|
Celeb News: BTW Ball met with acclaim in North America
Member Since: 7/9/2010
Posts: 42,506
|
BTW Ball met with acclaim in North America
Rolling Stone: Lady Gaga Kicks Off Her Born This Way Ball in North America
Quote:
Fresh from a one-month hiatus, Lady Gaga brought glitter, sweat, a horse and a G.O.A.T to Vancouver, kicking off the North American leg of her long-awaited Born This Way Ball in spectacular fashion. The (mechanical) horse brought Gaga onstage at the top of the set in majestic fashion; the goat, however, was not your barnyard variety beast, but instead an acronym for "Government-Owned Alien Territory," a medieval, gothic overlord created out of the twisted mind of la Lady herself.
When the tour dates were originally announced, Gaga described the Born This Way Ball as "an Electro-Metal Pop-Opera; the tale of the Beginning, the genesis of the Kingdom of Fame. How we were birthed and how we will die celebrating." This turns out to be an apt description. The set was daunting and impressive, a multi-level, morphing ancient castle. Her costume changes were, as expected, frequent and fabulous. In fact, the evening as a whole was dark and twisted enough to remind attendees that although Gaga is a Top 40 radio dominatrix, she’s also a cerebral **** disturber, with an imagination that seems heavily inspired by everyone from director Tim Burton to Gerald Scarfe’s unsettling graphics in Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
Gaga absolutely pwned her temporary palace last night, and the combined electricity from Mother Monster and her audience of Little Monsters created a delicious two-and-a-half-hour extrava-Ga-Ga-ganza, both musically and visually. Friday night’s show – the first of two consecutive Vancouver sold-out dates – began with the singer slowly and dramatically roaming the stage’s circular catwalk on horseback while singing "Highway Unicorn." The audience responded with ear-piercing adulation, and kept up the love – to Gaga’s delight – for the duration of the evening. Moving straight into "Government Hooker," the Barbarella-clothed artiste made it clear that the night ahead was likely to contain as much theater as music, and Gaga served up both sides masterfully well.
The show contained some old familiar friends; the egg she appeared out of on the Grammys re-hatched for "Bad Romance," and her infamous meat dress was in prime form for "Poker Face." The most fantastical fashion moment, however, came during "Heavy Metal Lover," when Gaga arrived onstage not on a motorcycle, but AS a motorcycle – a deliciously-expanded version of the Born This Way album cover that a female backup dancer took for a spin around the stage.
For the first 50 minutes of the show, the tone was sassy, fun and slick, all clinging close to the aforementioned G.O.A.T. theme. Even during Gaga’s speaking parts, she stayed true to her character for nearly the first third of the show. Although she repeatedly reinforced fantastic themes promoting independent thought and inclusion, it was a welcome change of pace – more than an hour in – when she started speaking more free-form, creating what proved to be the evening’s most memorable moments. Whether singing "Happy Birthday" to an ecstatic fan, or calling the cell number of a shocked and delighted audience member, her compassionate, fan-driven heart shone clearly through the sheen.
In fact, those uber-authentic moments coincided with the night’s musical highlights. One of those first arcs came in the form of the honky-tonk-esque "Yoü and I," as Gaga flattened the audience with her fantastically strong pipes. She then spoke in detail about the cruelty of bullying, asking the crowd to make differences in their world by being kind to isolated individuals. From there, she poignantly launched into a second, more slowed-down version of "Born This Way," especially emphasizing the lyrics "no matter gay, straight or bi / lesbian, transgendered life" to the audience’s cheers. At the end of that number, Gaga said, "No matter how many rhinestones on my jeans, no matter how many fancy wigs I have, just remember that I don’t give a **** about anything but you and the music."
More than two hours into an exhausting show, Gaga pulled out a nearly a cappella version of "Edge of Glory" as the night’s first encore, her strong, raspy voice reverberating through the mesmerized crowd. To cap off the night, the singer brought five Little Monsters onstage to join her for the last number, "Marry the Night." Before singing, she offered one last Gaga-ian proverb to the enraptured audience: "Just remember: I heard 'no' way more time than I heard 'yes.'" Not tonight, she didn’t.
|
Vancouver Sun: Lady Gaga rules over her little monsters in Vancouver
Quote:
The last time Lady Gaga's extravagant pop cavalcade rolled through Vancouver for the Monster Ball Tour in August 2010, Stefani Germanotta was in full superstar break-out mode.
Her concert was built on a Wizard of Oz/Alice in Wonderland storyline that emulated the classic fairy tale of being swept away to a strange and distant land, confronting the unknown and emerging a stronger person in the end.
Two and a half years later, Lady Gaga is less Alice than she is herself the Wizard or the Queen of Hearts, as the first concert on the North American leg of the Born This Way Ball Tour at Rogers Arena proved.
