I’d never seen Madonna before so I was going to this gig with high expectations. I mean this girl has been around the same amount of time as Prince!
The video intro sequence set the whole thing up – it was amazing. A candy-styled pinball extravagansa. You could see that this five minute intro was a project in itself. From the video content to the way it was displayed on moving screens. It really set the gig up. Dancers appeared and then the Queen of pop was revealed on a throne turning on a platform.
The opening ‘Candy Shop’ was Madonna informing everyone that she is still working on delivering her best material. Then she followed it up with another one off the new album ‘Beat Goes On’ and then ‘Human Nature’ so when ‘Vogue’ kicks in the crowd are well up for it. Madonna is in great shape and is dancing flat out.
An interlude follows where two of her dancers perform a mock boxing match which Madonna slips into something less comfortable and presumably catches her breath. She reappears with a black Gibson Les Paul and plays ‘Into The Groove’ complete with Keith Haring-like video content broadcast behind her. Another new one ‘Heartbeat’ follows and then she’s back with another Gibson for ‘Borderline’, this time it’s a pink SG complete with a whammy bar!
‘She’s Not Me’, ‘Music’, Video Interlude (with Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’), ‘Devil Wouldn’t Recognise You’, ‘Spanish Lesson’ and ‘Miles Away’ are next. ‘La Isla Bonita/Lela Pala Tute’ get the crowd going frantic and then there is a strange Romanian folk interlude where Madonna is sitting whilst being serenaded by the eldest guitarist of the folk group. Quite touching and nice to see Madonna take a much needed rest – she’s really been giving it plenty! ‘You Must Love Me’, Video Interlude, ‘4 Minutes’ and then ‘Like A Prayer’ which is electric. So retro it’s great though I would have liked to have seen the backing choir instead of hearing them recorded.
‘Ray Of Light’ is awesome. And the projections behind seem very current what with CERN’s LHC recreating the Big Bang this week. Then Madonna tells us she’s up for doing requests but “I’m not doing that one cos I can’t remember the lyrics…I can’t even remember the words to the new ones”. Then, with just the drums backing her, she delives a quick rendition of ‘Express Yourself’ with the audience providing a very convincing accompaniment. “This is why I love the UK!” she explains, then dropping into the opening guitar riff of ‘Hung Up’.* She’s been having the craic with the audience throughout.
Ending with ‘Give It 2 Me’ Madonna is definitely stating that this is no farewell tour and that she these new songs are just as relevant, timeless and anthemic as the classics she didn’t play. In fact she didn’t even need to play ‘Material Girl’ or ‘Like A Virgin’ or ‘Holiday’ or ‘Lucky Star’ or Crazy For You’ or ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ or… you get the idea.
Great gig and the Queen of pop she is… but she ain’t no Prince.
* Girls take note! For this track Madonna used an open tuning and just played the 4 bass strings meaning she could rock out with just using one finger. She’s definitely a worthy guitarist though as she proved with ‘Borderline’.
Footnote: Many people seem to have had an awful experience because of the sound. Those wishing to complain should write to info@livenation.co.uk stating their full contact details (name, address, phone number, email), the nature of their complaint (please be specific about what you could or could not hear) and your seating and booking reference numbers (these will be on your tickets). (Thanks Martyn!)
Live Nation will be handling Madonna’s new studio efforts, tours, merchandise, DVD releases, sponsorships, licensing agreements, fan club, Web site, and TV and film projects until 2017. Yikes!
You can also write to Madonna via her website here.
I must have been at a different concert. The lights are on but no-ones home. The staging was very impressive, admittedly, and one would not, could not expect any less. The choreography was outstanding, again, could not would not expect less. The sound for those of us in the seated areas was very very poor – could hardly hear the lyrics for the booming bass line, which detracted from the overall effect. During a number of the songs beig performed, people around me were discussing the price of bread – really – I think they were that underwhelmed and disappointed with the acoustics/sound.
All that said, things improved drastically during the last two songs – had Madonna warmed up at last or had someone had quiet word with the sound technicians?
I was at the same concert as CJ. Who knows where you were ! Without doubt the worst concert I have ever been to. She was miming, the audio was dreadful, the crowd unintereted. Sure there were some nice videos, but hey I could have sat at home watching VH1 and at least been in bed at a better time …… and not had to pay 4 quid for rubbish beer. Maybe if I hadn’t left 5 songs before the end (the Romanian Eurovision rubbish finally did for me) then I would have had something positive to take home, but alas no.
WHAT???? It was AMAZING, I have no idea where Jimmy was sitting or who he was surrounded by, everyone near us, was going mad and enjoying every moment – including us!!
The Choreography was outstanding, the dancers phenomenal and Madonna at her very best, the variety of songs where fantastic and the Spanish interlude – stunning!
The finale was incredible she really managed to whip everyone into a frenzy!!!
An amazing concert…well worth it!!!
I thought it was amazing, though she lip synced to a few, especailly Give It To Me and at one point on I think Like A Prayer, the voice continued, but the mic was no where near her mouth. Dancing, stage set up and the pure energy of the show was Madonna at her best. I’m being picky but Human Nature is 14 years old.
My 1st Madge concert and I really loved it although it could have done with a bit more warming up as people around me didnt seem that interested and sat down most of the time. Her old songs got the crowd going the most and I only wish I had been closer to the stage rather then watching it through the TV screens. The night was completely ruined by the fact that she started half hour late and the train station shut early leaving HUNDREDS of people stranded in the middle of Wembley with no way to get home!!! Police were no help and cleared off and left us all with 1 night bus that ran every half hour into central london & cabs were like gold dust. I think many people would have been sleeping on the streets last night, luckily my work sorted me out a cab which cost me £80 to get home so thanks Madonna and TfL it ruined what would have been a great evening!!! Wembley never again!
Very, very, very bad sound!!!
I am a huge Madonna fan and felt it was a real let down. So many people were leaving before even half way through the show. Near me there were a few boo’s and people losing interest. Not to mention, that the stewards at one point, were telling people that were trying to make the best of a bad situation and dancing, to sit down!!!
At times you would see her mouth move and the sound a few seconds later. When she spoke it just sounded like gibberish and at times we couldn’t even hear what song it was she was playing. Such a pity as the effects, dancing and costumes looked amazing. I do also think they could have done with some bigger screens for those of us stuck up on the seats.
To lip sync or not to lip sync… It’s a fact that with highly technical and physically demanding gigs lip syncing is becoming part and parcel of the live experience. The backing tapes are there to embellish what’s already going on, just as the guitarist was there to do the same. On the whole she was still doing all that dancing and all that singing. Well enough of it. I admit the sound in the seats was not as good I bet. I was at the back rows of the bottom tier and then made my way to the front rows and it improved tremendously. Looking at the lack of speakers feeding the sides I did pity anyone sitting in the upper tiers. They really should provide more speakers at these gigs. Stevo – thanks! I amended my review
Without doubt the worst gig i have ever been to. Watching all the dissatisfied customers arguing with the stewards because we couldn’t hear or see anything was more entertaining than her. The sound was non existant up in the higher tier. The delayed start of 35 mins also didn’t help. Concert just never seemed to get going. Most of the crowd just seemed to be there in body only.
Will not rush back to see her agian.
well I have seen the queen of pop many times, and I agree with Vicky the people around me didn’t seem that interested the sound was awful you could hardly hear the lyrics. so I decided to leave just before the last track and with the amount of people that were already at the station they thought the same!
I completely agree with everything Clare & Jimmy have said, it was fantastic stage (from what we could see), lights / video all amazing. BUT the sound was terrible, we were sat in block 527 and we could not hear half of the songs, the bassline drowned everything out, absolutely the worst concert I have ever been to. There were riots going on outside our block as people couldn’t see the show and couldn’t hear the lyrics. What a waste of money, it was so disappointing…….we spent most of the night listening to the girls behind us singing the wrong lyrics out of tune!!!! What a shame…….! I’ll never be going to a concert in Wembley again that’s for sure! SOB SOB SOB!!!!! Like a Prayer was good though!!! Could hear that as the whole stadium were up, dancing & singing !!!!!
I agree and disagree with some of the comments. The show itself was really good in that there were some fantastic effects, however when it comes down to the sound itself, although there were some great tracks, the audio was absolutely ****. Being a DJ myself, I could have reproduced better sound. This was a concert that would have cost thousands, if not millions to put on, and would have recouped millions in ticket sales, do you not think that they could have provided a better PA system for the set up of the concert. Anyway, surely madonna would have done sound checks, or some of the team would have done, obviously they didnt check it in the seated areas, as I guess the best seats last night were the standing ones, which were funnily enough the cheapest.
Never mind, Wembley Stadium is for sure probably not the best concert venue and based on what I saw last night I wouldnt go there again.
