in New York.

Here are some screen captures from Friday's edition of US TV's 20/20 when Madonna was interviewed by Cynthia McFadden. The show also featured many clips from the Re-Invention tour (see pictures below).

You can download the full interview from www.madonnainter.net

She's off again - for her 'Reinvention Tour', Madonna, the uncontested queen of pop and fashion icon always at the cutting edge of the trend, will be revealing her best assets.
This time the singer approached CHANEL, and Karl Lagerfeld designed two fringed bodysuits in a music-hall singer style - one in black and white stripes, the other in red and black.
His comment was, 'I love Madonna. She is a source of inspiration for us all - always ready to be transformed. Who could refuse to work with her?'
The items have been designed in a stretch fabric to accommodate the star's body movements, embroidered with some 200 000 sequins, each one set in place individually using a hook! An amazing achievement that took more than 250 hours of work by the nimble fingers in the Haute Couture workshops.
In all, three copies of each of the two outfits have been made, to make allowance for the little accidents that are likely to occur in the course of a six-month tour.

Below are pictures of the two different versions of the costume for the show - and Karl Lagerfeld's original design sketch.

Madonna hopes to have her next feature-length documentary ready to debut at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. A sequel of sorts to 'Truth or Dare,' the film chronicles her current Reinvention Tour and the 'new' Madonna, among other things.
Director Jonas Akerlund ('American Life,' 'Ray of Light') said that after each night's concert, he heads back to his hotel room to start editing, because the amount of footage he's collected so far is massive — some 150,000 feet in just the last two months. His crew said that the hardest part is keeping up with the Material Mom, who seems to have endless amounts of energy to dance, do yoga and run....

Here are some pictures taken by madonnalicious visitor Fernando at Madonna's Sunday 20 June performance at Madison Square Garden.

A piper who was hand-picked by Madonna to perform on her world tour is having the time of his life, his father has said.
Lorne Cousin, 31, was working as a lawyer in Edinburgh when he received a telephone call from the superstar asking him to play the bagpipes on her five-month Reinvention tour.
Mr Cousin, who is from Campbeltown, Kintyre, is now appearing with Madonna on stage in America, after taking leave from his job.
His father Alastair said his son was loving every minute of performing with one of the world's most famous women.
'I spoke to him a few days ago, and he seems to be enjoying the experience of being on the tour,' said Mr Cousin Snr.
'He is having the time of his life - he gets on really well with Madonna, there are no problems there.'
Madonna first noticed Mr Cousin when she heard him playing the bagpipes at her friend Stella McCartney's wedding on the Isle of Bute, last year.
Mr Cousin Snr, who is a vet in Campbeltown, became a friend of the McCartney family after looking after some of their animals.
He added that his son would continue with the tour of America and Canada until the middle of July, when he planned to take a 10-day break, before flying back for Madonna's European concerts.
Simon Mackintosh, a partner at the Turcan Connell law firm where Mr Cousin works, said today: 'We are delighted that Lorne has been given this opportunity.'

Many thanks to all the fan's who have been sending in tour reports/reviews and pictures/video clips. PLEASE keep sending them in!

To submit a review/report or pictures please email madonnalicious

Here are some reviews from last night's show at Madison Square Garden:

From Michael:
I just got back from the show....it was amazing. It is the second time I went to see it. I saw it opening night and again tonight. The crowd was great and Madonna looked and smiled at me a number of times. She gave it her all.
'Crazy for You' was dedicated to all the fathers in the audience and to Guy, who was 'somewhere in the house.'

From Fernando:
OMG....Madonna was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! This was my third show and I have 5 more to go! I cannot get enough of this show. I sat 5th row center last nite and I have no voice to prove it. She was tantalizing and mesmerizing!
Vogue couldn’t be any more of a classic opening, Nobody Knows Me was a definite party starter, the classics were phenomenal and the videos screens were a true art. Madonna, you are the Queen. She has sat the rest down, sorry Britney, you can NEVER even come close. A word of advice, use the inspiration not her ideas. MADONNA, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

From Thomas:
This was my best experience with Madonna! I went June 17th - and the 20th show was the best. The audience fueled the show and Madonna's voice was astounding! You will be shocked-no straining-not a note missed!
LAMENT brought the crowd to tears! Everyone was up dancing-laughing-and in awe of the Queen! Everyone after the show was talking how she made a point to her harshest critics - she is the best live performer that ever lived! Hands down. No other artist could ever dream of the heights Madonna continues to reach! You will fall in love with her all over again! Go see this show! You will not be disappointed!

The New York Daily News published yesterday a picture of Madonna taken last Friday as she was heading into the New York Kabbalah Centre.

Click on the image to enlarge.

US bookstore chain Barnes and Noble have published this review about Madonna's new book - review by Matt Warner:

Madonna spins another lesson-teaching yarn in her third picture book for children '(even grown-up ones),' this time drawing inspiration from an 18th-century Ukrainian teacher for a tale about overcoming selfishness to help others.
Paired with ornate, awe-inspiring illustrations by award winner Gennady Spirin, the author's tale - 'dedicated to naughty children everywhere' - centers on a cobbler, Yakov, who looks toward a wise man to help cure his deathly ill son.
Although the wise man's prayers alone cannot help Yakov, the cobbler's sincerity drives the old man to round up seven of the town's thieves and scoundrels, including the malodorous Stinky Pasha and a one-legged rascal named Ivan the Arsonist.
When a surprising group effort leads to the son's recovery, an explanation from the wise man reveals the miraculous reason, giving a jubilant Yakov and us readers plenty to ponder.
In her first children's book with a pre-20th-century setting, Madonna combines storytelling resourcefulness with a non-Western theme for a read that will sit comfortably alongside her previous two books.
Without a doubt, Spirin's artwork is the tour de force here, bringing to life Ukrainian landscapes and culture in a way that reflects the artist's remarkable attention to detail.
For those who enjoyed The English Roses and Mr. Peabody's Apples, this story, which follows a familiar format of old-fashioned fables, makes a fine addition to your Madonna 'literary' collection.

