Epiphany about artRAVE evolution

[2School4Cool 5,611]

So this year marks the 10 year anniversary of the artRAVE, so I've been watching a lot of videos and reminiscing on this tour. I always noticed a change in tone from the early shows to the later shows, and I've come to a realization that the way this tour evolved is a beautiful representation of this era and everything that it was about, whether it was intentional or unintentional. (This goes in depth, so feel free to read the end of this post to summarize what I think this all means.)

For one, I always noticed that the energy at the later shows was quite different than the early shows, and how Gaga started dancing more, screaming commands to the crowd. At the early shows, a simple "Can you hear me? I want to see everyone standing up!" before G.U.Y., whereas at the later shows, she screams/almost shrieks at times as she yells "WELCOME TO THE ARTRAVE! I WANNA SEE YOUR F**KIN HANDS UP! RAVE! RAVE! RAVE!"

In addition to this, her choreography during the opening song, ARTPOP, sees a change that may seem subtle, but always stood out to me. In the beginning, she would have nearly still, very subtle movements at the start of the song, not addressing the crowd, just making subtle movements during lyrics like "sometimes the simplest move is right" (As seen below)

This is a stark contrast from her commanding the crowd loudly prior to the song even starting, with her giving in and dancing more aggressively to the beat at later shows (seen below)

This new more harsh and aggressive energy is seen visually not only in the choreography, but in her look as well. For example, earlier shows had a softer makeup look, which later was swapped for a sharper eye, a darker lipstick, and septum piercing.

Before: 

After:

This change is also seen in the setlist. In early shows she sang Fashion! and the underground, unreleased Cake Like Lady Gaga. The only ARTPOP track not included was Dope, which she stated was due to not wanting the show to get too heavy. Later on, Fashion! and Cake were swapped for Dope, along with Judas, The Edge of Glory, You and I, and Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).

Personally, I think this signifies how at the start of the tour, much like at the start of the ARTPOP era (or at least its creation), she was feeling heavy emotions and just wanted to find beats to dance to her that would help take her out of her funk. The show is a constant party with no real sad note. She also had a defiant side of her, saying f*** you pop music, this is ARTPOP," leaving out multiple hit singles and older songs in exchange for a show that was primarily centered around ARTPOP.

She even included Cake, possibly as a treat for fans and a nod to the wealth of experimental creations that never saw the light of day. But as the tour goes on, the heaviness slowly creeps in with Dope, TEOG, and even Judas is much darker than the colorful ARTPOP tracks. Maybe bringing back more popular songs from BTW was due to the public wanting older songs, or showing more love to older songs, or maybe I'm reading too much into it and she just wanted to reminisce on these tracks. But with the addition of Bang Bang, the setlist clearly gradually became more and more chaotic, showing more and more sides of her career.\

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To summarize, I feel that the tour started with a clear, strong vision, and Gaga was laser focused in on that vision, as she is with all of her projects. This is seen in the subtleties in her movements, she is focused and honed in on the subtle details of the performance. This reflects the start of a bold, defiant era that had a strong, clear vision. As the label threw its thoughts into the mix, and the turmoil of the album's creation (and release, and reception, etc.) unfolded, the era got "messier" for lack of a better term. It was chaotic, many fans wanted the old Gaga, no one knew the direction it was going in, and the heaviness and trauma became all encompassing what that album represents for her even to this day. This is seen as the tour goes on, with edgier, more chaotic looks, movements, overall energy, and a new setlist that encompasses that heaviness and even the yearning for older days of Gaga. 

As someone who attended an early artRAVE show, watching the final Paris livestream feels like an entirely different show almost, not just from the setlist and outfits, but Gaga's energy, vibe, and persona onstage. Thinking this deeply about it makes me really realize just how brilliant the tour is. It either intentionally grew to represent the different stages of the era, or Gaga was open enough at the time to let these influences blend into the show, creating a tour that now is essentially a piece of art marking the journey of one of the most brilliant, incredible, tumultuous eras in modern pop history.

If you read all of this, thank you haha

[highongaga 827]

Amazing analysis, I love that you noticed these small details because I don't think they're completely coincidental. She is extremely calculated with even small details like her choice of words and movements and I've always loved that about her. I find the inclusion of Dope and Bang Bang particularly telling. I think this tour as a whole is intentionally about saying goodbye to the classic era of Gaga. Obviously after this album came C2C, AHS, Joanne, and ASIB, all departures from what she was doing before, and I think she fully intended to broaden her horizons from the beginning of her career. Maybe I'm overanalyzing, but the speech before Gypsy at the final artRAVE gave me that vibe.
"I hope that you always remember this time in our lives together. When we painted each other's faces, and called each other monsters and talked of art, and love all night long."

Edited June 24 by highongaga

[lg5 1,447]

What a great analysis. I’ve actually noticed some of these things before too. I also went to an early-ish artRAVE show too. Bang Bang hadn’t been added yet but Judas had. When I watch the Paris livestream, I also notice how much more chaotic and beautiful it felt. 
 

It really was the last time we ever got to see that side of Gaga, and I’m so happy I got to live it in real time with all the OG monsters. What a special time.  

[2School4Cool 5,611]

35 minutes ago, highongaga said:

"I hope that you always remember this time in our lives together. When we painted each other's faces, and called each other monsters and talked of art, and love all night long."

This quote  it's so beautiful. And I also remember her saying that after that song the clock would start ticking until the next time, and the Joanne World Tour started with a countdown clock on the screen 

[2School4Cool 5,611]

19 minutes ago, lg5 said:

What a great analysis. I’ve actually noticed some of these things before too. I also went to an early-ish artRAVE show too. Bang Bang hadn’t been added yet but Judas had. When I watch the Paris livestream, I also notice how much more chaotic and beautiful it felt. 
 

It really was the last time we ever got to see that side of Gaga, and I’m so happy I got to live it in real time with all the OG monsters. What a special time.  

This is such an interesting way of looking at it too. I saw her when she was still playing Fashion! and Cake, I bet seeing the Judas/Aura mashup was otherworldly