Did anyone else feel emotionally “numb” during a Gaga concert?

[Nyctophilus 249]

Hey everyone, I wanted to share something personal and see if anyone here has ever felt the same. I was at Gaga’s show in London last night, and from the moment she appeared on stage until the very end, I felt… nothing. I wasn’t happy, sad, or excited, just emotionally frozen, almost like my brain couldn’t process what was happening.

It’s strange because I’ve been to several of her tours before and I always felt everything so intensely. But this time was different. The difference is that I’m not that teenage boy anymore. Back then, I was just a kid who found comfort and identity in her lyrics, who learned from her that being ‘different’ isn’t wrong.

Now I’m an adult, living on my own, out to my parents, with a life that finally feels mine. I bought the ticket myself, went to the show on my own terms and suddenly, there I was, standing in front of the person who has been shaping me for 18 years. It felt like a collision of past and present, that teenage version of me meeting the grown-up me, face to face, in front of the person who taught me self-love.

Maybe that’s why my emotions shut down. It wasn’t just a concert; it was too meaningful to process in real time. Today, it’s all hitting me. I keep crying and right now, it almost feels like it never even happened, like a dream I can’t quite hold on to.

Has anyone else ever gone through something similar, feeling numb in a moment that should’ve been overwhelmingly emotional, and only processing it later? Did the feelings eventually come back for you?

I’d really love to hear if others have experienced this too.

[dynamite 60,577]

Yeah tbh I actually felt the same way for the first time at a Gaga concert a few days ago. Despite finding the show amazing etc I just didn't feel very much at all. It felt like I was watching the concert from a distance and didn't feel like I was actually there. I barely get out these days so I really thought once I was there I'd feel that electric feeling again.

I can't blame it on being an adult because I had a great time at the Chromatica Ball. The problem lies with me not Gaga, I don't enjoy much these days and haven't for years.

Edited 5 hours ago by dynamite

[Madame Goo Goo 3,938]

I def went through this the first time I saw her for The Chromatica Ball! It felt like I saw her for the first time at the Mayhem Ball. So sort of the opposite experience, but I get where you’re coming from.

[BoomKack 6,595]

8 minutes ago, Madame Goo Goo said:

I def went through this the first time I saw her for The Chromatica Ball! It felt like I saw her for the first time at the Mayhem Ball. So sort of the opposite experience, but I get where you’re coming from.

I resonate with this. At TCB my excitement felt forced, but this time I felt like I was seeing the Monster Ball again

[Bradley 59,316]

The fact that you are crying after it and saying 'it all hit you' after the show is a great sign actually. It means you're being in touch with yourself and reconciling the numbness and reaching into your unfelt emotions.

I definitely felt the impact a while after the show. I did feel emotional during Million Reasons but it wasn't as intense as the tears I shed when I attended Enigma (I was a teenager). However, I came back from the London show feeling absolutely rejuvenated and I feel as if she has reminded what it's like to be a human, and what it's like to be in touch with my emotions again.

I am an adult and no longer the teenager who witnessed Gaga the first time but that doesn't mean I cannot live a life with intensity. If it's possible for Gaga in the Mayhem era, to live so fully and so intensely, it is possible for anyone too.

[Bradley 59,316]

This is actually an incredible post tbh. I wish we had more threads like yours @Nyctophilus

[Defmix100 6,449]

53 minutes ago, dynamite said:

Yeah tbh I actually felt the same way for the first time at a Gaga concert a few days ago. Despite finding the show amazing etc I just didn't feel very much at all. It felt like I was watching the concert from a distance and didn't feel like I was actually there. I barely get out these days so I really thought once I was there I'd feel that electric feeling again.

I can't blame it on being an adult because I had a great time at the Chromatica Ball. The problem lies with me not Gaga, I don't enjoy much these days and haven't for years.

Yeah I was there last night and I thought it was a really great show and the best I've heard her live but I think there's not really anything that actually makes me happy in life anymore so this didn't make much of a dent (there were a few songs which did though).
The most I did feel something was at the Monster Ball and it was generally the happiest time of my life then anyway.

[JoeCool 410]

Not during a Gaga concert or show but yeah a little..

 

The Catholic school I went to for a few years in middle school we use to eat in the basement of the church lunch there.  I had a lot of bittersweet memories of that place.  I was never a popular kid but yeah the world was simpler in them days.  

 

Recently that same church had an event I went back to with a family member with in that same basement where I used to eat as a youngster.  Yeah I felt sort of ultimately numb...  some nostalgia but it was a sort of sad reminder life has changed so so much since then.  On the other hand I very much would have been scared to do something like that when I was younger so there is that.  

[Nyctophilus 249]

Hey guys, thanks so much for sharing your experiences, it’s been really interesting to read them. Just to clarify where I was coming from with my original post: it’s not that I wasn’t excited or that I’ve become ‘numb’ in general. It’s actually the opposite.

I think I was so overwhelmed emotionally that my brain just froze. It felt like my system short-circuited from too many feelings at once, like my mind couldn’t process the weight of that moment.

And now, the day after, it’s all catching up to me. I’m crying not because I was bored or empty, but because it meant too much to take in all at once. It felt like I fell into a gothic dream, if you will, and I’m still finding my way out of it.

[Noctelus 2,909]

It was my first time being in an arena so it was quite overwhelming joy for me but I definitely felt numb about a day after. I think it was post-concert depression.

[Ouranos 820]

BTWB

bad romance 

standing in the middle of the monster pit with my mouth open 

I swear she looked right at me like wtf this bish isn’t dancing 

I was in awe but I reckon looking from the outside I probably looked unimpressed 

 

[Alxjcgn 499]

1 hour ago, Nyctophilus said:

Hey guys, thanks so much for sharing your experiences, it’s been really interesting to read them. Just to clarify where I was coming from with my original post: it’s not that I wasn’t excited or that I’ve become ‘numb’ in general. It’s actually the opposite.

I think I was so overwhelmed emotionally that my brain just froze. It felt like my system short-circuited from too many feelings at once, like my mind couldn’t process the weight of that moment.

And now, the day after, it’s all catching up to me. I’m crying not because I was bored or empty, but because it meant too much to take in all at once. It felt like I fell into a gothic dream, if you will, and I’m still finding my way out of it.

I felt this way too- and personally I think it is because I had seen the coachella set and while I mostly avoided watching videos of the actual tour, I knew the setlist and had watched parts of the livestream opening night of the tour... so I already was emotionally prepared for what the general emotions would be throughout the show for me but it wasn't anything I could have prepared for haha it really is a show you have to see live to feel it 120%

I obviously was blown away the entire show and there were so many times I was just standing there completely still and in awe

 

 

[TheARTPOPball 725]

I was in pure disassociation for the first act of the Chromatica ball because i felt like i was in a dream

[TinyGa 397]

I get it I was overhyped and overstimulated and had a hard time taking it all in at Mayhem Ball. I didn’t cry. Whereas at TCB I was crying and almost broken open. Yet Mayhem Ball was still s spiritual experience both times so far. At both I felt so connected with everyone there. We all process differently even one day to the next and Mayhem is quite an experience.

 

[AddMeOnMYSPACE 2,041]

All the things you once enjoyed are now disappearing as you get older. I love Gaga and every album cycle I’ve always been supportive but this time around I haven’t really invested much maythem. Not that I don’t find Gaga or the album interesting, although I do prefer her actress/jazz side more, but my personality and interest have just changed dramatically and I’m just letting the teens do their thing and have fun. I do listen to maythem and her older albums a lot more around the holidays….