Yakov and the Seven Thieves, the third in a series of children's books written by Madonna was published worldwide today.

Seven slippery scoundrels.
One tricky lock.
An unlikely solution....
Yakov, the kindly cobbler, and his wife, Olga, are heartbroken because their son, Mikhail, is very ill. They seek advice from a wise old man, who enlists the help of seven thieves and proves that miracles can occur if we do good deeds.

Madonna was snapped last week leaving a beauty salon in New York - wearing a t-shirt that says MadonnaSummer

Mark, the designer of this t-shirt has written into madonnalicious saying he made the t-shirt for BODY a store in San Francisco to celebrate Madonna visiting the area on her tour - and was in complete shock when he saw Madonna wearing it in this picture!

Here is his original design for the t-shirt:

People from the Body Store are going to accept orders for the shirt over the phone. The number is 415 861-6111 The price is $23 plus shipping and the store will ship it anywhere.

madonnalicious visitor Adi have sent these fantastic photographs from the opening night at Madison Square Garden. Larger versions are in the tour gallery

 

 

Who can a star rely on to create a spiritually enlightened, Pilates-inspired, military-saluting, career-extending international road show? Jamie King has created pop spectaculars for Prince, Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. Still, directing and choreographing Madonna's Reinvention Tour, which opened here late last month, made all his previous assignments look easy. By the time it completes its three-month run, with 55 concerts in the United States, Canada and Europe, it is expected to gross $120 million.
Mr. King, 32, has worked with Madonna since she asked him to choreograph her video for 'Human Nature' in 1996. He recently talked with Valerie Gladstone.

VALERIE GLADSTONE Describe how you and she come up with ideas.
JAMIE KING We've been working together for a long time, so we don't have to go through the whole introductory process. It's more like 'Jamie, I saw this Ninja movie, and it was cool, and it might be cool to do something like that on tour.' Or, 'My kids have been watching `Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,' maybe we could do something like the dance with bamboo sticks from that as a transition into `Get Into the Groove.' '
GLADSTONE What happens when you disagree?
KING We had one major disagreement. Only a few weeks ago, I told her I thought she should replace a song she had already relearned with "Material Girl." She'd spent a lot of time learning the other song on the guitar. She'd also said publicly that she would never sing "Material Girl" again. So I had to convince her that it was a bigger hit and worked much better at the end of a particular sequence.
GLADSTONE Were you worried that the song wouldn't go over?
KING If the audience hadn't responded enthusiastically, I'd never have heard the end of it.
GLADSTONE What did you do after choosing the 12 dancers?
KING I set up four rooms in the Culver City Studios: the band room where Madonna worked on the songs with the musical director and the musicians; the choreography room where we developed the dances; the technical room, where I had the theatrical props, like the swings for the acrobatic dances. That's also where we rehearsed the fire handling and rifle choreography and skateboarding.
In another room, I had the entire stage taped out to scale with mock screens and elements of the set, all made of wood. Madonna wants to know exactly what everything will actually look like in materials as close to the finals as possible.
GLADSTONE The show has a variety of dance styles: tango, popping, a Scottish bagpipe procession and something called the krump. What's the krump?
KING Madonna likes me to bring her the newest thing. The krump is very in-your-face, very angry and confrontational, with the arms spread wide in a threatening manner. My dancers told me about it. It looks like you're fighting. It's a way for kids in tough neighborhoods to express their aggression, without really fighting. That's what she and I like about it.

Thanks to madonnalicious visitor Marinos for sharing this short video montage from the opening night at Madison Square Garden on 16 June - songs featured include Vogue, Nobody Knows Me, Frozen, Express Yourself, Burning Up, Material Girl, Hanky Panky, Deeper and Deeper, Die Another Day, Bedtime Story, Don't Tell Me, Mother and Father and Into The Groove.

The Daily Variety published a picture today of Madonna and Michael Moore after her opening night show at Madison Square Garden.
Madonna had given a speech during the show to urge all her fans to see Michael's new film Fahrenheit 9/11.

Thanks to Jamie at MadonnaMegaCollection for the scan.

Thanks to madonnalicious visitor Daniel we have these great pictures from the opening show at Madison Square Garden. Larger versions are in the tour gallery

Madonna is featured as the cover star of the NY Post supplement Pulse - the article discusses the price of tour merchandise.... Madonna's in particular.

Click on the image to enlarge and read the full article.

Madonna is the cover star of the May/June 2004 issue of Headliner - the Radio City Entertainment magazine from New York.

Excerpts from the '20/20' interview with Madonna are scheduled to be on Monday 21 June edition of ABC's Good Morning America.

madonnalicious visitor Lydia saw the advert for the show and had this to say:
Since there were some things in a promo I saw for the '20/20' interview that I did not see in the actual program, I would not be surprised if there were elements in this morning show redux that were not seen or heard in the '20/20' airing of Cynthia McFadden's interview.

NOTE FOR AUSTRALIAN FANS - Parts of the 20/20 interview are due to be aired on Sunday 20 June on Australian TV show 60 Minutes.

madonnalicious visitor and friend Chris has sent in this message about persuading Donna to do a club gig when she visits London in August with the Re-Invention tour:

I had an email from Lynn (Donna's Manager) a few weeks ago, about Donna doing a Club date in London.
She said that Donna had no plans to do a solo show in London, but said if there was enough interest she maybe able to talk Donna into doing one.
If anyone would be interested in seeing Donna perform, please post a message at the official Donna Delory Forum here

Donna did a wonderful club show during the Drowned World tour - and many fans hope she will do another gig in London again.

