Monday, March 21, 2011

My Concert Weekend

I really wasn't intending to write a review of Saturday night's concert but after seeing it, I was so stunned at how awesome it was that here I am doing just that :)

Lady Gaga was everything that I expected her to be and more.

Before the show, there were these huge television screens that people in the audience could text and Lady Gaga responded to the texts so it was like watching a huge chat room.  Plus, all the proceeds from the texts were going to her favorite charity (she donates $20,000 from each concert to help homeless LGBT youth that have been kicked out of their homes.

One of the first costumes that she wore early in the show.
When she took the actual stage, the lights dimmed and everyone in that sold-out Energy Solutions Arena (a crowd of 20,000) absolutely screamed. There was this four-story curtain that separated the stage from the general admission crowd that started showing a black and white short film to her music that slowly became more transparent revealing what was behind it.  In silhouette was Lady Gaga in costume, standing on ironworks, overlooking a beat-up rolls royce with the license plate "Gaga".

Then the show started and wow was it good.

Before she started to sing her "Telephone" song much later, she called one of the numbers chosen randomly from that billboard and the girl that answered it got a spotlight on her (she was in tears). Lady Gaga told her that she was the ambassadoress of her favorite charity that night and represented all of those people that had donated, thanked her, and invited her backstage after the show to have a drink and get a picture taken.  How sweet is that?

She had a camera on the end of this
staff and was using it to highlight
people at the ede of the runway
stage as she spoke to them and
complimented them on their costumes.
Lady Gaga impressed me on so many levels. Her vocals are astounding (keep in mind I'm not musically trained but they blew me away) and she said she wasn't lipsyncing in her own way, "No one wanted to come out to this concert just to see some blond bitch lip sync!" She was also incredibly humble. While playing the piano version of "Born This Way" to a suddenly quiet audience focused on her, she asked for us to remember that her album comes out May 23rd.  Here is the biggest pop star in the world, smiling, being appreciative of her fans, and reminding us of her release date.  I was taken aback by it. I've been to concerts before...Elton John wouldn't have done that. He would have just assumed you had nothing better to do than follow his greatness and be in line at the proper time.
Lady Gaga also stopped the show several times with profound messages. But the one that hit me personally was that she told us about how she was a nobody that got bullied, that got told by other people that she was a failure, and that she'd never make it.

She said to all of us in the audience to not believe that.

Hold on to your dreams because they can and will come true.

Don't let any one person bully you and tell you that you are a freak.

If you feel that you are a freak, she said, look around you because this whole place is filled with fellow freaks. Twenty thousand like-minded individuals. She said that she'd made a home for her little monsters that night and that her song was sitting proud at the number one spot in America for the fifth week in a row and that nothing looks better than a number one done with a middle finger.  Then she stated that tonight, the people on the outside that judged her and judged any of us were the freaks.

So there it is...I'm passing this message on to you.  Hold onto your dream.  If you ever thought you were a freak for anything you believed in or wrote, you aren't.  Don't let any one person bully you or destroy your dream. You were brought into this world perfect just the way you are. Stand up and be proud because just like Lady Gaga, you are amazing and the world will take notice of you. Any of us that haven't found an angent or a publisher for our work, well...we're just in a BAD ROMANCE with publishing right now. But it won't last forever...our break is going to happen. Hang in there my colleagues and don't ever let life get you down.

You are wonderful and don't ever forget that.

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for the play by play. She came to my town but I couldn't see the concert, so this was a great post for me!

    Nice to meet you. :)

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  2. Nice meeting you too Lydia! Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  3. You're complimenting her for plugging her new album? How very odd...

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  4. Mutt, why would the biggest pop star in the world need to plug her album? I mean, it just shows that even though she's on top, she's worried about staying there. That means she's thankful for us and appreciative of our support. A pop star of her caliber in my opinion usually expects people to just follow them, right?

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  5. So she didn't arrive in an egg the way she did at the Grammy's? :) I don't know much of her music but I think I know the 'Telephone Song' you're referring to.

    Not a huge fan of hers but yes, she does have good vocals.

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  6. She's definitely helping a great many people find their voice this generation. I just wonder if she'll have the staying power of Britney Spears et all of the other 90's icons. It seems most of the 2000's pop stars have burned out after ~6-7 years or their junior album (whichever came first.

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  7. Good review and sounds like it was great fun. I like her message as well as yours in this blog, Michael. Hang on to your dream and march to your own tune! Happy Monday!
    Reena

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  8. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. :-)

    Thanks for the great reminder!

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  9. OMG so jealous! My friend went last weekend and she is still raving about her awesomeness.

    I never knew the other side to her and how much she donates. Amazing!

    Thanks for the GREAT recap :)

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  10. I'm glad you had such a good time. It sounds like it was a blast! I didn't really know that much about Lady Gaga so it was a joy to learn about her through reading your posts. :)

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  11. Hi, Michael,

    Your take on the concert make me feel like I was there. Now I'm not into Lady Gaga and truthfully, I can only think of one track that she performs, but her message as you shared above is simple, yet powerful. And yeah, I'm believing for what I think I can achieve!

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  12. Sounds like it was a great concert! Thanks for sharing.

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  13. I gather you liked it? :) I don't go to many concerts because they so often disappoint so it's always fun to go to one that meets your expectations. Thanks for giving us a review- it was interesting to hear about her show! Cheers!

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  14. Glad you had a good time. I'd like concerts if they weren't so darn loud. Even the local acts at the bar down the street are too noisy for me now.

    I like that she interacts with the crowd so much. Cool.

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  15. So True and inspirational. I am very proud of my brother and the person he has become. I Love you

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  16. Thanks for sharing. I always thought that Lady Gaga was very decent inside. We all have our own way of expressing ourselves. It is very inspiring for her fans to know that even after being teased she came out bold and famous. Also your own paragraph itself is very inspiring.

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  17. Man! Sounds like an awesome show!

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  18. Sounds like you had a great time! I'm a bit jealous. I wish she would bring her tour in my direction! The texting thing is a pretty cool idea,

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