Ciao
The sound was dreadful. I was so disspointed..took me a minute to understant what song she was singing..also the sound was coming to the seated areas with 2 seconds delay creating a mess…and all u could hear was a buzzing noise..only if she screamed you could hear her voice..and yeah..the atmpshpere was so cold..i think everyone were thinking..i paid all that money to get this? the dvd would have done it much better…so so dissapointed
Worst night ever – what a waste of money. Me and 3000 other people could not hear or even see her. We could not even see the screens! Spent most of the evening lining up to sign the complaints book as the staff could do nothing. even though there were hundreds of empty great seats…
I have never been to a concert where so many people were heading to the tube station before it was even halfway through.
what a trek to wembley for nothing – and what a bad impression a lot of people now have of money hungry madonna and her ticket sellers
Im a massive madonna fan and paid £360 for two seated tickets to the right of the stage. And i am gutted. The stage had two walls built on each side of the stage blocking all the side views … I swear I could have cried lol.
The sound wasn’t as bad as people are saying, it is a live concert and sometimes the mic was a bit low but it was the worst madge concert i’ve ever been to. The songs in the middle (the romanian folk song section) was just awful, people were walking out, angry and bored.
The last section was great with lots of energy.
Overall I was really disappointed, but more so with myself from actually paying so much money. The only place to be in wembley is right up beside the stage, all other seats (even as close as I was) is just too far away.
I would have to say 5/10 … but I bet the DVD will be great : )
This was the sixth time I have seen Madonna and I was so disapointed, not with her (I’m sure she was, as always amazing) but I will never know as the only sound I could hear was the arguing around me between the disapointed crowd and the useless stewards. People had gathered in the isle because the sound at the top of the stadium was so bad, which meant that the people in the seats couldnt see, when asking the stewards to clear them, they just shrugged and said they were trying. After 45 minutes the ‘response’ team finally came and shifted them but by then, everyone had lost interest as we couldn’t hear or see….what an absolute nightmare. I will NEVER go to Wembly again for a concert. Disgusting.
I’ve been a huge fan for 25 years but next time I’ll spend the money on my credit card bill. She needs to put that guitar down and hang up her 3/4 length nude tights.
What a let down. Extremely disappointed with the Madonna concert. 2 screens on either side of the stage were minature and not positioned for the people in the seats on the sides of the stage to see. Sound quality was also pathetic and couldn’t hear her properly in the seats. I could hear people having conversations all around me as everyone had just switched off and weren’t even watching her as we couldn’t see or hear her properly. She came on more than an hour late and literally 2 songs into the concert people were starting to walk out. Droves of people were leaving half way through the concert so that we could actually get home and not miss the last tubes. For a sell out concert you would think that Madonna would at least have come out on time to thank and be appreciative of her fans giving them a full concert they had paid for and hoped to see.
I have been a Madonna fan for over 25 years and have gone to all her concerts. The Madonna concert in London last night was an absolute disagree. There was a lack of screens & you could not hear her. Her promoters over sold tickets and as a result Wembley Stadium received over 3000 complaints. Everyone seated towards the back were walking out of the concert after the first three songs due to them not been able to see or hear her.
After seeing Kylie Minogue recently, all I can say is that maybe it is time Madonna gave it up. Kylie charges half the price for a ticket, actually signs live, looks better and cares about the audiance.
PS – where can we complain to???
You have to complain to Live Nation (Music) UK Limited.
This was the worst concert I have ever been too. She is a great artist but the sound was so poor. We left about 15 minutes before the end.
Why are we putting up with paying so much money for so little entertainment?
If we all get together and demand refunds then the music business might spend a bit of money on what we are there for, ie. to listen to the music.
Aidan you’re a treasure, thanks
i wrote to perezhilton.com
i would advice more of you to do it. he gets millions of hits a day..and madonna her self is a fan of his website. so its about making a point… she signed with live nation which is a concert company cause thats were all the money is..but they are exchanging quality for quantity.. i mean she could have done 4 concert at the 02 that is build for concerts…but instead they are going for more people in less dates..and its a shame.. people around me were leaving after 45 minutes..and in masses after the hour…and it was like a deadly silence around me..i think people were so dissapointed…people behind me were arguing for about half an hour how many people wembley stadium can hold…they were even checking on the internet on their phone..thats how interesting and engaging the show was….it was so cold…such a shame..thing is..people will kill for a ticket so she ll still sell out and nothing will change….people outside with no were willing to pay 10 times what i paid to have my ticket…i wish i sold it ..and bought the dvd
It’s unfortunately not really entirely Madonna’s fault but it is a bit. Madonna should ensure that her gigs have the best sound setups so she should be having stern words with her tour and sound managers.
here’s the website of the crooks who robbed us http://www.livenation.co.uk/
and here’s their general enquiries line number 0207 009 3484
the bastards dont have a complaints procedure listed
madonna should really sit in the seats beforehand and honestly say if she would pay for tickets in those positions…if she did that – she would not have allowed those tickets to be sold. it was like u were not even there…
I totally agree with all the reviews, i tried to make the best out of it! but it was such a disappointment, i’ve never been to a madonna concert where people were walking out half way through. at one point i had the whole row to myself! The sound was awful, all i could see was madonna as a dot as the screens were not positioned so the side seats could see, it’s such a shame as i last see madonna in wembley arena and the atmosphere was electric. i would never go back to wembley stadium to see a concert again. it took 1 and half hours to just get out the carpark- it was gridlocked so unimpressed by the lack of organistation!!!!!!
maybe we should make complaints to live nation…. http://www.livenation.co.uk/help/
It was nice, well it was ok…
Madonna (shouting): I can’t hear you
Crowd behind me: WE CAN’T SEE YOU…
Let’s spend more money on the DVD and then we can really enjoy this concert.
hehe alwin..
when she shouted…i cant hear you…
we shouted…we cant hear you either
I have just written to londonlite and London Paper.
They are keen to hear from everyone!!!!!!!
A truly dreadful concert – one of the worst. Appalling sound in the seadted areas and totally inadequate video screens. I went to see a show; what I did was watch people in the standing area getting a show that i wasn’t. I feel totally ripped off.
all complaints and requests for refunds should be directed to info@livenation.co.uk.
you need to tell them your seat number
Just got this back from Live Nation: Please everyone complain as we could get some compo!
Thank you for your email, I am very sorry you did not enjoy the show as we intended.
I shall respond to you after discussing your comments with Madonna’s sound engineers and the concert promoter and thank you for your patience whilst I do so. As sound is such a subjective matter, we will need to gain a full understanding of the level of complaints and the alleged affected areas. This may take a few weeks to collate, though I shall respond to you as soon as I am able.
In the meantime, please can you send me the below information in order to review your complaint more in depth:
Your full contact details – Name, address, email address, phone number.
The nature of your complaint – please be very descriptive about what you could or could not hear.
Your seating details and booking reference number (This information will be on your tickets)
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
Regards
Thomas Brook | Customer Service Manager / UK – Music
2nd Floor, Regent Arcade House | 19-25 Argyll Street, London, UK | W1F 7TS
http://www.LiveNation.co.uk
I saw Madge on her Confessions Tour and thought she was great and got tickets for my partner and I for Wembley in eager anticipation of more of the same. My partner had never seen her before and what a disapointment. We were crammed into the Golden cricle (I’ve never been into a Golden Circle so rammed with people before) and the sound was pretty ropey here too. The lights/dancers and everything else were very good, but when you can’t really tell what the song is that she’s playing because it’s ruined by too much bass, or she rehashed it out of recognition, and not to play some of her more recognisable hits just left us both very disappointed. We left after the Romanian sing-song and don’t regret it either. won’t be stumping up to see her do that again.
subgective? hehe
its a music concert and you cant hear the music!!
u can forgive technical problems with the lighting or the giant screens…but to go to a music concert and cant hear the music its unforgivable..and especially to a madonna concert, its a crime
My 12 year old son has looked forward to this concert at the stadium for months as part of his birthday and was sooooo excited. DISSAPOINTED is all we can say. I was expecting a lot more from this overrated concert and i am a big fan also of madge. We could not see or hear her and on top of it all my son and i were stranded at London Bridge with no train home by the time we got on the tubes along with thousands of others. It took us 3 hours and more cab expense in the end for what seems to be a complete waste of time and i will NEVER go back to Wembley again. It should be a about QUALITY not QUANTITY!!
Never seen Madge before, once bitten, agree with all the comments, should leave a concert buzzing wanting to listen to more, all i could think of is: I want to get home and have a cup of tea. Madge get over you yourself – a concert is about more than flashing lights – i felt she had no stage presence and just went through the motions and what was that with the 4 ol blokes with violins!!
Truly awfull, terrible waste of money ~ Madge put a lot into the stage & dancing but as a music fan I felt let down ~ Miming amateurish nonsense. I saw her on the “who’s that girl tour ” and really had high expectations…… I wont get fooled again !
