How appropriate that on American Independence Day I should get a chance to see Madonna's STICKY AND SWEET show again. We saw it last year at Wembley Stadium and while I enjoyed it I also felt a real disconnect from the show after having seen her last three tours in the more 'intimate' surroundings of the indoor arenas of Wembley and Earls Court.

No such disconnect this time.... not only were we in the front row of the block nearest to the stage... we were in the first two seats of that row! I kept telling Owen "I won't get excited till I actually see her".... then I saw her....and screamed!!!

This is the third time I have been so close to her in performance - first was in the front row for the play UP FOR GRABS at the Wyndhams when she not only addressed one of her monologue lines right to me but during the following scene change looked down at me and smiled! I think it was because I was the only person in the front row wearing a tour t-shirt!! The second time was when we were in the centre-block about three rows from the stage for the RE-INVENTION tour. I tried to take some shots with my mobile's camera but I have never worked out the best settings for a gig (advise anyone?) so the few that I took came out like this one on the right... perfect apart from a glow where Madonna should be... ah well at least it shows how close we were. Owen was snapping away like mad but I was happy just to experience the show full-on.

Oh how I laughed when I saw the O2's schedule saying Madonna would be onstage at 8.15 - you can tell she has never played there before! Try 9.15... Madonna obviously believes London to be a truly 24-hour capital and that the punters would have no trouble finding their way home after the show finished at 11.20 from North Greenwich with no Jubilee line running!

We were next to the stage-side entrance to the backstage area so when Stella McCartney & Valentino walked past us I knew the show was due to start and sure enough... the lights went down on the slow-handclappers and we were launched into the opening video animation for "Candy Shop" - when she was revealed sprawled over her M throne and I saw just how close we were I started clapping and singing... and didn't stop til she left the stage two hours later.

The show is a lot tighter and more cohesive than the show at Wembley and I'm not just saying that because I had a better view! There have been some set-list changes which are all for the better. The first section still runs:

• "Candy Shop"
• "Beat Goes On" with Pharrell Williams & Kanye West on video and a big white car on stage!
• "Human Nature" - with Britney Spears on video
• "Vogue" - mashed up with the parping horns of "4 Minutes"

But the 80's NY section - my fave part last time - was even greater this time:

• "Into The Groove"
• "Holiday" - always my favourite live M song replaces "Heartbeat"
• "Dress You Up" - replaces "Borderline" as a 'rock anthem'!
• "She's Not Me"
• "Music"

The addition of "Holiday" and "Dress You Up" really lifted this part of the show making it more upbeat and life-affirming - all the more so last night as in the middle of "Holiday" one of her dancers appeared in full Michael Jackson drag and threw some MJ shapes in a spotlight to beats from "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Starting Something"! The audience went utterly crazy and rightly so - the dancer was great and it was the perfect tribute from one legend to another.



Into the East meets Romany section of the show - still my favourite outfit from the show with:

• "Devil Wouldn't Recognise You"
• "Spanish Lesson"
• "Miles Away" - a real crowdpleaser with a mass sing-and-clap-along
• "La Isla Bonita" - yep, it must be her favourite - it's been in every tour I've seen!
• "Doli Doli" - M sitting it out while the Romany group do their ethnic singalong
• "You Must Love Me" - a fantastic vocal performance

Owen got a great shot of Madonna during this section of the show which I think deserves repeating tho' it's on his blog... Then it was into the final section:

• "4 Minutes" - with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland on video
• "Like A Prayer" - in it's delirious Euro rave version
• "Frozen" - replacing the guitar-heavy version of "Hung Up" which didn't work for me
• "Ray Of Light"
• "Give It To Me" - with M and her dancers all wearing a sparkly white glove each!
  

and that was it... Game Over as the screens told us - now that I got a good photo of!All that was left was for us to get home! It was all a bit desperate - our plan for a quick and painless getaway were thwarted when Addison Lee told us they had no cabs free to pick up from the O2 so we wandered around for a bit with me sinking into despair with the idea of cramming onto one of the too-few buses to Waterloo for too-many people when Owen tried Addy Lee again - and they had an elusive cab ready to collect us in 20 minutes! It's always nice to sit and watch the world go by when you know you have a ride home eh?

Apart from the late finish - which turned out not to be so bad after all - it was a night I will remember for a long time. Hopefully Madonna liked the O2 so much she will play there again... I am sure she feels she must play stadium gigs as befits her status in the music business... but nothing beats being able to experience her under a roof!
Here is another of Owen's great pictures... she obviously remembered me from the front row of the Wyndhams!