By Jeremy Blacklow

LAS VEGAS, NV --

OK, so… this past weekend, I finally caught Madonna;s “Sticky & Sweet” concert tour –  my first time seeing her in Vegas.

Yes, I know it seems like old news by now – but hey, it’s been a busy news week.

This is my fourth Madonna tour since 2001 – I caught “Drowned World” (2001) and “Re-Invention” (2004) in New York, and “Confessions” (2006) in LA.

I’m not used to being the last fan on the block to see her live, but I also didn’t want to see the show in the outdoors environment of LA’s Dodgers Stadium. Maybe that was smart (it was a cold night, and her stage had problems being set up), but maybe it wasn’t (I missed Britney and Justin, who I had hoped would’ve been there in Vegas too!)

They weren’t there, but who cares? — It was Vegas baby!

First of all, the MGM Arena is a great place to see a show. If you haven’t caught a concert there, I’d highly recommend it.

If you love Madonna, you’re going to love this tour. Even if you’re not a superfan, you’re probably going to enjoy it. Never before has Madonna been more physical on stage – both with her dancing and intense guitar playing.

The two stand out performances in this tour (for me), are without doubt, “Like A Prayer” and “You Must Love Me” (from 1996’s “Evita”).

This version of “Prayer” is a new mash-up, which samples the Meck song “Feels Like Home” (you can hear a similar mash-up here) It’s high-energy and fresh – a complete re-interpretation of the classic 80’s track.

On “You Must Love Me” (in Madge’s trademark “Latin” block), she’s never sounded better vocally. The emotion from her portrayal of Eva Peron comes through, and the song almost brought a tear to my eye (almost!).

Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of her most recent “Hard Candy” album, but “Candy Shop,” “Beat Goes On,” and “She’s Not Me” worked better for me live than recorded. This is especially true for the latter track, in which Madonna envisions mannequins of her past incarnations (“Material Girl Madonna,” “Live A Virgin Madonna,” “Erotica Madonna”) and dismisses them each on stage, one-by-one.

Overall, “Sticky & Sweet” wasn’t quite as great for me as “Confessions,” but it was still worth almost every dollar of my $415 ticket – well, maybe $410 worth… at least I (didn’t like this tour’s version of “Hung Up”).

I’m checking out another one of my favorite 80’s bands – The B-52s – in LA this coming weekend. I’ll let you know how their show goes next week!

BTW – check out the new Madonna remixes of her third single from “Hard Candy” – “Miles Away” – which are available now on Masterbeat.com — they’re fun!

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