Instead of a stage evolving as a shifting landscape worthy of a Broadway musical, Gaga's presentation is now more akin to that of a Wagnerian opera, centered on a humongous medieval castle from which she emerged in more varied forms than ever thanks to the help of Italian fashion houses Moschino, Versace and Armani, from riding a horse while dressed in full knight gear for set opener Highway Unicorn, to quite literally showing up as the motorcycle/human hybrid adorning the cover of Born This Way for Heavy Metal Lover.
Whereas her previous live incarnation was more organic, Gaga's concert has become a monolithic display that acts as a testament to the most overblown aspects of pop music.
Gaga giving birth to herself during Born This Way, popping out of a huge inflatable balloon between outstretched prop legs to officially kick off the ball? Yes, it happened.
Yet, if anyone was going to make a concert of such grandiose proportions feel like everyone's own personal celebration, it was Gaga.
Unlike Madonna, whose latest Vancouver appearance was dominated by violent imagery and a borderline bullying attitude toward her longtime fans, Gaga continued to carry her trademark message of empowerment and self-love, which also appears in the form of her many charitable endeavours aimed at LGBT groups.
She may be doing it from the safety of her castle these days but, for her fans, bigger will always be better when it comes to Gaga.
"I think she makes people feel good about themselves," said 24-year-old fan Lindsay McIntosh before the concert.
She and a group of friends had made the trek from Vanderhoof, B.C. to see the pop star.
They had, of course, dressed up for the occasion, each a different incarnation of Lady Gaga with different wigs, brightly coloured clothes, sunglasses and makeup.
Stephanie Sutton, 28, admitted she normally doesn't wear a wig or bright colours.
"Deep down this is how we feel," she said.
"You can be anyone you want with Gaga," 20-year-old friend Moira O'Brien added.
Gaga's "Little Monsters" were as much a part of the spectacle as Gaga and her crew of dancers, many fans sporting the flashing headbands sold at the merch table alongside a gargantuan array of T-shirts and other memorabilia such as a $150 Born This Way leather jacket.
As big a commercial undertaking as Gaga's latest tour is, the near-sold out concert simply swept you off your feet.
The concert's five-part storyline involving aliens, government mind control, fashion, empowerment and religion wasn't always fully graspable, not that it really mattered considering the sheer spectacle it offered.
With almost as many costume changes as songs performed, Gaga's Born This Way Ball concert was essentially a big piece of performance art.
"Tonight this arena is a place of love and unity," Gaga said before Black Jesus/Amen Fashion.
Elaborate costumes involving oversized headgear didn't always make it clear if Gaga was singing everything herself, and a few moments sounded like pre-taped loops.
It was especially obvious during Judas, where audio levels kept jumping up and down.
Gaga nevertheless expanded an incredible amount of energy on several dance-heavy numbers, including a crazed Bad Romance where she emerged from the famed egg capsule she debuted at the Grammys in 2011.
"I f---ing missed you, Vancouver," she said. And the crowd erupted, claw-shaped hands held high, the floor surrounded by a long smoke-covered catwalk jumping.
"I am not an alien, I am not a woman, I am not a man, I am not a creature of your government," Gaga said during a long monologue. "When they ask you who is Lady Gaga you tell them I am you."
Things have certainly changed since early hit single Just Dance was every hipster's guilty pleasure, the song now an ornate tribute to Gaga's influence on fashion.
But Gaga can still connect without all the crazy set pieces and choreographed insanity, and she offered a fan named Julia a great present by singing a heartfelt Happy Birthday just for her.
Borrowing sonically from Madonna, Elton John, pop, metal, glam and disco, sometimes even rocking the keytar, and pulling out the meat dress for Americano and Poker Face near the end - Gaga did it all unapologetically.
And in front of her giant castle she staked her claim as the queen of the pop scene once again.
|
The Georgia Straight: Lady Gaga shows she is impossible to top in Vancouver
Quote:
Without question, Lady Gaga is the best pop star of our time. Twenty-six-year-old Stefani Germanotta’s songs are wonderfully infectious, her videos are mesmerizingly artful, and her outlandish style is un****withable. The world's most popular tweeter is panache perfect and it's impossible to avert your eyes. Simply calling her a “young Madonna” needs to end, as she's equal parts Damien Hirst and Alexander McQueen as well. My god, even her signature scent Fame, which they were handing out samples of at Rogers Arena, smells good and doesn't induce hives.
Walking through the crowd at the first of two Vancouver stops for the Born This Way Ball on Friday was to observe a sweded retrospective of every outfit the Queen of Pop has ever donned. From the moment the curtain dropped and unveiled the show's ridiculously awesome set—a three-storey castle—till the very last song, this city's most flamboyantly gay men and most “misunderstood” young women were elated. Her monsters were not disappointed.
