Backstage Pass

Madonna, "Into the Groove" (Live in Cardiff)

Forget subtlety.

Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour, which made its American debut Saturday night at the Izod Center, is overwhelming, a musical shock-and-awe overstuffed with intense techno beats, roaring guitars and an unshakable feeling of standing at the edge of the apocalypse.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.

She played nine songs from her dance-oriented "Hard Candy" album, beefing up "Candy Shop" and "Beat Goes On" enough to open the show and counting on the new single "Give It to Me" to be big enough to close it. The bulk of her oldies -- from "Borderline" to "Hung Up," either got the metal-guitar riff treatment or got sped up or both.

The result was dizzying, with Madonna flying across the stage so relentlessly that her dancers often took the stage in shifts just to keep up with her. Unlike previous tours that were more about staging, costuming and interpretive dance, the “Sticky and Sweet” tour (which hits Madison Square Garden tonight, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday) is about partying in the midst of turmoil. The Material Mom sure does have a knack for timing cultural shifts doesn’t she?

The best of her re-imaginings was "Into the Groove," which, despite its new tougher techno backbeat, retained its innocent quality as Madonna jumped rope as playful Keith Haring images bounced on all the massive video screens. The new treatment telegraphed the heavy metal guitar versions of “Borderline” and “Ray of Light,” a continuity that helped the wild, far-flung show hold together.

Everything seemed amped-up so much that when it slowed down slightly, the show deflated a bit, even though Madonna's delivery on the "Evita" ballad "You Must Love Me" was truly lovely. That small respite was a momentum-builder to hammer home the final segment of the show, which included revved-up versions of “4 Minutes” and “Ray of Light” and a thunderous “Like a Prayer.”

With this tour, Madonna somehow conjures up the distraction while still referencing what we need to be distracted from. “Sticky and Sweet” succeeds at moving minds and feet, though, this being Madonna, the latter always comes first.

SETLIST: Candy Shop / Beat Goes On / Human Nature / Vogue / Die Another Day (Video) / Into The Groove / Heartbeat / Borderline / She’s Not Me / Music / Rain (Video) / Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You / Spanish Lesson / Miles Away / La Isla Bonita / Doli Doli / You Must Love Me / Get Stupid (Video) / 4 Minutes / Like A Prayer / Ray Of Light / Hung Up / Give It To Me

CELEBRITIES SPOTTED: Rosie O'Donnell, front and center