The Girlie Show Tour
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| The Girlie Show Tour | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tour by Madonna | ||
| Start date | September 25, 1993 | |
| End date | December 19, 1993 | |
| Legs | 3 | |
| Shows | 7 in Europe and Middle East 16 in North and South America 16 in Japan and Australia 39 in Total |
|
| Madonna tour chronology | ||
| Blond Ambition Tour (1990) |
The Girlie Show Tour (1993) |
Drowned World Tour (2001) |
Even though Madonna proclaimed after her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour that she would never go on tour again, it only took her three years until she hit the road again with The Girlie Show Tour 1993. After that, she said that if "you ever hear me say again 'I'm never going on tour again', don't believe me". Madonna's inspiration for the name of her 1993 tour was a painting called "Girlie Show" by Edward Hopper. The 1941 oil-painting shows a burlesque dancer - which represents very much the theme of Madonna's actual tour.
Contents |
[edit] Tour Information
The Girlie Show was mounted in support of Madonna's critically-panned 1992 album, Erotica. The setlist contained seven songs from that album (the eponymous track as well as "Fever", "Rain" (with an interlude taken from The Temptations' "Just My Imagination"), "Bye Bye Baby", "Deeper and Deeper", "In This Life", and "Why's It So Hard"). The remaining songs were taken from Madonna's catalog: "Vogue", "Express Yourself", "La Isla Bonita", "Like a Virgin", "Holiday", and "Everybody", and included three songs that had never been performed in concert before ("Justify My Love", "I'm Going Bananas", and "The Beast Within").
The show had a central visual theme, Burlesque circus.
The tour had a complex visual style and introspective lyrics and it had a more obvious and serious theme, that was shown in different ways throughout the show. She explored the sexual thematic, much like she did in her Erotica album.
The show had a more complex stage that those from Madonna's previous tours. It had a runway that leads to a minor stage in front of the main stage, a number of elevators, three elevated platforms behind the stage and a revolving platform in the middle of the main stage.
The stage took 24 hours to be mounted properly.
The show was directed by Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone.
Madonna played an uncharacteristically spare five dates in the US. Fans have speculated that this may have been related to the Erotica album's particularly low sales in that country and the backlash surrounding Madonna's book, Sex.
It was Madonna's first tour to reach South America and Australia - and, to date, her only tour.
[edit] Broadcasts and recordings
Initially, the November 20, 1993 show, the second of two dates at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, was to be filmed and aired on HBO in the United States. However, a massive storm forced the cancellation of the show, so the November 19 show (which had been filmed as a "safety show") was aired instead. This show was released worldwide on VHS in 1994 as The Girlie Show - Live Down Under. It was re-released on DVD in 2001.
The December 8, 1993 show at the Fukuoka Dome in Fukuoka, Japan was also filmed and released on VHS exclusively in Japan under the title The Girlie Show In Japan 1993.
[edit] Public Response
Despite lackluster sales for Madonna's Erotica album, the tour was a financial success.
Uproar developed in Puerto Rico after Madonna rubbed the Puerto Rican flag between her legs on stage.
Madonna broke a record in this tour. In Brasil, on the Rio de Janeiro show, Madonna was watched by 120.000 people. The biggest audience on a musical concert then.
A German politician called out for a boycott of Madonna's only German show in Frankfurt (which was already sold out) because of nudity and pornographic content. The date was eventally cancelled, but, according to a spokesperson of Madonna, the cancellation was due to stage set-up problems and had nothing to do with the proposed boycott.
Similar problems in Israel occurred when Orthodox Jews staged protests to force the cancellation of the singer's first-ever show in that country. The protests were unsuccessful as the show was sold out and went on as scheduled.
Many critics accused the show of failing to reach the standards set by her previous Blond Ambition tour. Madonna's brother and artistic collaborator, Christopher Ciccone, stated that although the stage appears simpler at the front, it is by far more complicated than anything Madonna has done from the back.
The Video for the tour, The Girlie Show - Live Down Under, was nomeneted for the grammy award of Best Long Form Music Video in 1995.
The tour grossed U$60,3 million.
[edit] Opening Acts
- UNV (some USA venues)
- Yonca Evcimik and Kenan Doğulu (Istanbul)
- Peter Andre (Australia)
- Mario Pelchat (Montreal)
[edit] Setlist
- "Erotica"
- "Fever"
- "Vogue"
- "Rain" (with a few lines of "Just My Imagination")
- "Express Yourself"
- "Deeper and Deeper"
- "Why's It So Hard"
- "In This Life"
- Dancers Interlude: "The Beast Within"
- "Like a Virgin" (with a few lines of "Falling In Love Again (Can't Help It)")
- "Bye Bye Baby"
- "I'm Going Bananas"
- "La Isla Bonita"
- "Holiday"
- "Justify My Love"
- Medley: "Everybody Is A Star"/"Everybody" (with a few lines of "Dance To The Music" & "After The Dance")
[edit] Tour Dates
Cancellations (2): 2 October Festhalle Stadium, Frankfurt, Germany; November 20 Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia, rescheduled for December 12th.
Dates: 39 (40 scheduled)
[edit] Personnel
- Vocals: Madonna
- Director and Production Designer: Christopher Ciccone
- Musical Director: Jai Winding
- Entire Production Staged by: Jeffrey Hornaday
- Choreographed by: Alex Magno Keith Young
- Additional Choreography by: Michelle Johnston, Niki Haris
- Costumes by: Dolce & Gabbana
- Additional Costumes: Rob Saduski
- Keyboards: Jai Winding Michael Beardon
- Guitar: Paul Pesco
- Bass: Victor Baley
- Drums: Omar Hakim
- Percussion: Luis Conte
- Additional Keyboards: Mike McKnight
- Background Vocals: Niki Haris, Donna DeLory
- Dancers: Ungela Brockman, Christopher Childers, Michael Gregory, Carrie Ann Inaba, Jill Nicklaus, Ruth Inchaustegui, Luca Tommassini, Carlton Wilborn
- Lighting Designer: Peter Morse
- Personal Security to Madonna: Earl Gabbidon, Bob Izzard
- Publicity: Liz Rosenberg, Warner Bros Records.
Studio albums: Madonna (1983) · Like a Virgin (1984) · True Blue (1986) · Like a Prayer (1989)
Erotica (1992) · Bedtime Stories (1994) · Ray of Light (1998) · Music (2000)
American Life (2003) · Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
Discography · Tours · Videography · Filmography · Achievements and Awards · Bibliography · Unreleased songs · Controversies
