Yes, for one night, I was one of Lady GaGa's affectionaly known "Little Monsters". Now I have to admit, I do enjoy her music, but I'm also fascinated with all her creations and artistic flair. Just incredible! Plus she's easy on the eye, I guess for this 'experience' I could've seen 'X Factor Live' or 'JLS', but I kept seeing images from the movie 'Wayne's World' where Garth is strapped in to a dentist chair being forced to listen to Kenny G in concert, this was by far a much more enjoyable experience.
Now the week leading up to the concert, I visited Lady GaGa's website, checked out the forum's to see if I could get a sneak peak into what was this 'Monster's Ball' - a tour revamped for the UK! Already, that's damn impressive! I arrived at the venue - LG Arena, Birmingham with an open mind. Now I already assumed majority of the audience might be 13-17, and this was backed by the so called merch guys outside the venue selling pink bunny ears that lit up alternately and glowsticks. The classic sign of any Pop concert! As I got closer to the LG Arena, I could see a huge range of ages queuing up to get into the venue, ranging from 14-late 40's. Walking into the venue (standing floor section) and I'd already missed the support acts, and the whole stage was swallowed up in a white screen hiding what was to be an incredible stage.
45mins late, but the screaming from the audience was intense! A cinema style countdown appeared on the white screen as the cheering got louder and louder while various clips of Lady GaGa were shown in the background. The wait was finally over, and it was one hell of a show! I lost count of the costume changes, but for every costume change, there was a video shown on the screen to keep fans entertained for the 2-3 min duration. The whole story of the 'Monster's Ball' can only be described as The Wizard Of Oz, told in only a way that GaGa could.
The choreography was interesting and how she sang while pulling off some of those dance moves was something else! For me, any artist's true skill is shown acoustically, and when Lady GaGa took to her piano, it was jaw droppingly impressive. Vocal skills that superseed her album and playing a piano that was on fire and occasionally bursting out flames into the air was something else! The walkway that led out in to the crowd was used for the majority of the performance, so fans from the back of the arena could still take in the incredible outfits and dance routines that GaGa had instore for us.
The only dissapointing thing was I had to leave early to get the last train at 11.20pm (to which I had to run the length of the LG Arena, something I won't be doing again!....without some kind of fitness first anyway!) So I missed 'Papparazzi' which from various YouTube clips looked amazing as GaGa battles with 'The Fame Monster'.
Now, Lady GaGa is returning May/June in the UK for a string of additional dates, and I'm sure you're aware of the whole ticket scandal that has flooded various websites - including GaGa's forum over the new 'doubled' prices. Now I paid £80.00 (e-bay ticket) for a ticket face value of £35.00. Now the Promoter is after £75 for seats and £65 for standing. Basing this on the fact the tour is such a huge arena spectacle and not you're average 'arena' show. I feel sorry for GaGa, she's going to get hit hard for this, but I'm sure it's the promoter who's taking the piss here and not her. Now, I would go and see her again, but with talks of a '3D concert DVD' in the works and maybe a tour, let's hope they learn from this and reduce the ticket prices. It's the fans that lose out at the end of the day, especially the younger fans that just want to see their idol live in action, doing what they do best. It's promoters and touts that will destroy this industry and fans love of live music.
Rant over, one awesome night out and another experience completed! Three months in, and I'm having a blast!
That's all for now, more regular updates now - promise!
"RUSSIAN ROULETTE IS NOT THE SAME WITHOUT A GUN" ;)
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