Madge is ridin' south.
AP Photo

by Beata Loyfman

If you didn't rally a group of coworkers to simultaneously dial Ticketmaster at 9:59:59 the day tickets for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour went on sale, you may have found yourself locked out of the chance to see Madge strut her 50-year-old stuff in the U.S. Not that this is what I did or anything...

If you're stuck paying four figures for the nosebleed section on eBay, don't despair. Madonna's just released her South American tour dates, which means three things:

1. You can still see her live.
2. You can do so without experiencing massive jet lag.
3. You won't have to eat Rice-a-Roni for a month after shelling out $350 for a seat at the Madison Square Garden show. (Not that this is what I did or anything...). Tickets for the December 10-11 shows in Santiago, Chile are under $200, leaving you enough dough for a decent post-concert steak.

Coincidentally, getting to South America has just gotten easier (and more fun) with LAN Airlines' souped-up planes. Each economy seat now comes with a high-res-screened TV that has 55 channels of programming. So there's no risk of boredom. Nonstop tickets start at $1,000 from Miami and at $1,300 from NYC, even in December high season--not bad for a leisurely 13-hour flight.

Flying high--entertained: You won't be banging your head against this wall.
Photo: LAN Airlines