RedGage

For a couple of weeks that weren't supposed to be that busy, I ended up having a lot of last minute stuff come up, lol.  Ended up getting invited to Gamila's daughter's birthday party a couple of Saturdays ago which ended up turning into a double birthday party with Lisa's daughter at Arcadia.  Then Lisa ended up inviting us over last weekend to celebrate Gamila's birthday, which was great since she never celebrates it.  Had a great time at both and it was great hanging out with everybody.  Wednesday ended up having a last minute Jaycees meeting to attempt to help us set out a firm plan on how we are going to get this organization up and running again.  Diane got Heather to come out for this one so at least our membership is slowly growing.  Mar's having her Mary Kay party on Friday so I am going to get out for that.  Starting to settle in to this new position at work.  Can't beat the hours (7-12 with weekends off) and I'm getting the hang of everything.  Black Friday's going to be a bitch but I think it's going to work out.  Barb told me she thinks I'm doing a great job and so far everyone's been really helpful.  Even been getting some extra hours over in Hardlines including closing tonight.Been spending a lot of time watching the Pistons since Allen Iverson joined and although they are still a little shaky, I still think the trade was a good move.  You just had to watch to watch their win over L.A. last week to see what this team is now capable of.  Just started writing for Bleacher Report.com on the Pistons so be sure to swing by and check it out.  In other news, getting excited for the 24 movie this Sunday.  JACK IS BACK BABY!!!!Worked dragged yesterday since I just wanted to get out and go see Madonna at Ford Field, lol.  We ended up heading out early to grab dinner and get a good parking spot.  After the Ford Field Eminem disaster and craziness of the Rolling Stones and Wrestlemania, didn't want to have to go through that again.  We managed to get a $20 spot at the church next to Chelis and ended up getting right out after the show with no problem.  Apparently things got crazy the closer it got to show time though because the lots filled up and the cops started blocking off Woodward and most of the lots were $35.  It was Eminem all over again, lol.  We went down to the Compuware building and hung out down there and went shopping at Borders to pass some time and then came back around 6 in time for doors to open.  We went to the main entrance and got pushed down to the next one where they told us it was main floor only but then changed their minds and said we could stay.  They let about 20 people in and then stopped and shut the doors and said the entrance was closed.  Then they said it was just temporary and turned out they hadn't turned the lights on and didn't want to get sued, lol.  You'd think by now that the Ford Field staff would have their act together but apparently not.  We finally got inside and I got right up to the merch booth.  Picked up a program, buttons and a Ford Field lithograph.  The shirts were nice but Detroit was added at the last minute so the date wasn't on any of the merch.  We headed to our seats only to find out that they'd moved us over a section to the club seating.  Tickets said the show started at 7:30 but I figured since she didn't have a opener she wouldn't be on until 8:30.  Around 7:45, her dj came out and played for a half hour just spinning some current and classic dance and hip/hop music.  For over an hour after he left the stage there was nothing and the crowd was beginning to get restless and all kinds of rumors were swirling but the most likely one was that with the lots being shut down and the stadium still being empty, she refused to go on.  The girl next to me kept joking that maybe she'd gotten her time zones mixed up.  Most people had expected the wait though but one girl behind us was getting on everyone's nerves and wouldn't shut up about the drive and being hungry.  The only annoying thing was that the Ford Field speakers still suck so you couldn't here the regular stadium music at all which would have helped pass the time.  I went to see GNR a couple of years ago and Axl didn't come out until 1 am, lol.  Now that's late.  At 9:30 the lights finally went down and the stadium had packed in with 30,000 people.  She didn't sell out due to high ticket prices and the bad economy and the fact that many people went to her Chicago and Toronto shows thinking she wasn't coming here but the main floor and lower levels were packed.She opened the show by appearing in a throne for "Candy Shop" and proceeded to put on a 2 hour show full of strong visual effects and hard pulsing dance music.  I enjoyed her Drowned World tour in 2001 but I thought this one flowed better and had a much better set list.  She did all my old faves including Into the Groove and Like a Prayer and my new faves Heartbeat and Miles Away.  The highlights of the show were a crowd sing-a-long to Material Girl and a powerful You Must Love Me backed by scenes from her Evita movie.  There was a lot more crowd participation in this tour and she even acknowledged the fact that Detroit had been skipped so often saying, "I don't come here very often so please make a big deal about it."  She did a great job of reworking her classics giving Human Nature, Borderline, Ray of Light and Hung Up a rock treatment and giving La Isla Bonita a gypsy treatment.  The concert was more than worth the ticket price and did a nice job of paying tribute to Madonna's entire career.  As she said during Human Nature, "Why should I be sorry?  I'm from Detroit!"