I’ve been a fan for most of my 24 years, and it was the first time i’ve seen her live.
I am disappointed. it was mediocre at best, but i don’t think Maddy is the one to blame.
paid an arm and a leg (well, £75 is a LOT for a ticket, let alone ticketmaster booking fees, but that’s another complaint letter on its own..) for standing ticket, and because the screens and the stage were so bludy low i didn’t SEE ANYTHING for probably 3/4 of the entire gig, even though i was only about 20metres from the front. SOO GUTTED!!! then went to the toilet, and saw the rest of the gig right at the back of the pitch – much better, but i agree, sound was pretty quiet for a stadium sized pop concert.
Further, about the screens. They were way too low for people to see. Come on, they were pathetic. And only two of them!?!? why didn’t they utilise the round thing on top of the stage for screen purposes?! would’ve improved visibility by a million miles.
And leaving Wembley – well, makes me laugh that Wembley is advertised as a “public transport venue – please leave your car at home”. Had i not run, pushed and shoved (and i’m anti-this kind of behaviour!) , i woud’ve missed my last train home, and would not be here at work writing this.
Looking forward to watching the DVD at home, with the volume whacked up. At least then i’ll actually catch a glimpse of her!
priMadonna – What a let down. First concert and last. An hour late. No rapport with the audience.
Sitting high up in the stadium to the side of the stage – unable to hear/see stage or screens – sound dreadful. Half way through thought join the dispersing crowd and told by a steward the tickets should never have been allocated by TICKETMASTER for that area. He said it would be over in 8 minutes and to find a steward with a yellow tabard on to complete a complaints form. We did this and the lady explained it was not Wembley’s fault, but TICKETMASTER.
Dis-heartened and really down trodden we headed towards the exit. I spotted a girl complaining to a ‘Manager’ from Wembley – went over explained we were in the same situation. He then asked us to follow him downstairs to the MAIN STAGE and gave us each a GOLDEN CIRCLE wrist band!! It put a smile back on my face and managed a boogie to the last 15 minutes of the concert. So thanks to the Manager for being so helpful and getting us into the best place in the stadium – how ironic.
I think i’ll stick with the Liverpool Echo Arena and Manchester MEN
A really poor concert. Sound and video systems just not up to the job for a stadium the size of Wembley. Unrecognizable performances of some of her classic hits. She arrived on stage about 40 mins late which meant travel chaos for everyone getting home. Unfortunately this concert seems to have been more about grabbing peoples cash than providing genuine quality entertainment.
The bottom line is that set that was used is set up for Arena’s and did not work in Wembley. We were sat in the middle on the first tier and the sound was poor and the show and lights were just projected at the pitch which is pointless when the tens of thousands of fans were sat in the tiers. Because of this there was a very poor atmosphere and we saw many people leaving very early which i have never seen at a Madonna gig and i have been to all of them. Sadly this is down to greed to only put on one show in a Stadium instead of 4 dates at the O2 where she would have shone.
£175 for each ticket was again greedy but we accepted it because the show would be great, unfortunatly it wasnt and i like the majority of people who went did not get value for money and had terrible journey home due to the shocking infrastructure around Wembley.
Bad Move Madonna!
I agree with all the comments. We were in block 529 . i thought the visual part of the show was amazing shame the sound production couldn’t match it! Due to madonna being late on stage we were Stranded in wembly when they shut the tube. The police were no help what so ever.I saw a police man man handle serveral older women as they tried to get up on to the main road. We were told to go back to the stadium but what was the point of that. It cost as around £130 pounds to get home and we only managed that because we asked a limo driver in petrol station if he could get us to our station . then another taxi to where our car was parked. I am sure many poeple didnt get home at all. Never again in a million years!!
Very poor. I don’t agree with the comments that Wembley is just not suitable. I have been to George Michael last year and that had excellent sound quality (same organizer if I remember correctly). And I was in the seated area. This time, I couldn’t figure out which song Madonna was singing. And the fact she was miming really disappointed me. If I have to choose between dancing and live singing I would go for the later even at the expense of less dance/flash/jumping. Well Madonna this was the last time I have contributed to your wealth ….
madonnas spokesperson says he was at the concert and the sound was fine..so all of us here..and 3000 people complaining immidiatley as it happened in the stadium just made this up…
it probably sounded perfect from where he was..back stage!
i think more people should email london paper and london lite….london paper already changed its headlines from madge-ic to fans mad at madge…but they are missing the point a point..they are making the late thing more important than the sound..i would be happy if she was late and i missed my train but had an amazing night…
but not being able to hear and see anything at a music concert is a crime….to miss ur train and get home 3 in the morning is just salt to the wound
Hello. Wembley is massive! I was in block 120 and although the visual/audio was not bad and it seemed a good atmosphere with the people around; I did pass comment on those sitting back and high up as I thought the stadium too big for the acoustic set-up provided (I used to work freelance in this area so know a little bit about it…)
Overall I did enjoy the concert, but do prefer arena events – thats what they are acoustically set up for – a stadium is not! You don’t get a roof to contain the sound and improve the sound balance to start with!!
Where did you get the info about Madonna’s spokesperson?
its in london paper website!
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/news/article/1157155132272?packedargs=suffix%3DArticleController
he says she wasnt late…thats times are just guildelines..and thats true..it does say when i got my tickets that she comes out at 8.30 but times might not be exact… but he denies any problems with sound…that takes the piss..at least hear what people have to say…he hasnt walked all over the stadium to check the sound has he?
Truly awful sound! I paid £160 per ticket in the club section and the bass was drowning out the rest of the sound. Also they put extra trains on from 10 – 11 and guess what time she finished? Yes you guessed, 11. The show should have finished by 10. Thanks for the live nation info
The biggest issue seems to be the sound, and it was rubbish, I saw MUSE and the Foo Fighters at Wembley and they were both awesome (including the sound), but then I suspect they cared for the Fans.
the atmosphere was great…loads of noise….mexican waves…excitment…
oh yeah…and then the concert started….it was like a funeral where i was…i think once people realised that they couldnt hear…everyone went silent..do we have bad seats? but we paid 150 pounds for them..it cant be that..so wahts wrong? why cant we hear? also her song choice was bad…too much hard candy songs…its not her best album..people were expecting the odler stuff..only after an hour she got us up with isla bonita, and just wehen we thought the show just began, she killed it by playing that horrible for concerts evita song…people were leavign after 45 mins..and in masses after the hour…guess what..i did too…i couldnt hear or see her…last thing i wanted was to get home at 4 in the morning..
It was my First Madonna concert and I thought she ROCKED!!!! yeah so we did have to wait a while but when she came out on stage it was well worth it. She Still looks fab and did a great mixture of songs new and old, if she tours again ill defo go back!!
Like most people I went to see the concert with high hopes for a performance. Afraid to say that Sir Elton John was right when he said that she lip syncs. It was the worst concert I have been to. I am not a Madonna fan but went with an open mind. The sound quality, no athmosphere, no support band all added to the experience. At least the venue is fantastic just not for a concert (accidently have booked my England v Kazahstan ticket for 11/10 a bargain at 30 quid).
The transport chaos just made the night a further misery and you would have to think how the hell are we going to organise an Olympic games.
The only bit of the concert I enjoyd was the Gypsy band performing on their own. Sadly I will not be hurrying back to Wembley for a concert and hope the organisers and Madge sort it out for the rest of her tour as with that sort of performance it is only she that will suffer.
madonna’s tours used to be an amaziong experience for the viewer..it seemed that madonna wanted to be established as the best at that….her last tour confessions was amazing..i dont think its accidental that she signed with a new company livenation and this tour is awful. recognising that money comes from tours and that madonna would sell ickets no matter what they sacrifised the quality of smaller arenas for the high eanring big stadiums will bring..even if it means half of the stadium not being able to listen..
the tour is expected to make more than 300 million….so do they really care??
shame she didnt sing Material Girl last night…it was the perfect song to sum up the experience..
