CITYist

It’s unclear why parents thought it was appropriate to take their 8-year-old daughters to the Lady Gaga concert last night at Madison Square Garden. Gaga is one part pop princess, one part soul songstress, one part activist, one part dominatrix and one part provocateur—and her favorite word is four letters long. Last night, the whole gang came out to play: the bra and panties ensemble from “Alejandro” and “Telephone,” the skirt composed of spikes, the disco stick, the red latex, the two cross strips of tape covering a very delicate area. And as Gaga cycled through hit after hit, “Poker Face,” “Paparazzi,” and “Bad Romance,” to name a few, her enthusiasm and compassion were unmatched. Often with tears in her eyes, she continually declared her love for her hometown, trying to give back the only way she new how, screaming, “Tonight, you will be set free!”

It’s evident that Gaga isn’t for the Miley Cyrus crowd. She’s for the high-schoolers and young adults who felt, or feel, inadequate, strange and insecure—and most of all, she’s for the gay community. At one point, she pledged herself to the cause and dedicated her pop jam “Boys” to her “most loyal friends, my New York gay boys.” Gaga’s dancers are something to behold, and on this song, it was no exception. Throughout the concert, in fact, the dance moves weren’t exactly fit for an after school program. Gaga embraces sexuality, even if she herself is currently celibate.

The sets were just as elaborate as Gaga’s costumes. In the beginning, a convertible sat parked in center, with neon signs of words like “liquor,” “implants” and “sexy ugly” lit up around the stage. The Monster Ball atmosphere was clinched with a spooky backdrop of leafless branches and eventually, an actual monster, whose tentacles slowly undressed Gaga. Gaga pulled out all the stops, dressing at one point like an angel lifted into the air by the stage, at another standing within a cycling globe.

However, the elaborate backdrops never once overpowered the actual spectacle, which was Gaga herself, of course. She took time out on the piano to sing the ode to her father, “Speechless,” and treated the audience to a new ballad from her upcoming album. Gaga is not your average pianist. As our friend pointed out, she “made love to the piano.” One stiletto heel stomping the keys, the other keeping the beat, she would writhe and twist, lie on top of it and stand on the bench, all while playing her precious songs.

Did The Monster Ball set us free? Well, for one thing, Gaga was preaching to the converted. Her message had reached the audience long before they stepped through the doors of Madison Square Garden. The event was more of a celebration, really, of an outsider like Lady Gaga who not only managed to achieve fame, but managed to use it for something good. At one point, Gaga reminisced how she used to sit in the back row of that very venue, seeing people like Madonna, Cher, The Rolling Stones and Kiss, and imagining how she herself would be on the stage some day. Well, Gaga, you certainly made it.