I've been to U2 and Coldplay show and I must admit the energy levels at Lady Gaga show comes close to matching those shows and deservedly so! For a girl to bring that kind of raw energy to a show is unbelievable. For a girl to put on such a passionate show is mind blowing. One of the greatest things about Lady Gaga show is that it's not girly at all, thanks to the monster theme. Even her at times ridiculous dance moves doesn't irritate or annoy you.
So the show started at least an hour late which really pissed me off. It's not even a Friday or a weekend show. It was Tuesday so it was extremely annoying when the show didn't start until 9:45 pm, around 1 hr after opening act Scissor Sisters were done with their show. Hell, U2 took about 20 minutes to completely redesign their massive stage under claw after their opening act. Anyway, Scissor Sisters were okay. Nothing to comment except the lead guy singer's pant was torn in an inappropriate position. But guess what? In the end, it didn't even matter because he removed everything except his underwear and it was not a boxer. Crazy shit and I don't like things like that.
Anyway, it was about 10:00 PM when the lights started going down again. The decibel levels hit the roof! It was incredible. The intro was nothing but spectacular. Stage screen still on...only a standstill Lady Gaga silhouette was visible and then she started singing 'Dance in the dark' to open the show. There was no stopping from that point onwards. I am a big fan of Lady Gaga but was always little skeptic about her live singing capability. But boy, this girl can sing live. And if you think she lip syncs, then you should listen probably listen to her speech about lip sync. In her famous disco stick speech where she does lot of rock star style talking that's so strangely resembles Bono style of concert talking, she vows never to lip sync and even goes on to scream that the so called little monsters should not be paying their money to see some bitch [sic] lip sync! My respect for Lady Gaga just went multiple notches higher.
Lot of singers, particularly girls, lip sync and they don't even regret doing it. In my opinion, anyone can produce hit singles or sometimes even albums in studio but live concerts are completely different ball game. A true artist should know how to perform live, particularly if you are a musician. Rock bands are incredibly famous for a reason.. that reason being their ability to put on spectacular live shows. Also, the front man of a band has got an incredibly important job during live shows. As far as I know no one comes close to being the ultimate showman than Bono. particularly during early days of U2. And guess what? Lady Gaga comes scarily close to matching Bono! Now that's something! May be she'll revolutionize Pop music like she's promised to.
The show was studded with her hit singles laced with some of her lesser known songs and speeches. Just dance, Alejandro, Poker face, Paparazzi & Telephone, you name it and she had it! Outrageous costumes, foul mouthing all night, ridiculous sets (a car on the stage, NY subway, a huge fame monster etc). I absolutely loved her speeches. Particularly the one with the disco stick. In one of her interactions with the audience in the GA area, someone showed a beautifully drawn Gaga painting and Gaga looked at it and said "Now, that's one talented bitch!". Then she walks into the extended stage surrounded by a crazy GA fans on the floor...picks up a barbie thrown on the stage and bites the head off of the barbie and spits it out. wow! Soon I realized that it can only be scripted and I did confirm it from Youtube that it happens in all the shows. Genius! It's funny and little daring too and blends beautifully with the theme of the concert.
My favorite part was her lovely piano version of 'Born this way'. It showed an amazing side of her and also what I consider is her future. I am pretty sure Lady Gaga is here to stay for a long time. I would love to see her in another show in this Monster ball tour but what I am more interested in is what she'll be in another 5 years. Imagine a Lady Gaga show with hits from more albums to pick. Imagine mellower version of Lady Gaga singing more tunes with her piano. I think that's where her true talent is. Slow ballads. Hopefully her costumes too will become little less outrageous. Yes, yes, I know those outrageous costumes are one of the main components of her show now but I think it will not play that big a role in 5 years time. Folks are going to get tired of that sooner than latter.
