Review: Lady Gaga in Hartford 9/16

A Lady Gaga concert is a theatrical experience from the moment you pull into the venue area. Lots of costumes. Wigs. Caution tape. Awesome. I got to the XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center, a little before 7 after parking, and the scene was quite a spectacle. Then again, so was the show.

With just two albums under her belt, it was an excellent time to see Gaga. She played all my favorite songs, which means she played almost all her songs. She had intricate sets with light-up jungle gyms, a smoky car that was really a piano, neon signs, a religious statute dripping blood and lots of ways to drop into/pop out from underneath the stage. Between songs, screens would go up with house music playing for Gaga and her dancers to change costumes, and you'd expect nothing less.

The entire production was incredible, and Gaga is incredible live. Her vocals really shine through when she's performing live, and she's able to take her songs further, giving us an extended version of "Teeth" and really hitting the high notes, showing off on the piano during "Speechless" and a new, very dramatic "You and I" and adding some of her political views - voicing her support of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. She thanked the fans for her recent VMA awards and asked for their approval, mainly for them to scream when she asked if she they thought she was sexy, several times, noting that she likes to abuse that part of the show because she was made fun of everyday in school. Playing both her gay advocate and "Mama Monster" roles, she said the Monster Ball was a place where you could be whoever you want to be and told her fans that they all belong and to celebrate gay pride.

Gaga had her heart ripped out and brought out the fake blood during "Monster" and left the stage to come out with her fire-sparking bra during "Paparazzi." That seemed to be the end of the show, but the lights didn't go on, and the cameras focused on the fans for some time in anticipation of the encore: "Bad Romance."

Here's the set list:

Dance in the Dark
Just Dance
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
The Fame
LoveGame
Boys Boys Boys
Money Honey
Telephone
Speechless
You and I
So Happy I Could Die
Monster
Teeth
Alejandro
Poker Face
Paparazzi

"Encore": Bad Romance

Justified freak out: Lady Gaga tickets go on sale Monday!

I'm kicking myself for not buying tickets to the canceled Lady Gaga show at the Oakdale.

I wanted to go, but I didn't get around to buying tickets, and at the time, I couldn't think of anyone to go with. Now that I've realized that everyone loves Lady Gaga, my friends and I have the dire task of getting tickets to the Sept. 16 show at the XL Center in Hartford as soon as they go on sale on Monday, April 19 at 10 a.m.

I'm scared.

Everyone who purchased tickets to the canceled show received a personal password to get tickets before they go on sale to the general public Monday. So that's a good chunk of tickets already gone. AND Lady Gaga has been selling out like crazy everywhere. She sold out three, not one or two, but THREE shows in less than an hour at Madison Square Garden - an arena bigger than the XL Center, which is only holding one show.

SO, we're going to sit at our computers all morning, cross our fingers, hit refresh at 10 a.m. and hope for the best.

(Note: I embedded "Telephone" above because it's awesome.)

Absolutely beautiful: "Happy Birthday Lady Gaga Biggest Fan Made Video Ever"

RT @ladygaga http://bit.ly/9fZ67S i've never cried so hard in 24 years, from pure joy and unconditional love. Tears still streaming

In honor of Lady Gaga's 24th birthday today, fan and director Ryan James Yezak put together an amazing video compilation of birthday wishes, Gaga appreciation, teeth and Gaga clips. It's absolutely beautiful. There's so much love, and her fans are basically thanking her for showing them that they can be themselves. In Yezak's explanation for why he wanted to put together this video, he said it was "because no other artist has inspired me more over the past year than Lady Gaga." I watched the video after Gaga posted the link above on Twitter, and if I were her, I would have cried too.

There's definitely a reason why her fans love her. Gaga also thanked everyone for the messages and other videos on Twitter. I love that she linked the above one. And speaking of Lady Gaga, there's finally a set date for a Connecticut appearance on Sept. 16 at the XL Center in Hartford. Ticket info's not released yet, that I know of, and I just know that those who have tickets to her canceled show will have first dibs. I don't have those first dibs, so I will be out the lookout. This post can also be the first of more to come in the ticket watch.

Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert CDs out today!

I'm really trying to save money for Christmas presents, so I'm still deciding whether or not to buy these albums today after work. Even if I don't get them today or if I wait to get them as presents, I'm pretty excited about them.


First, I love Gaga's "Bad Romance." It's not quite overplayed on the radio yet, so I'm always waiting to hear it when I'm driving. I spent the summer constantly playing "The Fame," and because "Bad Romance" is so catchy, I'm sure I'll be listening to "The Fame Monster" just as much. The album's being released stand-alone with the eight new songs, but also in a deluxe edition with "The Fame," which is a really good deal, and I would totally get that if I didn't already own "The Fame."

Then there's Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment." I was distraught when Adam didn't win American Idol because he was the only reason it was worth watching this season, but I came to terms with his loss because he's going to do much better than Kris Allen. (Have you heard Allen's new single? Right.)


I remember Adam saying he would love to work with Lady Gaga, which he did right after the season of American Idol ended. They're both incredible entertainers - not just musicians, but entertainers because of their theatrical performances - so it's fitting that their albums are dropping on the same day. I'm excited to see how well they do. Also curious to see how many people buy both together.