Madonna

We are just coming back from an overnight trip to London to see Madonna in Hyde Park. Our penultimate stop on the European tour before we head over to Lima on August 8th. Our flight from Geneva yesterday morning was delayed for 4 hours so we almost didn't take the trip after all. But we ended up going back to the airport after a cat nap and headed out to London with just enough time to eat at Chipotle (husband's London cravings), get lost around Regent Street (where they have now put up all the countries' flags for the Olympics) and head over to Hyde Park with aching feet from walking too much in cheap sandals (it's been an eventful week for my feet with Zumba-related complications as well which didn't let me wear tennis shoes!). The atmosphere at Hyde Park for a concert is an incredible thing to see. Such a diverse array of people - some of them young, some of them old (ahem, us), a lot of them gay, a lot of them dressed in crazy Madonna 80's outfits, and MOST of them wearing wellies (which I should've but didn't even think about!). I guess the Londonese are prepared for rain every day. The first act was Martin Solveig which was pretty cool, the second act was LMFAO which was totally not (OK, these people might have a couple of danceable hits but believe me they are not concert material) and then the Material Girl herself decided to grace us with her presence amidst a light rain which ensured the Londonese made good use of their wellies!

The concert itself was a bit of a disappointment. I guess a few factors contribute to this. Number one when you're such a famous artist who's been around for so long it's inevitable that you won't have enough time to sing all the hits and some people will be pissed because you didn't sing this song or that (I was). Number two I feel like she was trying so hard to prove that she could sing (even though this is my first live Madonna concert (and probably last) I've seen videotaped concerts of her where she does very little singing and a lot of lip syncing) that she ended up favoring slow and unknown songs over proven hits just so she could sing them (and play the guitar - who cares about her playing the guitar!!?!?!). And number three she just decided that she's too famous to give people what they really want and did things like completely botch "Like a Virgin" (most of us didn't even know what she was singing when she tried her rendition of that!). However, it was still a once in a lifetime experience which I will always look back on. Especially when you consider that it's a legend like Madonna in a legendary venue like Hyde Park. You just can't put a price on that. Especially when you factor in the traditional London rain and weird contemporary acts like Martin Solveig and LMFAO. I will never forget this night.

The best part was when Madonna started interchanging words from "Express Yourself" and "Born This Way" from Lady Gaga and then started yelling "She is not me" in the middle of the medley. As a die-hard Lady Gaga fan I was thoroughly amused and also a little peeved. I wonder if she saved that just for the London concert or if she's been doing it in other cities too.

Here are a few highlights from LMFAO and Madonna. I think it was hard to hear above all the noise but hopefully it gives a good feel for the crowd.

Next Friday we go back to London for the Olympics. I think the city will be crowded as all heck but hopefully it'll be another once in a lifetime experience that we'll never forget (especially the kids!).