Time Goes By So Slowly For Those Who Wait

And it was a weekend of waiting, queuing and delays. And people, lots and lots of people.

Saturday morning's journey to Cardiff was the usual planes, trains and automobiles - train Hartlepool to Newcastle, Metro to the airport, plane to Bristol, train to Cardiff, taxi to the hotel. Once at the hotel we changed and called another cab, arriving back in the city centre about 6pm. First stop was the Millennium Stadium itself to see whether people were queuing yet - there were a few and I admire their resolve as it was chucking it down with rain and didn't stop all night! There weren't enough people there to worry about so we went off in a quest for food and drink. We ended up in the Hard Rock Cafe where we stuffed ourselves silly and had plenty to drink as well. We sautered back down to the Stadium where there still weren't very many people queuing and decided to have a boogie in 80's bar Reflex before getting some kip.

After just 5 hours sleep the alarm went off at 6am on Sunday morning. Urghhhhhh. Dragging ourselves out of bed, me and my boyfriend Darren were pleased to see that the rain had passed and the sun was shining. I think the cabbie was a bit bemused by us getting there so early! We arrived at Gate 6 at 7am, went to get some newspapers, croissants and water. At 8am a very nice member of the Millennium Stadium staff (who were excellent) told us we could go in any entrance despite Gate 6 being printed on our tickets, and that we'd get to the Golden Circle quicker from Gate 2. After a couple of hours eighth in line at Gate 2, we realised that we could actually be first in the queue at Gate 3 and moved there where we stayed for the rest of the day. As it turned out, we could have had an extra 3 hours in bed!

The day actually flew by. We chatted with the other fans in our queue, and Darren bought us a couple of cheap fold up chairs to make things a bit more comfy. We had a couple of beers, got some snacks from M&S and basked in the sun. Madonna herself arrived in a blur of sliver people carriers at 3pm (3 hours late) and that's when the crowds started to swell. We heard a little bit of the soundcheck, but from our gate nothing was very clear. By the time the gates opened at 6pm (30 minutes late) the crowds outside were huge and chomping at the bit. There was a mad rush, but with a combination of walking and running (security tried to stop people running) I got exactly where I wanted to be - halfway up the catwalk right on the barrier. Surely she can't miss me in my pink hat (NOT a cowboy hat) from here?!!

The Golden Circle definitely has advantages - there's no chance of being crushed and you can easily go to the loo without having to fight through thousands of people. Plus being right at the front means you can ask security for a drink of water whenever you need it! Paul Oakenfold was the support act for the night to get everyone warmed up, and warming up he certainly did. There's a real art to "proper" DJing, and he mixed some house stuff (which I liked but don't really know) with some modern classics, including remixes of Song 2 by Blur, Beautiful Day by U2 and the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams. He really interacted with the crowd, encouraging clap along's and jumping from the assembled throng. He ended with a rather peculiar fade out though.

At 8.37pm the real show started, just 7 minutes later than planned. A 6ft glitterball descended to the stage, and then opened to reveal Madonna inside. The first section of the show had an equestrian theme - for opener Future Lovers the dancers were dressed up in saddles and bits with fake manes or hair. I Feel Love followed to really get the crowd going. She performed virtually solo for Get Together, proving that she doesn't always need dancers to command attention. Then followed the problems with getting so close - the height of the catwalk meant we couldn't see the left hand side of the stage which was where she performed Like A Virgin. Looking forward to seeing that one on video! Jump then closed the first section, a big climbing frame descending onto the catwalk to make it even higher and less visible! A shame because it's my favourite song from the new album, and despite the dancers leaping like monkeys it lacked the energy that it probably should have had.

Section two started with recordings of three of the dancers reciting their "confessions" while video accompanied their dance. The moves were very much in a contemporary dance style, much like the rest of the show. This segued into Live To Tell, with Madonna on her now famous disco-crucifix. It was actually much more subtle than the press have made out - a few photos of African children and a couple of simple facts about the curse of AIDS in Africa serving up the message much better than a bombardment. The end of the song promoted Raising Malawi, a charity that Madonna supports to prove that she does, in her own words, "walk the walk". The rest of this section contained all songs from the latest album - Forbidden Love with it's anti-homophobia message, Yitzhak Sinwani accompanied Madonna on backing vocals for Isaac and all of the dancers came out to perform in a cage reminiscent of the video for Sorry. Like It Or Not followed, with a routine on a chair on the end of the catwalk that I couldn't really see from my vantage point - I could see less there than I expected.

Next up, the guitar set. My favourite!!! I Love New York and Ray Of Light got us bouncing like nutters, and it's always great to see Madonna strap on an axe! Let It Will Be calmed things down a bit, followed by an impassioned and brilliant performance of Drowned World from the steps of the catwalk. This section was rounded off with a duet of Paradise (Not For Me) with Yitzhak Sinwani.

Finally, it was time for some all out disco. Music was mixed with the Trampps Disco Inferno and the dancers donned rollerskates to up the energy to fever pitch. Madonna treated us to some of John Travolta's moves before You Thrill Me - an alternative version of Erotica - with some excellent couple-dancing on the main stage. Next up, a really fast version of La Isla Bonita, then Lucky Star followed mixed with the now familiar sample of Abba's Gimme Gimme Gimme which meant the last song was easily predicted. There was surely no-one left in the Stadium who wasn't dancing to Hung Up. And finally I got my moment with Madonna! She got the crowd from different areas to sing, "time goes by so slowly" back to her, and when she did our section she was looking straight at me! No matter how much the tickets, transport and hotel cost, moments like that are priceless!!!

Golden balloons fell from the ceiling and it was all over. She came, she danced, she conquered. Some papers have reported booing - I didn't hear anything more than a disappointed sigh as the house lights came up. I made my way to the merch stand where I spent £90 on a programme (really not worth it) and a tracksuit jacket (which I love!). We eventually made it outside and were left with the dilemma of how to get home. We were far too tired to go out on the town, but Cardiff doesn't have any late night public transport to speak of and the taxis were all booked. After an hour of wandering around talking to cabbies who were waiting for people who had booked, we decided to queue at the taxi rank near the station. Slowly but surely free cabs came around (boy did I appreciate my new jacket!) and we eventually got back to the hotel at 1am.

Unsurprisingly we crashed straight to bed, our feet feeling like lead. We made a cup of tea but didn't stay awake long enough to drink it. We woke at about 11am, dragged ourselves out of bed, checked out and headed into Cardiff to get some food (breakfast had finished everywhere by then!) After a Starbucks and a wonder around a few shops we headed for Bristol, did a bit more window-shopping in the torrential rain and eventually found somewhere to eat. I forgot how good Pizza Express was! Another walk through the torrential rain following rubbish signs to Temple Meads train station later, and we got on a bus to Bristol Airport. There is a point at which you can't get any wetter, and I think we were there! We changed at the airport and checked in, only to find that the flight was an hour late. Eventually we boarded at 11pm and dropped home just after midnight. I think I'll spend all week catching up on lost sleep!

For a much shorter review and some photos, go see Darren's blog at http://www.themarketsquare.blogspot.com/