Lady Gaga at Philips Arena

Posted on November 29, 2017

I do not have a huge bucket list, just the normal things like own a corgi, have a killer apartment, meet Mariah Carey, snag my dream job, just the usual things on any normal person’s bucket list. However, I finally checked something off that average length list- see Gaga live. Last night, my dream came true at Philips Arena. Lady Gaga is currently on her Joanne World Tour, with songs from her latest album Joanne, which btw is nominated for a Grammy, so like, amazing, and she took a little visit to ATL.

Now mind you, I am in college and very broke, so my seats were in the nosebleed section, but it was still worthwhile! The seven act show had a huge countdown and kicked off the show with “Diamond Heart”- that song just immediately gets you on your feet. She then continued with some old songs such as “Poker Face” and then “Perfect Illusion”.

After taking a bathroom break because I was way too excited for the rest of the show, the second act started with “John Wayne” which was fire! Literally! She had flames on stage! The act ended with “Alejandro” which is an all-time classic honestly. Act three was probably my favorite because of her classic throwbacks “Just Dance”, which featured my background noises for everyone in my section’s convenience, “Love Game”, and “Telephone”.

Act four was where everything changed. The mood was uplifting and energetic, but feelings shifted during this act with the help of an encouraging talk from Gaga about equality and the performance of “Come to Mama”. She had made her way from various stages and walkways so that she was now on a separate stage facing the back of the arena (bless up, because she was now closer to me than I ever thought she would be, so I was basically winning in my nosebleed seats). Following this emotional moment, she performed the iconic and inspiring song “Edge of Glory” acoustic while playing a grand piano. Honestly, the best part of the entire show, especially because after the fact, someone through a giant high heel on stage for her as a loving gift (if that is what you want to call it).

Lady Gaga then moved to the smaller center stages to perform Joanne songs and finishing with a selfie moment with fans and performing “Paparazzi”. The mood shifted again as Gaga moved from stage to stage while performing “Angel Down” and then revealing her story and inspiration of the album and song “Joanne”. It was every touching and emotional moment for Lady Gaga to reveal her inner motivation and influence from family.

As Gaga finished her concert with “Bad Romance”, another all-time favorite, a fan had thrown a souvenir for Gaga on stage with a touching and inspiring letter about how her music has influenced his life while he was overcoming depression and family struggles. She dedicated her last encore song “Million Reasons” to him and his family. I literally just got chills writing and reliving that touching moment.

If anyone of you get a chance to see Lady Gaga live or just support her in any way, I would hope you feel as inspired as I did and do. It was definitely an experience I will never forget (my saved snapchat story will also probably not let me forget). All in all, Gaga you are amazing, Joanne is amazing, I love you, from your little monster.

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