I agree with the majority of the people here. We went to see Kylie at the O2 a couple of months ago and left the concert thinking “wow!”. I even went and bought her new album immediately after. After leaving Madonna last night, we were feeling ripped off, and very frustrated at the hopeless chaos of London’s transport system. The fact that thousands of people had travelled from miles around to see Madonna, and she couldn’t even start on time, causing problems for a lot of people who don’t live IN London to get home, is unforgivable. We finally got home at 3am after leaving Wembley at 11pm, and we live near Gatwick Airport – not a million miles away really. As B Says – Madonna – get over yourself. You had no stage presence, the concert was not engaging, and it would have been nice to hear you actually sing rather than the thumping bass and the prancing about on stage. I for one won’t be going to a Madonna concert again, or Wembley to a concert again – far too difficult to get home from afterwards, and vastly overpriced!!
i agree with u graham.. everytime i left from other concerts i would love it so much i would be obsessed with the artist i ve seen, playing their music all the time for the next week after the show..and become annoying for everyone around me..
after last night…i have no desire to here a madonna song…it just adds salt to the wound . without exaturating it was a terrible night
This was the worst concert I have ever been to. I have seen Madonna 5 times before at Wembley which were all excellent but this one was just awful. The visuals and dancing was good but the sound was terrible. I couldn’t hear the lyrics, the music was flat & just way too bassy, Madonna sung a lot of bum notes, some of which was embarrassing to hear especially being such a huge fan of hers. She didn’t even thank her fans or say goodnight, or interact with the crowd. it felt like a procession of going through the motions and off stage as soon as she could. Very unprofessional. I couldn’t believe seeing so many people leaving but after the gypsy set I couldn’t blame them. Wembley stadium is very impressive except for transportation. Why put on extra between 10 and 11 when the concert finishes after 11?
going to madonna was my 3 year anniversary gift to my partner. even though he aint a madonna fan i promised him that he would have seen and listen a visual show he never experienced before. i said that judging from her previous tours.
i had to apologise at the end of the night…he didnt see or hear anything..and trying to get home was exausting especially when we got to go work in the morning.
I was situated on the ground and up near the stage and from this position I have to say it was a great show. I agree however that the screens were very small for such a huge stadium and I would certainly not have liked to be sitting way up in the stands.
But from up close it was fantastic! You could hear her no problem and it didn’t seem like lip syncing from close up. Although from far away it probably seemed like it due to the distance the sound has to travel. In reality stadium gigs are only good if your up front.
Of course like a lot of people I was stuck at Wembley afterwards due to the complete transport mess after the show. What a joke that the tube stopped running whilsts thousands of people were still waiting to go home. The police simply told us to catch a bus…1 night bus every 20 mins trying to shift thousands of people. Idiots!
I was there last night in the standing area and had a great time (despite the near dead non-moving non-singing onlookers that surrounded us).
I thought the show itself was pretty fantastic. Lights, set list, choreography etc. were all impressive and of a quality I expect from Madonna. (Although I was personally bored by the whole spanish interlude) So why so much disappoint?
Short answer: Wembley is an awful awful venue for gigs.
The fact that this was not compensated for by extra / bigger screens, thorough sound checks is a sign of poor planning or just not caring as long as the money comes in. The stage was nowhere near as big as it should have been for such a large venue, making it even harder to grab the attention of all the thousands of people not near the front of it. Very dissappointing. Next tour should be elsewhere (I think someone said O2) and if she does Wembley again, it sounds like gold circle or wait for the DVD.
I have been a Madonna fan for 25 years, and this was my 1st chance to see her live, my hubbie brought us tickets for the pitch standing, I have been to wembley before to see George Micheal and Muse, both of these concerts where amazing, both the sound and the view where not a problem.
However last night was unforgiveable, the moment we walked into the stadium there was music playing over the tanoy, 20 mins after they turned it off, leaving the crowd with nothing to listen too. this then had an adverse effect on the crowd, they started getting grumpy with waiting for so long for something to happen. It would have been more fun at a morge.
Then, when her Madge did make an entrance, her songs had been so re-mixed with other songs you couldnt make out what you were listening too, the crowd did’nt know what to make of it, to make it worse she was lip synching and to her own admition she forgot some of her own words!!!
To wait 25 years to see your idol, and for her to dissapoint you so badly is a disgrace, yes the woman can move like a 25 year old, and her older songs where great, but really i do not want to pay to hear a 70 year old man singing folk songs. No I do not!!
Anyone else having issues with the Live Nation email address:
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.
Delivery to the following recipients failed.
info@livenation.com
Have they shut it down ?
after going to a concert we should all be feeling amazing and exhilarated or at the very least, satisfied. For there to be so many people feeling very angry is just not right.
what is madonna going to do to repay all these disappointed people?
getting refunds on tickets and booking fees and tube fares still won’t be enough as we have now missed our chance to see her…especially when people have purchased tickets and waited months for last night
info@livenation.co.uk
HM emailed them before..and they replied…they even replied with my name..the message was obviosuly copy and pasted..but at least you know there was someone there copying and pasting and addressing the name of each person emailing..
i guess they got too many complaints
HA! looks like theyve shut it down
here’s their number – enquiries: 0207 009 3484
here’s their feedback/contact form
http://www.livenationexperience.co.uk/contact/
send post to:
Live Nation
1st floor, Regent Arcade House
19 – 25 Argyll Street
London
W1F 7TS
I work 10 minutes from them and have half a mind to ‘post’ my letter to them through their front window, wrapped round a brick!
Dan – you’re right. I actually had a CD with Madonna’s old tracks on in the car this morning and turned it off because after last night’s performance, I really didn’t feel like listening to her in the same was as I used to!
OK the transport chaos afterwards wasn’t totally her fault, but then again if she’d started on time it would have been a lot less chaotic. Wembley area, and London as a whole, really cannot cope with the volume of people, particularly when the tube system shuts down so early. Simon – I understand your comments entirely, very unfortunate. My partner was unfortunatley called into work at 7.30 this morning to deal with the aftermath of XL going into administration so we had to be up early too. Looking forward to a beer and an early tonight tonight I think !
I have to add my bit.I was at the concert last night having taken a day off.I had the unfortunate chance to buy a ticket at the top of the stadium to the right of the stage as you looked at it.
The ticket should never have been sold as I had no view of the stage as it was enclosed.I had no view of the screen, it was slightly in front of me and down.The sound was all bass and reverberations. I am not familiar with her new stuff and I had no idea what words she was either lip synching or singing.The least that you expect when you buy a ticket to a woman of her calibre, or any concert for that matter, is that you can see and hear what is going on.The content may not suit everyone, it can’t.
I left at 10.10 and pleased I did to hear that thousands of people couldn’t get home.
This is rip off on a massive scale.I have sent an e-mail to Live Nation and to Ticketmaster.
We should at least insist on a refund.We expect to get what we pay for, this wasn’t it.
Sue, i agree. what annoys me even mroe is that Ticketmaster charge nearly ten quid for booking, per ticket!
i’m just so annoyed, i wanted to have a brilliant time and enjoy seeing her Madgesty, but simply didn’t due to SO many factors including the poor organisation, bad stage set up, let alone the transport issues! (someone mentioned earlier that it will be interesting to see how TfL will cope with the Olympic games in four years time, and i couldn’t agree more..)
and looking back, i much rather would have not parted with the £75!
oh and Graham, i feel for you having to work on XL issues today…
What is Ticketmasters email address anyone?
livenation crashed…or removed the page..
capital fm crashed..or removed the madonna comment page…
i guess its not just a minor problem as they trying to make it….
seems that only the golden circled people seem satisfied..
u cant do a 90.000 people concert and 3000 get to see u and hear u.
James – it had nothing to do with it being Wembley – i have seen numerous acts there in the last 18 months and none of them compared to what was the complete C*ck up of last night. Lip syncing – perlease???!!! this is allegedly a woman who is multi talented, perhaps her acting career showed her true talent – none. Have we all been taken in by the hype and believed her own promotion? Never again – the albums are on their way to the charity shop.
i ve actually been listening to capital fm…and usualy media take situations like that and most times exaturate about things…
im sad to hear that this time they aint reporting the true scale of the problem..they ve set a comment page…out of 65 comments about 60 are negative,..and i mean really negative…disastrous!
and on the radio they say… ” we been getting ur messages, some of you loved it and some of you werent that impressed”
not impress would mean seeing the show and not being sure if i liked it or not..
i didnt see or hear any show last night..i wish they would report on the real issue that all those comments on their website are about ! or are they scared they ll lose an interview with madonna?
it aint all down to her but the only reason you couldent hear her at the higher seats of the stadium was because the ROOF WAS OFF IF IT WAS ON YOU WOULDENT OF HAD A PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Levi – you’re a genius. try readin the complaints..
in the meantime, give Madge a piece of your mind
http://www.madonna.com/support/faqForm.php?catID=10
I THINK SHE SHOULD DO A COUPLE NIGHTS AT THE O2 ARENA FOR COMPENSATION AND HAVE HALF PRICED TICKETS AND MERCHANDICE
BUT WOULD YOU WANT TO GO AGAIN?
apart from a refund everyone that complains should get a free dvd when it comes out….
To carry on from everyone else, so so so disappointing. An absolute disgrace to all that bought tickets in good faith. At the very least you expect to hear the performer!!! I saw Kylie in July, what a classy show that was. Madonna just rolled around on stage in a pair of shorts…pampering her ego. I am no longer a fan.
She needs to release an apology, read from herself and not some lacky PR spokesperson with a stick up his/her arse.
Aside from all this sound, systems, screen and seating nonsense let’s face facts – she wasn’t on top of her game. she sang very clearly out of key especially ‘Ray of Light’.
