On April 9, 2009, the Fame Ball Tour descended upon "Hotlanta" for its very last stop. The show, which had been sold-out for months, headed into Center Stage on the heels of Lady GaGa's #1 singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face." As a consequence, the crowd's expectations were extraordinarily high. Thankfully, Lady GaGa's opening acts — Cinema Bizarre, Chester French and the White Tie Affair — did not disappoint in preparing (and injecting) the audience with tons of excited, kinetic energy.
At 10:56, the lights dimmed for Lady GaGa's hour-long set and a video introduction set the tone for her Andy Warhol-influenced set. "Haus of GaGa Presents… Who Shot Candy Warhol… in the Heart?" As the video faded, the show kick-started with "Paparazzi."
Clad in a black and silver space suit that would make Jane Jetson jealous, Lady GaGa pulled the crowd into a trance. Hypnotized, the audience sang along word-for-word: "I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me. Paparazzi."
Standing alone, front-and-center, the crowd gave a thunderous applause. And a few seconds later, Lady GaGa was joined by three male dancers, as the beat to "Love Game" thumped through the speakers. Keeping step with her dancers, Lady GaGa engaged in a dazzling dance breakdown — proving herself to have multiple talents.
Slowing down the pace a bit, Lady GaGa took some time to interact with the crowd. She went on to say that "every dollar that [she makes] is spent on [her] show." Even with empty pockets, Lady GaGa assured, "I am still beautiful dirty rich." With these words, a sea of her die-hard fans went wild — reciting the lyrics to "Beautiful Dirty Rich" without error. And like the wind, she was gone.
In the mean time, a second artsy video vignette moved the show along: "…the Brain?"
Lady GaGa reappeared on-stage riding a black, gray and white Vespa. The scooter was pushed along by her three back-up dancers, as she sang "The Fame." Mid-song the dancing quartet went into a psychedelic frenzy.
Reconnecting with the crowd, Lady GaGa stated that she "traveled the world three times" before her music was played on the radio. After performing "Money Honey" and "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)," she turned the concert over to her house DJ, DJ Space Cowboy, who played "Starstruck" and Kid Cudi's "Day ‘n' Nite."
Lady GaGa re-emerged on the right side of the stage — blowing bubbles into the crowd. Her outfit resembled bubbles, too, as it was made out of clear balloons. And as she made her way to the center of the stage, a clear, see-through piano was also filled with clear plastic balls, which stood opposite of a translucent body of a male mannequin. Artistic elements, like these, appeared throughout the show, making Lady GaGa a performer that can only be fully appreciated live and in living color.
