Jake D 576 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Does anyone else think that Gaga doesn't have a strong sense of showmanship concerning her tour openers and closers (and somewhat setlists in general)? No one tours better than Gaga and think all three arena tours have been incredible but I'm almost always annoyed at her opening and closing selections. For instane: The Monster Ball opened with Dance in the Dark—which was AMAZING and my personal favorite tour opener—but it wasn't a single which meant than many spectators had not heard the record before or had only heard it a handful of times. The Born This Way Ball opened with Highway Unicorn (an even more obscure song) before closing with Marry the Night (by far the album's least successful single). Further, she often wrapped the show with Marry the Night's acoustic version which I felt was a bit of a let down as a closing track. ARTRAVE opened with ARTPOP and closed with Gypsy—both amazing songs but neither were singles nor high energy. I know this question is a nitpick, but I think tours should open and close on big, recognizable numbers because they are the first and last impression you get from a show. Imagine if ARTRAVE wrapped with Applause or if she finished the Born This Way ball with The Edge of Glory amidst a flurry of high notes, guitars, and confetti. Maybe this is my musical theatre background, but I know many people's attitude toward a show will be shaped by the first and last songs. A first song can either excite you or send you to the bar for drinks. A last song can either be a spectacle you talk about all evening or an uninvited energy dip. I imagine having to wait over half and hour for a hit record from an artist who has so many during the ARTRAVE would've been very annoying for a casual fan. Remembering how effectively Bad Romance closed the Monster Ball, Super Bowl, and Coachella makes me hope she will use it to close the Joanne World Tour because it is EXACTLY the type of record that "Burns the place to the f*cking ground!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardevoir 9,816 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 3 minutes ago, Jake Deyton said: The Monster Ball opened with Dance in the Dark—which was AMAZING and my personal favorite tour opener—but it wasn't a single which meant than many spectators had not heard the record before or had only heard it a handful of times. Why does it matter? If you're in, you're in for a whole show and concert, not for one song. It's not like they thought "oh I don't know this song I'm coming home" after Dance In The Dark. Sugar, spice, and everything nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake D 576 Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 1 minute ago, Emigrante said: Why does it matter? If you're in, you're in for a whole show and concert, not for one song. It's not like they came home after Dance In The Dark. It's more of an attitude those songs create. If you're hyped after the first song you're likely to enjoy the concert more as a whole. One of the first rules of musical theatre. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BibleThisWay 4,370 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Gaga's openers and closers have all been great imo. I personally don't like when artists open with a massive hit. like Katy opening the PWT with Roar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardevoir 9,816 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Just now, Jake Deyton said: It's more of an attitude those songs create. If you're hyped after the first song you're likely to enjoy the concert more as a whole. One of the first rules of musical theatre. Gaga doesn't play by the rules and that's perfectly fine for me. Sugar, spice, and everything nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza 618 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 6 minutes ago, Jake Deyton said: The Monster Ball opened with Dance in the Dark—which was AMAZING and my personal favorite tour opener—but it wasn't a single which meant than many spectators had not heard the record before or had only heard it a handful of times. That may be the case for some but what I think saves it is that she didn't just sing the song, there was more to it: the initial countdown got everybody hyped af and the dancing behind the screen in time with the beat made it entertaining (for those who didn't know it, it's not forgettable) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkyhaus 7,697 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I've liked all her openers except ARTPOP, the song just sort of abruptly starts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderson123 38,060 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I don't know what type of people you're talking about because I got floor tickets to both The Monster Ball and Born This Way Ball and EVERYONE was singing to Dance In The Dark and Highway Unicorn. I get your point though, that an average listener wouldn't really know these songs but that's normal when you go to a concert, not everyone knows all of the songs. I guess the normal thing is to close with the biggest hit and that's fine but I think Gaga goes by her rules and what she wants a show to be like. She has closed with Marry The Night because how emotional it is. Back in 2011 she closed the Monster Ball with Bad Romance as the encore but then there was a second encore and she performed Born This Way and Judas (The new single at that time) so she usually changes these things. I didn't get to attend the ArtRAVE so I don't know how people felt about it but going from that DJWS intro to ARTPOP is kind of a mood killer. I mean, I'd have flipped because Gaga is starting her show but a faster song like GUY as the opener would've been the ideal thing and I'm pretty sure Gaga just wanted something different for once. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy 11,637 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I think the only bad one is Swine as the "closer" before the encore. To me, that song is too high octane to end the setlist with. You need one more song after at least, but not the encore because there's too much time between them so it still feels like an end in that case. Bad Romance then Swine always felt odd to me. I thought all her openings stuck, though, especially Dance in the Dark which is a strong enough song and performed in such a cool, theatrical manner that it doesn't matter if people don't know it. It's a fantastic opener imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOTNebraskaGuy 19,547 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I think she choose great openers! They all represent the theme of the concert pretty well. I mean she could've chosen much worse songs. One, five, ten lay a million on me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blur 82 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I think they all really work and help to open and close and correspond with the overall theme of the concert. but i mean if she chose singles for at least the openers it would probably add more energy since the people who haven't listened all the way through the albums would still be able to like know the song if you get what i mean. either way i think they're fine and i dont really care if she chooses singles or not for JWT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuuri 21,636 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I wonder how she'll open this tour. I'd love for the whole place to be dark and all you here is "Here we go" or "You know I just really like a cowboy" bit. And close with Angel Down or Million Reasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVeryGagaHolyDick 24,873 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 For me ARTPOP was a terrible opener, but no song could have been a great one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVeryGagaHolyDick 24,873 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I think she'll open the show with Perfect Illusion and end it with Million Reasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVeryGagaHolyDick 24,873 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 And for me, Highway Uncorn was the perfect opener. Totally unexpected and it truly fits the theme of the show. The should should've been ended with Scheisse though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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