From Gary:
I won pit tickets from MTV to last night's concert at the MGM Grand. All I can say is WOW. The show was technically intricate and very lively. Madonna was absolute perfection! She was on that stage about 95% of the 2 hour concert.
We were in the stage right pit, up close and personal. She (and her dancers) made a point of making us feel special. She was inches from all of us throughout the concert, and yes, I did touch her....she high fived us throughout the night. She came over to the pit consistently to make sure we knew we had the tickets to beat.
Let me say one thing, that woman can sing! Anyone out there who says otherwise should keep their mouth shut unless they have seen this show. She sounded fantastic and she looked like she was having the best time. Almost every time she came over to us she was smiling or had a smirk on her face because she knew we were in heaven.
I have been a fan for years and let me tell you it was surreal. The Beast Within is very freaky at the opening and it just gets better from there. Also being in the pit allowed us to see into the stage and what was going on underneath. I live in Chicago and I am so glad I won these pit passes from MTV because I couldn't get any tickets here, she sold out too fast. Thank you Madonna for an absolutely magical night. Madonna is hands down the best entertainer out there! I am still reeling from the experience!

From Graziela:
I'm from Brazil, and when she played there for the first, and only time, during her The Girlie Show I wanted to go but I was only ten and I couldn't get in - the show was rated for 14 years old.
As I broke my right foot last monday, I called ticketmaster and asked for a handicap exchange for my ticket. The cab driver drop me of at the back of the Grand Arena.
As I got there, Madonna was doing the sound check and I got to hear her performing Frozen. It was absolutely beautiful and I started to cry.
The show started at 8:40 approx. I had pretty good seat, 1st row on the right side, because they moved me to a wheelchair accesible one.
The Arena went crazy when the video started playing. Than she started to sing 'Vogue' and the whole crowd was crazy again. Her voice sounded different at first - it seemed to me and my boyfriend that she was nervous at the first song and than she started to relax and more like her.
The audience was kind of weird. It wasn't a typical Madonna fan's crowd. It looked like there was a lot of people that won the tickets at casino tables and just went there. Everyone in my seating section, except for me and my boyfriend, was seated during the whole concert. And they were actually yelling at me to seat down. Of course I didn't.
Even with a cast on my right foot I danced the whole time. I had a blast. She actually said at some point of the concert 'You guys better stand up! I'm not used to have people sitting at my shows. I'm spoiled!' Than I gave a dirty look to those people seating behind me and I said: Did you hear that?
She was looking amazing and her singing skills improved a lot. Her voice sounds so clear and smooth.
The only thing that I didn't like much was the bedtime story video. It was too repetitive. They kept showing the same images over and over. She was looking really good on it, it was just to poor for a Madonna show.
Anyway, the concert was awesome. I had the best time of my life!

From Eamon John:
I had the honor and privilege of attending Madonna's opening night and her first show in Vegas!!!!! Here are some words to describe the experience: thrilling, frenetic, thought provoking, musically daring, well-sung, and 100% pure fun!
Her voice was clear and powerful, her moves were inspiring, and she drove me to scream, cry, and praise her message! The show is full of mixed messages and created an immense amount of debate amongst the attendees afterwards. This is what I love about Madonna: she forces public debate whether it be sexism, AIDS awareness, or the state of world affairs. No other pop artist in history has the ability to elicit feelings of joy, sorrow, and anger all in the time period of less than two hours!
My favorite performance was 'Nobody Knows Me' since it showcases what Madonna does best: commune with her her audience. Musically, 'Deeper and Deeper' blew me away as it was beautifully re-invented and put in a perfect context. Matching the bagpipers and drummers up with 'Into the Groove' was so unexpected as was putting 'Express Yourself' in a military context complete with spinning rifles. During the finale, 'Holiday,' I literally thought the Madonna and the audience were going to blew the roof off the venue!
The show was nothing short of AMAZING and my hat is off to Madonna and team. I have been a fan since 1985 and she has kept me intrigued ever since! Viva Madonna!

