Fans revel in Gaga's glory, despite late start to show
BY JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Monday, April 04, 2011
4/05/11 at 10:03 AM
Dressed in gold lamé hotpants and fur-trimmed tops, a gang of made-up women stepped out from an oversized SUV limo before Tuesday’s concert. Why lamé? Why hotpants?
“It’s lady Gaga! How else should I dress?” yelled Tara Baxter of Tulsa, the woman at the head of the pack as they hurried toward the VIP entrance, no time to talk. “We’re all fame monsters,” an homage to the Gaga album.
Just 15 yards away, two students from Springfield, Mo., edged closer to the front of the line before doors opened. Both had teased-out hair with wild colors of makeup on their faces. And glitter. Lots and lots of glitter.
As Misha Digman pulled a vial of blue glitter from his pocket, his friend Greg Ashby said they’d spent $60 on the stuff earlier in the day. The pair also dropped more than $200 per ticket for general admission, front-row access to the Monster Ball.
The show was ready to begin. “Liberation. That’s what I expect tonight,” said Norman resident Layne Inselman as he danced in line with his ticket in hand, his souvenir Gaga sunglasses glinted in the setting sun. “When I leave here tonight, I’m going to be a happier, more satisfied, open-minded human being.”
The surreal stage set inside the sold-out BOK Center included subway cars filled to the brink with costumed freaks, flesh-eating monsters in parks and a punk-inspired car wash.
After a late start, Lady Gaga’s front-row fans, her “little monsters” writhed and flailed and pushed into the stage barriers of this Monster Ball tour stop.
A 15,000-plus fleet of beasties swayed with every beat, pounded the air with their fists and ripped at their fishnets. They were happy puppets to their Lady. And why not? Men, women and children paid good money to be chased to ecstasy by the most high-profile, high-style women in the music business today. Fans demanded it. The chest-slamming bass beats only hammered home their palpable thrill.
Nothing was off limits -- she even encouraged her fans to “kill the fame monster” with en-masse shots from camera flashes.
Through all the pop-music glitter and immersive excess, nothing overshadowed Gaga’s unmistakable message: Love yourself.
“Tonight in Tulsa, we’re going to be free, little monsters!” she yelled to a roaring crowd.
Dance club-inspired hits rolled out with the wave of her disco stick, including “Dance in the Dark,” “Glitter and Grease,” “Just Dance,” “The Fame,” “LoveGame,” “Telephone,” “Born This Way,” “Monster,” “Alejandro,” “Poker Face,” “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” “Paparazzi,” “Bad Romance” and more.
A mid-concert mini-set included Gaga at her piano, performing potent feats of aural execution with her feet. Yes, her feet.
New York City retro-glam-dance-metal-punk hybrid Semi Precious Weapons kickstarted the freakshow. The leggy frontman channeled Prodigy, Iggy Pop and hard-edged Eurotrash for a tight, gritty and explosive set.
Associated Images:
Bethany Steward of Carthage, Mo., blows bubbles as she waits for the doors to open at the BOK Center for the Lady Gaga concert. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
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