ARON NORMAN AT MADONNA CONCERT AT ROSELAND BALLROOM

For those of you with an appreciation of the infamous Madonna along with a flair for the dramatic we have--in his own words--a nail-biting account of how our very own Aron Norman was able to see the concert just as it seemed all hope was lost forever. Oh, and did we mention that it was FREE? Details below.

I had considered waiting on line last night after I walked by at about 9:30pm and saw little tent cities set up down 52nd, up Broadway and around the corner on 53rd. I heard they were giving away 800 wristbands and I estimate there were about 200 people waiting so I felt no big rush. I set my alarm for 3am this morning but just couldn't get myself out of bed (partly due to the winter-y chill that settled in last night - 39 F!). Luckily, I live only about 20 blocks away so when I woke up naturally at about 7:30am I thought I'd run down there and give it a shot. I turned the corner and saw them handing out wristbands but I still wasn't holding my breath. I got on line and they closed it off literally right behind me! Whew!

Competition was fierce as the security guys handing out wristbands turned people away for trying to get a second one. I get to the front and I see the guy has one left in his hand and there is still one girl ahead of me. My heart sank. Then the security guy starts saying to the girl "You already got one, you can't get another!" She starts protesting that she got bumped to the back of the line and she never got one and blah blah but the guy was not having it. "We are not arguing with you about this." Then, to me "Hey guy, give me your wrist. You got the last one." Here it is!

PS - The girl in front of me said when Madonna left rehearsal last night she drove the wrong way up Broadway and on 52nd waving to the people waiting and letting people take her picture. (Take it with a grain of salt though because this is the girl that tried to scam 2 wristbands. Maybe it can be verified by another reader?)

And how was the show you ask?

...was amazing! I got to the Roseland at about 4 which was a good thing because I ended up in the first corral (there were lots of corrals involved). Everyone on line was very friendly and in a great mood even though a lot of them had literally slept on the street the night before. There was tons of press, people being interviewed left and right. Lots from other countries too. When they finally let us in at about 8:30p I ended up all the way in the front to the right of the stage, right in front of the VIP section. Saw Fran Drescher and Zac Posen. Rosie O'Donnell was taking tons of pics from the other balcony.

Need MORE INFO you Madonna nuts? Try this link to get the full scoop. Says Aron, "As far as the show, it was a bit surreal to be so close to her performing. Live shows are definitely her forte, as anyone who's seen her would attest to. I'll let MTV give you the details:"

Roseland Ballroom Review>