Fifty thousand tickets for Madonna's gig at Slane Castle were snapped up within hours of going on sale yesterday.
Not since U2 headlined at Slane Castle in 2001, when all 80,000 tickets were sold within two hours, have so many tickets for an Irish pop concert sold so fast, according to promoters MCD.
A thousand tickets a minute were sold during the first half-hour of box office sales yesterday with thousands more snapped up throughout the course of the day. 'It was the largest single selling event this year. It was like two Lansdowne Road gigs selling out immediately,' said Justin Green of MCD.
Thousands of fans across the country began queueing overnight for tickets, starting at 9pm on Thursday night, in order to ensure they would be among the 80,000 capacity crowd at the August 29 concert in Slane, Co Meath. Several hundred camped out on Dublin's Nassau Street in order to be at the head of the queue. Many of the fans bought the maximum number of six tickets available per person despite the €88.50 price tag per ticket.
Counter sales at Ticketmaster outlets were brisk throughout the day, but the bulk of the tickets were purchased over the phone, followed by in-person sales and on the internet.

Madonna has said US President George Bush and ex-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein are alike because 'they are both behaving in an irresponsible manner'.
She pulled the anti-war video for her American Life single last year because there was a 'lynch-mob' patriotism in the US at the time, she told ABC News.
'I have children to protect and I just didn't think it was the right time.'
Madonna's American Life video depicted Mr Bush kissing Saddam Hussein, and her tour has a strong anti-war message.
During the US interview Madonna tried to draw a line under her wild days, vowing to be 'part of the order, not the chaos, of the world'.
She said: 'The stance of a rebel is 'I don't care what you think'. But if it's just for the sake of upsetting the apple cart, you're not really helping people.'
'You turn the apple cart over and then what? Then everyone's looking at an apple cart that's turned over and they're like, well, now what do I do?'
The 45-year-old mother-of-two said her days of shedding her clothes on stage or in front of the camera are also over.
'I thought I was liberating mankind but, like I said, I wasn't really offering an alternative.'
'To a certain extent I was saying 'Look, you know, why do men only get the job of objectifying women in a sexual way? I want to do it too.'
'There was an element of that, but there was also an element of being an exhibitionist and saying 'look at me'. It wasn't that altruistic. I can admit that.'
Madonna - who was named after her mother - said she now wanted to be called Esther as part of her following of the Kabbalah religious teachings.
'My mother died when she was very young of cancer, and I wanted to attach myself to another name,' she said.
'This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name.'

madonnalicious visitor suckerman has sent these fantastic pictures from last night's show at Madison Square Garden.
All 17 pictures in larger versions are in the tour gallery

   

   

   

   

Thanks to madonnalicious visitor SupmanNY you can now download a short video clip from the opening night at Madison Square Garden of Madonna dedicating Crazy For You to her fans for sticking by her for the last 20 years through thick and thin!

madonnalicious visitor materialgirl has sent these super pictures from last night's show at Madison Square Garden. Larger versions are in the tour gallery

 

 

Thanks again to all the NYC fans who sent in their reports from the second night at Madison Square Garden - here are some highlights. To read the full reports visit the NYC fan reviews section:

From Robert L:
Speechless....I just have to say, though, that Burning Up, in fatigues with a guitar strapped on, is an I-can-die-happy-now moment.

From C-J:
The funniest thing was when she snapped at a guy on the floor for letting someone on his cell phone listen to the show!

From Robert C:
I had the time of my life last night and danced my arse off too! There were only a handful in the pit section and we all looked at each other like it was too crazy. Once again it was luck, chance and good karma. I was truly appreciative to be in the pit section!

From materialgirl:
The energy in the place was electric, the entire stadium sang along to all the classics sending chills up my spine! I am going to more shows and I'm counting down the days! If you dont have tickets....GET SOME. Madonna is here to stay....BOW DOWN TO HER MADGESTY!

From Geoff:
The first night at the Garden, she dropped her stick during Into The Groove....she just laughed and picked it up. Turns out, she's human just like us. And the second night, she was having trouble with her mic pack during Frozen. She looked beautiful and she smiled for practically the whole night....and was really into it, which was great to see.

madonnalicious visitor Jermaine has sent these great pictures in from last night's show in NYC. Larger versions are in the tour gallery

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to tune into ABC Friday for Cynthia McFadden's exclusive interview with Madonna on 20/20 Friday night at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Please check your local listings.

Pop star Madonna has partly won her bid to prevent ramblers from walking across most of her £9m country estate.
The singer claimed 142 hectares of land at Ashcombe House, on the Wiltshire/Dorset borders, had been wrongly classified as 'open country'.
She and husband Guy Ritchie said at a public inquiry last month their human rights would be infringed.
A ruling by the Planning Inspectorate said the public would not have access to more than half of the land. It means walkers will not be able to go within sight of the couple's home, sitting in the estate's grounds.
The Countryside Agency, which is mapping parts of England to implement a new Rights of Way Act, had classified the land as 'downland'.
Under the new law, this gives the public the right to access.
The Act states that the public can walk across any land appearing on the final map as open country - mountain, moor, heath or down - or registered common land.
But Mr and Mrs G Ritchie, as they were listed in legal papers related to the case, appealed against the Agency's findings.
The Countryside Agency chose not to contest six of the 17 parcels of land originally in question. The inquiry examined the remaining 11 parcels, covering 120 hectares, and the Inspectorate ruled that two - a total of 54 hectares - should be mapped as open country.
A Countryside Agency spokeswoman said: 'The appeals process gives people the chance to make sure we get the mapping process right - and we want to make sure the mapping is right.'
Despite the Inspectorate's decision, The Ramblers Association said it was pleased with the result.
'The national walking charity is delighted that half of the land contested at the public inquiry has been classed as open country and that walkers will have access to 54 hectares of beautiful downland,' the group said in a statement.
A spokesman for Madonna and Mr Ritchie said the couple would not be commenting on the result of the inquiry.

