LADY GAGA ARRIVES IN CHICAGO, COMMANDING YOUR ATTENTION

Let us begin before the show, before the doors open to the venue of the Rosemont Theatre, on this cold Friday night. Local news crews are out en masse, filming up and down the crowd seeking fan reaction for there 10:00 news feed. Next to me stands a mother with her daughter, calm, collected, until the white light of the news camera lights up..then the mother “lights up” too: “I think Lady Gaga is pure filth, with a capital F!!!..I’m only here because my daughter likes her!” I chime in: “Ma’am, have you seen her tour before?’ “No!” She says, “I don’t need to!…I just know that she’s vile…just VILE!!’ “Ma’am, you know what your mantra should be for 2010? DON’T – FEAR – ART!! And so it goes.

What happens next before Lady Gaga goes on is also a sight to behold. The mixers and crew at the back of the house decide to interject 6 songs of Michael Jackson to the delight of the crowd…everything from “Beat It” to “Smooth Criminal” to “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough”, and on and on. There is a reason for this, more than getting this crowd pumped up,, Michael Jackson’s camp were actively pursuing Lady Gaga during his rehearsals in LA before the round of London gigs were set to begin at the O2 Arena. Aparently Micheal was interested in her doing a song together, in which Lady Gaga would get artistic control, including choreography…alas, it would never happen, hence the celebration of Michael’s msic before Lady Gaga’s show begins. Needless to say it works in getting this crowd punped up!

Questions: Is Lady Gaga’s show over the top with multiple costume changes? YES.
Is Lady Gaga’s show colorful and full of performance art vignettes? YES.
Is Lady Gaga’s show raunchy and full of some nasty dialog? YES.

And that is the point. Like Madonna (an obvious influence), Pink, Kylie Minogue, Britney, etc, Lady Gaga is pursuing a brand of pop that is more of a spectacle, where visual, choreography, shock value is just as important as the music itself.

To have the show in a 3-D ish perspective sloped down into a gigantic picture frame adds to the allure of pure showmanship. Each song is meticulously thought out as if to see an exhibit in an art gallery- some pieces attract your attention, others, you simply walk on by. Personally, I would’ve put the kabash on the constant stage banter..some- ok- but not all the time between and during songs. Case in point: What stops a show dead in its tracks? 5 minutes of chatting to the crowd, at the keyboard during a slow rendition of “Poker Face”, which seemed to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to complete. It needlessly doesn’t provide any musical nourishment to me at all, to the point where that I wished I could’ve stretched out to take a short nap.

Shows like this, spctacles like this deserve so much more. If given the chance, make it a non-stop dance party. I would want my audience drained, exhausted upon leaving the venue, period, end of story.Yes, Lady Gaga’s show is high voltage fun. Yes, I left gratified, feeling that I accomplished visually, capturing visually the essence of her show. The drawbacks that I feel are common to my past experieces with shows of this type, including the Madonna’s, the Pink’s, etc..that is that downtime absolutely throws the show to a halt, with not only the fans, but the artist as well. You stand around dumbfounded until things pick up again.

Maybe between costume changes you can launch into a DJ, positioned either stage left or stage right, doing a mash up of your hits with other artists….something…anything..
The Lady Gaga wannabees, imitators were definitely out en masse, including one guy dressed in a giant panda outfit, with a sign taped to his chest: “PANDAS FOR GAGA”. The poor guy’s panda head was so big, he was asked by security to remove it becuse it was obsrtucting other ticketholders view of the stage.
Definitely, Lady Gaga commands your undivided attention.The only dilemma’s left: Venue size when she tours again (figure arena size from here on out).

What the fans will wear the next time she comes through town?

