Her new album ARTPOP was already being called ARTFLOP before anyone had heard it. Despite the fact that “Applause,” the first single, spent 14 weeks in Billboard’s Top Ten, the prevailing wisdom has been that the Lady was over. A disappointing first-week debut on the Billboard charts (albeit at #1) comparable with her contemporaries (but spectacularly far off from the debut of her previous album) seemed to confirm the worst fears of her fans and the joyous predictions of her detractors.
“Do What U Want”—one of the strongest numbers on an unfairly maligned album—proved a non-starter. The misguided decision to work with R. Kelly may have had something to do with this. Gaga’s late remix with Christina Aguilera, an eminently more satisfying version boosted by the fact that the two divas were former rivals, was too late to salvage the song.
Thus we come to her latest single “G.U.Y.” and her residence at Roseland Ballroom to mark the closing of the famous venue. At over 30 million views since its release and on the eve of the single’s official debut on radio, it’s too early to tell how the song will or will not grow. But any thought of being a flop was miles away from Gaga’s performance on Friday, April 4.
She was positively electrifying.
It was a tight show that only felt short because the packed audience wanted more. Her voice was crisp and resonant. Her occasional propensity to lose pitch was nowhere to be heard. She changed costumes only four times—a minuscule number of changes compared to the Born This Way Ball—and stayed in similar outfits of differing bright colors. Her wig was a massive, green-tinged blonde/brunette affair that easily increased her petite size by half.
She began the night with a beautifully rendered acoustic version of “Born This Way,” performed atop a scaffolding set piece right next to Roseland’s mezzanine section. She followed with “Black Jesus + Amen Fashion, ”one of the weakest songs in her entire catalogue. If it weren’t for her statuesque “Black Jesus” dancer, it would have been a total bust.
“Monster,” one of her best lesser-known songs, was a delightful surprise, followed by a pounding rendition of “Bad Romance,” which featured Gaga climbing a ladder up to Roseland’s mezzanine—in stiletto boots, no less—to sing to the high-paying guests and dance enthusiastically atop a table. With the dancing, climbing and running about, she seemed hardly out of breath and fully recovered from last year’s hip injury.
“Sexxx Dreams” came next, and I found myself wondering, again, why “G.U.Y.” was the current single. The song is catchy, sexy and, performed alongside her shirtless, muscled back up dancers, intoxicating.
From there, Gaga moved to Roseland’s secondary stage, which for the concert featured a mock F train—a smaller version of the train she used on the Monster Ball tour—and a neon sign which read “176 Stanton,” her former apartment on the Lower East Side. This would have been a great opportunity for people farther from the main stage to get closer to the star of the night, but the small piano she sat down to was surrounded by fans who had paid extra to be in the “ARTPOP Zone.” Those of us on the floor in general admission spent the next two songs trying to catch glimpses of Gaga in-between the fans, which temporarily slowed the energy in the room. This wasn’t helped by her choice to begin with “Dope, ”a beautiful song, but a total downer, a fact which Gaga addressed by apologizing to the people in the audience who were high and drunk. This would be their chance to take a three-minute nap, she suggested.
Things picked up with “You and I,” but staring at the backs of fellow fans killed what could have been another highlight of the night.
Fortunately, Gaga returned to the main stage for the song that made her famous: “Just Dance.” Like “Bad Romance” earlier in the performance, it was absolutely thrilling. The audience hung on every syllable, jumped and screamed when she demanded, and did fine service to the decades of dancing and partying that had been witnessed at Roseland.
The best part of the night came when she performed the acoustic version of “Poker Face.” The song that elevated her to superstar status also provided people their first insights into her larger talent when she released the same acoustic version in 2009 with the Cherry Tree Sessions EP. If there were any nonbelievers in the audience, it’s doubtful they could have resisted the charm and excitement of the moment. Her voice soared over the familiar lyrics, yet felt fresh and joyful.
And while the overall theme of the night was reflecting on the past—appropriate for a series of concerts to close a historic venue—Gaga concluded the night with her most recent hit and her most recent single. “Applause” may have gotten the biggest reaction of the night, especially when the confetti cannons in the ceiling burst out red and purple pieces of paper everywhere. It was like being at Mardi Gras, but with somewhat less drunk people. Building on that energy, she encored with “G.U.Y.,” a song I have yet to fully warm to, but found irresistible live.
Despite a few poor song choices and a few glaring omissions—I longed for “Gypsy” or “The Edge of Glory” or “Paparazzi”—the night was a complete triumph that touched on what has garnered Gaga so much success and so many fans, while keeping a solid eye on the present and the near future.
Viewed as a glimpse into what is to come and what has been, I can only hope she continues to flop so spectacularly in the near future.
Set List
“Born This Way” (acoustic) “Black Jesus + Amen Fashion”
“Monster”
“Bad Romance”
“Sexxx Dreams”
“Dope”
“You and I”
“Just Dance”
“Poker Face” (acoustic)
“Applause”
“G.U.Y.”
COMMENTS