Concert Review: Lady Gaga @ Ahoy Rotterdam (29 Nov. 2010)

Last night I went to see the concert of the year. No kidding. Lady Gaga was amazing! I left work right after class and got to the venue about 5 minutes before they opened the doors. Getting in went pretty fast and when I walked around the stage there was still plenty of space left on front row. So I had a great view for most of the concert. It only got a bit hard to see when she would be out on her walk way thingy.

So Happy I Could Die

When I got in, a DJ was playing all kinds of rock songs, from Queen to Slayer. I don’t really know how that befits a Lady Gaga concert, but I’m guessing it’s music she likes to listen to herself as well. Then the first support act played a short 30 min set. They were called Semi Precious Weapon. Musically you could say it’s a bit of punk rock, but those guys themselves. OMG! What energy! And the way at least two of them looked! The guy on bass looked like a doped up version of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea. The lead singer looked a lot like David Bowie, he had that same androgynous look, but in tights and wearing gold sequined heels. I liked it, but after a few songs, it started to feel like a gimmick. From the stage act to the lyrics, to well everything. The lead singer changed something about his outfit after every song and had almost more wardrobe changes than Lady Gaga herself. I do love a quote from their song though: I can’t pay my rent but I’m fucking gorgeous. I guess Semi Precious Weapon is really one of those band that Gaga came across in a club when she was still working in New York. It sure felt like it. These guys are better off playing the club circuit than a stadium tour.

After a long wait, due to snow delays (we get two flakes of snow and the entire country goes in lockdown), Miss Gaga herself came on stage. It was my first time seeing the show and wow! It was amazing. The show started with a very artsy looking video, more of these were shown throughout the show when Gaga was changing into a new outfit. The mix then merged into Dancing in the Dark as the opening song of the concert. The hits were coming at high speed, since after a short interlude where the Monsterball story was played out (the car stalls in the middle of nowhere), the audience was treated to Just Dance, followed by Beautiful, Dirty, Rich, The Fame and Love Game (in a plastic see through dress).

Opening & Dancing in the Dark

Lady Gaga then spoke to her ‘kleine monsters’ as she showed off the two words of Dutch she actually knew and tried to convey her message of freedom and being who you our to the audience. She did this several times throughout the show and let’s just say that just once would have already made the point. The first speech was followed by Boys, Boys, Boys, and Money Honey. Gaga then launched into Telephone which got the crowd jumping like crazy. Then it was time to slow things down a little with Speechless and You and I (from her upcoming record Born this Way). Both songs were done while Gaga accompanied herself on a burning piano and this is the first time the audience could really hear her sing.

After this, the outfit got a bit outrageous, with a grand white dress, including a moving hat and flip out wings for So Happy I Could Die. The Monster Ball Tour then took the audience into the scary woods with Monster, Teeth (including fake blood) and Alejandro. The end of the show was nearing by this time and the final two songs before the encore were Poker Face and Paparazzi. The encore was Bad Romance which had the audience going wild yet again.

Apart from the unnecessary speeches, some of the video interludes were quite long. Those videos do show off Lady Gaga’s artistic statement more than her music or her stage act. One thing I noticed was that apart from being a great singer she has a lot of energy on stage and together with her dancers this works tremendously well. If you want to see a high energy show, packed with catchy tunes and more wardrobe changes than one can count on one hand: go see Lady Gaga. She’s playing Ahoy for a second time tonight and her Monster Ball tour will continue well into 2011.

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