Here we have an absolutely fantastic picture of Madonna caught up in the Music with her dancers during last night's show at Madison Square Garden.

 

Here some more pictures that madonnalicious visitor Joseph took at last night's Madison Square Garden show!
Larger versions of the pictures can be found in the tour gallery

 

 

Here is Joseph's review of the show:
The show opened to Vogue, and it sounded great....for a few minutes I was living the Blond Ambition Tour all over again.
The music was totally awesome throughout, she played the hits between songs from her Hollywood album. She did Hanky Panky from Dick Tracy.
The sets, dance routines and videos were shocking! The crowd was totally thrilled to see Madonna in her adopted home town again....For this show she has the best dancers ever....Period.
She made an emotional thank you to Director Michael Moore for Fahrenheit 9/11 which she told us she had seen the night before. She was still 'shaken' from it. It was a poignant moment showing us the REAL Madonna!
Then she Dedicated 'Crazy for You' to her fans, for 'sticking with her for thick and thin for 20 years'

Just a quick reminder to fans hoping to get tickets to the Slane Castle show or the extra Manchester date - tickets go onsale tomorrow morning (Friday 18 June).

For details on how to buy tickets visit the tour section.

Before singing Imagine last night at Madison Square Garden, Madonna spoke passionately about Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11 which she had seen in a screening on Tuesday night.
She encouraged fans to see the film, and told how it had deeply moved her and made her cry more than any other film had.

You can now download a video clip of Madonna making this speech - Right Click And Save Target As - with many thanks to SupmanNY for the clip

Note - Michael Moore is a big fan of Madonna as well - in the acknowledgements of his best-selling book Dude Where's My Country? he thanks Madonna for being one of the musicians he listened to while writing his book.

Here's a small picture of the interior of Madison Square Garden showing the stage set-up before last nights show.

Thanks to all the NYC fans who sent in their reports from the first night at Madison Square Garden - here are some highlights. To read the full reports visit the NYC fan reviews section:

From Michael:
Just got back from MSG....lets just say my ears are still ringing from the sounds, hands are still raw from clapping, throat raspy from singing and screaming, and wired from all the dancing! In a word....INCREDIBLE. Madonna is having fun again!

From Ben S:
She really worked hard on stage, dancing and singing. She plugged Michael Moore's new movie, saying she was still shaken by it (and it seems like she was). A couple people boo'd, but most cheered.

From Mathew:
What I witnessed tonight was yet another step in Madonna's long journey. While in my mind nothing will ever match the Blonde Ambition Tour, The Re-Invention Tour was certainly a magnificent display and yet another 're-invention' of the artist Madonna.

From Jason:
What a wonderful night! By the middle of the show she was in completely full force. Like A Prayer was a true highlight for me and everyone around me....

From Big Happy Mo Fan:
Highlights for me included - well, EVERYTHING! Vogue was amazing and sounded spectacular. Frozen was lovely. Deeper and Deeper was lovely and understated, simple and playful. Nothing Fails was WONDERFUL. And Into the Groove with the drums and pipes was just ASTOUNDING. And I smiled so much during Crazy For You that my face still hurts a little.

From Eric:
I am just getting back from the opening night at Madison Square Garden and OMG am I still in a complete trance.
From the spine chilling opener of 'The Beast Within' to the end with 'Holiday', Madonna proved why she is my favorite singer and why she always will be. Her singing was flawless.

From Brian E:
Madonna is a goddess and last night once again was proof that the diva is here to stay forever. Britney....Christina....Jessica....Jennifer....bow down ladies....the throne still and always will belong to Queen Madonna.

Here are a selection of press reviews from the first night of Madonna's six-night residency at Madison Square Garden - to read the full reviews visit the press reviews New York City section:

NY POST - Madonna 'Call Me Esther' Rocks N.Y.
She may have adopted the new name Esther, but it was the same old Madonna electrifying Madison Square Garden last night.
In a barrage of video imagery, campy dance routines and hit songs, last night's opening concert of Madonna's six-show Garden series was more artistic regurgitation than reinvention - despite the title of this tour.
That isn't saying the tightly wrapped 'Re-Invention' extravaganza wasn't fun eyeball candy. But in most ways, this show seemed to be the old Madonna in a new bustier.

NY DAILY NEWS
Madonna wows true-blue crowd

Whether you call her the Material Girl, the Mother of Re-Invention - or even Esther - one thing seems clear: Madonna still rules in New York.
After a three-year break from the stage, the sexy superstar brought her Reinvention Tour to packed Madison Square Garden last night and rocked the joint.
She had the crowd from the get-go, rising up from the stage clad in a gold bustier, itsty bitsy black shorts and sky-high boots, and launching into one of her biggest hits, 'Vogue.'
Applause rattled the rafters when she threw in a back bend and handstand worthy of Olympic consideration.

Thanks to Evan of Kingdom To Madonna for the NY Daily News scan.

Here is a look at the electronic billboards outside NYC's Madison Square Garden - proclaiming last night's show to be a sell-out!

