The Joe was an early stop on her Artrave: The Artpop Ball tour, and brought us a Lady Gaga who has become known as much for preaching acceptance and self-love as for the glistening pop songs and wacky outfits that earned her a name.
On a set that often resembled some kind of space-age, psychedelic fashion runway, the visual vibe was both icy and bright, punctuated by frequent bursts of confetti over the fans packed around the stage catwalks. “Artpop” kicked things off as Gaga emerged in a winged gold leotard, making her way down a ramp and eventually to a keyboard nestled into a little crystal mountain.
She arrived back at the arena Saturday night in a different sort of career spot. Amid the relatively disappointing showing for “Artpop,” released in the fall, Gaga’s own superstardom has dimmed somewhat, and the smattering of empty seats around the Joe attested to it. But the connection with the fans onboard now burns deep and intense. Gaga paused frequently between songs to butter them up, plying them with messages of self-empowerment, remarking on their beauty, and fiddling with the stuffed animals and apparel they rained onto the stage.
The drumbeat of affection, delivered in a singsong voice bordering on squeaky, got cloying fast. But there were moments of genuine emotion too — as when Gaga read note tossed onstage by a young man, Alex, describing his coming-out to his family and applauding the star as a role model. She found him down front and invited him backstage after the show, as cameras caught him deeply moved by the gesture.
Music from the new album dominated the set early on, providing the throbbing buzz of songs like “G.U.Y.” and “Donatella” and the cabaret disco of “Fashion!” Giant freaky mushrooms emerged from the floor for the cartoony sci-fi ambience of “Venus,” as Gaga’s apparently tireless dancers hit the catwalks in colorful alien garb. From there she dipped into the old stuff, rolling through “Just Dance” (keytar in hand), “Poker Face” and “Paparazzi,” which found her onstage dressed as a blue and white-speckled cephalopod of some sort, plastic tentacles dragging behind her. The show’s early stretch had limited Gaga’s vocals, which took a backseat to the precisely arranged choreography and booming dance beats. “Do What U Want” at last gave her voice a chance to fly, and the potency of her R&B-tinged delivery promptly sizzled. She relayed a recent remark she’d gotten from an interviewer about the fact that Gaga sings live at her shows (which she certainly appeared to do all Saturday night, albeit frequently atop a taped harmony stack). It was a chance for Gaga to knock the rampant lip-syncing in today’s pop business. “It’s so weird — why it is so normal for singers not to sing live?” she said to a roar. “It’s not normal. It’s a crime!” While the “Artpop” material often became a generic dance-pop blur (the rock grind of “Mary Jane Holland” and “Swine” notwithstanding), there were musical high points, including her solo piano performance of “Born This Way,” transformed into a simmering ballad.
Source: freep.com
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