Madonna fans in the expensive seats were climbing over chairs, security and other fans at Dodger Stadium Thursday with the hope of snapping a pic or two or eight of a celebrity taking their seat.
The area at the end of the catwalk that formed a 'T' off the mainstage was as well-stocked with talent as any Hollywood premiere - J. Lo, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu. Management, agents and Ryan Seacrest. Slide over a section and Heidi Klum, Fergie and Nicole Ritchie were garnering attention. Poor Jillian Michael, the trainer from NBC's "Biggest Loser": She was the first to arrive and the first to be ignored.
This was a bit astonishing though in L.A. where celebs are pointed at or waved to - their presence is just a fact of life. Perhaps it was the place or the performer, but this evening felt different from others. This is not bold-faced names cavorting with the hoi polloi. These people - the ones paying $350 for a seat or higher if they use a scalper, the ones who call in favors to secure the best seat possible - are apparently starved for a connection with fame. From a few rows away, it was palpable, that difference between Barrymore's nonchalance and Jennifer Lopez' glow.
Same difference in the area that held Klum and Fergie: Both are stars, but only one has that aura of distinctiveness. (This was one of those rare instances in which reviewers had obscenely good seats: If Madonna slips when she puts the body of her guitar into her crotch during "Borderline" and the instrument falls, I'm the one getting hit on the noggin).
Hardly surprising that the rich and famous want to see Madonna, the one star who presented personal and sexual evolution as art, who beguiles and mystifies consistently and who only disappoints when she becomes a stationary object. The celebs present - Barrymore being the exception - may well look on in awe and envy: Madge is expected to have no boundaries, while the others are boxed and ready for shipping. Change is good for her and it's evident in the colorful and high energy show; the new material is dance-floor ready, the older songs amped up and pushed toward rump shaking or Guitar Hero.
As a celebrity. Madonna dwarfed those in the audience. At 50, she may well be presenting the best show of her life - the set list was the same as New Jersey but with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake as guests and a "Dress You Up" sing-along - and it may well be the first example of an artist taking Barack Obama's lead and going the extra mile to push themseleves toward excelllence rather than the status quo.

Over the last three weeks, I have had a fair number of conversations with major and indie label executives as well as concert promoters and music publishers. Bouncing between uptown HQs in New York and the Lower East Side during CMJ certainly brought out the dichotomy that makes the music industry so confusing these days.
And then Obama won the election. It brought out some clarity about what's so desperatley missing whether you're tryign to figure out how to pay the mortgage, get to the next gig or add to your collection of copyrights: The need, no matter what walk of life you are in, to have individuals to believe in.
The music industry is struggling to find those worthy individuals. Those tiny Gotham clubs were packed during CMJ with people praying they had found an artist who could lead.
But it's not just the fans. I swear you can tell the smart executives from the guys attracted to the perks just by talking about legends. I thik back on people I have been taking about in recent weeks - Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Warren Zevon, Stax and Elektra in the '60s - subjects that bring out passion, knowledge and anecdotes among execs charged with finding a way to create new stars and new hits. It's not nostalgia on their part, just a sense that music and musicians once stood for something that has disappeared from the current landscape.
Obama arrives and I sense he will inspire a nation to take a look in the mirror. May they all realize how superficial our culture has become.

For the record, Madonna was the 89th concert I attended this year and I have now seen 238 acts this year. The goal is 100 shows/300 acts.