Celebrating 6 years of artRAVE

[Bradley 56,779]

artRAVE premiered exactly 6 years ago today on May 4, 2014 in Fort Lauderdale and was generally well received by critics and fans, who praised the visuals, stage presence, vocals, artist-to-fan intimacy and overall entertainment value of the tour. Here are some critics' opinions:

Spoiler

 

Dave Simpson from The Guardian gave a positive review for the Birmingham concert, awarding the show with 4 out of 5 stars. He stated that "Gaga has often been accused of being all artifice and no heart, but tonight's show is a powerful statement from a star who refuses to be pinned down or written off."

Debra Kamin from The Times of Israel praised Gaga's vocals, adding that "show was everything Gaga promised and everything fans have come to expect from her — loud, florescent, sexually explicit and mind-numbingly bright."[62]

Jenny Valentish from Time Out awarded the show in Melbourne five stars, calling Gaga "a phenomenal singer with an immense voice (...) who could try her hand at any genre", also praising her live band and the costume changes.[59]

Adam Carlson from Billboard praised the show saying that it turned the "spectacle" into a "surprise". He complimented the choreography and the constant costume changes, explaining that "talking about [Gaga's] performances is more fun than listening to them, but don't take that as an insult. There's just a lot to talk about."

Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter commended the stage setup, the costumes and the overall entertainment aspect of the tour, saying that "Unlike Madonna, who engages in similar, but decidedly chillier, over-the-top theatrics, Gaga invests her spectacles with an undeniable sweetness and heart."

Candice Barnes from The Sydney Morning Herald gave the show positive review, saying that Gaga "delivered a show fit for a queen" at Perth Arena.

Katie Fitzpatrick from Manchester Evening News awarded the concert with 5 out of 5 stars. She praised Lady Gaga's voice, her live band, the outfits and the connection of the fans – especially in this show that Gaga helped a fan to propose to his partner on stage. Katie stated that "the ostentatiously named ArtRave may reaffirm that Gaga the show-woman is definitely about her art. But this little lady with the powerful set of lungs is also undoubtedly all heart."

 

The tour would go on to finish 79 shows and gross $83 million, and had included several stadium dates in Japan, Korea, Istanbul, Greece. This is also the only tour she had completed with ZERO cancellations. It had 7 wild outfit changes and remains a fan favourite.

And then of course that's the crazy lighting and the stage

Share some favourite memories of yours of the artRAVE! I never got to attend the tour but I know I would've had such a great time if I did.

 

[HeavyPunkLover 2,120]

It was a great show, great setlist, great costumes, inflatable stage, her ass... A serve! I've seen it in Milan and Zurich and I was not disappointed! I hope to see her again because it's since then that I haven't had the chance to see where she is at her best! 

[Pennywise 35,841]

I remember, like, CRYING when she started to play You and I on the Istanbul show and did it exactly like Monster Ball. What a moment 

[I Bow Down To Pray 193]

Saw one of the early shows in DC, it was a lot of fun for sure! Highlights for me on this setlist was Paparazzi in that rubber costume, the Gypsy ending at the piano and Judas. 

[StupidLoveBis 1,363]

It may be an unpopular opinion but for me the artRAVE is her best tour. 
 
Yes, there wasn't a story behind the show, yes the sets were less impressive than in other years but it was really incredible.  It was really a great 2 hour party, non stop fun.  That's the tour I had the most fun on.

She was so much in a period of flop, that she could be herself, do what she wanted to do because she was already in her 'difficult' period, she didn't have so much pressure anymore.  She was having fun.  I've never seen them as happy as they were on that tour.

 

[chromaticainmyhead 6,223]

This was the first and only time I saw her live and it was an experience I will never forget, such a surreal day & night. 
I was seventeen, I went on my own and had no idea what a rave actually means but I lived for the club feeling it gave me nonetheless since I only entered clubs which played pop music mostly at that time. 
Now that I've got into rave culture and really enjoy the techno genre of electronic music, I wish I could attend the artRave just once more for the first time. To experience the moment you can finally get into the venue, feeling the rush to get to the spot you planned to go, surprisingly hearing the heavy beats picking you up from the checkroom and then you see pieces of purple crystals of the B stages and when you finally get into the arena, the spotlights flooding the whole giant room in purple and the "artRave" vocal from Gaga casually interrupting the massive beat. It was breathtaking already and everyone got hooked instantly. It pushed the hype even more.