We deserve full refunds and must not accept anything less. A free dvd? Please it’ll go straight into the rubbish bin
IT WASENT ALL HER FAULT SHE HAS A CREW OF 300 AND YOUR GONNA BLAME IT ALL ON HER YEAH SHE WAS HALF AN HOUR LATE BUT WHO CARES BUT IT WAS A GOOD STAGE ,EFECTS ,SOUND WAS AMAZING I THOUGHT THE WHOLE SHOW WAS AMAZING THE ONLY REASON YOU COULDENT HEAR HER FROM THE HIGHER SEATS WAS BECAUSE THE STADIUM ROOF WAS OFF.
I THINK SHE SHOULD DO A COUPLE NIGHTS AT THE O2 ARENA FOR COMPENSATION AND HAVE HALF PRICED TICKETS AND MERCHANDICE
BUT WOULD YOU WANT TO GO AGAIN?
Hi B – I find that the massive scale of Wembley doesn’t make up for the poor transport links and uneven sound. The size itself means that more work needs to be done to ensure all the tens of thousands of people not near the front or with expensive seats are a part of the experience. Ensuring you have even sound in every distant corner is not always possible and I see the stadium more as a sports event venue than a music venue. More work should have been done in light of this, and I am disappointed that Madonna did not have this sorted.
I was also at the Muse gig but was in seating up at the back and the sound was dreadful and had the time lag described on this page. The screens were a bit pointless when you are up there and despite them being one of our favourite bands, we still ended up discussing as someone put it the price of bread. A few friends were in the standing area and said it was awesome. I think it must depend on where you are but as you have been to more gigs there you would have a better idea – would really like to know where you were seated / standing for future reference…
Levi -
Madonna is a control freak and prefectionist. Ultimately it comes down to her and it is her responsibility to employ the right people and organisations to ensure the highest quality production. She didnt do that.
oh and FYI the roof wasn’t off …
Basically, it Madonna is going to claim she is the Queen Pop and charge excessive prices for her tickets it is her responsibility to employ the right people, pick an appropriate venue for her concerts and sing live!
PERIOD.
Aidan, you are so right!
guys go to perezhilton.com
he published my email..
and thats the biggest success i think…perezhilton is seen by millions…and madonna also reads his website and sends him videos to keep him on her side.
Was really disappointed last night, got home about 2 this morning after it took us two hours to get out of the car park. Had thought it was just us being picky because we’d seen her two years ago at Wembley arena and she was amazing. Can’t believe it was the same person her singing was awful last night – what we could hear of it!! Feel really ripped off. Had looked forward to this for months and just felt flat about it all. Sitting here watching Confessions tour on dvd trying to work out what was differrent. Conculusion I’ve come to is her heart wasn’t in it last night.
Agree with you all. I was on the pitch and I still didn’t enjoy myself (and neither did the people around me, all uninterested and hardly dancing) The sound was really loud and the bass was so strong at some points I could feel my chest pumping. I went to see Madonna on the Confessions Tour (which was incredible) and was expecting something on that level if not better. Sadly, it was a pretty bad show that didn’t even come close to how she was 2 years ago. She re-mixed the hell out of the songs (waaaaay too much electric guitar! She totally ruined ‘Hung Up’ by doing some rock version of it) and they did not sound good. Also has some old guy play guitar during the Gypsy section – very odd and no one seemed to like it.
The show was terrible, she really needs to put that guitar down! A real disappointment.
What a stunning difference from the last big gig I saw, namely Kylie. The difference is this: Kylie – Wow! Madonna – Ow!
I’ve put a full post together on my own blog: http://snipurl.com/3pmxa … and frankly I’m the laziest blogger on the planet, so it must have struck a chord.
Well this was my 1st Madonna gig – we were on the pitch and LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT. Will definately go again and although the train journey back to Madia Vale was a tad tight it was a GREAT NIGHT.
After watching the amazing Brixton show online last year the anticipation for this concert was huge – 2 good friends had flown in from Athens & it would be the first time any of us had seen Madonna live.
After a 40 minute wait over the scheduled start time (spent Mexican waving our little butts off) it was showtime!
Spectacular opening with great lighting & projections. She can be forgiven for wanting to promote Hard Candy – tough sell as it’s not her best – but by the time the 4th consecutive song from the new album hit there was a palpable drop in the atmosphere….not helped by booming basslines & echo which made it difficult to make out just what she was singing from where we were sitting.
The set list sucked basically & certainly wasn’t helped by the “rocked out” Borderline – put the bloody guitar DOWN Madonna! The female Jimmy page u ain’t. The Go Go Bordello lite version of “La Isla Bonita” wasn’t much better & the sub Eurovision song from the old dude which followed was simply weird. I guess it was time for the Material Girl to catch her breath after all that choreography – superb throughout incidentally (what we could see of it).
The screens at the side of stage were inadequate from our seats in the upper tier & the action on stage could have been performing ants as the stadium is so vast.
As a show it was undoubtedly very slick, especially the fantastic projections onto the central cylindrical screen & I’m sure that the DVD will be impressive but it was ultimately a soulless performance….. Madonna rarely seemed to be connecting with her audience. The fact that she wasn’t called back for an encore speaks volumes as to the general level of dissatisfaction.
Leaving Wembley Stadium after the gig was a nightmare. Thousands of people trying in vain to reach the tube station – after an hour of shuffling en masse for a few hundred metres we were “filtered” by 2 lines of police horses only to reach the tube station steps to be told that the station was closed & we should make our way back to the Stadium. Riot was in the air. It was a strange experience to witness nervous police manhandling several people here in the UK…isn’t that what happens in less civilised societies?
After experiencing this debacle I wonder how TFL can contemplate ferrying many thousands of Olympic spectators around our city in 2012 – total disorganization.
Did nobody from Wembley Stadium inform London Transport that the concert was running 40 minutes late & consequently the audience would be heading to the tube station after 11pm? As the extra trains were running 10-11pm apparently not – duh! This is not rocket science fellas. Thousands were left stranded in Wembley with no idea how to get home.
All in all a disappointing & expensive experience & more than anything else it’s sad to see an artist of Madonna’s stature losing touch with the audience who have made her a megastar.
Will someone tell Levi that the old Wembley stadium didn’t have a roof and i’ve lost count of the amazing music acts i saw there over the years – if the roof had been shut you’d probably say it was because the roof was shut. Admit it – it was over-hyped – over produced – and under achieved!
Well it was my first Madonna concert and I loved every minute of it. We were standing on the pitch admitedly nearish to the front and the sound was really loud could hear every song. The visuals were amazing and the choreography was brilliant.
We were lucky with the tube too managed to get on one within 15 mins of leaving stadium.
Madonna you rocked!!!!
I was so excited to be seeing Madge having grown up with her ( I’m 52) and several friends kept telling me how amazing her shows are and I have seen all the DVD’s so I had great expectations. I’ve seen The Police at Twickenham, Rod Stewart at Ipswich and people like Pink,Meatloaf and Blackeyed Peas at Wembly Arena. Last night was an insult to her fans. Keeping everyone waiting so long was plain rude. What was the point of Paul Okenfold as a warm up when we then had the best part of an hour to cool down again?? The sound was diabolical. Sooooo much bass and reverb that I didn’t have a clue what she was singing, not helped by the selfindulgent remixes that ruined many of the classic songs we all love. Don’t get me started on the gypsys with violins, again guessing ‘cos couldn’t see. I have never ever been to a concert for someone of her ‘madgnitide’ where so many people around me left early. We were seated in the god’s at the side of the stage but had assumed that there would be large screens so we could at least see the stage!!!! OHHHH NOOOO, I expect 2 more screens for those sitting at the sides would have cost poor Madge too much. I mean to say, as we were all leaving a woman announced over the tannoy that there was still plenty of merchandise for sale. £25 for a programme……………..no wonder! Sorry Madge, but you are past your sell by date!! Also I doubt I would go to Wembly again for a concert.
Gutted is all I can say. The worst concert I have ever been to and the only one I have ever walked out of before the end. Considering the eye watering cost of the tickets, that shows just how bad it was for those of us sitting on the side.
Even though she came on late, the die-hard Madonna fans around us were in a great mood, whistling and doing the wave like you do. As soon as she came on it was like a balloon deflating. The atmosphere where we were became non-existant and within 30 minutes, a steady stream of people were leaving. The sound was appalling – you could easily have a normal conversation with the person next to you which I’ve never experienced at any concert before.
Of what you could hear, it was impossible to make out 95% of the words she was singing and even the most classic songs were unrecognisable until well into the first verse because all you could hear was the base.
I’m sure for floor standing it was brilliant because that’s the only direction the speakers were facing. It’s unforgivable that so many people had such a bad experience. It won’t get me anywhere I’m sure but I’m sending my tickets to the event manager for a refund.
And to top it off, the car park was £20!
I travelled down from Scotland for the concert and I have never been to Wembley before.
