Lady GaGa described her debut headlining tour as a “creative orgasm”. While I wouldn’t go that far, her show was indeed amazing. My expectations were high, and I knew she would pull off a creative and entertaining show. Her one-hour set was preluded by three bands who I had never heard of.
Cinema Bizarre, a strange German rock band had a 20-minute set full of generic songs and awkward audience participation attempts. However, the drag queen behind me was loving it. The band failed to excite the GaGa-crazy crowd and the set was changed for Chester French.
The band Chester French, made up of Harvard U. graduates, had an amusing style, with a lot of strange dancing and instrument use (he took out a triangle and a cowbell at one point). Their passion showed through their 30-minute set, and the lead singer even broke his tambourine at one point. Their single, ‘She Loves Everybody’ was pretty well received by the crowd.
By now, the crowd was getting angsty for the Lady. Three support acts is definitely way too much. An fight broke out between annoying little girls, uncomfortable mothers, and the angry drag queen as the stage was reassembled to accommodate The White Tie Affair.
The featured support slot belonged to The White Tie Affair, an emerging pop/rock band signed to Epic Records. Their fun set included glow-in-the-dark, vocoders, and covers of ‘Heartless’ and ‘Love Lockdown’ by Kanye West. They were entertaining and well received by the crowd as they tore through their 45-minute set. After they finished with their latest single, ‘Candle (Sick and Tired)’, a curtain fell with an image of a goddess-like Lady GaGa holding her disco stick.
The anticipation was huge at this point. Shouts of ‘GaGa! GaGa!’ resonated through the crowd. Around 10pm, the curtain fell and The Fame Ball began with a strange pop art video called ‘The Heart’. As the screens moved away, Lady GaGa was revealed, singing ‘Paparazzi’. The crowd shouted back every word as she quickly moved through her set of fun pop songs.
After two costume changes and a sing-a-long interlude hosted by DJ Space Cowboy, Lady GaGa emerged in what is one of the weirdest costumes I’ve ever seen – a bubble dress. However, it was during this set that Lady GaGa’s true talent was shown. She played ‘Poker Face’ and new song ‘Future Love’ on her bubble-filled piano, filling the venue with her unique voice. The passion she feels about her music really showed during this set.
As she closed up the set with #1 hit “Just Dance” and an encore of “Boys Boys Boys” and “Poker Face”, Lady GaGa put her all into the performances and went wild with the crowd. After giving the audience a confident stare, the show ended.
Lady GaGa put on one of the strangest and most creative shows that I have ever attended. It was a big party full of fun music and wild stage antics that made the crowd go crazy. While the show was a bit short, I enjoyed every second and have grown to respect her more as an artist. She is amazing at what she does, and I’m excited to see what she’ll come up with next.
-Chris Cheong
Photo Credit: Marian Hwang
1 comment:
Cinema Bizarre was the best part of the show!!!
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