 

Rodrigo, the President of Madonna Unconditional Fan Club in Brazil and website www.madomaniac.com has written to madonnalicious to tell us about the up and coming Madweek in Brazil:

'Madweek 2004' - one of the best Madonna events in the world involving many Madonna parties all around Brazil. The event will take place during 16-24 July in Brazil.

The supporting acts for Madonna's show at Slane Castle on 29 August have been named by the promoters ww.mcd.ie as The Darkness, Iggy & The Stooges and Paul Oakenfold. More acts are to be announced soon.

Madonna starts her six-night residency at New York's Madison Square Garden tonight.

If you have any tour reviews, reports, pictures or any memorabilia from the shows and would like to share it with the rest of the visitors to madonnalicious - then please send them to webmaster@madonnalicious.com

Remember you can discuss all the latest tour news in the Re-Invention tour forum - a place where you will also find some goodies from 03 June at Anaheim to download.

Here are further highlights from some more fan reports from the Washington D.C shows. Read the full reports in the Washington D.C fan reviews section:

From M:
I also loved the way she threw in some of 'Intervention' into 'Mother and Father.' The sound system was incredible. There's just so much going on in the show with the music, video monitors, dancing, sets, that sometimes it's hard to focus. It all makes it all the more better though. I can't believe how fast the show goes. Only an indicator on how much fun you have!

From Brian:
The last two nights just reminded me why I've been a fan for 20 years and why you should never miss Madonna in concert. Occasionally someone will think I am just crazy for being such a huge Madonna fan but I was just reminded these past two nights that they just have no clue of what they are missing ;-) I am ready to sign up for another 20 years!

From Kelly:
The screens were awesome and I especially loved the beginning with shots taken from the X-Static Process Book shoots and from W magazine. The Beast Within was awesome, as was Bedtime Story! Those trapeze artists were fab! I really enjoyed both shows and am thankful that I got to see it both nights in DC and from two completely different perspectives!

US magazine Star featured a two-page feature on The Ritchies enjoying a day in Central Park on Saturday 12 June.

Thanks to Jamie at www.madonnamegacollection.com for the scans.

Madonna's West Coast concerts have placed her at the top of the Billboard top-grossing concert charts. Her concerts are placed at number 1, 2, 3, and 5th in the charts with only Prince's concert at the Staples Centre (at number 4) stopping Madonna getting a clean-sweep at the top of the charts!

The Forum, Inglewood, grossed $6,965,055 with a full attendance of 43,158.

MGM Grand, Las Vegas grossed $7,005,548 with a full attendance of 28,341.

The Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, grossed $4,164,450 with a full attendance of 24,250.

HP Pavilion, San Jose grossed $5,543,715 with a full attendance of 40,205.

Ticketmaster is gearing up for the expected huge demand for tickets for Madonna’s first ever Irish concert at Slane Castle when tickets go on sale this Friday morning (June 18th).
Ticketmaster will have an extra 250 staff on duty to take calls from fans when the lines open at 8am on Friday.
Tickets priced €88.50 (including booking fee) are limited to 6 per person and go on sale from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide or 24hr hotlines:
Tel: (ROI) 0818 719 300 (NI) 0870 243 4455
Or Buy Online at www.ticketmaster.ie
Already Ticketmaster has been inundated with thousands of calls from fans about Madonna’s long-awaited Irish debut at Slane Castle on August 29th when the Queen of Pop will perform all her greatest hits.
'We are expecting a massive demand for Madonna tickets', explained Mr Eamonn O’Connor, Managing Director, Ticketmaster Ireland, 'This concert has been talked about for years and now Madonna is finally coming there is real excitement amongst fans.'
He added: 'We are bringing in extra staff to man the phones and oversee the internet site while Ticketmaster outlets around the country will also be open from 8am. We expect to be very very busy because everyone wants to see Madonna.'
Amongst the special preparations being made by Ticketmaster are:
1.Extra capacity on Internet lines
2.Extra capacity on telephone lines
3.Extra personnel
4.No queuing allowed at Ticketmaster outlets before 7am on Friday
5.Security arrangements at key Ticketmaster outlets

Madonna will appear in a taped interview on Friday's edition of 20/20 with Cynthia McFadden - where she talks about her tour, her family life, Kabbalah and explains why she has taken on the Hebrew name of Esther.

Madonna, the master of self-invention, has come a long way since her 'Material Girl' days. While she has no regrets about her moves on her climb to pop diva status, she tells ABC News' 20/20, 'I brought a lot of chaos to people's lives, because of my selfish behavior.'
In her latest incarnation, the wife, mother, children's book author and still-touring pop star says the ruling philosophy in her home is 'pick up your s--t.'
Madonna may have made a career on rebellion, irreverence and sexually charged performance, but when it comes to her children, manners are important. 'Even my children have to clean up their mess, clean up their rooms. Manners, thank you, please, take your dishes to the sink. I mean....gratitude, being grateful, that is, that has to happen....If it's traditional to be a decent human being, then I'm traditional,' she told ABC News' Cynthia McFadden.
Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie in 2000. They have a son together, 4-year-old Rocco, and Madonna has a 7-year-old daughter, Lourdes, whose father is Madonna's former personal trainer, Carlos Leon.
Madonna says her favorite aspect of getting older is 'getting smarter' and gives a rare glimpse of her private life with Ritchie. She tells McFadden she believes the key step to a successful marriage is 'learning to apologize.' She also shares one of the couple's daily rituals, saying that after her grueling performances, she goes in the tub and her husband talks to her about the day.
Madonna also speaks candidly with McFadden about her study of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbala, which she believes is 'incredibly punk rock' and anti-establishment.
'Kabbalists believe in immortality. They believe that you can overcome death, overcome illness, whatever, so, it's....incredibly good to be a rebel,' she said.
Madonna also reveals that she has also taken on the Hebrew name of Esther, explaining that, 'I was named after my mother. My mother died when she was very young, of cancer, and I wanted to attach myself to another name. This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name.'
Madonna also discusses her third and latest foray into children's literature, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, which hits bookstores June 21.
Madonna has dedicated the book to 'naughty children everywhere,' saying that, 'Even the naughtiest person in the world, big or small, has the capability to do something good in the world.'
Describing herself as 'naughty child, number one,' she espouses the power of prayer. 'I pray every day and I believe that it is a very powerful way to communicate, to heal, to affect change.'

