Pop Royalty on Tour

Towards the back of last week, I pretty much had this week’s blog written (in my head). It was going to be all about the release of Madonna’s new album MDNA and I would go on and on about how wonderful it was and the direction she was taking and fall at her feet all over again. However, when it comes to pop royalty a lot can change over the course of a weekend and more importantly in a matter of hours on a regular Monday. 

On Sunday night it was the princess of pop, Kylie Minogue, which got me all flustered. She announced via Twitter that her “Anti Tour” would be hitting Manchester Academy and London Hammersmith Apollo in a matter of days, well a week in fact. The “Anti Tour” is exactly what it says in the title. Kylie had hinted after her enormous Aphrodite shows that she would like to go on the road with no production, play a couple of nights in selected tiny venues and her set would be made up of B-sides, album tracks, demos and songs that would never make it on to the set list of her usual mammoth glitter cannoned touring extravaganzas. Now, I thought this stripped back tour would come with a stripped back price – more fool me as the tickets were still £79. I initially recoiled at that price, but after some pondering, sweating at my bank balance and coercion from some friends I caved in and I can’t believe I’ll be seeing her in such a tiny venue.

So where does Madonna fit in to all this? Well, she too has announced a further UK date to her MDNA tour, yet this time it’s in an arena. When the tour was initially announced in February I was very excited but then I was disheartened when I saw that she would be playing Hyde Park in London. Not a venue I would like to see a concert by one of my favourite artists and after the fiasco that followed her Sticky and Sweet show at Wembley Stadium, I was immediately put off and added this to the other tour I missed out on: Confessions (I was gutted I missed that). So, Birmingham NIA has been added on 17th July and tickets will go on sale on Friday. The prices range from an acceptable £55 up to nearly £200. Will I get a ticket? After the usual performance of should I/shouldn’t I, I probably will and no doubt it’ll be amazing.

Oh and as far as her album goes there are plenty of reviews around. Some of them are more glowing than others. Personally I’m not yet convinced by it and I can’t make a proper judgement. On first few listens I could only review it with the sound of a disappointed sigh. Written by Andrew Roberts