Confessions

Madonna, the Okie from Muskogee

I didn’t take any photos of Madonna, David Toro, Solomon Chase (TORSO), or Anderson Cooper at last night’s Tribeca Fest premiere of a blended six-song Confessions II music video (”Film,” corrected Madonna, “‘video’ sounds cheap; I liked it better when it was just MTV and me”), and that’s because my phone was turned off and locked in a case provided by Beacon Theater, as were everyone’s upon entering, save for some producers flown in from Paris, Madonna’s boyfriend, a few of her kids, and their collective management/publicity.

Doors were originally meant to open at 6:30pm, with curtains at 8. The start time was officially pushed back an hour, with an email alert that morning. And yet once we were seated, our main modes of time-telling and communication off limits, 9 rolled around and the lights were still on. Later, we were told that the planned host of the evening, Jimmy Fallon, couldn’t make it, and the last-minute scramble for someone suitable (in the end, Cooper) was what delayed the premiere.

No one in my row was surprised, and had assumed any tardiness was simply due to a superstar’s typical disregard of deadlines. Alexis, who invited me, is a pro at events like this, having known some of the people who are now on “M’s” team since they were all teens, essentially. “Madonna must be close,” she clued me in. “The room got warmer. She hates air conditioning.”