Madonna at the Forum: 5 thoughts on her button-pushing show

Throbbing beats, bare-chested men and a whole crew of pole-dancing nuns: It was clearly Madonna’s time to shine Tuesday night at the Forum, where the veteran pop star brought her “Rebel Heart” tour for 2 ½ hours of gleefully profane pageantry. We’ll have a full review later, but until then here are five quick thoughts on the show.

1. Katy Perry put in an appearance near the end of the concert when Madonna brought her onstage during “Unapologetic Bitch.” After spanking the younger singer (who pretended to tear up at the attention), Madonna presented Perry with a banana-shaped flask and invited her to have a sip of whatever was inside it. “I love you, Mom!” Perry said.

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Madonna flexes her guitar skills at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Under red lights, Madonna performs during at the Forum her “Rebel Heart Tour.”

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna performs during her “Rebel Heart Tour” at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna jams at the Forum in Inglewood during her “Rebel Heart Tour.”

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Colorfully clad dancers join Madonna during a performance at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna strikes a pose during her “Rebel Heart Tour.”

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Featuring colorfully garbed backup dancers in formation, Madonna performs at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Backup dancers carry the “Material Girl” around the stage at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Backup dancers bring out the fans as Madonna performs.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna whips her hair during her Forum concert.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Backup dancers carry an upside-down Madonna around the stage at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna moves with her backup dancers at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna performs onstage in a samurai-themed production.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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During her “Rebel Heart Tour,” Madonna is backed up by dancers dressed as samurai warriors.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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During her “Rebel Heart Tour,” Madonna is surrounded onstage by dancers dressed in gilded attire.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A caged Madonna performs during her “Rebel Heart Tour.”

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna appears solo onstage at the Forum with only a guitar and a huge background screen.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A pair of lips onscreen provides a background as Madonna performs onstage with dancers.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Colorful images populate the screen onstage as Madonna performs.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Madonna is surrounded by dancers and giant silhouettes onstage during the iconic singer’s “Rebel Heart Tour” at the Forum.

  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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2. The set list pulled deeply from this year’s “Rebel Heart” album, opening with “Iconic” and moving through eight more of Madonna’s new tunes, including “HeartBreakCity,” which she performed on a spiral staircase, and “Living for Love,” presented here in a thumping trance remix.

3. The focus on fresh material meant that Madonna skipped some of her biggest hits, such as “Papa Don’t Preach” and “Express Yourself.” (And no “Ray of Light”? Madness.) But the singer did find time for lovely renditions of “True Blue” and the French standard “La Vie en Rose,” both of which had her accompanying herself on ukulele.

4. Can we talk about Madonna’s dancers? With more than a dozen of them, the show had plenty of elaborate choreography to go along with the sparkly costumes and flashy video elements. Most impressive was a routine during “Illuminati” that had a group of dancers spinning atop long, flexible poles.

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Madonna with Sean Penn during the introduction to an Amnesty International benefit in 1986.

  (Marsha Traeger / Los Angeles Times )

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Madonna wears a Jean Paul Gaultier corset during a “Blond Ambition “ stop at the L.A. Sports Arena.

  (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times )

5. As always with Madonna, no culture was safe from her appropriation, be it the samurai warriors she battled in “Iconic,” the flamenco moves she tried during “La Isla Bonita” or the Jazz Age flapper dress she donned for a supper-club makeover of “Music.” Watch and learn, Katy.

Twitter: @mikaelwood