From Alyssa:
I'm 14 and I have been a Madonna fan for years. For my first ever concert I was lucky enough to get a chance to go to both of Madonna's concert's in Las Vegas. I also stayed at the MGM. It was insane. Everywhere you went they only played her music and you saw her on TV. The merchandise was everywhere. I ended up spending over 700 USD on merchandise, so those of you who plan on buying a lot, bring lots of money because it's expensive.
The shows felt different in Vegas. They wouldn't let me bring my sign in and it felt like me and the guy I was sitting next to (decked out in beads and a red feathered boa) were the only ones hysterically screaming. I was sitting in row 'A' on the upper levels and when I was screaming insanely before the show started, yelling out 'I love you Madonna' I saw four sections of people just staring at me. All the same, Madonna was at her very best!
She sang beautifully and her choreography was extraordinary. She looked like she was having fun. She was also picking on the people in the front, telling them to stand up. They could only sit when she sat. The second night was even better. She did mix up the words for 'Material Girl' but all the same, she was vocally stunning.
I had the time of my life and would gladly go to every show if I could.

From Melanie:
When I went to Vegas, I only had one ticket for the show on the 30th. The morning of the concert on the 29th, I went to the box office window and was able to get a ticket, pretty close to the stage, for the 29th. I was so happy to be going both nights!
Both of the Las Vegas shows were fantastic! Madonna's voice sounded wonderful and her dancing is well, beyond words. When she sang some of her older hits, especially 'Like A Prayer', the crowd was wild. It was almost like a party that Madonna invited thousands of people to and everyone was dancing and singing along with her.
The concert flew by way too fast and was over before anyone was ready for it to be over. She didn't talk to the crowd all that much, however, she seemed to talk a bit more the 2nd night. I couldn't have asked for a better show. To hear her older hits, the ones I have played so much, was so amazing.
The Memorial Day weekend I spent in Vegas, seeing Madonna, was a weekend I will never forget!

From Courtney:
I was at the May 30th show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas. I was one of the Pit Pass Winners, courtesy of MTV.com. The girl can sing! She looked great and sounded great. Since I was in the pit, we couldn't hear much very well since the speakers were actually in front of us. But we could hear enough!
'Vogue' was awesome and energetic as to be expected, and as soon as she was done, she went right into 'Nobody Knows Me'. This song has so much energy live. She did this cool dance on the moving sidewalk on the front of the stage (in front of the dance pit). As 'Nobody Knows Me' slowed to a stop, 'Frozen' made a beautiful entrance with the full album version, not the remix version from the Drowned World tour. She changed the rhythm on some of the chorus vocals, making the experience even more unique.
'Frozen' was followed by a dance break and then went into the remix version of 'American Life' as heard on the 'Remixed and Revisited' CD, only with the complete lyrics instead of the sampled lyrics heard on the CD. The catwalk came down on this song and Madonna ventured out into the audience for most of the song, wearing her army gear. The video screens contained images of war, helicopters and such.
'American Life' blended seamlessly into 'Express Yourself'. Some people say at sounded 'Re-Invented' but I couldn't tell the difference. Then she whipped out her guitar and played 'Burning Up' and 'Material Girl'. She messed up on a verse of 'Material Girl', and smiled with the 'oops' face.
'Hollywood' wasn't sung, it was played as a costume change interlude. It was the 'Everybody, everybody, everybody....' version as heard on the 'Remixed and Revisited' CD. I was kind of disappointed that she didn't perform that song, since 'Hollywood' one of my favorites on that album.
When she came out again, she was dressed in a circus/corset looking thing. She went right into an awesome version of 'Hanky Panky' then she slowed it down (way down) for a jazz-ballad version of 'Deeper And Deeper'.
After this, the lights went out as the stage set was cleared, but quickly came back on with the intro to 'Die Another Day'. I think she lip-synched this song, but the performance was awesome, even as she was strapped into an electric chair at the end of the song. As the chair platform was raised, she began the slow, somber 'Lament' from Evita. The lights went out and Madonna disappeared into the stage as the 'Bedtime Story' remix interlude began.
When she appeared again, she was right in front of our side of the pit. She held her guitar and then sang 'Nothing Fails', which I thought sounded better without the choir. While the audience was focused on her, the big hanging screens in front hid the stage from view for a few seconds so the band could move to the front and center of the stage. The screens continued to move off to the sides until they were next to her big main screen, making the screen appear larger.
Then she walked back to the center of the stage, and put her guitar away and sang 'Don't Tell Me', doing a different (but very similar) dance from the video.
Then she started a re-invented version of 'Like A Prayer' . The audience went wild! Madonna was clearly enjoying herself. Then she sang a much slower version of 'Mother And Father', and incorporated a few lines from 'Intervention' into it. I wasn't used to hearing the song so slow.
She had her guitar, but she didn't have a pick! So she just sat and sang. A couple of stagehands rushed on to give her a pick, but she didn't seem to want one anymore (Remember that scene in 'Truth Or Dare' where she cusses out her sound guy backstage after a show? I bet that's what happened after this show coz she didn't have a pick - lol).
Then she made a little speech about her next song, saying that 'one day, this song will be a reality'. Then she did a BEAUTIFUL version of John Lennon's 'Imagine'. I never really liked that song much before, but Madonna made me like it now.
Then her guys in kilts came out and did a neat little drumline number before she went into 'Into The Groove', re-invented of course, with Missy Elliot's rap section. After this, she started 'Papa Don't Preach' after quickly throwing on a 'Kabballists Do It Better' T-Shirt.
She came back to our side of the stage and stood on the rising railed platform there and sang 'Crazy For You', after saying 'This one is for all of you for being with me for twenty years. I Love You!'
She then started 'Music', without the slow, intro as seen on the 'Drowned World' show. Lots of energy, but didn't go on as long as it usually does live.
After 'Music' the drums played a tribal beat and she sang 'Holiday', with only the drums and the bass accompaniment. It was a very minimal arrangement. The screens behind her displayed flags of every nation, like in the 'American Life' video (the one that was actually released, not the cool one she pulled). She and her dancers made their way back to the stage as the song ended.
The two big screens moved back to the front of the stage and closed like a pair of curtains as Madonna held up her hands and said 'Thank you, good night.' Even after the screens had closed, they all held their poses until the stage had sank to the venue floor. Then she waved to us in the pit, said 'thanks, you guys!' and ran backstage with her dancers.
The show was awesome, and if it hadn't been for MTV, I never would have been able to see her.
I give it six out of five stars. I can't wait for the TV special and then (hopefully) the DVD!