I was at the opening night of the tour in Cardiff last month and thought the Wembley one was far better. We had side facing seats on the lower teir. Was disappointed that we wouldn’t really see the back of the stage but the screens were just in front of us. The Bass was too much but I thought the whole show was fantastic. Gypsy part, no that great but the rest of it was amazing.
One thing that Madonna has always done was to keep up with the times and I felt she did this with this tour. I didn’t want to go and listen to loads of old stuff. The show was non stop and enjoyed every minute of it.
Me and my girlfriend were sat in the upper tier at the very back of the stadium. At £65 per ticket, we expected at least some level of entertainment.
The sound reproduction at the back of the stadium was so poor that we could not hear a single word that was sung. The acoustics of the stadium are not great and you would expect a slight delay in audio, but the set up for the scale of the arena was, to be frank, discraceful. The sound system could not cope with a stadium the size of Wembley and needs a complete revamp if it is to be taken seriously in the future. All bass, no clarity, serious delays and echo and an utter shambles. Did the organisers not test all areas of the stadium? Or did they not care about 50% of their customers that were in the seated area.
The show would have taken over a million pounds from ticket sales. To provide thousands of people with a poor experience is a complete discrace. I hate being ripped off – Last night we were robbed!
The experience was so bad that we, like thousands of others we saw on the way out, we left halfway through. We did manage to escape the travel debacle though and feel sorry for those that could not get home on time.
Overall, very disappointed.
I wasn’t at the Wembley gig, but saw the show in Cardiff last month. Even with the roof on and a smaller stadium, the sound was terrible and the show a huge disappointment, No support act, lip syncinc, hopeless screens and poor video editing of the live video. None of the comments about the Wembley show surprise me, they are exactly the same complaints made about the Cardiff show, which proves Madonna and Love Nation have learned NOTHING of the course of the last month.
….and she went on at 9:10 in Cardiff too – probably to stop the booing
I don’t think she mimed one song. Believe it or not her voice is that good ! However, why does she have to be the best at everything. It is so boring now.
People the sound was crap because its madonna not the anything else lol seriously i feel sorry for people who pay almost £160 in some place of wembly and get the sound that is soooo poor.
rip off springs to mind
Well, I just sent them an email registering my disgust (here: http://www.livenation.co.uk/help/). Hopefully I’ll get some kind of response to it … but I’m not holding my breath:
—-
I don’t know if this is the best place to do this, but I know how this system works (I’ve been sysadmin on RightNow), so I know this will get to a human being. As such, I expect a response.
I’m writing with regards the Madonna concert. You know where this is going. The sound was absolutely awfaul and the stage set-up absolutely sucked. It was an absolute joke paying for tickets for this show. I realise that stadium gigs mean you may be far away, but the sound should be rigged accordingly, as should adequate access to screens for people who are not lucky enough to be within the golden circle.
I would like to know what you, as the concert promoters, are planning to do to compensate myself and so many others whose nights were spoiled/wasted because of the problems.
For info, I was sitting in Block 552, row 14.
I have written a full report of my experiences for the benefit of Google, which you can find here:
http://lloydi.com/blog/2008/09/12/madonna-gig-review-wembley-arena-sticky-sweet-tour/
I paid for two tickets (via Ticketmaster) and feel that it was a total waste of money.
This was my first Madonna concert. Unless I hear sufficient apologies or explanation for the balls-up on the night, this will definitely be my last as long as Live Nation is responsible.
I Have to say I had been waiting to see Madonna in Concert my whole life i so i was pretty geared up for the big night.
Slightly dissapointed.
First of all i was positioned in the first Ten rows of the seated stalls, which i thought to myself not bad pretty good seats. Madge comes on stage and i begin to feel way too removed from the concert. The sound wasn’t great, i could barely see her or the two screens situated at the front. some of the tracks were mimed and maybe i was expecting too much but i thought there would be a live band??
Wembley is a big Stadium and it would have been soo much better if she had, had a center stage so that all those fans could at least feel like a part of the concert!I felt bad for all those fans seated way way at the top of Wembley Stadium.
Around me, a lot of people looked bored, and many left early.
Her tickets were very expensive and so not worth it. The whole Concert had potential to be so much better, but in my eyes failed miserably.
Prince Charged £31 per ticket did 21 nights, at the 02 an encore after the show, and even appeared at some of his after parties at the indigo. He was absolutely amazing and truly came to perform for his WHOLE audience. When leaving the 02 after seeing Prince I felt like i had been given SOMETHING TO REMEMBER… apart from the Programme i have from Sticky and Sweet Tour, i don’t know if i’ll remember ever having seen Madonna live in concert.
Im glad because when i left the concert i didnt know if i was asking for too much , to be able to listen to the music on a music show…..and when i went to work the next morning and googled “madonna bad sound” i found this blog..and people expressing their anger at what happened…and im glad from what we managed on this little blog… madonna gets her money and doesnt really care..unless like all celebs..things become public..so from this little blog noone knows and would have heard of we managed to email newspapers, radio stations and i think the best of all perezhilton.com and get our views out…
our comments in this blog and this blog were quoted on yahoo.co.uk
and londonpaper newspaper.. and im sure many more places that we havent seen yet…
also perezhilton.com who has millions of views including celebrities and including madonna that send him videos to keep him on her side..because he has so much exposure that they are scared of him..
and he published our emails…now the net is full of pages talking about the problem..and i ve seen this morning the big UK newspapers reporting it.
so im glad we manage to cause a stir….and i hope you guys have all complained to livenation and i hope this outs pressure on them to admit the disaster and compensate us.
join the group on facebook for ‘madonna, we want a refund!’
These comments anger me.
Its awful to feel ripped off.
She just couldn’t give a toss!
As a seasoned concert goer I call for refunds for ALL!
You should have all spent less and gone to see the sublime Kylie.
A 2 and a half hour show of class and ground-breaking visuals.
I wasn’t even a big Kylie fan till I caught her X Tour live. Astounding.
You know for next time.
here is the link http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=25012384139
Hi everyone. Yesterday I was interviewed by the londonpaper and got this story out. Please join the facebook group – madonna, we want a refund! and let anyone you know who was affected know about it.
If we get enough people, i will speak to the reporter again on Monday. This way we may have a better indication of how many people deserve a refund
I hanve been a fan for 25 years, love her music but felt totally let down by Thursday night fiasco. I was in block 506, and even though I could see the stage the screens were far too small. The sound, well total c**p, we, along with the majority, had a really tough time hearing the music, trying to make out what song she was singing, and listening to a load of bass. There were a lot of us up dancing by the middle of the concert so that helped, but I actually like to hear the music clearly. I hadn’t been to the new Wembley so was thinking at the time maybe it was the stadium, never a problem with old Wembley and had been to loads of concerts, including Madonna, but seeing the comments here I realise that her sound checks were obviously inadequate. Have been watching the ‘concert’ on You Tube in Cardiff and the audio by some videos on there is perfect. I will complain to as many people as I can regarding this and will ask for a refund. In the meantime, an apology and the realisation that 90,000 fans were ripped off should come from Madonna herself and not her camp. (Although highly unlikely). I also think that we should be offered a free DVD so we can see (hear) what we were missing as mentioned in the comments.
Oh and a message to Wembley..your prices stink!!
Well, I really don’t know where to start……
I’m really upset and disappointed with my experience on Thursday night. I travelled down from Inverness to London to see Madonna, who has been my Idol since I was 11. My friend who was with me joined me on the train at Newcastle.
I have waited 20yrs to get to see her, and thought that I would have had the best experience seeing her at Wembley. Spending 8hrs on a train and a journey across London to stay in a dodgy hotel, and to then not be able to see her, let alone hear her, was just heartbreaking.
My friend and I had already been stung £110 each for tickets by SOS Masterticket, and in a last hope attempt, bought tickets with Ticketmaster. We knew that our tickets were poor ones, but we didn’t expect to pay £65 for a ticket and then have to guess what song she was singing. We were in block 529 right at the back and couldn’t even see the screens that were at the side of the stage. Loads of people in front of us left half way through, but we stuck it out to the end. I couldn’t believe it was over so quickly, and the atmosphere was awful. We could only see Madonna if she came out onto the walkway that came out from the stage. We couldn’t see any of the graphics that were going on on the stage, and really didn’t have a clue what was going on.
