I just got Gaga all over myself.

Being able to witness a show of that scale - from both a performance & an audience perspective - was overwhelming in just about the best way possible. I'm not familiar with concerts that are as much spectacle as they are powerhouses of performance, and that's probably why I found it unbelievably attractive.

Generally, this is not my type of music. But what I've gleaned from listening to that lady is: a.) she makes a catchy-ass tune and b.) she seems to be a legitimate artist. Take it or leave it, she made what she's become up to this point and clearly it's working out for her. I wanted to catch a performance of an ambitious artist climbing without looking up for a ceiling, and damned if I didn't get just that.
Add that I'd forgotten what often comes with it - legions of fans hypnotized by that kind of peculiarly alluring originality - and it made the icing on tonight's bloody, hairy, pointy, throaty, obtuse, lipstick-laden cake.

SO many people there. Parents walking with their pre-teens, giddy underneath their makeup and loud clothes as they prepared for their first concert (those are some of the most awesome/misinformed parents ever). Friends singing verses between merchandise tables, hanging on one-another and laughing. Crowds of complete strangers excitedly taking photographs of each other's costumes while simultaneously complimenting the hell out of them.
It's what I envision a Thriller-era Michael Jackson concert must have been like; everybody was their own varying degree of mental, and the energy was palpable.

After the opening band (see previous post) and intermission ended, I experienced possibly the loudest sea of cheers I've ever heard (which was - in all likelihood - related to the high ratio of women attending).

Of course, many songs were played. Theatrics were interlaced between every few while other breaks allowed for what appeared to be genuine personal banter from the hostess. I appreciated her message, which bordered on outright begging/demanding everyone simply respect themselves and listen to what they felt was right and good vs. what every media outlet tells them to (you may remember Fiona Apple made a similar, less successful attempt years ago with her "This world is bullshit!" rant - this one was more articulate).
She played her own instruments, sometimes while (quite effectively) using her boots. She belts like a mofo, and can hoarsely scream anything she wants to as far as I'm concerned.
Yeah, I'd buy that remix album.

Again, this stuff is usually not my cup of tea. But good music is good music regardless of genre, and I'm a firm believer that if you get the chance to witness someone who not only has talent but revels in sharing/testing its limits, you're doing yourself a great disservice in making excuses to avoid it.

I may never see another show like that again, and I'll sure as hell never forget it.


Time to sleep. Seriously, I haven't had a solid night's rest in maybe a week.