From Bruce:
I attended both Las Vegas shows this past weekend, and wish there could have been more. Her vocals were just mind-blowing. I have never heard her sound as she did at these shows. Sunday night, there was a hint of hoarseness in her voice, which wasn't there Saturday, but most people didn't notice, and she still sounded incredible. (What did Frank Sinatra call it? His 'Vegas Voice', referring to the dry air which causes most singers to have problems there.)
The opening number (Vogue) was one of the most powerful, as she showed off her incredible body, and multiple yoga poses. Burning Up, featured her playing an electric guitar, and shook the house from top to bottom, and the Lament, from Evita, was stunning; you could have heard a pin drop during that one, and, again, her vocal ability was immense. It was clear to anyone listening, that the entire concert was very much 'Live' on Madonna's part.
The laser lights and video images were put together beautifully, and the entire production carried you along on an emotional roller-coaster, which made the almost 2 hour show go by entirely too quickly. Anybody who complained that the show was too political may want to schedule themselves a wake-up call in some other way, as there has never been a time in the world where one has been so badly needed, especially here in the US.
Madonna stated that she wanted the show to be 'an assault on the senses', and it certainly accomplished that, with splashy dance numbers, brilliant sets and back-drops, and a performance that only Madonna could deliver. I have liked her for 20 years, and she just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait til she's 60.

From Stacia:
It was my first Mo show, and she was AWESOME!!! Sure, she was 30 mins late, but who cares? As soon as the lights when down, the sound from the packed arena was deafening. These girls behind me kept screaming 'I love you!' and 'Madonna!' It was great! I can't believe Madonna's going on 46....you'd never know by the fabulous shape she's in. She started the show in a yoga poses, including a full hand-stand! Can I do that? Hell no!
The set list was very impressive. I was looking forward to 'Burning Up,' one of my all-time favorite Mo songs. She totally rocked out on that song, and she looks so sexy playing the guitar - and, she's gotten really good at it! I also loved 'Deeper and Deeper' sung as a ballad, it was actually very emotional. I also loved 'Lament,' which she sang from an electric chair (right after 'Die Another Day').
'Like a Prayer,' 'Music' and 'Get Into the Groove' had the audience going crazy. The crowd sand every song, and eveyone was up on their feet (mine are killing me today, and I have no voice). I really liked 'Bedtime Story.' It was a video of Madonna on huge screens singing the song. She was gorgeous, as she was during the show - absolutely stunning. She had tons of energy, and danced and sang her heart out. Eveyone who's seen her show is right....she sounds great! Better than she ever has!
I wish she would have connected more with the audience, although she WAS funny when she told somone in the front to put their cigarette out: 'Uh-uh, put that out,' she said.
Then, later, she said to some people in the front, 'Get up! When I sit down, YOU can sit down!' She actually mixed up the verses for 'Material Girl,' and when she realized she had done it, she had an 'oops!' look on her face, then she just smiled and went forward.
The show was full of energy, and didn't seem like it lasted 2 hours, although it did. I wanted more!!! I could have stayed there all night! Now, I want to ge see her again in another city if I can, cause once was just not enough for me. Long live the QUEEN!

