Thoughts on Enigma (Show Spoilers)

[REALITY 77,419]

Before I begin, I just want to say that there are going to be SPOILERS for the Enigma show in this thread. So if you don't want the show to be spoiled for you, I suggest that you leave this thread.

Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to make a thread about what my immediate thoughts are on Enigma. I knew a lot of people would probably make their own threads, so why not me too??

First of all, I thought that it was a good show. Seeing the official Enigma thread, I already know that this show is divisive, and while there are pros and cons with it, once again, I thought it was good. 

The Setlist

Before anyone asks, no, there was no new song. That deserves a topic on its own tbh, but if you want my opinions on that, while I am a little disappointed, it's also not like Gaga promised a single or anything. If you're complaining about not having a new single, it's really no one's fault but your own.

I did think the setlist was good, but it was very sporadic in my opinion. There were fan favourites in there like Dance in The Dark, Applause, and Bad Romance, and there were also songs that I found to be very surprising. She performed Beautiful, Dirty, Rich and The Fame, which are two songs that I would have never guessed that she'd perform for this residency! She also did the studio version of The Edge of Glory, which I thought was spectacular since we haven't heard her sing that version of the song live in years.

But also, can we just talk about that set with Scheibe, Judas, Government Hooker?! That ****ing robot was so grandiose and amazing! That was truly spectacular!

Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate how good she sounded?! SHE WENT OFF ON HER VOCALS!! 

The Outfits

I'm gonna be honest, some of them I really enjoyed (particularly the first two and the one she performed in that giant robot thing), but some of them I just really did not like (the purple one for instance). I've seen good enough quality photos of most of the outfits so before anyone says "IT WAS LIKE TWO PIXELS ON THE SCREEN!", I did take that into consideration as well. The first two were really good outfits imo and I sorta wish that the rest of the show had outfits like those. The first one was very much tech-inspired, which I thought fit the theme of the show perfectly, and the second (green) one was bright, avant-garde, weird, and it fit the theme well too. The whole sequence with the robot was just great, and I thought she looked great there too.

But I gotta say, the wig at some points did not look the most flattering  That said, I loved her hair during the very first set! It was amazing!!

The Storyline

Overall, I thought it was cute. The fact that she was having a conversation with Enigma was nice, and I liked the concept of her being in a simulation. That being said, I felt like it didn't lead anywhere. From what I was able to get, she was in a simulation and the whole purpose was to find your "true self" or something along those lines (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though). But like I said, it just didn't feel like it went anywhere to me. I liked the idea of incorporating futurism and technology in the show, and I thought that Enigma herself was a pretty cool idea, but it just wasn't executed well in my opinion. The relationship between Gaga and Enigma seemed a little foggy, and I was constantly just waiting for some sort of mythical, magical, and existential thing to happen, but it just didn't. 

Aesthetics/Stage/Concept

Honestly, this was the best part of Enigma for me. I loved everything about the stage, the aesthetics, and the overall concept of Enigma. I loved the incorporation of futurism and technology, I loved the neon colors and how bright it was, and I loved just how different this show seemed! Sure, it wasn't a perfect show imo, but it was a pretty damn good one. The stage itself incorporated that weird--trippy-technological-futuristic theme pretty well. I really hope that these themes translate into whatever new music she decides to put out next!! 

TL;DR:

Good, but kind of a weird setlist

Outfits were hit/miss for me, personally

Storyline was cute, but I think it could have been executed a little better

The entire concept of Enigma was really great

 

[He8MyHeart 9,768]

The storyline was a let down for me. I found it boring and a bit juvenile, tbh.