10: The Pixies-  Aragon Ballroom- 11/20/09: Terrific show, great camaraderie,and awesome to hear “Doolittle” in its entirety
9:  Rob Zombie- Aragon Ballroom- 11/22/09: A blast furnace of a show, even for a Sunday night, Rob being ever the showman.
8: Mastodon- Aragon Ballroom- 10/17/09: Another scorched earth and take no prisoners kind of show..a sonic, mind melting experience from beginning to end..they should have been the headliner!
7: Bob Dylan- Aragon Ballroom- 10/31/09: Have seen Bob 4 times this year alone…having photographed Bob at least 50 times by now over the years, this night was without a doubt one of the top 3 performances I’ve seen of him..he sounded great, the band was great..maybe because it was Halloween night..
6: Kylie Minogue- UIC Pavillion- 10/07/09: First time on a major tour of the states; it was a raucous affair, elegant in every way..a high spirited dance event in every way
5: Flaming Lips- Allstate Arena- 12/11/09: A celebration of life and all its joy, sung through the bandleader Wayne Coyne and his companions..visually striking, musically satisfying.
4: Pet Shop Boys- Chicago Theatre- 9/14/09: They do not skip a beat..Neil and Chris are the absolute kings when it comes to sophisticated electronic dance pop..they can do no wrong
3: Leonard Cohen- Chicago Theatre- 05/05/09: A deeply spiritual ultimately uplifting evening on all counts.no one is more debonair, elegant, humble and thoughtful than Leonard Cohen..I mean NO ONE..
2: Nine Inch Nails- Northerly Island- 05/29/09: A searing, blistering affirmation on the complexity of Trent’s music, pushed to the hilt with a backup band that could do no wrong in blasting through these songs as if they knew in advance that armegeddon was the day after..
1: Tool- Lollapalooza- 08/15/09- The absolute total concert experience..superb visuals, superb band, superb song selection…the craziest crowd that I’ve experienced in all of my years of shooting shows…a shout out to the United States Marine Corps for helping protect me from the onslaught of body surfers and mosh-pit fighters..

Instead of just babbling on and on about Opeth and Enslaved (two extraordinary live bands by the way), I thought I’d keep this part of my review nice and simple, and do my best to get you to the pictures.
Keep this in mind- No signs of slowing down for both bands- and they deserve all the respect and praise that gets thrown their way.
As much as  I feel drained from this intense onslaught, It’s for good reason..you can’t help but be drawn into every single note from all of this insanely dark beauty- and as much as I admire Mikael Akerfeldt and his tight-knit band Opeth, the same holds true for Ivar  Bjornson and Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved, and their commitment to all of this dark and brutal beauty that they muster up live and in person…I’m drenched from head to toe and love every minute of it!
What’s the sign of a good show? When you finally get home, hug your wife, and she says “you’re stinky!” Success indeed..

Find out what bands are playing when

Friday, Aug 7th

Saturday, Aug 8th

Sunday, Aug 9th

0h Jesus- where do I begin- where do I begin?
The ever so crafty Maestro returned to Chicago after 15/16 very long years to perform at the Chicago Theatre, the first of two sold out shows.. The concert was superb on so many levels:

1. Leonard’s glorious deep baritone riveting and true as always
2. Leonard’s backing band delivering every nuance with such sensitivity
3. The simple, yet striking back-lit curtains, sometimes making you feel like you’re in a cathedral, just to name a few..

You’ve got to admire this man, at 74, having patience and conviction to sing his glorious songs with such panache… And wow- such eloquent stories to tell- along with occasionally a wry sense of humor- as is the case with the song “Everybody Knows” – halfway through the song, he’s singing “….everybody knows, everybody knows, that’s how it goes, everybody knows- the flu’s coming……” In my section,everyone’s busting out in laughter- and you can see a sly grin on Leonard’s face- not just about the joke- but that Leonard is confirming that his audience is paying attention to his lyrics- as if it is a test.

That he began each and every song on bended knee- praying down to the ground in reverence also says a lot- as if to ask for forgiveness for the dread that he must convey in the approaching song- slowly getting up each time, as if dusting himself off- to have the faith and courage to explain in lyric another complex relationship gone awry.

You can tell by his presence that he is a deeply humble man- I stood in amazement watching him countless times remove his hat, and stand raptured over every solo from his band- whether it be his back-up singers, or his fellow musicians…and talk about a backing band- Javier Mas, from Spain… a genius on the Laud- a complex spanish folk 12 string guitar which added extra nuance to Leonard’s songs at every turn…Neil Larsen- impeccable as always on his Hammond B-3…Roscoe Beck on Bass, both electric and acoustic upright- bringing the steady rhythm to this music- and also acting as bandleader.

During the end of the first set, Leonard introduced his band individually, removed his hat, and bowed his head to them, with patience and much appreciation. This simple gesture at every turn says an awful lot- and people can learn from this- that life, with all of its torments, upheavals, tension, is actually good…so embrace it.

As Leonard so eloquently sung at the end of the first set in the song “Anthem”: “Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack, a crack in everyhting, that’s how the light gets in, that’s how the light gets in, that’s how the light gets in…

Man oh man- it feels good to be alive…Thank you Leonard Cohen…