Despite awkward moments, Madonna's Celebration Tour stop at Acrisure Arena stuns visually

The last time Madonna performed in the desert was at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. However, she was 20 minutes late and only performed six songs.

At Acrisure Arena on Wednesday, the Material Girl made a stunning return to the Coachella Valley after almost two decades as part of her Celebration Tour. A DJ warmed up the crowd for an hour before Madonna appeared shortly before 10 p.m. and performed a spectacular and visually stunning retrospective of her 40-plus year career.

Madonna was originally scheduled to perform at the arena in January, but the tour was postponed due to a severe bacterial infection that landed her in the ICU last summer.

'She's our girl'

Even though most fans were dressed to impress Wednesday, only some went as a particular version of Madonna from various periods.

Gina Ayala and Debi Clouter of Desert Hot Springs were dressed in the 1983 "Borderline" era. Clouter saw Madonna perform in on the 1985 "Virgin Tour" and Ayala caught the singer's epic 1990-1991 tour in Detroit.

"She's our girl. I've been a fan since I was 15, and it all started with 'Material Girl," Couter said.

"We're so happy, and we're really here," Ayala said. "I'm going to cry right now."

Brother and sister Robert Pimentel of Palm Springs and Fina Meraz of Bermuda Dunes, the latter of whom was in a white wedding dress similar to the one Madonna wore at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, were taking pictures with other fans in the hallway before the concert. The siblings have both seen Madonna on a handful of occasions, including once together in Las Vegas. Meraz saw Madonna at Coachella in 2006.

Meraz said she's been a fan since seeing the singer interviewed by Don Cornelius and told him "I want to rule the world."

"I was like, 'That's my girl and I want to rule the world along with her!'" said Meraz.

Since opening last year, Acrisure Arena has hosted high-profile concert tours by The Eagles, KISS, Olivia Rodrigo, Shania Twain, Peso Pluma and more. Madonna's concert speaks to the venue becoming a noteworthy stop for leading entertainers — most of whom have never included Palm Desert on their tour itineraries previously.

"We immediately purchased tickets because she's bringing a lot of flavor to the desert, has a huge following and a lot of die-hard fans. It's exciting to have her here," Meraz said.

A joyous beginning and beautiful tribute

The concert started with Madonna performing the 1998 song "Nothing Really Matters" before diving into her early 1980s hits "Everybody," "Into The Groove," "Burning Up," "Open Up Your Heart" and "Holiday," which began with an onstage sketch of Madonna trying to get past a security guard at a club who allowed all her backup dancers inside except for her.

When she finally got inside and performed the song in a celebratory tone, suddenly the dancers disappeared and the one grooving with Madonna fell to the floor before the arena went dark. A photo mosaic and montage appeared in the backdrop paying tribute to those who died after being infected by HIV, (a disease that has killed an estimated 40 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization), including her friend and artist Keith Haring and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

An image of the Grammy-winning R&B and soul singer Luther Vandross was removed after a February concert in Sacramento after the late singer's estate objected to his photo being included. Vandross passed away in 2005 due to complications from a stroke suffered two years earlier.

Acknowledging the 'daddy' presence

Most of the crowd was Generation X and the tail end of the baby boomer generation. Before Madonna took the stage, RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen walked through the audience and acknowledged the "daddies" in attendance for those with "daddy issues."

"Listen, I know y'all were there when the songs came out, so I don't want to hear no bullsh-t tonight," Bob the Drag Queen told the crowd.

Madonna also acknowledged the older men in the audience.

"I don't know what Bob was talking but, because I have daddy issues and I don't think I'm going to find a daddy here. But it's OK, because I came for the shmoney."

'Don't do that to me'

As Madonna looked around the crowd at one point, she was happy to see an older man she referred to as "Grandpa" up front who was "up and going." But there was also an awkward moment when she asked someone in the crowd "Don't do that to me, that's a weird salute. Just wave (instead)." Moments later, she returned back to the man and said "You did a weird Heil Hitler moment, but I know you didn't do it on purpose though."

"It's OK, we all make mistakes. I do occasionally myself," Madonna said.

Like other recent performances, her concert on Wednesday had some minor performance flaws and other cringeworthy exchanges with the crowd.

"Why is it called Palm Springs? That's a rhetorical question," Madonna asked before labeling the local area as a "sleepy little town" like "Little Rock, Arkansas" (despite Little Rock having over 150,000 more residents than Palm Springs).

Still provocative and naughty

Madonna is 65, but she's still the "Bad Girl" who shocked the world when she released the 1992 coffee table book "Sex" featuring risque and erotic imagery, challenged the norms on gender and sexuality, was an LGBTQ ally when it was unpopular and was scorned by religious leaders for her controversial music and videos.

One section of the show certainly reminded us of that era.

Before "Like A Prayer" during Act II of the concert, Madonna was approached by what appeared to be three druid figures who covered her in a priestess-like robe as shirtless dancers wearing bondage hoods appeared in a spinning merry-go-round structure that arose from the stage with illuminated crosses in the center.

"Erotica" and "Justify My Love" in Act III also incorporated sexually suggestive themes with several of the dancers, and Madonna simulated masturbation on a red velvet bed with a “Vogue”-era doppelganger. "Hung Up" also featured the singer in a red-and-black negligee and knee-high black boots and topless female dancers, one of whom she shared a kiss with.

Madonna still delivers

Madonna’s Celebration Tour highlights the singer’s triumphant achievements and notorious moments over the past four decades. But it’s not just the nostalgia, it’s a reminder of her influence and the creative mark she’s left on pop music, fashion, society and international politics. She wears a crown not as a diva, but as an icon.

Even though many stops on the tour have featured unflattering moments like taking a fall on stage after a dancer dropped her, asking a man in a wheelchair why he was sitting down during the concert and some minor performance flaws, Madonna still delivers a first-class production worthy of her being one of the hottest concert tickets around the globe.

Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Madonna brings visually stunning Celebration Tour to Palm Springs area