Lady Gaga, where exactly to begin? Since skyrocketing to fame after her first single Just Dance, the hits have just kept coming. She was named in the Time 100 World’s Most Influential People, topping the artist category, and her debut album The Fame reached number 1 in the UK, Canada, Austria, Germany and Ireland, reaching 2 on the Billboard 200 chart in The US. What enhances this amazing achievement is that almost all of Lady Gaga’s songs are written or co-written by the artist herself and the album was rewarded with six Grammy Award nominations with many wins, from many ceremonies, to its name. In March 2009 Lady Gaga began her Monster Ball Tour which is expected to run well into 2011, with Lady Gaga adding new dates all the time.
So to the O2 arena we went after suffering our gruelling exam period (well us third years did anyway) to witness the new Queen of Pop in action and I must admit, my personal expectations were huge. After seeing many of her performances on shows such as X-Factor and performing at the Brit Awards it is obvious that an artist with such eccentricity and commitment to performance is rare. What did the Gaga have in store for us on this occasion, playing, arguably, one of the best arenas in Europe. Arriving at the O2 was surreal, as in amongst those dressed normally, flamboyant tributes to Gaga were scattered within, with everything from coke can hairdos to full red leather cat suits on display from adoring fans.
Waiting for Gaga to come on you could feel the atmosphere filling the arena like an intoxicating fog, with chants of “Gaga, Gaga, Gaga” breaking out every time one of the lights was being tested. The eruption of noise from the sold out seats when the silhouette of the shadow of Gaga was seen on the front curtain was incredible, and the crowd - in a frenzy. The first half of the opening song was performed with Gaga just standing pulling different poses, her outline changing every few bars, and we were all captivated, waiting for the moment when she would emerge from her platform and finally let us see her. We were desperate and with every beat of the song that passed we wanted more. The master of tension building was operating, and giving the master class.
With every starting note of every hit that Gaga has including Telephone, Alejandro, Speechless, Dance in the Dark, Teeth, Lovegame, Paparazzi and Poker Face among others from the The Fame Monster album, the audience erupted screaming and dancing in support of The Gaga, enjoying the beat and reliving the times in the clubs that these songs had been playing. The songs themselves are a mastery of pop, combining heavy base beats with a funky synthesised rhythm on top, with the incredible vocals of Gaga blasting out “to the beat of the track” (Dance in the Dark). Each one inspires the 20,000 people in the audience to jump to their feet and cut a shape in their own personal dance floor in from of their seat. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have been standing next to the stage, and believe me if I can get tickets to be there I will.
Two aspects of the show stood out for me: skill and theatricality. First, skill. Lady Gaga undoubtedly has one of the best live voices that I have ever heard, and for someone of her build it is hard to see where exactly the power is coming from. But the resonance of Lady Gaga’s voice rings heavily around the arena, and every one of her songs is delivered with a passion and an ability rarely rivalled by other pop artists. I draw particular attention to Gaga’s rendition of Speechless, which was delivered seated at the piano, with an enthusiasm and emotional fury that actually moved me quite powerfully. With regards to theatricality, I can honestly say that I hope that I manage to find someone who is a better performer than Lady Gaga, because that would be some show to beat this. The story of journeying to the Monster Ball was almost endearing, and you could feel your inner freak becoming wrapped up in the story of a ball where everyone could be entirely who they wanted to be. The performance of Teeth is noteworthy as Lady Gaga held the attention of the audience throughout the whole performance, which extended to Lady Gaga dancing around her dancers and singing “show me your teeth” for a good 5 minutes. And we loved it.
The breaks between songs, allowing for costume changes, were obviously subject to just as much attention from Lady Gaga as the rest of the show, with beautifully creative and wonderfully weird videos featuring the Queen herself. These videos were so entrancing, that we became lost in Gaga’s wonderfully brilliant mind, and engulfed by her messages, about not allowing fame and money to permeate our lives and our personalities. The message to be true to yourself was poignantly clear throughout the whole show. One of Lady Gaga’s opening statements “Tonight the freaks are outside, and I locked the fucking doors” suggested that we were the special ones, and we had chosen ourselves for our own ‘libération’ of our true selves by being there with her and taking her journey. Lady Gaga is Queen of the freaks, and triumphs them wherever they, and she, may go. Her dedication to her fans and her love for them was so evident that it was touching, and you almost felt a personal connection with her, although you are part of a 20,000 strong blob of faces.
There is so much more to say about every aspect of this show, the costumes, the lighting, the dancers, but there is no need to. I will however mention the spectacular moment where the Fame ‘Monster’ (a half fish, half flying swamp monster type thing) appeared on stage during Paparazzi, as Lady Gaga urged us to kill it with camera flashes. Brilliant. But only those there would truly know what it was like to be there and witness Lady Gaga doing what she does best and doing what she loves the most, exclaiming “I don’t want to die on a beach under a f*cking palm tree; I’d rather die right here, on stage, performing for you”. Her dedication to her fans, both to perform for them and to support them with their needs by affording them a platform to shine for what they are, whatever that may be, is unrivalled. Passionate, grateful, loving and talented, and standing full on in the face of any force looking to oppress or hate anything. Lady Gaga has inspired an almost religious following, and I can honestly see why. I myself am not quite that emphatic, but I loved every minute of her performance and was absolutely shattered by the end of it through giving everything to supporting an artist I personally love.
