I think this is my third or fourth Gaga concert; and my goodness, it was worth every penny.
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Lady Gaga is a gay icon. In A Star is Born, she performs at gay bars with a bunch of drag queens. That’s a genuine aspect about her; especially before she became famous. It takes an effort to remember now but there weren’t, and probably still aren’t, many artists who really speak for the gay community. A lot of people have an emotional tie to her music because it probably bolstered them and helped them in darker times with a message of love and acceptance, and loving oneself (Born This Way). Initially, radio stations embargoed her song Just Dance, the breakthrough hit, because of her very close ties with the gay community. Indeed, Alejandro was a song that Gaga devoted to gay men which caused another controversy.
This concert reinforced Gaga’s relevance in music, more generally. But it also confirmed the enormous influence Gaga had, and continues to have, with loads of gays and the arty-types who may be a bit eccentric or don’t fit in. “Thank you for loving a weirdo like me”, Gaga softly interjected, through a song, as her fingers settled on the piano. You’re very welcome. I am not a huge fan of many other pop artists, but Lady Gaga means a lot.
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The Chromatica Ball was Lady Gaga’s twice rescheduled concert. I went with one of my closest friends on July 29th to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
So what was it like? Here’s the thing about Lady Gaga: she gives you everything and then some. An incredible singer with terrific vocals, loads of incredible outfits and costume changes, complicated choreography, raucous thumping club mixes with some gentle ballads, and then the force of her personality.
She’s a very authentic artist and you can feel her energy and emotion. She tears down the dancefloor with some crazy choreo through smokes of dry-ice. She has so many outfits which speaks to how much of an artist she is. Beginning with an alien-esque look and then full on sci-fi fashion extravaganza. Homage made to Alexander McQueen and there was just a touch of vogueing mid-way.
There is something very captivating about Gaga on the piano. It feels very intimate and personal with her soulful range. You can see just how much energy and passion she pours into her performances. Some of the songs in the album were a bit dark (on trauma and pain). So, I think the stage and costumes also reflected some darkness, at times. I did like the harsh brutalist architectural vibe on the stadium.
On the whole, this concert was a terrific tour de force.
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My only complaints: I wish the stage offered a better viewing platform to better project Gaga. It can, at times, feel like viewing angles were restricted and she was closed off. There should have been a catwalk runway type of deal sticking out in the middle. She also left Artpop completely out of the setlist and had quite a few ballads. Can’t complain too much with other classics.
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Selection of Photos
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| Queues around Tottenham Hotspurs stadium. |
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| Both of us in a queue. Big smiles. |
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| Queuing. |
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| Me, Ian and some new friends. |
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| Opening act. Gaga carapaced. |
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| Beautiful, artistic. |
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| Up, close and personal. |
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| Rain On Me. |
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| Home time. |
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Selection of videos of The Chromatica Ball setlist
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