Like babe, what’re you smelling 98% of the time ? You’d think someone had their ass tooted up in her face with that being her default facial expression.
I was watching this laughing my ass off lol.
I just wanted to show some appreciation. I’ve always enjoyed her performances and her skillset especially as a dancer (I think she’s the best of her peers technically). I have a small theory that it’s something that she keeps in her back pocket. She doesn’t heavily lean into her dance skills but she shows glimpses of them (last year’s VMA performance for “Jealous Type”. Her footwork was impeccable. It’s been a while since I saw a woman dance like that.
But my most recent favorite performance of hers is from her concert in Lima, Peru back in February. Talk about a SET ! It’s sooooo good. I really enjoy her style of performance. I gravitate towards MJ, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul in regard to performers. I love when performers captivate an audience solo or they do extensive and challenging choreography. Coupled with a very raw style of live performance. Some examples are…
Michael Jackson - Human Nature Live at Wembley 1988
Paula Abdul - 1989 MTV VMA’s Medley (Straight Up)
Janet Jackson - All Nite 2004 Live on The Tonight Show
Tina Turner - Proud Mary 1982 https://youtu.be/91D-c7MqOtQ?si=u8TujoPF5e4a7zVA
Queen (Freddie Mercury) - Live Aid 1985 Wembley as an honorary mention.
Crowd control ? Check
Stage presence ? Check
Fluid body movements ? Check
I really appreciate how uncut her performances are. Specifically during Scarlet and Vie era (especially). They’re not overly curated to a T. It’s just a raw set from beginning to end. She’s on stage with her and her band with nice but not so distracting stage production. Plus, I enjoy how she finds other ways to enhance her performances despite it being just her on stage.
That’s the key to a great performer. I believe that’s what made MJ so great. He could step on any stage in any stadium and perform solo off of improvising an entire show if he wanted to. It’s hard to go off script and come up with stuff on the SPOT as you’re infront of an audience. Motown 25 - Billie Jean was what it was because he worked an entire stage by himself on a broadcasted show where little to no mistakes can be made.
She knows how to do certain movements and improvising with just about anything. Including her mic and her body. It’s the most minuscule details.
While performing “Demons”, licking the mic stand and taking the wired microphone and wrapped it around her heel and sanged while laying on her back. While performing “Wet Vagina” at the end, when she does some impromptu floor work maniacally. Anyone else doing that on stage would look crazy as hell and out of place but it works for her.
She does the most outlandish shit on stage and makes it cohesive. We know how quirky she is. So, you can tell that it’s authentically her and we’re just seeing that in a live performance aspect. That’s what makes it so special. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
That’s another thing I love. She’s not afraid to get campy with her performances. Get wild. Get ugly. Get unpolished. Get unconventional. Get nasty. Give me theatrics. That’s what made a performance like Gaga at 2009 VMA’s iconic. Everything doesn’t have to be overly curated and polished. She has so much range and versatility on stage.
She’s a master at facial expressions. Also, fact that she’s working every bit of the stage and not just staying in one spot. That’s not easy to do because you can look awkward very fast.
But yeah, I just had to get that off. It’s such a great show. I plan on seeing her soon.