Just about 2 weeks ago, pop goddess Lady Gaga made headlines and history by becoming the first female headlining performer to play Chicago’s Wrigley Field during her sold-out Joanne World Tour.
If you’re wondering “wait, aren’t you seeing her in Atlanta this November?” – the answer is yes. But there’s no way I’d miss my queen making history, right here in my town. So, last-last Friday night was the culmination of a week-long string of Gaga-themed events and parties, and all of my closest friends were there the whole time to celebrate the upcoming show.
Having Wrigley Field as a venue was hyper-surreal, with the open sky preparing to welcome Gaga’s echoing vocals in just a few hours. The stage setup was definitely a bit different than Iexpected, with obvious accommodations being made to the layout due to performance limitations surrounding the baseball field. I literally despise almost all things sports, and of COURSE my first encounter on a baseball field would be to see Miss Gaga. Without getting too crazy, I am happy to share some highlights from the night!
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- Born This Way producer and frequent collaborator DJ White Shadow opened the show, which was not expressed or mentioned, so what a pleasant surprise! Boy was I in good company at Wrigley that night.
- Album openers “Diamond Heart” and “A-YO” were the first songs of the set, so it was very Joanne right from the start – complete with pink and purple smoke and lighting. Dressed in leather, fringe, and a rhinestone-encrusted cowboy hat, Gaga’s loud-ass, vocals during “Diamond” literally took everyone by surprise – especially all the naysayers who may have doubted her live abilities. Even I was shook!
- Fireworks and flames accompanied songs like “John Wayne” and “The Cure”, making a few of those performances stand out as really epic moments in the night.
- I FINALLY go to experience Born This Way Ball-revived bop “Scheisse”, which was one of the top 3 performances of the night for me. She started it by speaking about working hard towards your goals and being a powerful female force in the industry.
- The show interludes bounced between the strange and expected, avant-garde fashion films featuring Gaga herself, as well as beautifully arranged instrumental pieces performed by her amazing tour band.
Although quite a few of Gaga’s up-tempo, fan-anticipated faves were swapped with intimate, piano-accompanied ballads, acoustic collaborations with her bandmates – a ton of personal commentary specific to the night’s big achievement was much appreciated and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else.
Gaga spent several moments sharing her feelings about the very recent passing of her close friend Sonja Durham (Haus of Gaga managing director and inspiration behind the Joanne track “Grigio Girls”), who recently lost her years-long battle with cancer. Gaga made a point to mention that she blew a few of her ashes out onto the field prior to the show – thus sharing the honor of becoming the first female headliner with her dear friend Sonja in spirit. Emotions ran high during “Edge Of Glory”, “Joanne”, and “Million Reasons”; there was not a dry eye in that stadium.
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She also touched on depression, emotional trauma, self-love, and even the violence that plagues south-side Chicago neighborhoods. She truly used her platform to connect with us during absolutely every moment of “down” time and I felt truly amazing after hearing her speak.
Overall, it was such a great concert and the crowd expelled so much positive energy. Everyone felt they were there for a reason, with no one feeling insecure or excluded for being different. Gaga always creates a safe space for her listeners and that’s why I’ll always attend her shows no matter what.
More clips from the show are on my IG page, and you can see tons of photos from the night here, which I’ll be continuing to update this week. Can’t wait to do this all over again in November, so stay tuned!