From where we were, Bean and I could see Gaga standing behind the screen as the opening keyboard arrangement began. I'll never forget seeing Madonna rise from under the stage, which I could see from the view we had, but most of the arena missed twenty years ago. It's like seeing someone larger than life in a brief, quiet moment before the entertainment begins. I love moments like that.
You could say a lot about Gaga, but you could never say the girl isn't an incredible entertainer. I remember thinking that the music world (indeed, the entertainment world in general) had fallen into a malaise in the last few years, heck; the last decade really. Turn on the radio and you heard crap after crap. Sad. Because I love music, and entertainment. One reason I don't care about recreational drugs or alcohol, or any of the other releases most people go for, is because I can hear a song, and it's like somebody shot cocaine right into my veins. I'm not even on this planet anymore when I hear music like that. Or when I see a REALLY good movie. Or read just about any book. :)
But the music, it seemed dead. After the pop explosion of the 1980's and the alternative genius of the 1990's, we had....nothing. But then I heard 'Poker Face.' A more goose-bump-inducing intro I haven't heard since...well, the 1980's. So Bean asked me, "Is it worth the $10.00 to buy this CD?" Um, yeah. I burned myself a copy. Thought it was great, escapist pop. Wondered who in the heck this woman was. Hits started pouring out, and I thought, Yeah, she's good. Nice to hear good music finally. As life itself got a whole lot worse for most of the world, Escape was necessary. But this wasn't Britney. This was an artist.
I was driving to work one day when the DJ said, "Here's the new song from Lady Gaga...." I nearly had a wreck. haha No, I didn't. But when I ran to the record store to buy 'The Fame Monster,' which included that new song, 'Bad Romance...'....I called Bean and said, "You have to hear this!" It's hard to put out a perfect 10. Much less TWO perfect 10's.
As much as I love the music, Gaga herself is what impresses me most. Only 24 (!!!), plays piano, bass, keyboard (all done live), has a great voice, writes every single note, designs and creates all of the stage sets, images, fashions, etc. And a more genuine pop star, you'll never find. Regularly meets with fans, tweets directly to them, expresses endless thanks and love to them, and cries when they overwhelm her.
So, about the show? It was one of the best shows I've seen, certainly one of the best pop shows ever. Two solid hours of high-energy pop music, all songs we know and love, and a nice story/play/musical/performance art piece involving Gaga and her friends getting lost going to the Monster Ball. I think some may have expected to be shocked, but there wasn't really anything shocking to be seen. Yes, Gaga has a bit of a gutter mouth (Who the f*** doesn't? ha), and goes around showing a lot of skin, dancing with her (clearly) gay dancers, but we've seen that before. Throughout, the sets were 100% New York City. A taxi, subway car, Central Park..she's a proud NYC Girl.
The songs:
1. Dance in the Dark
2.Glitter and Grease
3. Just Dance ..Crowd starts going nuts
4. Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
5.The Fame
6. LoveGame ...Another crowd fave
7. Boys Boys Boys...Lots of...boys..with packages. If you know what I mean.
8.Telephone ...Gaga stops to talk to the crowd, gets a UVA fan-made shirt that reads, "Gaga loves Wahoos" on the back, and puts it on...Hoos go nuts; some behind us started to chant Wahoo cheers.
9. Speechless....The piano ballad, complete w/a piano on fire. Loved it.
10.You and I ...A new song, kind of rock and roll.
11. So Happy I Could Die..Gaga as Glenda the Good Witch!
12. Monster ..Central Park if it were inhabited by Gaga's version of Halloween. Awesome.
13.Teeth
14. Alejandro..My fave song of the summer, crowd chants get really loud.
15. Poker Face....We all lost it. Well, except for Bean, who is busy snapping pics. Funny to hear a crowd yelling, "I'm bluffin' with my muffin!!!"
16. Paparazzi..The huge fish from Gaga's nightmares comes out to "eat" her. Nice F/X
17. Bad Romance..AHHHHHHHHHH Loved. It. AHHH!
So out into the night we went, feeling totally entertained. Thanks, Gaga! See you next time. Unless you put out a crap album next year. In which case, we're outta here. haha....Well..somehow, I think this Lady is here to stay.
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