Madonna thrilled a packed du Arena on Sunday night in the first of two Abu Dhabi shows that offered a visually dazzling performance.
The 53-year-old was in fine physical form as she battled the stifling heat to deliver a 20-song set leaning heavily on her latest album, MDNA. She also delivered the much-touted jab at Lady Gaga by seamlessly merging her classic Express Yourself with Gaga’s modern hit Born This Way, before concluding with the coup de grace refrain: “She’s not me.”
While Madonna’s dig at Gaga is a major talking point, her latest showpiece is as much about settling scores with her inner demons as it is cementing her title as “Queen”.
While her previous Sticky and Sweet tour saw her lightly poking fun at herself and her various musical guises throughout the years, this concert was at times brutally dark and suffocating and as much an emotional exorcism as a performance.It began with a dour church bell, transporting the audience to a temple full of occult imagery.
A giant thurible swung as smoke swirled around a legion of chanting hooded monks.Madonna descended from the steeple of the church tower to the synth riffs of Girl Gone Wild.When the energetic number finished, Madonna stood at the edge of the stage with a Kalashnikov and shouted out: “Hello, Abu Dhabi”; an image surely to rival the rapper Snoop Dogg’s entrance on the same stage last year dressed in a kandura.There was more gunplay with the follow-up track, Revolver, and it was here that we witnessed the giant LED screens – reportedly the biggest ever on tour – work their magic.
Their shifting formations gave the visuals an almost hallucinatory quality, with cascading bullets shells and bodies morphing into snakes; images not expected in pop concerts but riveting nonetheless.However, the visuals paled in comparison to the Quentin Tarantino revenge romp that is Gang Bang.
Cooped up in a dingy motel, Madonna turned executioner as she dispensed bloody vengeance to masked would-be assailants invading from all corners, including the roof.
All that killing struck at her conscience; she pleaded in Papa Don’t Preach before being abducted by monstrous soldiers in Hung Up and re-emerged once again triumphant in rock star mode in I Don’t Give A ...And this was only the first act.
Those expecting a celebratory trip down memory lane must have found the whole affair rather galling. Fortunately, Madonna let some much-needed light sift through among the gloom with the Express Yourself/Born This Way medley, although that lyrical uppercut to Gaga in the finale showed the Material Girl wasn’t ready to play nice.
It is this uneven fierce streak – Madonna’s persona, visuals and performances – that was responsible for both the show’s highs and minor stumbles. When it worked, it gave the new material from MDNA a kick sorely missing from the recordings. The fluffy Give Me All Your Luvin’ received an extra welcome bite courtesy of the percussive storm by the more than dozen-strong marching band.
However, her over-aggressive stance sapped out all the fun from the pop-tastic Turn Up the Radio. The balance was restored in the final act with the anthemic I’m a Sinner and the gospel-driven Like a Prayer, which brought the crowd to their feet.One has to hand it to Madonna: besides the eight costume changes, she was constantly on the move, mixing it up with the dancers and singing along in fine voice. Yet more than her faultless work ethic, you sensed that what the crowd looked for, yearned for and found only fleetingly, were moments of emotional connection. Instead, we stood as voyeurs peering into Madonna’s inner turmoil. It’s not the happiest of places, but arresting just the same.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
