During the performance, she along with a truly superb six-piece band was singing her new songs from the “Harlequin” album along with its title track at the highest energy level I have ever witnessed. It certainly exceeds the recorded versions which are at 111. She will not be able to maintain this energy level for a prolonged period and trying to do so is counterproductive. She is already referring to this LG 6.5 and characterizing the future album as modern-pop album 7.0, which will be unveiled after four months. The set dressing at the Belasco center was strange. I doubt if she has any plans of using it again in the future. So I suppose we will never have an experience quite like this again. It was certainly epic. I loved every minute of her concert at the Dodger stadium along with the Enigma residency. In particular, her Jazz and Piano shows in Las Vegas were admirable. The Nikolas magic is certainly amazing in that regard. Now that I’ve seen all of them, the performance at Belasco is certainly one of the best things she has ever done.
I suppose you had to have been there, considering the media cone of silence placed over the show which included the pouching of phones and watches as well as no photography being released. (The photos seen accompanying this piece are from her Kimmel performance the following night.) But maybe you didn’t, presuming that there are cameras and cranes and waivers to be signed knowing firmly that there is some format of planned release, the details of which have not yet come out. Perhaps I will not be able to live to whatever screens it is meant to be transferred to; perhaps, when one sees it two weeks, six weeks or a year later, they will be thinking, what was he talking about? This is the kind of ambivalence that exists with raving a review about something which is meant to be unveiled at a certain point on the small screen. However, at least in this case, it felt exhilarating. Sometime around the end of the tour, Jack White gave an exceptional performance at the same venue and it was captivating from the very start. But again, that is not something I was prepared to say about a show where “That’s Entertainment,” “That’s Life,” and “Get Happy” were all but guaranteed to be on the setlist.
The psychological understanding of what the show was trying to communicate on particular level was somewhat intriguing, and abhorrent but not in a negative way. When it comes to the overall design of the production, it could not have failed more spectacularly or in any way conformed to show business standards. One of the greatest inventors envisioned the scene to be a studio apartment that was dimly lit, unkempt and in disrepair a great juxtaposition to the life of the supposed resident. The broken slats of the blinds allowed some light to filter in through the window and it was only to exaggerate what was covered in the tattered blinds. Gaga had a habit of carelessly bouncing up and down on her “bed,” which was actually just unmade sheets thrown plus a filthy mattress that lay on the floor. Some other delightful antics that the singer performed includes ripping apart the pillow, showering the audience in feathers that floated into the balcony.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” premieres, the star is in attendance for the first time, there surely must be contextual reason behind Gaga’s ‘mad-woman’ aesthetics. This begs the intricate question, was Gaga’s rock-on Diva character in the movie dwelling the barren set the very static of her sanity? For an audience with no prior information of the movie, this is moderately logical. Just like how many assumed her to be under the influences of drugs while dancing throughout the show. But to an extent, that is not what insanity translates to. During the performance, Gaga publicly mentioned how he while growing in the industry, losing the love and pure affection one has for the music is harmful. Thus he set out on a journey to rediscover, in this case, maybe the set was created to showcase the mindset of a artist in the quest of realizing frappe. On a spectrum, she would be so consumed in her ecstasy art high that basic human skills like cleanliness would become priorities. In fairness, there is room for debate, as in this instance it is plausible to come up with a myriad of interpretations whereas she simply would have been posing the question, ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ to a whole line of bright lights.
Gaga was giving everything she had while the listener could hear all this commotion with no clarity to understand. It didn’t help that she was locked in to one location with no understanding of the performance time frame as 80% of the songs performed were on a repeat with the same energy showcase. While it was commotion within, it was comical how much gaiety was featured. Those that attended the private premiere were guaranteed to leave while conflicted.
With a deconstructed doll in one hand and a crowd in the other, the performer was mixed. At one second she would be a delicately shaped soft toy and the next a medical marvel that performed with astounding precision and was strong enough to tear off a single garter. As performers said, the ability to casually destroy garments during a performance adds a dash of “wow” to the dance. The only problem was, it would tear off clothing style garters.
The performance was full of energy, and while the star might seem as though they were slightly off the hinges, there was set dressing that would have made the show feel very punk in sensibility. But an audio half of a show would not do any justice for it. Here, the audio part of the show was simply brilliant, as the singing was as solid as expected. Although it seemed like she was burning off a week’s calories with each performance. The incredibly talented band definitely had a spirit of rock n roll, although they only had a few numbers which fit into that style. With both a trumpet and sax player that were always on the move, the band New Orleans style jazz a lot. This was most clearly showcased by their performance of Oh, When the Saints, where they did such a good rendition that it made Louis Armstrong feel proud but at the same time, it felt like he always was a rocker.
There were pauses within the concert, most likely for costume changes however, every single time Gaga reappeared on stage, she was in a different outfit which was considered dull on her spectrum, while the glamour-sequel essence never came close. The event commenced with a preternatural sight of a spookily lit barbershop quartet, who later reappeared to be accompanied by the band for a rendition of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. In one of the interludes, the group performed an instrumental with tremolo guitar which was labeled on the setlist (that Gaga accidentally revealed on Instagram) to be a Cramps song. On that particular night, the audience had roots from mid-century Broadway, which was then fused with bizarre genre non-expression and surrealism.
This is exactly the reason why I gave this show a slight advantage over the Jazz & Piano residency in Vegas which I really enjoyed as well. In that particular show, Gaga certainly knew how to incorporate the nostalgia into something… Well, Gaga-ish. But there was a distinct touch of cosplay very much like getting into the garments and the music of yore. There is definitely a hint of original songwriting in the catalog she is considering while gearing for her “Harlequin” era. However, there are pickings from not so famous and much modernized musicals like “The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd.” But it’s highly amusing to watch her roughly return to America’s shared past of show tunes while taking more liberties and making the vibes very much her own. These songs have never doubted the reverence she possesses for them. However, there is a level of freedom in her filling the void of that unmade bed.
There was enough space for a grand piano in this studio-apartment set, and Gaga was able to calm herself just enough to sit at it for a few moments. First, she sang solo her current hit with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” and then seamlessly transitioned into (who would’ve guessed) Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.” This was far more the elegant Gaga that this establishment has grown to adore a Lady suitable for a chic concert hall. It was, more or less, grand, but the best parts of the show were the ones where one could see her transform into the rocker that has always been on the verge of breaking through… to the extent of grabbing an electric guitar in the middle of “Happy Mistake.”
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