HOUSE GOES GAGA OVER DEBUT TOUR
3/28/09 // 2:22 PM
SOURCEThe last time the newest mistress of pop music performed in Chicago, she was almost arrested for prancing around town in hot pants.
But during Tuesday night's sold-out double performance at the House of Blues, Lady Gaga had no qualms about going sans pants -- a signature staple that's followed her from the interview circuit to the dance stage.
Gaga kicked off her 11-song set with "Paparazzi" -- the third single from her debut album "The Fame."
While some may say she is nothing more than a regurgitated mix of pop queens Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani who came before her, Gaga showed she's more than a dancing lyric box. She's someone who can sing and put on a choreographed show but doesn't become overwhelmed by doing both.
If you've been to one pop music concert in the Britney Spears genre, you've been to them all: over-sized arenas, theatrics to distract from the fact the singer usually isn't singing and an artist's usually non-compelling relationship with its audience.
But that's not how it was for Gaga's concert.
Fans -- including myself -- knew what they were signing up for before Gaga's show: an hour-plus dance party to the tune of some of her chart-topping singles, including "Just Dance" and "Poker Face."
"My name is Lady Gaga and I've got no money because I've spent it all on my show," she said. "But tonight, Windy City, I feel beautiful and dirty rich."
But the sex-charged lyrics and rhythm that attracted many to her breakout hits carry through the rest of her songs and show that her album is actually pretty good.
Although Gaga is relatively new to the overcrowded pop music scene, she skillfully commanded her performance (literally at times with a lighted scepter) during her debut concert tour and early on showed there's a new diva on the scene to be reckoned with.
Surrounded by a trio of male dancers, her mysterious personality was reflected through a wardrobe use of scantily-clad leotards and outfits that made you think they were straight out of the '80s children's cartoon "The Jetsons."
Sporting a dress made of plastic bubbles, Gaga surprised the audience halfway through the show with an acoustic and showtunes-esque rendition of her hit "Poker Face" on a piano designed to look like her dress. At times, Gaga even used her foot to play the piano.
By mixing it up, one thing Gaga did prove is that her music and performance aren't always just a shuffle of pop-centric tunes that sometimes blend together in theme and sound. She can actually sing — and isn't shy to show it.
— Mark Bieganski
