Lady Gaga rocks the 'burbs at the Monster Ball Tour
The 25-year-old pop provocateur performed her hits for 13,000 at the Gwinnett Center Arena on April 18.
- Perry Julien
I spent my Passover getting lost in Gwinnett (I hear it's great!), where Lady Gaga performed her Monster Ball Tour. Gaga sold out the 13,000-person stadium nearly a year ago, which is incredible considering she just turned 25. Better yet, no one showed up wearing cat blood! I bet Gaga would love the fact that for one night, she was my religion. And I hear getting wasted for Gaga is kosher for Passover!
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The show was set up as a narrative in which Gaga and her dancers got lost on the way to the Monster Ball, a place where all the freaks are free to be themselves without judgment — her words, I would never say that, but still a nice sentiment. First her car breaks down in Brooklyn, then the F subway train stalls — just in time for her to wear a translucent nun outfit for "Love Game" — before finally killing the Fame Monster during "Paparazzi." I thought we were done with the Fame Monster an album ago. Gaga used her common stage theatrics of a piano on fire, spheres rotating around her standing, and a pyrotechnic bra, and spoke frequently to the audience. She dedicated one of her speeches to all the naysayers, saying her fans don't need to look a certain way or have money to make their dreams come true. Gaga gives the same speech every night — still, it sent chills down my back. She's right, of course: You don't need money to make your dreams come true, unless your dream is to go to a Lady Gaga concert, in which case that will cost $112.
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"GEORGIA!" Gaga would insert into every song. "ATLANTA!" she would scream throughout the show. Actually, Gags, we're in Gwinnett. She dedicated "Boys Boys Boys" to her Atlanta gays, but unlike her 2009 Fox Theatre performance, the gays were outnumbered by suburban dwellers. I imagine that Gaga's team chose the Arena at Gwinnett Center because they weren't sure she could pack Philips Arena, but the venue skewed toward an uncomfortably older (and straighter) crowd. Despite the different vibe of audience, it was a remarkably similar show to 2009.