Lady Gaga
American Airlines Center
March 14, 2011
Better than: missing out on the chance to see a pop icon like Gaga at her peak.
"I am certain that Jesus must love EVERYBODY," Gaga roared into her mic at American Airlines Center last night. "Jesus loves everybody."
Gaga was preaching.
"I told you we were going to church tonight," the scantily clad pop (sensation) purred into her mic, before introducing her half-nude, S&M attired guitarist, Michael. "I like Michael 'cause he likes girls from Texas."
The girls in the audience squealed.
"I also like Michael because he likes boys from Texas," she said, and the stadium roared.
Gaga then got down on the ground and slid her body under Michael's legs, all the while panting heavily into the mic, grabbing his thigh and planting a kiss on his knee. An enormous statue of the eternal fountain, centrally located on stage, started to bleed: "Tonight, my religion is Texas."
Synths filled the air, and Gaga crooned over top, all while shirtless dancers spun around on stage. Gaga launched into a lively and interactive version of "Alejandro" and the crowd sang every word along with her. The eternal fountain was now engulfed in flames, as Gaga bathed herself in the (hopefully faux) blood.
Indeed, Lady Gaga put on a sparkling show last night for the at packed house at American Airlines Center. With her
over-the-top stage theatrics, imaginative costumes and expensive set
designs, the pop star seamlessly transitioned between songs, dazzling
her "little monsters" along the way.
And the pop star's efforts to
embrace the Dallas crowd were apparent -- as she managed to work "Dallas"
into her vocabulary a ton.
"Go ahead monsters, take my picture, I
wanna be a Dallas star," she shouted before strumming on her Casio
keyboard/bass hybrid instrument.
Actually, Gaga played several different
instruments last night -- at one point sitting down at a grand piano to
play a slowed down version of "Born This Way," making it clear to the
audience that she's not your average rinky-dink pop star. No, she's a
multi-instrumentalist -- and she has one hell of a set of pipes on her.
She's got messages, too: The night
was filled with uplifting motivational speeches and rants, saying everything from "I want you to leave loving yourself a little bit more
when you walk out" to "This music industry sucks so much" to "I really
don't like the truth; I prefer a giant dose of bullshit any day."
Only minutes later, she launched into a lengthy rant about never ever lip-syncing, ever, not at her concerts -- not on TV, never. Also? How people
should "never pay money to see some blonde bitch lip sync."
She was all over the place -- both in her rants, but also with her catalog. And she
made sure she covered all the hits -- one twice, even. She ended the night with a "Born
This Way" encore.
After the vivacious performance, Gaga grabbed hands
with her dancers, and they bowed together as the curtain fell.
Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: I'm definitely not one of Gaga's "little monsters." But at least now I know how to "put my paws up."
By The Way: Gaga announced that she will no longer be playing just arena shows. "I will be playing shows wherever I want, for free," she said. Which explains her pop-up show at the Round-Up Saloon late on Sunday night.
Random Note: There were a whole lot of children under the age of 10 at the American Airlines Center last night. I wonder if their parents knew how much profanity, junk-grabbing and blood-bathing was in store when they shelled out money for these tickets...