Too bad, at this day Lady Starlight was booed and pelted with random stuff from the fans just to stop DJ'ing. Most people seemed to not really care what she tried to do with her live music and she didn't deserve this hate at all in my opinion.

The intro is still my favorite part.. though I love the whole concert and there are so many performances that are iconic, I will never forget that moment when the intro started with its lighting, the music, the visuals, her voice and the moment she appeared from underneath in that fairy costume. 

Days prior I opened up to my parents that I want to decorate a jacket to throw on stage, as a present for her so she can put it on. We made it together, my dad drew the born this way unicorn on the back of the black jacket with silver window colours and the horn pierced through the Koons ball having the ARTPOP lettering from the album on it. The whole jacket was covered in glitter but unfortunately I was too scared to throw it on stage because I wasn't really talented in throwing things over a long distance, and I couldn't survive the glances from other people if the jacket landed on someones head lol. 
Moments after Venus I nearly fainted and someone told me to go the paramedics because I couldn't stand any longer cuz of dehydration lol.  I cannot remember many things from then but I sang to Born This Way from the cot. 

[Suspiria 10,683]

I loved that the setlist was such a celebration of ARTPOP, with the older hits mostly put together in a quick medley. This tour felt like it was really for the fans.

I also think the stage was her second best after BTWB. It was a real set piece, with all the props and decorative elements, as opposed to the fairly generic designs of Joanne and Enigma. Style over substance, which is what I want from a Gaga show. I really hope to see a return to this with the Chromatica Ball.

[Infinity Wave 7,633]

Seeing Gaga front row, almost fainting when she came up the stage on the platform for ARTPOP, looking at her perfect a** and getting spit on when she sang Bang Bang and drank Italian wine

The memories 

[Rat Q 539]

I went to the Seattle show and a couple of monsters like adopted me in the GA line cuz I was alone. It was so sweet and they even wanted to take photos with me. Sadly I got separated from them at some point when I went to get some fluid. Later on during Dope I started sobbing because at that point in my life I was heavily hooked on opiates. A large amount of people circled around me and held me and each other in a big group hug through the whole song after just one person noticed me crying o.0 it was surreal and life changing and I never was so touched and warmed by strangers in public like I was at that moment. I still can't really believe that is a real memory sometimes... 

[joannester 1,270]

Her only tour not ended abruptly / disastrously 

[Awrah999 3,984]

I was at that first show in Fort Lauderdale and I just remember waiting in line with so many other fans (wearing G.U.Y. shirts, fishnet stockings, etc.) and I was wearing caution tape and everyone was so nice and friendly. I brought three friends with me, two of which had never seen Gaga live before and they were truly blown away and became huge fans afterwards. This concert was especially important to me as I was supposed to see Gaga at Madison Square Garden for the Born This Way Ball before she broke her hip and had to cancel, and I had waited a long time to see her live (after first getting a taste at The Monster Ball). While ARTPOP is generally considered one of her messiest albums, in a concert setting I thought the rave concept really shone through and I remember the video interludes, stage set up, lights, and setlist just all worked. I think after the initial opening of trance-inducing ARTPOP the trio of G.U.Y, Donatella, and Venus was truly BOP after BOP after BOP, and the live performances of those songs really SLAPPED and made me fall in love with them even more. Of course Gaga followed it up with a whole setlist of hits but I just think the whole night felt like a rave, I made a lot of friends with other fans, and vocally and physically Gaga was on point from the get go and you could really tell how much talent, passion, and pure grit she had from that concert. She also was so accessible and being able to go under the stage paths and still see her (crotch ) was amazing. And finally, her coming out in that beautiful outfit for Gypsy was also truly breathtaking and all my friends were gagged 

Then I remember leaving for various gay clubs in Wilton Manors and they were all blasting Gaga and I saw multiple drag queens perform Bad Romance and Poker Face