I feel extremely let down and really sick about the amount of money that I spent to come and see her ( as she didn’t do any dates in Scotland ) and I would never go back to ‘The great Wembley’ again.
the problem seems to be at the 500+ blocks….i was at block 522
everyone please email livenation…they are trying to put it all together..i think once they realise that the problem was on a specific side of the stadium then hopefully they ll do something for us who were sitting there….
the fact that i had to whisper to my mate next to me DURING the concert so other people around me dont hear me, says it all.
shouldnt it be the opposite? dont u usually shout to people next to you in a concert?
also i was wondering if theres a some sort of organisation we could adress to that protects our rights. like TV has ofcom. i was wondering if theres anything for events etc. cause we need to put pressure on livenation. so far we havent heard an apology from anyone. i only heard madonna’s spokesperson saying the sound was fine. well im sure he had a prime position. we need to take action now that its still in the news..cause when things go public thats when theres pressure on these organisations. once this becomes old news it be harder for us to get some justice.
one of the managers on the night said it was at least everyone in the top section of the entire way round the stadium that could not hear. which she said was about 3,000 people
and everyone that was sitting in the blocks either side of the stage could not see the screens as they were facing front
was really dissapointed,i’m a huge fan but the sound system was distorted…long wait -no support act,no atmosphere..the guy in front actually fell asleep!!just was boring her energy and dancing were faultless but thats it!
I was lucky enough to be in the gold circle last night, so the view and sound were amazing. However, after getting squashed for a few hours I decided to move towards the back of the ‘circle’ out of the crowd…..there was NO space anywhere in the gold circle. I have never known a gold circle to be as jam packed as it was on Thursday night! From reading through the comments on here, I notice that one of them stated that the ‘manager’ handed out gold circle wristbands to compensate people for being in the higher tiers…surely this is a serious issue for health and safety????!!!!! I left way before the end and I was shocked at how many people I had to keep my company on olympic way. What a disappointing end to something I was looking so forward to!
madonna needs to remember her fans,more interaction and thanks of appreciation for coming to the concert etc – she wouldn’t be where she is without us supporting her and buying her stuff!! waste of money so so dissapointed -too big for her boots.
Completely agree with you James about keeping the pressure up as it’s national news! I have also emailed Perez Hilton, a few radio stations and National papers, ticketmaster and Livenation, if we keep on this won’t go away and maybe promotors and Madonna camp will see it as good customer service to compensate us
Paid £175 (including the various ticketmaster fees) each for seats in block 229 – ticketmaster failed to tell me that my £175 didn’t include an actual view of the stage. At least we had sound though, which is more than people on the other side of the stadium had. Most I’ve ever paid to sit in a stadium and watch a TV. People sitting at the end of our block – who also would have paid £175 a ticket – couldn’t even see the screens!! Livenation obviously got greedy and sold tickets for seats that they knew had a poor view (and kept quiet about it).
Hard Candy – more like hard of hearing, took out second mortgage for 4 Wembley Madonna tickets, what a rip off, 1 1/2 hours of after Paul Okenfold had warmed us up we were extremely cool by the time Her Majesty appeared. We could neither see nor hear her, seated at the left side, with the video walls thoughtfully placed flush with the stage, and far too small for a venue of this size. The sound, well it was like listening to the next door neighbours party from 3 doors down, did not know what she was singing half the time. As her majesty was late Wembley transport systems had closed and the place was gridlocked, took 2 hours to get car out of car parks adjacent to venue and the A1 was closed and the M1 gridlocked due to roadworks – Joy. Think we will stick to Kylie who is prompt, warm and in touch enough to know that her fans appreciate being able to both see and hear her when paying hard earned money for the privelege.
1 – levi is a blinkered idiot (see what the fool has to say above).
2 – I cannot believe you would all pay out so much to go to a stadium gig based on such a mediocre cd.
Two words
sum up recent, cheaper, AMAZING live shows – PRINCE & KYLIE.
Madonna retirement anybody?! Lol!
Maybe she could go back to acting?!
In case anyone is thinking that the promoters are listening to all the negative comments, think again … I spotted this update on Twitter and, frankly, they might just as well have given me a good kick in the balls: http://twitter.com/livenationsocal/statuses/920523957. Getting *very* angry now!
I was also at this show – thankfully with comp tickets from the label. I have to say it was one of the most dreadful experiences ever for an artist of her caliber. It was clear that the stage, sound, and show were the entire kit that she takes to 15-20k seat arenas. Completely underdimensioned for the size of Wembley. I too was up high and the sound was virtually non-existent. The video screens stage left & right were only for those few in the front of the pitch and nothing you could see anywhere else in the stadium. The Stones would have had 8-times larger! AND last but not least – anyone sitting beyond midfield toward the stage should complain of obstructed view seating. The stage was closed on both sides and back – with the two full-size “M”s winging out from the front. You could see none of the video walls or stage choreography and for Madonna – this is 80% of the show. As we had comp tickets i think we were the first to exit the arena – after four songs!
Why couldn’t she have done a couple of nights at the O2? It’s built for gigs like this, so the sound is much better. Also every seat is padded, and it’s not so big so everyone can see. Travel is great there and not a problem to get a tube, taxi, train or boat.
Well i was certainly NOT impressed by this gig at all. I’d arrived with high expectations and thought to myself she would break through them as she is the Queen of Pop but no. Her late arrival was the breaking point at this. 9.15 and she finally appears, but where was the support act? Then during the first 2 or 3 songs we all realised how too perfect it was. It was all glits and glam and it had lost its character and intamacy with the crowd. Also to see a 50 year old pole dancing was not a wanted sight and the sound quality was very poor. She’s horribly muscle and her face showing to be very plastic now. She’s on a 800 calorie diet with a minimum of 3 hours on a treadmill each day. And she’s admitted to that and it can’t be healthy. Madge, i’ll let you off for the poor sound quality etc just this once but please cover up a little, stop excercising and start to tone down your image. You reached your peek in your career when you were about 45 but now its time to go with dignity.
I was the girl in the silver hotpants if anyone remembers them …
i emailed livenation and i just wanna discuss a bit their responce
heres is the responce
“Thank you for your email, I am very sorry you did not enjoy the show as we intended.
I shall respond to you after discussing your comments with Madonna’s sound engineers and the concert promoter and thank you for your patience whilst I do so. As sound is such a subjective matter, we will need to gain a full understanding of the level of complaints and the alleged affected areas. This may take a few weeks to collate, though I shall respond to you as soon as I am able.
In the meantime, please can you send me the below information in order to review your complaint more in depth: Your full contact details – Name, address, email address, phone number.
The nature of your complaint – please be very descriptive about what you could or could not hear.
Your seating details and booking reference number (This information will be on your tickets) Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. ”
they are very careful in that they say… cause they ll try and turn it around…
“they intended for us to enjoy the show”..if they did they wouldnt do it in stadiums of 90.000 capacity. their intention was to make quick £££
“sound is a subjective matter”…so what they are trying to say is that not being able to hear for some people, is perfect hearing for others..so maybe its our ears…
“alleged affected areas”…there was allegedly a problem…might not have been any problem…but a few thousands of us decided to get together at the concert and try ruin madonna! with alledge allegations!!
i hope that the weeks of investigation isnt an attempot for all of us to forget about this and move on..cause it aint gonna happen
i bet they do nothing though..they havent even issued an apology which would have been the least they could do. they just released the figure of 12 million they made from the concert in London.. Rubbing salt to our wounds
It sounds like their response is trying to pacify everyone and reduce the number of people complaining.
I expect that in a few weeks, less people will be bothered enough to pursue compensation and the press will have lost interest (if they haven’t already). This will allow Livenation to save face and avoid any large compensation costs.
The volume of emails that they have received in the last couple of days would have put significant strain on their customer service resources; by pacifying those that emailed them, when’a few weeks’ is up, they will hope that most of you will have moved on.
Everyone affected should stick together and ask for an update at least once or twice a week – this may lead to more frustration through lack of response but it will tell them that we will not go away and also leave a record of the level of customer service received.
We, in this country have become so passive when it comes to our own rights – we stood by for months knowing that no elction was taking place in the depature of Tony Blair, and allowed the government to put in place a prime minister who was not elected – an absurd situation given that we went to war pushing democracy which even our governments do not respect…
Madonna may be considered a sell out these days, but in her youth she challenged institutions such as the Catholic church. She did not and does not put up with c*** from anyone, something her fans have admired over the years and something we should be inspired by.
Don’t accept their attempts to passify. You paid money. They owe you.
We need to demand, not request.
PLEASE JOIN THE FACE BOOK PAGE ‘Madonna,we want a refund’ maybe nothing will come of it, she has taken our money and ran but we can try, someone may listen!!
let’s get the facebook group bigger and then picket her house …
Blimey – am shocked to read all this…I didn’t notice any of this going on and actually commented on the good sound. lol
I think standing at the front of the stadium just before the golden circle offered a perfect sound balance…and everyone around me was enjoying the gig.
It’s only when I got home and read the reviews I found out about all this – and I thought it was tabloid sensationalism.
Oh dear – not good. Madonna must be mildly annoyed to say the least.
madonna probably didn’t notice the hoardes of people leaving either. if we couldn’t see her, she probably couldn’t see us….
