Madonna gives a performance in the Harlem basement and parades the streets

On Friday night in New York City, Madonna, joined by Jon Batiste, her band and a small group of fans, gave an intimate cabaret show in the basement of Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster restaurant, before spilling out into the The streets of Harlem for a 2 am parade on “Like a Prayer”.

The midnight cabaret turned street party in New Orleans sounded Friday with the release of “Madame X,” a concert documentary film from Madonna’s 2019 tour, released by Paramount Plus. (See video clips of the performance and the runway, below.)

“Obviously Madame X was born,” Madonna told the basement crowd, wearing a black cocktail dress, lace gloves and a long blonde wig. “She was still there. She’s always been by your side, encouraging you, pushing you, inspiring you, I hope.

Taking the stage in the dimly lit supper club just after 1:40 a.m., Madonna, who reclined on Batiste’s piano like Marilyn Monroe and climbed the basement columns to smash the wall up and down, a sang salon interpretations of “Dark Ballet”, “La Isla Bonita” and the Portuguese “Saudade”.

“Do you feel like something is missing in your life?” She asked the crowd, quietly into the microphone as Batiste played under her. “So what’s our job? What is our destiny? To go out and find him, ”she said. “I was talking to Jon on the way here, and we were like, here’s the big question: how badly do you want it? “

The evening was almost unbelievably intimate, attended by a crowd that appeared to be around 100-200 friends, family and fans, who immersed themselves in the club’s lavish banquets as they awaited his arrival.

During the performance, after falling to her knees in a contemplative adaptation of “Like a Prayer,” Madonna grabbed a nearby megaphone, motioned for the musicians to pick up their instruments, and told the crowd to take to the streets. Blindly obliging, the revelers climbed the basement stairs – propelled by the rhythm of Batiste’s group and the thrill of unpredictability – and dropped off on 126th Street.

Tambourine in hand, Madonna led Batiste and a modest group of party attendees through the early morning streets of Harlem, coming together as the group sang a “Like a Prayer” hymn in the night sky.

Walking a few blocks down the street, the congregation ended in front of a nearby church, where Madonna, framed by the ecclesiastical doors behind her, offered an invocation. “The Lord is with us all,” she said. “Sometimes it is enough to say a prayer. “

At Red Rooster, where most of the revelers returned after Madonna’s sermon on the street ended, the hall swarmed into the late morning, cruising the dance floor as the open vodka bar continued to flow. . Nearby, joined by queer icons like Aquaria, the queen of pop sank into the same lavish banquets and watched from afar the hall dancing, high and carried away.

Watch more videos of the performance below: