All photos by Morgen Schuler
On Friday night, Seattlites had a ton of choices to satisfy their musical cravings, including everything from Arcade Fire at the Gorge, KEXP’s second summer show at Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheater, and Foxy Shazam at Neumos, to Soulja Boy at the Crocodile and Lady Gaga at the Key, the latter being where I found myself. The evening began promptly at 7:30 p.m. with a DJ set by Lady Starlight, a lukewarm opener who didn’t seem to get anyone pumped. Yet perhaps it wasn’t the DJ’s skills in question; more likely it was the anticipation of seeing Lady Gaga live—especially since she cancelled her original Seattle date in May at the last minute—that made the crowd restless for the main event. Every moment that ticked by brought on a new wave of screams from the crowd in the hopes that Gaga would step out on stage at any moment. In between sets, it was really fun to watch the fans dance their (mostly-bare) booties off.When Lady Gaga finally appeared around 9 p.m.—then left, then came back, then left, returned yet again, wash and repeat, for what had to be at least six costume changes—the crowd went mad. She addressed the audience very sincerely, apologizing several times for having to cancel her show, citing reasons including that she “refuses to lip sync” and “wasn’t going to short-change you.”
The performance was a spectacle to be sure and thoroughly entertaining. Check out the images below for the visually wonderland she created, because no description could do it justice. And be sure to check out our instagram feed for shots of the fans in their finest Gaga garb.