Sunday, April 24, 2011

April 24, 2011 - Monster Ball at Nassau Coliseum; Gation Saturdays; Happy Easter

Today is Easter Sunday and I have a hangover! I haven’t had a hangover for as far back as I can remember, but at least I remember last night, which is a good thing. I just took a couple of aspirin and I’m hoping that by the time I finish this, the pounding will stop. Ah, the price you pay for a good time!



Monster Ball

Last night a friend and I went to see Lady Gaga perform her Monster’s Ball show at the Nassau Coliseum. It was the first time I ever got tickets to a concert on the same day as the show, and it was tense almost all day long as we watched Stub Hub throughout the day hoping that the right tickets would come available at the right price and in the best spot. We got lucky! Instead of ending up in the rafters, which we expected, we got primo seats in just the first section up, Row A, directly opposite the stage. We couldn’t have asked for better, except….well, more on that later!




I love going to concerts! I’ve been to many of them in my life and I still get as excited as a kid in a candy store whenever I’m going to one, and yesterday was no exception. As soon as we booked the tickets, my mood immediately elevated. I grabbed my iPod and went straight to my Gaga folder. I remember when I first heard Fame Monster; I liked almost all of the songs the very first time. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here that Gaga wouldn’t be as popular as she is without good, quality music, and her music IS quality!

Check out Goo Goo Over Gaga

After an awesome dinner at Bertucci’s, my friend and I headed off to the Coliseum. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of traffic and we were there in no time. Not since the last KISS concert I went to have I seen so many people in costume. Gaga’s were everywhere, and in all stripes. There were bubbles and lace, sequins and heels, construction stripping and soda can hair rollers. I loved it! At one point a rather large bald man in fish net stockings, high heels and full makeup walked out on to the floor of the Coliseum to the frenzy of fans. He entertained them all by getting down to Michael Jackson. The party had just begun.

Next came a deejay and then the opening act, a punk/dance band called Semi-Precious Weapons. Not my kind of music, but during their set they had said that they’d been touring with Gaga since the beginning. She came to one of their shows in the city and liked what she saw, and so she’s a fan.

After the band had finished their set, it would be a long wait til Gaga. The set had finished at 9PM and Gaga didn’t come on until a little after 10. It was a frustratingly long hour, but once she came on all was forgotten.




Now I’m going to save the total review for a Y!CN article, but what I will say here is that she was great. The show was completely entertaining and she sounded just like her records. She played all of the hits, with the curious exception of her latest, ‘Judas.’ I was stuck in a section of farts who made me wonder why they had even come to the show in the first place. They sat for ‘Love Game,’ ‘Just Dance,’ and even ‘Telephone.’ I’m not the type of person to just get up and block views, so I just sat there dancing in my seat, but by the time she played ‘Poker Face’ I couldn’t control myself any longer.

The show was fast-moving, with nothing but up tempo stuff, except for a piano rendition of ‘Born This Way’ and a new song called ‘You and I.’ The rest was good, danceable joy, with ‘Paparazzi’ being one of my personal favorites!

Gaga spoke a lot!

“LONG ISLAND,” she screamed more than a dozen times to the frenzied response of the audience. She spoke of being bullied as a teenager and how her story should inspire others. As in the song, ‘Born This Way,’ she preached on the fact that everyone is special, no matter what their story, and I think that’s one of the things that empowers herself so much with her fans. It was the song she finished with, and when it was over, everyone walked away smiling. Stay tuned for more…

Gation Saturdays

After the concert, my friend and I headed out to Industry Nightclub, home of Gation Saturdays, one of the hottest gay nights on Long Island. All cylinders were a go last night as the club was simply a ten-minute drive from the Coliseum, and I wasn’t the one driving (thus the hangover!).

Gation was packed with people of all kinds, and thanks to my good buddy who recognized me a couple of weeks ago I was put on the guest list for a discount. Bingo! It was a blast from the get-go as my friend and I danced all night long, getting down and having fun with our fellow club goers. The music was awesome and a Britney Spears lookalike (uncanny!) performed some of that singer’s best, much to the delight of dancers all over the club.


I'm in there somewhere!


Britney?

At one point, there were these three Latino guys dancing near us and suddenly one of them grabbed my friend from behind, whispering sweet nothings into his ear, I think. I laughed my ass off until his two friends sandwiched me during ‘Till the World Ends.’ As it turned out, the first guy, who sidled up to me after awhile, was Colombian, and he told me in very broken English that he was looking for a boyfriend. I just smiled and kept dancing, pretending that I didn’t understand him. My friend and I shared a chuckle about it afterwards and went on with our night.

I got home around 4AM, the same time I usually get home from Splash. It was a nice change of pace for me and I think I may go there again on a Saturday when I don’t feel like venturing into the city for some fun. Thanks to my friends from Long Island Hottspots for bringing some fun back into Long Island gay clubs. Check out their Facebook page here. (and thanks to them for some of the photos posted here!)



Happy Easter!

I never was a religious person, being born and raised in a non-practicing Catholic family, so I’m not ashamed to admit that to me Easter is simply one of those religious holidays where I just have to spend time with my family. This will be my only form of writing today because I have to head out to mom’s for dinner at 3.

Not that I don’t believe in God. I do! I just don’t necessarily ascribe to any of the organized religions’ teachings specifically. I wrote a piece on it once; you can check it out here if you like:

Thoughts on God

Anyway, I do like Easter. It comes at a time of the year when the weather is turning nice, and I always liked coloring eggs, even though as a child I was deathly afraid of the Easter Bunny! So, to those who celebrate the holiday, I say Happy Easter to you all!

Well, it’s late already and I need to shower for Easter dinner. I hope to see my new friend later on tonight, at least for a bit, so I probably won’t be back on here until tomorrow. In the meantime I’ll leave you with another Gaga video, of course, to enjoy. Next up, Kylie!!!! Have a Happy Day!



Concert Tickets


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