Gaga took the stage in spectacular fashion: riding a mechanical unicorn while singing "Highway Unicorn (Road To Love)". However, a metallic helmet hid her face until the third song. The reveal was, of course, outrageous. Lady Gaga’s head appeared at the top of a giant inflatable body in the lithotomy position. Shortly thereafter, she emerged from the body's zipper-vagina to perform the LGBT mantra "Born This Way". From here on out, it was clear that the Vancouver Pride Society will need to work overtime this year if they want the parade to compete with this grandiose pop affair.
The Ball is a pop-rock opera. The story goes Lady Gaga escaped to Vancouver from an interstellar Government Owned Alien Territory (G.O.A.T.) to train for an invasion of Earth. Periodically, Mother G.O.A.T., a giant animatronic recreation of the Fame Monster's face encased in a glowing diamond, would lower from the rafters and spew some gibberish about Operation: Kill The Bitch. It even sang part of “Paparazzi” then bleed to death out of its eyes, mouth, and nose. Confused? It’s okay, that’s part and parcel of the Lady Gaga experience.
Megahits like "Bad Romance", "Just Dance", and "Telephone" were almost always accompanied by a costume change into a different Italian fashion house-designed outfit. There were even a few throwbacks to classics like an assault rifle bra, which she wore during "Alejandro", and a meat dress, which was trotted out for "Americano" and "Poker Face". (The latter was performed while in a meat grinder.) The Kermit the Frog doll top appeared on stage but, sadly, was never worn.
Pop concerts tend to be as spontaneous as evolution. Thankfully, there were a few moments when our visitor from G.O.A.T. veered from the script and almost seemed human. At one point she sang happy birthday to a tearful devotee who just turned 18. Following that, Gaga relayed what her dad told her when she hit the same age: “Don’t get too excited. It just means you don’t get a ****ing allowance.”
Then, after performing “The Edge of Glory” during the encore, Lady Gaga invited five lucky little monsters on stage with her during the final number, “Marry the Night”. Jubilant tears ensued as they danced with their hero, then descended in a trap door to hang out backstage. Damn it Gaga! You’re making everyone else look bad, again. How many more Twitter followers do you need?
|
CTV News: Style is substance as Lady Gaga dazzles in Vancouver
Quote:
When Madonna hit Vancouver last September she took a predictable jab at Lady Gaga, pointing out the similarity between her own “Express Yourself” and her rival’s “Born This Way,” singing the latter over her original, before labouring the point by coldly repeating “She’s not me!”
Madonna remains an obvious starting point for any discussion of Lady Gaga, but it’s still a worthy comparison. Because on last night’s evidence, as Gaga began the North American leg of her Born This Way Ball World Tour in the cosy confines of Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, the reign of the Grand Old Dame of Pop is officially over.
It wasn’t so much that Gaga has a tremendous arsenal of songs at her disposal. Madonna’s small army of collaborators still give her the advantage in that department. But in terms of performance, musicianship, vocals, charisma and most importantly, ideas, Lady Gaga has left her one-time inspiration far behind.
Where Madonna was icy and distant, Gaga was welcoming and charming.
“I don’t want to be a queen,” she insisted, as she emerged midway through the night tinkling a spike-covered piano. “I want to be your friend.
“I was a waitress five years ago. I could barely afford to see anything live. So thanks for coming out tonight.”
Of course, there’s a major league ego existing alongside that appreciation for the fans, ably illustrated by the three-story, 40-foot high castle on stage that opened up to reveal her band after a masked Gaga entered riding a dancer-powered mechanical unicorn. Confident enough to throw “Born This Way” into the fold three songs in (Madonna was right, it does sound like “Express Yourself”), Gaga was taking fashion risks too, emerging for “Bloody Mary” with what looked like an upside-down bedpan on her head, wheeling around like a dalek in a wedding dress. She upped the camp factor immediately after, emerging from a giant egg (or possibly a rugby ball) for “Bad Romance,” her ripped male dancers all fine advertisements for the benefits of jockey shorts.
The blitzkrieg of sights and sounds was unrelenting, Gaga donning an origami dress for “Just Dance,” another floor shaker that finished with an unexpected shred from her superb guitarist. For “LoveGame” she emerged with an exaggerated Statue of Liberty crown, punctuating the applause at its end by blowing kisses to the crowd, before announcing, “F***, I love being famous!”
Gaga was happy to generate laughs. Rolling out on a motor trike for “Heavy Metal Lover” was a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Metal’s greatest gay icon, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. But she could play it serious too, as she did during the best section of the show, when she took to the piano, gave her dancers time off, and rocked out with her band through “The Queen” and “You and I”.
She then took the opportunity to phone a shocked fan in the audience, explaining to the understandably freaked out Nicole that by answering her call, they’d instantly raised $10,000 for youngsters made homeless because they’d come out to their parents. Gaga repeatedly encouraged everyone present to make a difference in the fight against bullying and discrimination, punctuating her point with a tremendous solo piano and vocal slice of “Born This Way.”