20/20 will also air exclusive footage from Madonna's Reinvention tour, which comes to New York City's Madison Square Garden today.

Watch Cynthia McFadden's exclusive interview with Madonna on 20/20 Friday night at 10 p.m.

Madonna took time off from her Re-Invention tour in New York to pay a visit to see one-month old baby Apple, the daughter of friend Gwyneth Paltrow.
She was accompanied on this visit by her own daughter, seven-year-old Lourdes.

Madonna's official fanclub ICON have just announced the pre-sale dates for the Manchester and Slane Castle tour dates:

We are excited to announce several new ticketing presales for Madonna's re-Invention Tour that will take place on June 16th!
As a member of ICON, the official Madonna Fan Club, you will have an exclusive chance at the opportunity to buy tickets early through the Icon Web site members-only ticket page, before they go on sale to the general public.
On June 16th, ONLY existing ICON members will have access to these general Fan Club ticket pre-sales. Pre-sale tickets will be available for the following cities:

August 14 - MEN Arena - Manchester, England
Presale: June 16 @ 9 AM EST

August 29 - Slane Castle - Dublin, Ireland
Presale: June 16 @ 9 AM EST

To take advantage of this chance at pre-sales, just go to the ICON Web site and click on the ticketing section. Please note that the shows will not appear on the ticketing page until each show sale has opened (see the schedule for each show's pre-sale time).

Here are some highlights of some more fan reports from the Washington D.C shows. Read the full reports in the Washington D.C fan reviews section:

Mike provides us with the quote of the tour so far....I'd rather pee on myself than leave a Madonna show!'

From Mike:
I was expecting everyone to be singing 'Nothing Fails' along with her! And they weren't! And that is because most of the people at the concert have not bought, nor listened to American Life! And that is a shame! She did a gorgeous job, but that would have definitely been better to hear 20,000 other people singing it as well.
I could almost tell that Madonna was a bit surprised and I have to say it felt like an awkward moment. But after it was over, the crowd gave her a big applause.
Same with 'Hanky Panky,' the majority of people were not grooving and many used this time as a bathroom break. I'd rather pee on myself than leave a Madonna show!

From Chris:
She was awesome. Her voice was extremely strong and she seemed to never run out of energy. The show kept going without any pause and moved with such ease that you would think the crew had been doing this for years. It felt like a giant party, everyone was having a blast.

From Shari:
Hearing some of the American Life songs in concert gave more meaning to the songs and I came away adding a few of those to my list of favorites. So, thank you to Madonna for all the years of hard work and entertainment. Keep it coming. She truly is an American ICON.

From Roman:
My favorite time was when 'American Life' came on. She was right in front of me I yelled out 'Madonna I love you!' and she smiled at me I almost melted into the floor! Then her dancer was over there and he winked at me. I was thinking to myself 'My God this is surreal!' I could not believe I had the best spot in the entire MCI center.

Remember you can discuss any tour news in the madonnalicious tour forum.

madonnalicious visitor Trinity sent this report in from the first Washington D.C show about some technical difficulties Madonna encountered during the show....and how well she dealt with them:

I was amazed when Madonna was singing Mother and Father and her mic pack on her back was acting up.
She kept fooling with it and playing with her ear piece and then you could see her look left of the stage and shake her head.
A few seconds later a guy came out and replaced her pack on stage while she was singing. She didn't miss a beat, her voice didn't waiver, she was perfect....knowing Madonna, they probably practiced that too.
Then, as quickly as he left the stage, she looked back to the left and smiled and started singing even stronger!

The Washington Post reporter David Segal wrote a great review on the MCI Center, Washington D.C show:

By the time the skateboarder began riding a half-pipe ramp set up in the middle of the stage, there was no choice but surrender. The guy was soaring to the right, then to the left, just like they do in the X Games, and at that point anyone who wasn't already entertained into submission had to wave the white flag.
Still to come was a troupe of bagpipers, a tap dancer in white tails and a trapeze trio that swayed and contorted in unison. An hour into the Madonna concert at MCI Center on Sunday night, the realization dawned: Our Material Girl was never going to run out of material.
Certainly not until she had wheezed new meaning into the word 'concert.' It's unclear what a night at the 'Reinvention Tour' should be labeled, but the words currently available won't suffice. Madonna has created a new performance hybrid, one that lifts and blends elements of Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, Rock the Vote rallies, art installations, extreme sporting events, church sermons, disco dances and gun-spinning military drills. For a few songs, it even looked like a rock concert.
Here's the weird part: It's not a mess. It's actually kind of amazing.

To read the full review - visit the press reviews Washington D.C section.

Madonna's official website Madonna.com has been updated with a fantastic new picture from the performance of Die Another Day from the tour.
The front page has also been updated with the new Manchester date (14 August) the Slane Castle date (29 August) and the Lisbon date (12 September).

