A Guinness World Record for the amount of sparkly leggings per square foot could have been set Tuesday evening at the DAR Constitution Hall in downtown D.C. None other than the queen of all things outrageous herself, Lady Gaga, provided perhaps one of the greatest dance parties the District has experienced in a while.
Known for her over-the-top persona, Lady Gaga’s performance was exactly the mix of scandalous shiny outfits, Billboard hits and electrifying energy that one would expect.
Though Gaga was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., she kept her fans anxiously waiting over an hour for her Highness to grace the stage. It also seemed fitting that Gaga lacked an opening act, solidifying her uniqueness in the pop culture scene. She is an act unto herself — who could even begin to think they can compare themselves to her?
With a packed crowd predominately made up of exuberant groups of girls, the occasional boyfriend and Gaga’s loyal gay fan base, it was clear no matter what age or gender, everyone came ready to ‘just dance.’ As soon as the first lights dimmed, screams could be heard all the way to the White House.
Opening the show clad in a skimpy silver metallic dress closely resembling a futuristic disco ball, Gaga ensured that her outfits only got more risqué as the night went on. Never sporting any sort of pants, Lady Gaga bared it all, wearing, at one point, a skin-tight sparkly thong leotard, which looked — from far away — like absolutely nothing.
Gaga’s dance moves, however, were not of the same caliber of impressive craziness as her outfits. Mostly using dance moves that looked simplistic and uncreative, it was lucky for Gaga that the audience was too busy dancing themselves. Also on stage was the occasional back up dancer, lots of smoke, and the most glamorous motorcycle ever.
It is clear that Gaga’s music and personality are so loved since her unimpressive dance moves did not take away from her uniquely captivating stage presence. Kicking off the last show of her “Fame” tour with her billboard hit “Paparazzi,” the crowd immediately belted out to what have now become notorious lyrics.
Even though her show only included ten songs, Gaga certainly delivered. She (and her fans) shamelessly belted crowd favorites “Just Dance” and “LoveGame.” Saving both an acoustic and regular version of “Poker Face” for the end of the show, Gaga displayed her versatility and pipes.
Prompting the crowd to scream and sing along, Gaga also let her personality shine in her interactions with the crowd. Starting the show with “Welcome, my little monsters” and then, “D.C., give me your soul,” these bizarre shout outs could only be accepted and even expected of no one but Lady Gaga herself.
Creating an interesting segue by asking her fans to pray for her father, who is to soon go into surgery, Gaga launched into an acoustic version of “Poker Face,” creating a quintessential Lady Gaga moment: a dichotomy of weirdness mixed with self-assured attitude.
Everything Gaga does exudes an air of ‘I do what I want and I could care less if you don’t like it,’ which somehow time after time comes together to work.
Lady Gaga’s over-the-top and definitely out-there performance on Tuesday night should be exactly what all fans expected, but also exactly what they wanted.
Chock full of flighty diva-esque attitude, raunchy dance moves, outrageous clothing and mixed with the Billboard songs that have been stuck in our heads for the past year, fans left knowing exactly why they love this artist so much.
No one else could pull it all together and actually make it work, and for that, Lady Gaga really deserves applause, or at least some respect.