So-called ‘controversial’ moments, an interracial gay wedding during “Americano” and Gaga in a replica meat dress being put into a grinder for “Poker Face,” made genuine political points, a courageous stand few musicians in any genre are willing to take these days.
The two-way connection between Gaga and her fans was both unique and inspiring. Dragging five Little Monsters on stage for the finale of “Marry The Night,” Gaga stood alongside them as she related an amazing story about her very first gig in a New York bar and her misadventures since.
“They said you’re not pretty enough. You’re too weird. It’s too gay. Then one day I opened my eyes, there were 15,000 people in Vancouver.”
The cheers were as much for Gaga’s personal and communal triumph as they were for the music. It was a deserved climax to a dazzling night. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/11/2012
Posts: 19,069
|
Slay bitch.
![](http://cdn.littlemonsters.com/4fc06d53c64dfcba5500e1e2/ic446f49e063_700.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/6/2012
Posts: 7,546
|
More acclaim for the Queen.
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/17/2012
Posts: 15,261
|
As expected from the Queen ![:o](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/redface_zpsfd99364e.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/21/2011
Posts: 19,331
|
Quote:
Unlike Madonna, whose latest Vancouver appearance was dominated by violent imagery and a borderline bullying attitude toward her longtime fans, Gaga continued to carry her trademark message of empowerment and self-love, which also appears in the form of her many charitable endeavours aimed at LGBT groups.
|
I screamed
![](http://imgboot.com/images/Lions/countess.gif)
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 8/1/2012
Posts: 27,547
|
Did you expect any less ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/18/2011
Posts: 4,192
|
Quote:
And in front of her giant castle she staked her claim as the queen of the pop scene once again.
|
![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/1/2011
Posts: 3,729
|
YAS.
![](http://cdn.littlemonsters.com/4fc06d53c64dfcba5500e1e2/ic446f49e063_700.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/9/2012
Posts: 13,357
|
Nice ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
|
|
|
Banned
Member Since: 6/22/2011
Posts: 877
|
the haters will seethe
![](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CtN1TCbhIUY/UNrnSkV5FrI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/_Hnpecm9CUk/836704.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/2/2011
Posts: 43,174
|
Hew else?
![](http://cdn.littlemonsters.com/4fc06d53c64dfcba5500e1e2/ic446f49e063_700.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/21/2011
Posts: 42,362
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Boop
I screamed
![](http://imgboot.com/images/Lions/countess.gif)
|
Isn't that from the review that was done hours before the end of the show ?
![](http://imgboot.com/images/Lions/countess.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/4/2011
Posts: 22,946
|
Queen!
![](http://cdn.littlemonsters.com/4fc06d53c64dfcba5500e1e2/ic446f49e063_700.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 11/17/2010
Posts: 12,926
|
Touring Legend. ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
|
|
|
Banned
Member Since: 6/22/2011
Posts: 877
|
the media sides with gaga yet again...
Quote:
Unlike Madonna, whose latest Vancouver appearance was dominated by violent imagery and a borderline bullying attitude toward her longtime fans, Gaga continued to carry her trademark message of empowerment and self-love, which also appears in the form of her many charitable endeavours aimed at LGBT groups.
|
what else is new?
![](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CtN1TCbhIUY/UNrnSkV5FrI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/_Hnpecm9CUk/836704.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/28/2012
Posts: 34,863
|
Quote:
Unlike Madonna, whose latest Vancouver appearance was dominated by violent imagery and a borderline bullying attitude toward her longtime fans, Gaga continued to carry her trademark message of empowerment and self-love, which also appears in the form of her many charitable endeavours aimed at LGBT groups.
|
![ahh](images/smilies/images/smilies/ahh.gif)
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/22/2012
Posts: 9,573
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/22/2011
Posts: 18,944
|
Quote:
Unlike Madonna, whose latest Vancouver appearance was dominated by violent imagery and a borderline bullying attitude toward her longtime fans, Gaga continued to carry her trademark message of empowerment and self-love, which also appears in the form of her many charitable endeavours aimed at LGBT groups.
|
Quote:
And in front of her giant castle she staked her claim as the queen of the pop scene once again.
|
They know the truth, guys.
![](http://i47.tinypic.com/2prvb07.jpg)
|
|
|
Banned
Member Since: 5/1/2012
Posts: 2,017
|
and the haters gon seethe and implode on the slayage that is about to occur
|
|
|
Member Since: 7/9/2010
Posts: 42,506
|
The reviewers love the castle and set, they always have, yet everyone here (who hasn't seen the show) calls it stupid and pointless ![cries](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/45ab1e3e.gif)
|
|
|
|
|