Tic Toc Tic Toc is the sounds and much of the theme throughout Sticky and Sweet show and as one would expect from Madonna the messages are far from subliminal. The time is now and she is ever present as she steps onto the stage where she takes, like much of her life total control. The second Madonna appears and for the next two hours the stage is hers and she owns it. But that power was used in a positive way as a full house at the Air Canada Centre willingly goes anywhere she wants us to. And who wouldn’t? The vibration in the room soared from the first song and continued to climb as every participant contributed to an energy I’ve never felt. It was so strong that as I expanded with the crowd my connection to everyone and myself in that moment deepened. That type of energy has tremendous healing power. If there was a way to bottle it and take it home I would’ve. But for that moment in time I’m eternally grateful.
Tic Toc Tic Toc and so Madonna took us inside a candy shop and every emotion that a child feels in that space was experienced by everyone regardless of your age. It’s excitement, joy, thrill and the anticipation of which candy you longed to try. In this case we got to try it all. Every child’s dream come true. You couldn’t help but allow your inner child to come out and what’s worse you didn’t realize just how bad you needed it to. And so there we were embellishing the moment as Madonna, the mother nurtured us with all the candy we could ever desire. She brought our energies to the complete present and kept us in a place of bliss. No Self help book ever got me there like she did.
Tic Toc Tic Toc…What’s consistent about Madonna is that she continues to share through her music where she is in her life. She may take you back to an old favourite track but she’ll sing it to show the way her musicality and life has grown. My favourite example of this was when she sang Vogue. It was re-mixed to the back beat of 4 minutes and the dancing was a modern hip hop style choreography which proved you can show the world where you came from but more importantly where you are now. She’s still a lady with an attitude but perhaps a more mature one. It was brilliant to watch. It made me reflect where I was when Vogue was released. The type of person I was then and how I’ve grown to be the person that I am now. The past is wonderful place to visit but not to get stuck in.
Tic Toc Tic Toc No Madonna concert would be complete without reference to religion. There she stood in the centre of the Air Canada Centre and stage was rising into the ceiling and around her are written scriptures saying “From the light you came to the light you shall return.” And a Madonna with open arms looking into the ceiling welcomes this faith with trust and open heart. As she rose higher flames start to burn all around her as though cremating her. There’s a lot of symbolism here. I could go for hours on this part however one thing is quite clear, Madonna is in a place where she’s perhaps thinking of her own death and realizes the shortness of life. I see this as a reflection of a material girl grown up beyond the material world. I stood there watching her high above the crowd and couldn’t help but wonder what she was feeling in that moment? I thought to myself I wonder what it would be like to be there just for a minute. I wondered how it would feel.
Tic Toc Tic Toc “Be Good to Everyone” are the messages on the video screen. There are images of children hungry and dying. There are images of war and destruction. There are images of poverty and suffering. There are images of a planet that’s dying. And Madonna turns to us and says “and so what are you doing about it?” Tic Toc Tic Toc time is running out. Tic Toc Tic Toc the world is in a crises and Madonna says “the Time is Now.” And so there was probably the most important message of the night. Madonna made it clear that we were all responsible for change. She also made it clear that Obama was her choice in leading us there and with reference to the way in which Ghandi did. We are in place where the world needs a philanthropic leader.
Tic Toc Tic Toc The Time is NOW. So what are you going to do about it?
By: Farhan Dhalla
