Just one day after being in the ‘Children in Need’ audience it was time to queue outside the G-A-Y bar for the hottest tickets in town! Madonna was going to perform another gig that night to promote her current ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ album. Looking back on this incredible time, we were so spoiled! An extensive promo tour and opportunities to attend it all.
We settled on the streets with multiple layers of clothes and blankets as it was still freezing cold. The queue was a bit longer than the one at KOKO but that changed quickly. Before we knew it the queue was as long as the entire street. In the days prior to queuing up, some fans were given the chance to occupy an early wristband to the event by answering G-A-Y related questions. I tried and failed, I was not a regular G-A-Y club goer and it was obvious.
After 6 hours of waiting while freezing our butts off we finally got to go inside the G-A-Y bar to get our holy wristbands. People who jumped the queue were removed by staff and rightfully so. We paid 20 British Pounds for our much wanted purple wristband, 20 pounds boys and girls, 20 freaking pounds!! Nowadays 20 pounds will get you a drink (well maybe two……) we also got a sheet with the rules of the gig and then made our way back to the hotel. As with KOKO we decided not to go queue outside G-A-Y club as the gig wouldn’t be until much later that night.
We entered G-A-Y club around 10pm and it was much bigger than I expected, much much bigger than KOKO. We bought our drinks and spent our time chatting to friends and walking up to the very front row of the right side of the stage (not the catwalk). Absolutely brilliant spot and there was little to no space in between the crowd and stage. Madonna’s band did not take the stage until 1.30am! The crowd erupted when the intro to ‘Hung Up’ started and Madonna emerged in a hot pink outfit, she looked absolutely fantastic. The crowd went wild, since there were much more people here than at KOKO people were squashed left and right. Thankfully my spot remained pretty solid and I was as close as being in the pit during the Re-Invention Tour.
If you think the gig at KOKO was high energy, than this was something else! Madonna gave even more here tonight than at the previous performance. What a difference from the woman in the glittery dress who was singing to children yesterday……Madonna performed the same set of songs and in the same order as she did at KOKO. She told the crowd that the KOKO gig was just a warm-up and asked if this show was better? Also addressed the crowd by saying she made the album for them. The crowd ate it up, every little thing she said and did (wink wink.) When she took off her shirt she asked the crowd to do the same. I think she regretted it instantly when she was thrown a stinky & sweaty shirt or two though. I did not take off my shirt, I don’t think anybody would have been pleased to see me in my bra.
Madonna went and sat down on the stage in front of us many times drinking water and resting up. She seemed to be quite in her element and enjoyed every second of her performance there. To our surprise she added a tiny bit of the song ‘Jump’ after singing ‘Everybody’. When she left the stage and the gig was over, we were all completely exhausted. Because at this gig we were allowed to take pictures and video, they turned out much better (finally.) Madonna truly gave a once in a lifetime performance here and I am still in doubt which of the two gigs, KOKO or G-A-Y was better. But the fact is that they were her best live promotional gigs to date.
Check out our gallery below and the video we took!
Check out my original report written in 2005 HERE