First Madge concert for me, I’m not a massive fan of her but I am a music lover and was looking forward to a good show BIG LET DOWN!!, the woman was all about herself and frankly didn’t give a stuff about the crowd, not that we could see much (block 514) because the screens were the size of postage stamps, and all we could hear was thud of the bass.
I can’t believe someone who has been in the business that long didn’t even notice the crowd was less than impressed and in desperate need of some serious uplifting, but no she just carried on strumming on that darn guitar! Songs performed were re-mixed and impossible to sing along too once you’d worked out what they were, I totally didn’t get why an Annie Lennox song was played, and the Greek business half way through was laughable, we thought we was at the Eurovision song contest!
I went to see George Michael last year and although we were seated right at the back, virtually were we sat for Madonna, he engaged the crowd, played the songs the crowd loved and we had a fantastic night at half the price!
I will never EVER book to see her again, the sound problems etc can be excused but her total dis-reguard for the fans and faliure to even notice that they were having a rubbish time is absolute disgrace, she’s not getting another penny of mine! She really is a Material Girl!
I really believe Madonna will be very angry that her staff have let her fans down.
We all know she mimes and she cannot help technical faults like speakers going down but a full refund should be given to anyone complaining. That is if she wants to fill a stadium in the UK again.
I went to see Prince at the O2 and couldn’t believe someone of his calibre hadn’t had every possible seating area checked for sound quality. I could literally hear people around me talking more than the music. It was heartbreaking.
I am a Madonna fan but I think the money machine that she has become is more important than giving a good performance. After seeing her on that Radio 1 Weekender show earlier this year I was glad I couldn’t possible afford a trip to London and a ticket.
I have just received this from Live Nation
Madonna
Discussion Thread
Response (Tom Brook) 15/09/2008 04.14 PM
Thank you for your email, I am very sorry you did not enjoy the show as we intended.
I shall respond to you after discussing your comments with Madonna’s sound engineers and the concert promoter and thank you for your patience whilst I do so. As sound is such a subjective matter, we will need to gain a full understanding of the level of complaints and the alleged affected areas. This may take a few weeks to collate, though I shall respond to you as soon as I am able.
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
Regards
Thomas Brook | Customer Service Manager / UK – Music
2nd Floor, Regent Arcade House | 19-25 Argyll Street, London, UK | W1F 7TS
http://www.LiveNation.co.uk
Please note, this incident will now be shown as closed in this system as I shall be personally managing your complaint. Should you have any further questions, please email info@livenation.co.uk
Regards
Thomas Brook | Customer Service Manager / UK – Music
2nd Floor, Regent Arcade House | 19-25 Argyll Street, London, UK | W1F 7TS
http://www.LiveNation.co.uk
Watch this space!
Can anyone help – did you buy your ticket from Ticketmaster and did they tell you that the view from your seats would be obstructed in some way? Was this also indicated in your confirmation email? If so, could you let me know? Thanks in advance
i emailed livenation..and they replied asking for some info etc..seats reference numbers etc…
and to be honest i thought they aint gonna do anytihng..and they just buying time..telling us to wait for a reply in a few weeks that will never come.
..but today i got another email from them saying i made a mistake to my reference number, and to send them the right one….
so could they be actually doing something??? i hope they do….
just dont give up demanding explanations and compensations..
they said they need few weeks to sort this..i ll keep emailing every 10 days…and i hope you all do the same…so they dont think we ll forget and move on.
After talking with Jude (office manger) from live nation she advised me to put all in email which I did. I advised her that I purchased my tickets via ebay, not a proplem as it was our fault because we are the promoter!! Since then have had call from Tom Brook. Basically stating that because I purchased from ebay they cannot helpor if you purchase from seatwave or viagogo. what a load of !”&*%$ Every time I called live nation reception girl kept increasing the number of people whom had contacted. As of Wednesday 1500 people not happy. Will not ever go to a concert promoted by them again.
As for Tom Brook think he should get people skills training as his customer service was sub zero.
I purchased my ticket form ticketmaster and complained. They advised me to contact Livenation. I replied that I thougt ticketmaster as the retail seller had an obligation to make sure what is sold is an accurate description. As the details on their website at the sales process was neither accurate or complete I believe they had an obligation to advise the consumer that the seats had restricted view and that you would be unlikely to view the full stage or any of the video production.
Discussion Thread
—————————————————————
Response (Vicky_ZME868) – 16/09/2008 10:25 AM Dear Jason
Thank you for your email.
I am very sorry to hear that you are not happy with my response.
If you wish to take this further please contact STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers) http://www.s-t-a-r.org.uk/. They are a self-regulatory body which acts on behalf of the consumer and is the governing body of Ticketmaster. They receive complaints about Ticketmaster, and arbitrate on behalf of our customers.
To contact STAR by telephone please call 0870 603 9011 or write to STAR, PO Box 43, London, WC2H 7LD. E-mail: info@s-t-a-r.org.uk
I apologise that i am unable to assist you further with this complaint.
Kind Regards
Vicky_ZME868
Customer Care Advisor
Did I provide World Class Service? ANSWER NO !!!!!!!
I was in Frankfurt and it was the worst concert I have ever seen!!! The sound was horrible in vain that I was in the middle of stadium. Her stage was too low and if you are below 180cm you see nothing(maybe the slide-projectors)!!! Shes proffesional? Queen of pop? Ha,ha,ha… Its waist of money to see her… maybe the dvd will be better
hey!! just got an email..they are refunding me!!
didnt expect that…
hope everyone effacted is getting a refund too!
OH MY GOD YOU LOT LIKE TO MOAN…..YOU DECIDED AS A FAN TO SEE HER AND SHE GAVE YOU WHAT SHE COULD…COME ON…SHE IS FLIPPNG 50…SHE HAS GIVEN US MUSIC FOR YEARS! GOD, LOOK AT HER…OK SHE IS A SELFISH DIVA BUT IT IS SO BORING TO HEAR YOU ALL MOAN LIKE OLD FISH WIFEY’S! WHO CARES!? LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO HOLD GRUDGES AND AS TO THE SOUND IT IS NIT MADONNA’S FAULT…HE STAYED IN OUR HOTEL AND WAS A COMPLETE ARSEHOLE! TOTALLY UP HIS OWN ASS! I TOLD HIM IT WAS SHIT SO I HOPE HE GOT SACKED! HE ONLY WORKED FOR WEMBLEY STADIUM THOUGH…. I HAVE PICS… AS AFTER THE GIG WE HAS A POST-MADGE PARTY…HE IS A COMPLETE ARSEWIPE!…SO TO ALL YOU MISERABLE SO CALLED FANS….IT WASN’T HER FAULT!
I FELT DISILLUSION !! WHAT A SHAME, MADONNA WASN’T ENOUGH,SHE MUST GAVE US MUCH MORE.I THINK I WILL NEVER GOIN TO SEE HER AGAIN.SHE´S A STAR BUT THIS CONCERT WAS TERRIBLE.WE WERE IN BLOCK 141 ROW19,PEOPLE AROUND US WERE LEAVING BEFORE THE CONCERT WAS FINISHED.
MY FRIEND AND I SPENDED 325 POUNDS EACH FOR TICKETS BY MISSION IMPOSSIBLE,THEY GAVE ME THE TICKETS 3 HOURS BEFORE THE SHOW START.I WAS VERY NERVIOUS.
PLEASE MADONNA THINK IN YOURS FANS!!!!!
LIVE NATION REFUNDS!!
Dear Customer,
I am writing further to our correspondence concerning your attendance at the Madonna concert at Wembley Stadium on 11 September 2008. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in responding to you.
We note the comments in your email and apologise that you did not enjoy the show as we intended. Please be assured that Live Nation takes such feedback very seriously and your comments will be addressed with the parties responsible for your area of concern to ensure this remains an isolated incident.
As a gesture of goodwill, we will be refunding the face value of your tickets back to the Ticketmaster account details provided by you in full and final settlement of this matter and any claims relating to it. This process will be managed by Ticketmaster and the money will show in the purchaser’s account no later than 22 October 2008.
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and I assure you of our best intentions at all times.
REQUEST YOUR REFUNDS NOW!
where do you contact for a refund?
I purchased with ticketmaster!
Cheers
Lose the tights Madonna
THIS SHOW WAS THE BEST SHOW EVER….. SHUT THE F*CK UP you jealous moaning cretins……..most of you wont be happy until she walks on water or transports herself through the air and levitates over hot coals, then again that wouldnt be enough!!!!!! If you hate her then dont go, idiots!!!! Be thankful you wernt stuck in the god awful Kylie tour X like i was for 2 hours, absolutoley dreadful, so sickly sweet i nearly barfed, it was like watching several of Madonnas tours for most of it….does that horse face ever move by the way??? I nearly mistook her for a hat stand she was so rigid!! i got pissed at the bar……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Hi,
Does anyone know whether the reported stories about Madonna being obsessed with Trampolines are true?
Thanks
Ella