From Guy and Devin:
We were lucky enough to get seats just 7 rows from the stage on Sunday in Las Vegas for THE tour. I could see every detail of Madonna. I was surprised by just how tiny she is! But, regardless of her small stature, she is all muscle. Her arms and legs are incredible!
The show was awesome, the best Madonna concert I've seen, and I've been to them all. This one was so great because it's like a culmination of her career as of yet, incorporating the old and the new. I absolutely loved it! She was about 34 mins late, but once it started, the show brought everyone to their feet, and Madonna performed as if it were opening night, with high energy. I still can't believe how she dances AND sings so effortlessly!
We were just in a trance the entire show, just mesmerized that we were in her great presence once again, each time is an honor. The choice of songs were excellent, and I'd have to say that Burning Up, Nobody Knows Me, Like A Prayer, Lament and Holiday were my favorites. She was also great on Mother and Father, and went all out on that song at the end, driving the 15,000 strong crowd insane!
Deeper and Deeper was sang beautifully as a slow song....who would have known? The song took on a whole new meaning sung as a ballad, it actually became one of those 'great sad' songs. She looked absolutely delicious, and gave 110%.
I can't wait for the next tour, because I know Madonna will keep going and going. My boyfriend said she messed up the lyrics for Material Girl, but I didn't notice, although he swears she did. Regardless, a perfect show given by the greatest entertainer EVER!!! We love you, Madonna!!!!!!!

