The Monster Ball at Radio City Music Hall: Lady Gaga Shows Her Teeth
Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall 1/23/10
Two years ago I attended an Anti-Valentines Day themed party with my cousin at the now defunct Le Royale. Toward the end of the night, in walked a blonde wearing sunglasses, heels, a huge white fur coat…and not much else. We snickered “Who the hell does she think she is?” and continued checking out the scene. Shortly after open bar we were on our way out but stayed to check out The Lady Gaga Revue at the insistence of the bouncer. As the set began we soon realized that the show was being spearheaded by that female with the questionable wardrobe from earlier in the night…
Our initial reactions were “What the hell is this?” along with chuckling at the naughty choreography and silly, innuendo-heavy lyrics of Boys Boys Boys, Paparazzi, LoveGame and Beautiful Dirty Rich. However a few minutes into the show, we were hooked fans dancing and singing along to the mega-catchy songs that we’d never heard before. That night I described The Lady Gaga Revue as a strange breeding of Missy Elliott’s Supa Dupa Fly (lyrically), guilty pop, S & M and girl on girl burlesque. At the time of the show Gaga’s debut album The Fame had not yet been released and Just Dance (which went on to be her debut single) was omitted from the live performance but played by the DJ as a preview after the performance. From that moment on I had no doubt that Lady Gaga would blow up but I had no clue HOW FAST!
Two years later I found myself at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday night for the third of four SOLD OUT Lady Gaga shows, a feat preceded by a monstrous string of record-breaking hits, nominations, awards and her overall domination of the industry. As I walked into the madness that was Radio City Music Hall, not only was I totally excited for the show, but I felt really proud of Lady Gaga’s coming full circle.
The venue was packed with people of all ages and mostly consisted of teenage girls and older gay men, many of which dressed in some form of Gaga incarnation and ridiculousness. It was what I always imagined going to a Madonna concert in the 80′s would have been like. At 9:30 PM the venue darkened and a transparent screen flashed visuals in front of Gaga whose outfit comprised of strategically placed lights for the fitting opener Dance in the Dark. For the next two hours Gaga delivered a non-stop kick in the teeth with every performance from the set.
Personal highlights from the show (to name a few) include the avant-garde S&M performance of Paparazzi, the steamy Alejandro, the stunning downtempo piano medley and the showstopping Pokerface. Visual backdrops, about 10 costume changes, unpredictable crowd interaction and video montages (including a surprising use of Mobb Deep’s Shook Ones) kept the show fresh and concertgoers on their toes.
It’s amazing to see how much Gaga has evolved in 2 years and how she has crafted her performance: from a small stage in the West Village on a random weeknight with 2 backup dancers and backing tape, to having the hottest sold out tour at Radio City Music Hall in 2010. The Monster Ball was an impressive headlining tour and a strong vantage point for Lady Gaga, which in turn set the bar high for 2010′s pop stars to follow suit. An arena tour including a show at Madison Square Garden will follow the wrapping of The Monster Ball, which will surely bring a polished show to a much larger audience. Can’t wait!
Enjoy a few pictures below, many more: FULL GALLERY HERE.
mp3: Lady Gaga – Eh Eh (Frankmusik Remix) [alt]
mp3: Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (Starsmith Remix) [alt]
mp3: Lady Gaga – LoveGame (Space Cowboy Remix) [alt]
Lady Gaga is great and doesn’t deserve any of the abuse she gets. There will often be pretenders but Lady Gaga will be around forever