Lady Gaga's 'Monster Ball' At Nassau Coliseum: Great Entertainment and a Whole Lotta Love

On Saturday, April 23, 2011, a friend and I went to see Lady Gaga perform her Monster Ball show at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. Though she's one of the most controversial figures in the music industry today, I love her music and I was excited at the prospect of seeing her perform live.

I've been to many concerts in my life and I still get as excited as a kid in a candy store whenever I'm going to one, and Saturday was no exception. As soon as we booked the tickets, I grabbed my iPod and went straight to my 'Gaga' folder. I remember when I first heard 'Fame/Fame Monster'; I liked almost all of the songs the very first time I heard them, which is something that doesn't happen too often. I've said this before and I'll say it again here that Lady Gaga wouldn't be as popular as she is without good, quality music, and aside from all the other stuff that surrounds her, her music IS quality!

After a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant, my friend and I headed off to the Coliseum. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of traffic and we were there in no time. Not since the last KISS concert I went to have I seen so many people in full rock star regalia. Gaga impersonators were everywhere, and they came in all stripes. There were bubbles and lace, sequins and heels, construction stripping and soda can hair rollers. I loved it! At one point a rather large bald man in fish net stockings, high heels and full makeup walked out on to the floor of the Coliseum to the frenzy of fans. He entertained them all by getting down to Michael Jackson. The party had just begun.

At show time, a deejay came on stage to perform a set and then the opening act, a punk/dance band called Semi-Precious Weapons took their turn at the stage. Their music was not to my personal taste, but apparently Gaga is a big fan. During their set the lead singer noted that they'd been touring with Gaga since the beginning. She had come to one of their shows in the city and liked what she saw, and asked them to join her on the tour. Once they had finished their set, it would be a long wait til Gaga. They had finished at 9 p.m. and Gaga didn't come on until a little after 10. It was a frustratingly long hour, but once she took the stage, the wait had been all but forgotten.

All in all, the show was completely entertaining, full of all the things one might expect from a Lady Gaga concert. With bizarre costumes, an equally odd set design, wild dance sequences, lots of plugs for the little Monsters, and of course great music, Gaga entertained to the delight of her frenzied fans for a two hour-plus set. The singer's undeniable talent shone through, as she played several instruments during the show and her vocals sounded authentic to the records.

"I want you all to know something, my little Monsters. I have never and will never, ever lip sync my songs," and it was clear that she didn't.

She played all of the hits, with the curious exception of her latest, 'Judas.' Unfortunately, I was stuck in a section of farts who made me wonder why they had even come to the show in the first place. They sat in their seats through 'Love Game,' 'Just Dance,' 'Paparazzi' and even the beat thumping 'Telephone.' Since I'm not the type of person to just get up and block people's views, I just sat there dancing in my seat, but by the time the opening chords to 'Poker Face' were heard I couldn't control myself any longer.

The show was fast-moving, and most of the songs she performed were up tempo stuff, with the exception of two songs. At one point, Gaga slowed the show down a for a piano-accompanied rendition of her latest #1 hit, 'Born This Way' and then she segued into another ballad. The second song was a new one from her upcoming 'Born This Way' CD called 'You and I.' As with many of her songs, I liked this one on the first listen. The rest of the show was first-rate, upbeat, danceable joy!

During the show, the singer did a lot of talking with her fans, working hard to reinforce her mantra that every single one of us is special, everyone was "born this way," and no one should let anyone make them feel less worthy just because they might be different. It is this point of view that clearly inspires such devotion from her fans.

"LONG ISLAND," she screamed more than a dozen times to the frenzied response of the audience. Gaga spoke of being bullied as a teenager and how her story should inspire others. She's especially sensitive to the gay community, noting that the overwhelming majority of homeless teenagers in this country are gay. For the tour, the singer has joined forces with Virgin Mobile to help eradicate youth homelessness in a big way.

The sponsorship has worked to raise money and volunteerism through the shows. Virgin and Gaga provide free concert tickets to those who choose to provide a minimum of eight hours of community service at homeless youth organizations and other youth LGBT organizations. Thus far they've raised more than $80,000 in donations and generated more than 30,000 hours of community service for these types of organizations around the country.

One segment in the show features Lady Gaga telephoning one lucky fan in the audience, who gets a few minutes of direct airtime with the singer along with $20,000 in cash to donate to the charity of their choice. The lucky winner at this show was a 20 year old young woman from New Jersey. When Gaga mentioned her hometown, some in the New York audience booed at the mention of the rival state, eliciting a response from the singer.

"Now, now little Monsters, nothing but love!" The young girl was visibly shaken at her chance to talk directly to the star, who then rewarded her with an invite backstage after the show.

Like her or not, Lady Gaga is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Time and time again during the show she expressed her gratitude and admiration to her fans, a feeling that was reciprocated by the enthusiastic audience. It was appropriate that she finished with the song, 'Born This Way,' as the lyrics to that song were the permeating theme for the show. In the end, everyone walked away with a smile on their face and a little warmth in their hearts. Isn't that what any good show should do?

For more on Lady Gaga, see:

Goo Goo Over Gaga

Madonna's Influence on 'Born This Way' Causes Intergenerational Rift

Lady Gaga and the "Sociology of Fame": A 60 Minutes Interview with Anderson Cooper

Is Lady Gaga the Next Madonna?

Sources:

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/1944-lady-gaga

http://www.partnershipactivation.com/headlines/2011/4/17/virgin-mobile-and-lady-gaga-team-up-to-form-a-true-partnersh.html