Intriguing, grandiose, thought-provoking and grandiose to its core, are all the major adjectives that describe Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball. Clad in sequins and purple hair extensions, I was there taking it all in–and friends, there was a lot to take in.
I wanted to draw a big lighting bolt over my eye a la Gaga’s “Just Dance” video, but I was told by my accompanied guests that I would be the only one. Boy were they wrong. Gagaloonies were dressed in full-fledged Gaga outfits. It was like a Lady Gaga look-alike convention. Gaga’s greatest looks:the hair bows, the glasses, the lighting bolt eyes and the unitards were all represented to the fullest. If you love people watching, go to a Gaga concert. It is well worth the price of admission.
Gaga makes no secret that her fans (dubbed “little monsters”) are her bread and butter and she catered to us monsters in every way possible. It was all about the party. A photo shoot station was set up to take photos like Gaga and concert gear was in full supply. You could choose to buy anything from a Gaga ruler to a sequined mask to dozens of t-shirt choices.
Although Gaga faced a pre-concert backlash in the wake of changing venues less than two weeks before her three-night sold-out dates, she received a very enthusiastic welcome at the Rosemont Theatre Friday night. Opening with “Dance in the Dark, ” Gaga sang and danced her way through an 18-song set complete with dizzying, yet visually breathtaking set displays, which sometimes bordered on scary but overall were fabulous. Gaga is through and through a performer and she set out to prove to her critics that she knows how to throw a good ole dance party. And that’s exactly what us little monsters did, dance.
And Gaga sang. Live. Maneuvering her way through complicated wardrobe changes and exciting choreography, she managed to achieve what little pop stars can who have come before her by singing live. This is an admirable quality that has drawn me to Gaga’s act. She gives her monsters what they want and they eat it up. The highlight of the night was her sobering piano-driven song “Speechless” in which Gaga sang her heart out while pounding the keys on a piano-revolving set. This was followed up with piano-teased portions of “Poker Face,” which she brought back in a marvelous dance number toward the end. Gaga is an anti pop star with gritty lyrics, masked costumes and creepy videos. The Monster Ball seemed influenced by nightmares. A self-described “freak”, Gaga caters to those who don’t fit in, much like she did growing up. Gaga’s monsters did fit in Friday night. In between opening acts of the bizarrely interesting glam rock band Semi Precious Weapons and Chris Brown wannabe Jason Derulo, was a united fan-on-fan dance party to a Micahel Jackson soundtrack. This is something I’ve never seen happen, but Gaga knows how to unite her fans and for those moments, nothing else mattered.
Gaga is a concept, but more than a concept she is an icon after only one year on the scene and two years after pissing off churches when Gaga performed at Lollapalooza in her underwear. She’s come a long way since then and she’s done it her way to get to the top. And for Gaga, the top ain’t a bad place to be.
Set list for Friday 1/8 performance:
1.”Dance in the Dark”
2. “Just Dance”
3. “LoveGame”
4. “Alejandro”
5. “Monster”
6. “So Happy I Could Die”
7. “Teeth”
8. “Speechless”
9. Poker Face”
10. “The Fame”
11. “Money Honey”
12. “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich”
13. “Boys Boys Boys”
14. “Paper Gangsta”
15. “Poker Face”
16. “Paparazzi”
Encore
17: “Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”
18. “Bad Romance”