The Fame Ball concert review in Helsingin Sanomat

Lady Gaga is the pop-princess of the new age

The singer has talent to even inherit Madonnas scepter

Published: 7.30.2009 in the Culture section of the paper
Translater by Sire Sasa


Pertti Avola
Helsingin Sanomat
Timo Jaakonaho/Lehtikuva

Lady Gaga transformed the stout concert hall into a disco.

First came Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, then Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and now this Stefani Joanne Germanotta or Lady Gaga.
Is Lady Gaga serious, or does the former performance artist just bring her disputed image so far, that it start to become a parody?
Hard to say.
At her concert in Kulttuuritalo, or show is a better word, Gagas numerous influences could clearly be seen.
Besides Madonna she borrows tones for her image for example from Gwen Stefani, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Cher.
Especially Gaga's imaginative costumes and emphasis of her own sexiness reminded the latter one.

Gaga's music is slightly 1980s style dance-pop, energetic but empty - or then gentle parody produced with a grin in the corner of the mouth. Perhaps the name of Lady Gagas first hit represents the music best: Just Dance.
Gagas show is a comprehensive product, where live music unifys with backtracks and video. Gaga gives an image of herself both as a selfconscious worldstar and just a stardom reaching neighbourgirl, who wants to keep close relationships with her fans
She accentuates that she wants even her every listener to feel like a star, to cherish great dreams about themselves and then made the dreams come true.
Like this Lady Gaga said in June in Rolling Stone -magazine and now also at the stage of Kulttuuritalo.

Close the relationship between Gaga and her fans really is, in Finland too. Sold-out Kulttuuritalo was filled with 1700 fans, whose average age felt to be about sixteen.
They appreciated without term Lady Gagas flirt, small talk and posing, not to mention the music itself. At the same time formed up a real fine atmosphere, which transformed a little stout concert hall to a sweaty disco for an hour and a half.
Lady Gagas music is pulchritudinous dance-pop, which lyrics tells about disco, sex, boys and cheating. The familiar dance-pop share from The Fame -album was leaded through energetically and fast in the show.
A bit mechanical in the album sounded songs Lady Gaga presented with the help of three dancers more warmly and also more frantic.

Vibe steadied when Gaga performed with piano and the accompaniment of the backing band the ballad versions of the songs Brown Eyes and Poker Face, which although turned to dance version in its end. In these versions at the latest could be heard that this woman can sing.
In the same part was heard a funny story about what is it like to perform in the slick floor of a New York gay-club, when the warming-uppers were naked dance group oiling themselves.
In her own playful postmodernism Lady Gaga is perfect pop-princess of 2000s, excellent performer and as a singer in way different cast than some Britney, but to the state of Madonna she has still a way to go.
Although Lady Gaga is 23 and Madonna 50. Youth exuding pop-queens scepter could swap soon.