Financial terms of yesterday’s litigation-ending settlement between Madonna’s Maverick Records and Warner Music Group (WMG) were, of course, not disclosed, but reports of various details are cropping up:
The L.A. Times reports that WMG will pay Madonna and partner Ronnie Dashev a total of about $10 million for their shares of Maverick, while Guy Oseary (who has agreed to continue to run Maverick from inside Warner Bros. in Burbank) 'agreed to sell part of his stake,' upping WMG’s ownership of the label to more than 75% from its previous 40%.
The New York Times, citing an exec told about the deal, says WMG’s cost to buy out Madonna and Dashev was 'more than $10 million' and that Oseary will retain his stake, but that WMG now owns about 80 percent of Maverick.
A third take, in the New York Post, puts Madonna’s payout at about $10 million, with Dashev to be paid an undisclosed amount for her stake, which, with Madonna’s larger piece, amounts to 35% of the label, thus bumping up WMG’s ownership to 75%, with Oseary keeping his 25%. The Post, noting that the $10 million-plus payout for the additional 35% is well below the $200 million Maverick was seeking in its lawsuit, also says all catalog rights remain with Maverick.

Pop star Madonna is to sell her record label Maverick to its parent company Warner Music Group after a long-running battle between the firms.
Madonna co-founded Maverick in 1992. It launched Alanis Morissette's career and was The Prodigy's US home.
Warner is to buy Madonna's stake and that of her business partner Ronnie Dashev. Warner already owned 40%.
Maverick sued Warner in March, alleging a breach of contract over Warner's 'mismanagement' and 'profit-taking'.
Madonna will remain signed to Warner for her solo work.

'It was an effective way of settling the lawsuit,' Maverick's lawyer Bert Fields said. 'It's clean and equitable, and it doesn't have anything to do with her record contract.'
Madonna's other partner in Maverick, Guy Oseary, has signed a new contract with Warner as A&R chief. He will retain his shares.
Lyor Cohen, Warner Music's chairman, said: 'This new joint venture agreement is clearly a win-win for both Warner Music Group and Maverick.'
'We are pleased that Guy Oseary, one of the most successful A&R executives in the industry, is continuing his relationship with both companies.'
Court documents produced by Warner as part of its pre-emptive defence against Madonna's $200m (£112.5m) legal action suggested Maverick had lost $66m (£37m) since 1999.

UK ticket website www.ticketmaster.co.uk has just announced the following:

We can announce that Madonna will be playing a second concert at the MEN Arena on August 14th 2004. Tickets go onsale on Friday 18th June at 9am.
Ticket prices will be £84.50 ,£101.00 and £163.50 including booking fee.

96 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries you can view these pictures here.

This week's Picture Of The Week is a HQ promotional picture of Madonna and Al Pacino in Dick Tracy sent in by madonnalicious visitor MaxVamp.

Thanks to more of madonnalicious visitors - you can now read some fan reports from the first Washington D.C shows. Read the full reports in the Washington D.C fan reviews section:

Remember you can keep sending in your great show reports, reviews and pictures from the shows to webmaster@madonnalicious.com

From Kate:
Just returned from the Madonna concert. So utterly amazing. Madonna began Like a Prayer with God Bless America and after the song Madonna said we were the best crowd so far. Everyone was on their feet.

From Hans:
The concert was fantastic. She sounded great and danced her ass off. It was nothing like Drowned World at all – it was fun, poignant, danceable, and absolutely worth every penny.

From Vitug2:
Outside of the venue fans were still energetic and dancing, and the streets were alive with Madonna fans as far as the eye could see. Everyone commented on a flawless performance and voice! Her voice left me in awe. She was 100 times stronger since her performance in Evita, 'Lament' was proof. The women is and will be a true icon.

From Eric:
Unfortunately, I was too drunk to remember much of last night, which means I'll probably have to spring for another ticket to the Philly show.
I do, however, remember Madonna announcing that we were the best audience they'd had on the tour so far - take that West Coast!

From VABlue:
A highlight of the show was Papa Don't Preach - a cool effect happened as the female dancers and Madonna joined hands in a ring-around-the-roses dance and the lights were lowered. It turned them into these silhouettes, and with their long kilts they looked like little girls with dresses on. I'm sure it was intentionally done. It caught my eye immediately. Very artistic.

If you want to discuss any tour news - please visit the tour forum.

Here is the scan of the New York Post article that was published last week featuring pictures of Madonna, Guy, Lourdes and Rocco in New York's Central Park. Note how Guy is wearing a Madonna Is My Homegirl trucker cap! Click on the article to enlarge.

The Slane Castle tour promoters have released this official statement:

The wait is finally over. For the first time ever, Irish fans will get their chance to see the Material Girl this summer as part of Madonna's re-Invention World Tour 2004. The tour which is sweeping across major markets in the US before continuing to Europe is now confirmed to play Slane Castle on 29-August 2004 subject to license.
By both artistic and commercial standards Madonna's re-Invention tour is a smash hit. The New York Times called Monday's sold-out debut, 'Dense, dizzying - exhilarating.' The London Sun said, 'Today's generation of Pop Idol wannabees should listen, learn and take note from a woman who has no intention of handing over her crown for a good few years yet' and Rolling Stone said: 'She's putting more love and genuine passion into her spectacle than ever.'
Madonna is both a multi-Grammy Award winner and a multi MTV Award winner and has sold well over 250 million albums during the span of her extraordinary two-decade career. In addition, she has had more Top Ten Singles than any female artist in history - second only to Elvis Presley.
Now, Madonna's devoted Irish fans will have a chance to see not only the Queen of Pop live in concert playing all of her greatest hits, but will also get the chance to see some very special guests yet to be announced.
Tickets priced € 88.50 (including booking fee) are limited to 6 per person and go on sale this Friday 18th June at 8.00 AM from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide or 24hr hotlines: Tel: (ROI) 0818 719 300 (NI) 0870 243 4455 or Buy online: www.ticketmaster.ie
Promoter recommends that persons under 18 are accompanied by a parent or guardian over 21 years.
For complete Tour and Ticket Information, visit www.madonna.com

More great tickets (including floor front blocks) have just been released onto www.ticketmaster.com for the Chicago shows.