[DC 25,164]

I guess you kind of have to get used to it I guess, for anything now right now it's a lot to digest :3

[Regina George 59,387]

7 minutes ago, M Monstre said:

 

The Storyline

Overall, I thought it was cute. The fact that she was having a conversation with Enigma was nice, and I liked the concept of her being in a simulation. That being said, I felt like it didn't lead anywhere. From what I was able to get, she was in a simulation and the whole purpose was to find your "true self" or something along those lines (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though). But like I said, it just didn't feel like it went anywhere to me. I liked the idea of incorporating futurism and technology in the show, and I thought that Enigma herself was a pretty cool idea, but it just wasn't executed well in my opinion. The relationship between Gaga and Enigma seemed a little foggy, and I was constantly just waiting for some sort of mythical, magical, existential thing to happen, but it just didn't. 

This. I honestly felt like I was watching some episode of cartoons on CN. It felt kinda rushed and when you think about it.. nothing happened.. and there is so much potential.. 

EDIT: OMG and the whole conversation between Gaga and Enigma felt like a middle school theater show.. This is just my opinion.. 

[Judas Society 3,584]

I didn't watch the show in its entirety because the stream just got cut off. But I was not sure where the story was going. I just hoped that it went somewhere or something will happen that will conclude why she was put into a simulation. Did she really find herself or who Gaga was and is? I wished there are more changes to the stage to make it seem like she was transported elsewhere or holograms was used to see her interacting with PetGa. But then again, I'm sure they don't have the budget for it to be done every night during the 2-year residency. It was sorta underwhelming for me. But I loved the robot part.

[REALITY 77,419]

3 minutes ago, He8MyHeart said:

The storyline was a let down for me. I found it boring and a bit juvenile, tbh.

I wouldn't say it was juvenile, but I certainly did expect a bit more. I don't know, I just thought that it would lead into something big and spectacular, and while the show was great, it just didn't lead anywhere worth-while for me. 

[Twitter 14]

Couldn’t agree with you more. Hopefully overtime she upgrades everything like she does with her tours. 

I HATE the fact she tried bringing this kinda wig back:

she was better doing the bob again:

[He8MyHeart 9,768]

1 minute ago, M Monstre said:

I wouldn't say it was juvenile, but I certainly did expect a bit more. I don't know, I just thought that it would lead into something big and spectacular, and while the show was great, it just didn't lead anywhere worth-while for me. 

I agree. The storyline had a beginning, a middle, but no real conclusive end. It didn't seem very well thought out.

[A Hybrid 11,049]

I don’t think you’re bashing the story enough

[AJK273 2,700]

She really cant do anything without being torn apart for it can she 

[Judas Oyster 1,915]

Did she sing any Joanne songs?

[Othon 33,458]

Parts of it blew me away (the robot, her flying around the venue on wires, etc.) but I seriously can't believe how threadbare the storyline felt. Gaga's tours have always incorporated a bare-bones narrative that allowed her to shift from song to song fairly easily, but there was seriously nothing to the Enigma/Gaga thing. Maybe I'll see it again and feel differently (and I hope so) but I hate that I feel disappointed by the whole thing. I wanted to be all-in with her output for the first time since 2013, but I just couldn't get there and I hate myself for feeling let down. 

[REALITY 77,419]

3 minutes ago, AJK273 said:

She really cant do anything without being torn apart for it can she 

I love a lot of parts about the show. Like I said, the show was really good, but there were just some parts that I wasn’t in love with. It’s not about “tearing Gaga apart” or anything, I’m just expressing how I feel.

[REALITY 77,419]

3 minutes ago, Judas Oyster said:

Did she sing any Joanne songs?

Million Reasons 

[Doot 2]

I thought it was overall a fun ass show. 

I think the setlist got kind of boring once the piano part kicked in. Not sure why she chose to add deep cuts for the first half but then pay dust to two albums and stretch out the rest of the show. 

At the pace she was going in the beginning, 30 songs was easily attainable. Show sort of lost some steam half way through. 

It was hard to follow the storyline via the streams, but it seemed pretty cool. It was simply nice to at least have a storyline back in general. 

Outfits I personally really enjoyed. Significantly more fun and better to look at than the JWT outfits which were very bland imo. 

The thing to keep in mind is that this was the first show. She always tightens and changes things up as they go on.