Ga-Ga For Gaga

The audience seemed as though it was going to detonate out of sheer excitement at any moment. All of Elliot Hall was chanting, “LADY GAGA!” Many had slept outside in the freezing cold months earlier in order to purchase tickets, while others had just been completely swindled on University and 3rd in an attempt to see Grammy nominated artist Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour. After her first go at performing in West Lafayette on January 14, the singer left the crowd totally baffled when she bailed due to claims of exhaustion, despite the fact that opening acts, Semi Precious Weapons, and Jason Derulo, had already performed. Nevertheless, Lady Gaga fans can’t seem to get enough of the eccentric performer considering only one ticket was refunded.

This time around, it was up to just Semi Precious Weapons to get the crowd pumped for Lady Gaga, and boy did they disappoint. The cross-dressing, foul-mouthed New York City rockers who have been performing with Lady Gaga since 2006 went on stage at 7:30 to perform for all of the “filthy mid-westerners” in attendance. “Put a Diamond in It” was just one of the songs sung by lead singer, Justin Tranter, who proudly admitted that his behavior while walking through the aisles of Elliot on January 14 almost put him in jail. On top of that, the booze, vulgar language, and cheeky comments thrown at female members of the audience might have been a little too much Precious for Gaga’s youngest monsters in the audience if not for others as well. Fortunately, their distasteful performance only lasted until 8.

The audience, which included Purdue’s very own president, France Cordova, was then left to sit in their Gaga costumes in anticipation for an entire hour while waiting for the true diva to make her entrance. At 9 Lady Gaga finally graced an elated audience with her presence as she kicked off her last stop of the USA Monster Ball Tour with, “Dance in the Dark.” The remainder of the performance was filled with plenty of showy attire, exceptional vocals, and a few speeches from Gaga herself. In one instance, the artist proudly announced that her fundraiser for Haiti raised over half a million dollars and then dedicated a song to the catastrophe stricken country. Of course, it would not have been a true Lady Gaga concert if the tour did not end with a bang. For the encore, a glitzy Gaga told the audience that it was “Time to give you what you deserve” and then proceeded to sing her hit “Bad Romance” with all of the sparkles, special effects, and backup dancers one could get away with. 

So, were all her little monsters impressed? Ali Moren, a sophomore in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue, waited 17 hours in the freezing cold outside of Stewart in a failed attempt to purchase tickets to see the super star in person. Luckily, her aunt graciously bought her two tickets as a Christmas present that were just five rows away from the stage for over $400 a pop. “I wanted the tickets badly…I am a huge fan of her songs and her performances. She’s always doing something crazy and I didn’t want to miss out on an experience to see it all first hand,” Ali said.  

With tickets sold for more than 10x what they were originally worth and only one refunded ticket, the Lady Gaga concert was an enormous success. Despite the 12-day intermission and peculiar opening act, it’s obvious that Lady Gaga’s fans are still gaga for her.