Culture Club

Madonna’s Madame X tour is doing extended stays in a number of cities in smaller venues. The tour kicked off with numerous shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (or BAM) a venue with a capacity of less than 3,000. This tour also comes with a no-phones mandate with all in attendance putting their phone in a sealed pouch before entering the venue.

As a fan of Madonna was buzzed to be seeing the showing during a recent trip to New York. I’d snagged a ticket for the fourth show of the tour but due to last minute changes it ended up being opening night. The excitement level on September 17 at BAM was palpable. Would we get a fully stripped back show? Or would this be an arenasized pop spectacle in a tiny (by Madonna standards) room?

What unfolded was an impressive and occasionally bewildering mixture of both. Utilising projections and a moving set, there were plenty of moments that featured the kind of choreography-driven fun she’s known for. The biggest surprise was how much chat we got from Madame X herself. Previous Madonna tours would see the pop icon barely utter a “hello” to the crowd 20 minutes into the show. During this tour she’s chatty and relaxed, seemingly relishing the chance to forge a connection with audiences. She auctions off a polaroid selfie taken mid-show and later jumps into the front row to sip a beer and playfully tease a fan. Without spoiling things, certain key moments truly bring a wow factor that plays off both the surreal quality of being so close to a pop icon and clever screen projections.

The insistence on new material instead of iconic hits isn’t new for Madonna but the momentum and placing of new vs old material never quite gelled at the show saw. There are strong songs on Madame X, an album that has a point of view often missing from her recent work, yet oddly the accompanying tour rarely seems to have a clear message. At one point it’s a tale of Madame X on the run, in others it’s Madonna doing a lengthy segment inspired by Portuguese folk music while elsewhere she throws in some hit songs in an oddly perfunctory fashion. Unlike previous shows, this doesn’t feel like a show segmented into acts with a clear end point in mind. After taking to the stage close to 10:45pm on opening night Madonna apologised and admitted the show wasn’t quite ready. That kind of admission, that pop’s biggest perfectionist was willing to relax and let go underscored the experience. This was a Madonna blending old and new and, despite some opening night wobbles, it was fascinating to witness.

Read

It would be easy to be cynical about the Aisling books: blockbuster hits based on a Facebook group. But the third book Once, Twice, Three Times An Aisling underscores what a gift these books are. Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen have created a crowd-pleasing, charming read that weaves heart, humour and insight into what it’s like to be Irish while also dragging outdated stereotypes into the present day. The growth of Aisling as a protagonist in this edition is truly impressive.

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Mining a similar vein as the Aisling books, Sophie White’s debut novel Filter This is a compelling and witty look at the world of Irish influencers. Cleverly juxtaposing two very different Instagram stars, White sends up and also offers insight into how all of us as social media users can get wrapped up in the supposed perfection on display. The rapid fire jokes and specific Irish-isms recall the best of Marian Keyes but White has a blend of satire and compassion which is uniquely hers.

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The upside to not being able to sleep on a transatlantic flight is getting to binge watch great TV. A recent find for me was Vida. It follows two Mexican-American sisters returning to their hometown after the death of their mother. They have to decide what to do with the bar their mother ran while realising she’d been married to a woman before she passed. Vida skilfully discusses identity and culture but also has terrific performances, multiple queer characters and unapologetically raw sex scenes. An absolute must watch.