Lollapalooza Day I: Lady Gaga and company

We drove into Chicago too late to see B.o.B, whom I had remembered fondly from WILD at Wash U a couple of years ago. But I was able to see and/or hear Wavves, Los Amigos Invisibles, The Constellations, Jukebox the Ghost, The New Pornographers, Dirty Projectors, Hot Chip, Chromeo, and--most notably, Lady Gaga. All of them, in my opinion, sounded good, with music that appeals to a wide array of listeners and musicality that shows great talent among the generally young artists. But none of them matched Lady Gaga--in terms of investment in the set design, choreography, fan interaction, entertainment, and even talent.

Some may hate Lady Gaga, for whatever reasons, but one must admit that she is talented. Her style blends the glam rock of Queen with the branch of the pop idol movement as represented by Michael Jackson and Madonna, yet her talent shines the brightest when she sits down at a piano and accompanies stirring chords with her powerfully grabbing voice. Even then, though, she is wont to stand up and assume unexpected positions while playing the piano, resting her foot on the keys, then using it as a third hand. I think it's a shame that her piano ballads don't receive the same airplay that her pop hits do, but that's the world of commercial radio, I guess. It certainly shapes the public's perception of her, perhaps in the direction of talentless, pop industry puppet, but anyone who's heard her piano pieces should be able to attest to the contrary.

Speaking of her style, her sharp choreography and chorus of dancers, her futuristic outfits, and her appeal to theatricality scream the influence of Michael Jackson. The makeup and wigs and the guitar jams remind us that there is glam rock in it yet. And while I thoroughly enjoy the work of Queen, Bowie, Jackson, and others in those groups, Lady Gaga's combination of it all was hard for me to reconcile for myself at first. With time and repeated exposure, though, I came to accept her character and her music. It's unique--which gives it some immediate value--and it may yet have some staying power, though in a pop world that is post-Andy Warhol's 15-minute fame decree, that may be debatable. Regardless, she assumes a character who has been ill-treated in school and in other social circles, and who nonetheless has emerged from it victorious, famous. I don't deny that she is telling the truth, opening up to her "little monsters," as she calls her fans, but the fact that it is part of her performance makes it part of her stage character. She repeated how great it felt to prove her doubters wrong, returning to Lollapalooza after three years of quickly-achieved fame. This may prove socially beneficial, as it may encourage some young people to accept themselves as they are, thereby increasing self-confidence among young people.

I would also like to touch on the stage set. Clearly more thought out and designed with more investment--most notably temporal and creative investment--than any of the sets of the other acts, Lady Gaga's background for her performance had the air of a futuristic urban environment, reminiscent of Blade Runner. Neon signs advertised such enterprises as "Implants, Sedation, Dentistry," and another lit promotion was for the HOTEL HASS, which, due to certain letters not being lit all the time, occasionally spelled out "HOT A**." Admittedly, it wasn't more creative or innovative than the many other stereotypical dystopian pictorials of failed urban settings, but it was reminiscent of how pervasive such representations have been in our culture. Reinforced by Gaga's admitted appreciation of this country's highways, developed during her road trips on the expansive web of freeways and expressways, the set suggested that there is little belief in the future of our cities. Yet, greater tolerance in part caused by exposure to different kinds of people is most often tied to the city rather than to the suburb, including the tolerance for people of different sexual orientation, which was a key theme in Gaga's dialogues with her supporting cast directed at her audience and is a issue close to her heart. Cities, then, must also be valuable for Lady Gaga. But her performances stand out from the rest of today's pop culture, and should be seen by everyone who is able to get a ticket to one of her shows.