From Peter:
My boyfriend and I went to see the Re-Invention Tour on Sunday, May 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. We had great seats midway to the stage and at eye level.
The stage was fairly dark and the only things you could see were the humongous video screens blocking the view of the stage and this V-shaped walkway hanging from the ceiling over the first 50 rows. The show started at 8:30 (because many people were not in their seats until then) and then it kicked off!
The beginning was very powerful. 'The Beast Within' had a very powerful beat with Madonna's voice over (which frankly we couldn't understand very well) and the screens were flashing images of Madonna and a wolf in time-delay-repeat fashion (I don't know if it makes sense but when you see the show you'll know what I'm talking about).
I am not sure if the beat was so power or just the adrenaline but boy I have to tell you it was really powerful. The screen began moving to the sides of the stage to reveal an enormous wide-screen and smoke-filled stage from which the dancers appeared and suddenly another portion of the stage opened up and Madonna was being elevated on a platform in a crouched position.
As the platform reached high above the stage 'Vogue' began and as she was taking on the Lobster yoga position (or at least I think it's called the lobster) she was saying 'strike a pose' and 'vogue'. She was dressed in a beaded corset and looked absolutely smashing. The choreography was fabulous.
Behind her on the screen it showed the ballroom or some room from inside a palace and they all looked like they were dancing in that room. Madonna and 2 other dancers took on an upside-flipped position and started walking towards the front of the stage on hands and feet (it was really cool). Now that was on stage.
The crowd was going absolutely wild at the sight of Madonna. (I have to say that I went to see her Drowned World Tour but that was no match for the Re-Invention Tour and the crowd let her know how much she is revered).
After 'Vogue' she went on to singing 'Nobody Knows Me' with a moving walk-way at the front of the stage and she kept going back and forth and 'striking more poses' while the screen in the background was flashing the lyrics to the song. It was pretty cool.
'NKM' was followed by 'Frozen' which she sang beautifully all by herself on stage with homoerotic images in the background - it was simply breath-taking.
Then the suddenly the huge widescreen came to life and was showing a helicopter in full view taking aim and bombs started exploding and the stage changed with some war-like monitors in the background and the huge V-shaped metal walkway ramp over the first sections in front of the stage.
Then Madonna appeared in her uniform and beret and started singing the beginning of 'American Life' to quickly go into the rap partion with the rock mix while strutting her stuff down the walkway and over her adoring fans (who went absolutely berserk).
She walked on both sides of the V-shape and there screens were flashing the original footage of the video for 'American Life' but also updated to finish the song with Bush and Saddam sitting side by side and Bush leaning over to Saddam and planting a big kiss on his cheek. I guess that was instead of the bomb she threw at Bush in the video. But it was mesmerizing.
As she stood on stage the music started for 'Express Yourself' and she yelled at the crowed: 'Come on, boys! Do you believe in love? 'Cause I got something to say about it and it goes something like this!' - That was a fabulous moment in the show for me. She knows who loves her the most: the gay populous, who else!
Now, please understand that all the singing she did was all live (or 90% of it) and it was song after song with incredible vocals. When Rolling Stone said that she has come back to re-invent herself as a singer, they knew what they were writing.
She rocked through 2 incredible versions of 'Burning Up' and 'Material Girl' and played the electric guitar herself - she was awesome - the arrangements were to die for - very cool (and as for the reports that were saying that she added 'but not really' to the chorus line: 'Cause we are living in a Material World and I am a Material Girl!' - I didn't hear it at all - it was pretty loud in the arena.)
Then, 'Hollywood' played with minimal lyrics and the dancers taking turns to show how good they are - and they were amazing - the background was Circus Du Soleil style - very colorful. As they finished 'Hanky Panky' started and the crowd went wild and Madonna showed up in a very cool cabaret getup and sang it perfectly - from there she went to sing 'Deeper and Deeper' as a ballad which I have to say that I really liked.
'Die Another Day' was wonderfully performed and in the end she was strapped to an electric chair which started flashing lights as it descended into the stage - I guess give off the illusion that she was electricuted. While in the chair she sang 'Lament' beautifully.
'Bedtime Story' was next and it was just an updated video of Madonna singing the song. For a 46 year old, she looked amazing - unreal but very realistic.
After that she showed up on the right end of the stage in a very cool dressy pants and black tank-top with a hat and a guitar singing 'Nothing Fails' - followed by 'Don't Tell Me' which was pretty much like the 'Drowned World' choreography but more stylish (not the cowboy getup).
Next, 'Like A Prayer' was dazzling with images on the screen of black people and a chorus on screen rendering their voices to her chorus lines - it was wonderful - she definitely brought the house down with this song. High energy and powerful images on screen and incredible singing. (Did I say I loved this concert?).
'Mother and Father' was next with images of Christ on screen and a pulsating heart in the middle wide-screen.
For the next change, she had on a kilt and a bag-piper and drummers - started off with only the bagpipes and then the dancers joined in with the drumms and did some incredible drumming to 'Into the Groove' and then Madonna joined them to sing the song with Missy Eliott in the background in golfing getup rapping her part of the song. Madonna and the dancers were dancing with big sticks and it was very cool and then the backpiper joined her and she danced with him on the moving walkway.
'Papa Don't Preach' was beautifully sung as well with just Madonna and her backup singers. She, then, dedicated the following song to her fans who stuck with her over the years and she belted 'Crazy For You' and pointed out to the crowd. It was goose-bumpy.
'Music' was next with confetti flying all over the arena (although I liked the DWT's version better, same goes for 'Holiday').
I would like to point out though that we only sat down twice during the entire 2 hr concert. It was wild - the best concert I have ever seen. It was so worth it every penny.

From Husky:
I attended the 2nd Vegas show and it was ubelievable! The 'Beast Within' beginning pretty much set the theme of the show. Then 'Vogue' started with 'What are you looking at?' It was cool to see Madonna in such a great shape as she was doing all the yoga poses. She sang it live, which only added value to the experience.
'Nobody Knows Me' was pretty much just her dancing all over the stage with the lyrics displayed on the screens as she sang, but still very good performance.
The stage radically changed for 'American Life' and the screens were showing a lot of war images. 'Express Yourself' in the military style started with 'Las Vegas, are you ready?' and 'Come on boys, do you believe in love?', which was really funny considering how it changed the original version of the song.
Before she got executed in the electric chair during 'Die Another Day' Madonna danced with all of her male dancers. It was a very 'Evita' like dance.
I think it was somewhere in the first half of the show when Madonna said 'no sitting' to the first couple of rows. Then she added 'you can sit down only if I sit down.'
I really liked how the screens were used as props throughout the show. My favorite scene was the night sky full of stars during a slow version of 'Deeper and Deeper.'
When introducing 'Imagine' she said it was written by 'a great man' and 'one day it will be a reality.'
Her voice was absolutely amazing although she did a lot more dancing than during her last tour. The highlights of the evening were definitely 'Like a Prayer', 'Don't Tell Me', 'Holiday' and 'Music.' Everybody was up and singing. Simply unforgettable!