Here are highlights of the final article which madonnalicious helped to get interviewees for last week:

For $302, you could see Madonna. Or, you could buy a Whirlpool DU951 PWB dishwasher or one of a dozen other major household appliances.
Well, you get the idea. Or at least your wallet does.
'Apparently the market will bear this, for the right act,' says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a trade publication that covers the concert business.
Fasten your seat belts - some of this summer's top concert prices in the metropolitan area are going to the stratosphere.
To see Madonna (beginning a six-night engagement Wednesday, Madison Square Garden; July 7 and 8, Continental Airlines Arena), Elton John (July 14-18, Radio City Music Hall), Clapton (June 28-30, Madison Square Garden), and several other major artists from the best seats, people are cheerfully paying the kind of money that used to be reserved for a family vacation, a major appliance, or a medical emergency.
Well, maybe not cheerfully. But they are paying it.
'You also have to remember that most people are buying at least two tickets, so that's double the cost,' Bongiovanni says. 'And God forbid if they want to buy a T-shirt.'
And that, of course, is not counting the average $10 or more in service charges per ticket, and the money that goes to parking, tolls, food, and other ancillary expenses.
Of course, for some people even a monitor would be too close to performers they don't like.

People like Dave Gardner of Toronto, 24, who is seeing five Madonna shows - two at Madison Square Garden - this year, all at the top $302 price.
That's, let's see - yikes. $1,510. And worth every penny, Gardner says.
'It's an all-encompassing, awesome experience,' says Gardner, who has seen Madonna eight times on three previous tours.
'You can criticize her acting, her vocal ability, but when she puts on a show, it's really a show,' he says.
When Madonna tickets went on sale, Michelle Serrapica, 30, of New York, didn't think twice.
She bought tickets to nine shows, including the six at Madison Square Garden and two at Continental. Only two of the nine were the $302 tickets, though. 'The other ones I couldn't get the top ticket,' she says.
Did she think about what else she could get with the roughly $2,000 she spent for these shows?
Not really - though she isn't putting her family in hock, she says.
'I didn't take time to say, should I do this,' Serrapica says. 'If anybody asked me, my answer was, 'It's Madonna.'
Though Madonna's Re-Invention tour features the summer's priciest seats, she's not the first to push the $300 envelope.
In Chicago and Houston last year, the Rolling Stones charged a $350 top price; Billy Joel and Elton John charged $300 for the best seats at their joint performance in Detroit.
Naturally, acts that can successfully command those prices are few and far between. It depends on the artist and also, in the case of Madonna, on the circumstances.
'Who knows the next time Madonna will tour?' says Jim Steen, spokesman for Clear Channel Entertainment, which is promoting the Material Girl.
'Acts like [Madonna] are more like Halley's comet than the coming of spring,' Steen says. 'Madonna tours infrequently; you don't know what her plans are as an artist.'

A check on eBay found folks selling Madonna tickets for $600 to $1,000. Other brokers on the Internet were selling some of the best seats at Madison Square Garden for $1,580, $2,635, and $2,880.
Then too, today's rock shows are more elaborate, spectacular, and costly affairs than they were years ago, Steen says. Audiences get what they pay for. 'Look at what a Madonna show costs,' he says. 'Look at the sets. It's like a Broadway show.'

'If Madonna was to charge $400 five years from now, I'd pay that,' says Chris Chillino, 30, from New York, who is seeing four of the Madison Square Garden concerts at $302 a pop.
'It's completely worth it for me.'

To read the full article by Jim Beckerman - visit www.northjersey.com

Madonna's husband Guy Ritchie admitted yesterday he thought the Kabbalah cult was only after his wife's money.
The film director believed the religious group was targeting Madonna 'for the simple reason that she is rich'.
But Ritchie, 35, is now a confirmed group member after meeting founder Rabbi Philip Berg. And he defended the sect of Jewish mysticism.
He said: 'Kabbalah is an extension of the way most of us try to live our lives.
It's just about being a decent person. Put it this way, I've never met a kabbalahist who is a c***.'
Ritchie also rejected claims it is a dangerous sect which reels in the rich and famous. He said Madonna, 45, was not asked to pay for 'spiritual enlightenment'. 'After six years, she has never received any kind of bill from anyone.'
Madonna is rarely seen without the sect's trademark red string bracelet.

Here are the covers of the X-STaTIC PRO-CeSS press kit which was given to members of the media at the opening of the exhibition in Dusseldorf.

Click on the images to enlarge.

More great tickets (including floor front blocks) have just been released onto www.ticketmaster.com for the 25 June date in Atlanta.

New York newspaper Newsday featured Madonna on the cover and a large article looking the different personas and music styles of the Mother of Re-Invention:

From ambitious, sexed-up club kid to spiritual children's book author, Madonna has seemingly done it all in the past 21 years. Though many focus on her long-running love affair with controversy, her musical accomplishments often get overlooked. She has more Top 10 hit singles than any artist except Elvis Presley, according to Billboard magazine. She has five of the Top 100 biggest-selling albums of all time - only seven acts have more. And she has done it with a dizzying array of personas and musical stylings.