There are some things you expect at a Lady Gaga concert and then there’s …
Late Sunday afternoon a friend who knows my predilection for people watching, suggested I make my way to the Burswood Dome. Duly noted I arrived just in time to watch the last of Gaga’s ‘little monsters’ arrive. Most had already made their way inside and out of the 4 degree cold night air.
Sadly my late arrival meant I had at best an entre of voyeurism, rather than a full course. Unsatisfied it stands to reason that I was soon buying a ticket to the concert and making my way inside.
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© The Ponder Room
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My seat was fantastic, except for one aspect. As I approached it a Man Mountain Maori security guard, pointed out the thigh high metal barrier separating me from my seat. He followed up by signalling the convoluted journey I’d have to take to get up, around and back down to my ground level seat. Perhaps he saw the horror shrouding my face because he then told me to stay where I was.
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© The Ponder Room
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Standing in front of the metal fencing he did a deep squat, placed his large hands under the lowest railing and with one colossal jerk, lifted a whole section of the metal fencing up to his shoulders, over the sockets, lowered it down again and finished with a slight nod of his head signalling that it was okay for me to move through.
If my late entry and lack of ‘outfit’ hadn’t already got people’s attention Mountain Mans efforts certainly did.
With an almost inaudible ‘thank you so much’, I moved forward and slunked into my seat. I must admit I did ponder what would happen if I needed to go to the toilet, but decided best to put this out of my mind.
The concert started and as expected it was a phenomenal extravaganza with Lady Gaga seamlessly moving through at least twenty costume changes, I gave up counting after four.
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| Thanks to Bea |
From arriving on a ‘horse’ to straddling a motorbike in a way that would make Charlie Boorman blush, she didn’t disappoint. Even her interactions with the audience were different, from conducting a brief story-time session, to swapping clothes and then a frank reply to a question …
‘Oh the vanity of a singer … it’s not about you … it’s about me.’
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| Thanks to Bea |
The confusion and extravagance was to be expected in a way. So too the costumes, male dancers, and sadly the poor sound quality in the Dome. Though I did ponder … what the tiniest baby ‘little monsters’ and their mums, thought about some aspects of the show, and why the security guards bothered trying to get people to sit down, when the whole arena was already on their feet after the first song.
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© The Ponder Room
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© The Ponder Room
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What I didn’t expect though was the reaction from the ‘little monsters’ around me on the way out. In particular one young winged gent who kissed the back of my hand, telling me I’d made his night and bid me farewell with an exuberant ‘boom sister’ … which I assume is a good thing ????
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© The Ponder Room
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To sum up, the whole night was … electric, powerful, surprisingly rock and roll at some points, but mostly beyond human pondering, it just had to be enjoyed.
Perhaps it’s best summed up by a conversation overheard in the toilets …
Mother: Did you like it? You liked it when we saw that girl band didn’t you, what about tonight?
Daughter: Yeah … it was good … she doesn’t mind who she is does she?
