On December 19, international superstar Lady Gaga performed a concert here in San Diego. I had the opportunity to attend the sold out show.

The parking lot at the site was a sea of people dressed similar to Lady Gaga. Many fans were sporting the classic blonde bow made out of real hair, while others attempted a few recent trendy outfits from the “Bad Romance” video. The line circled around the building nearly 3 times and the rumor was that those who were in or near the front had arrived at the Sports Arena at 4AM! I’m not exactly sure how true the allegations were, but one thing I knew for sure was the excitement and anticipation we all had for Gaga to play.

When Channel 93.3 started playing a medley of her popular songs, the mass of spectators in line started dancing and reenacting her music videos. When people weren’t trying to channel their inner Lady Gaga, they were animatedly gossiping about what could be expected of her performance. At one point, a girl talking to her friend from behind said, “Well… I heard she lights herself on fire while glitter falls from the ceiling.” Another guy claimed that she would be lifted to the ceiling on a giant disco ball. Whatever the rumor may have been, one couldn’t help but acknowledge the abundance of excitement that filled the air.

Finally, when the doors opened, Gaga’s outrageous fans poured into the arena like an army of ants. I was lucky to have a miraculous view of the entire arena. I was in disbelief of how many people were on the floor sitting, waiting for Lady Gaga to come on stage.

At around 7:45 the opening act, Semi Precious Weapons, came on. The only word I can think of to describe them is glam-rock – think Queen meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The entire band walked out in high heels, sequined tights, and grungy t-shirts; and, mind you, the band consists of only men. Semi Precious Weapons is like no act I’ve ever seen before. Their lyrics are raunchy and fun, their live performance looks as if someone vomited glitter over them and their circus themed stage; and, to top it off, their lead singer is the classless ring leader. I personally enjoyed them and found their performance to be very fun, and clearly I was not the only one who approved of them: the entire arena seemed to be enjoying them as well! The highlight of their performance was when the lead singer brought out bottles of champagne plastered with his face, dove into the crowd, and sprayed everyone he could reach with the fizzy drink.

After their high energy set was finished, the lights came on and the final impatient waiting for Lady Gaga’s performance began. Just minutes before Lady Gaga walked out onto her stage the crowd repeatedly chanted “Ga Ga, Ga Ga, Ga Ga.” At 8:45, all of the lights shut off and a clock counting down from one minute appeared on the screens. That was probably one of the longest and most exciting minutes I’ve ever experienced. The strobe lights were flashing, the music was blaring, and the crowd was screaming for Lady Gaga. As the minute ended she seductively walked onto the stage wearing nothing but six inch heels and a skin tight disco ball dress. Her opening song was the European goth-pop influenced track “Dance In The Dark,” which is featured on her recent album “The Fame Monster.” As soon as the music started playing every single person in the arena was dancing. The energy was incredible, and clearly Lady Gaga was feeding off of it. The more we yelled the more outrageous she became. At one point during the song she stood and smiled as she watched us go nuts.

Her next song was “Alejandro,” which can also be found on “The Fame Monster.” Although this particular song is one of her slower tracks, the crowd was still just as excited as before. This time she stepped into a giant glass box filled with smoke and strobe lights and all we could see was the lights reflecting off her disco ball dress. After that song was over the stage went black and all you could see was a single light peeking out from under the backdrop as a thin layer of fog crept onto the stage. Suddenly the opening rhythm to “Just Dance,” began to play and the lights came back on. This time Lady Gaga was wearing the same outfit she performed in at the American Music Awards. “Just Dance” morphed into one of her newer, and one of my personal favorites, songs, “Monster.” About halfway through the song Lady Gaga stopped singing, the music stopped, the lights shut off, and the spotlight shone only on her. “Why aren’t my little monsters having any fun?” she asked as she laid down on the floor. She then began to beg the crowd for more energy by telling us that she is a lot like Tinkerbell and if people don’t clap for her she dies. Of course then we clapped and cheered as loud as we possibly could and slowly she began to get up and sing again. After “Monster” Lady Gaga performed her hit song “Love Game” only this time her back up dancers were armed with disco sticks that had spotlights at the very top which they used to shine on everyone in the crowd.

Soon after “Love Game” ended everyone walked off the stage and a video of Lady Gaga putting on her makeup and getting dressed began to play. About 5 minutes later the lights came back on and so did Lady Gaga. This time she was accompanied by a tattered old grand piano that she used to play “Poker Face,” and “Speechless.” Unfortunately the audience used this time as an intermission and many people didn’t the get opportunity to see Lady Gaga at her finest with nothing but a piano as back up music. Once the two slow songs were finished she violently rolled the piano off stage and “So Happy I Could Die” began. Once again, the crowd was back at their seats and on their feet, dancing and having a good time while, ironically, Lady Gaga sang about being carefree and dancing to fun music.

The next song she performed was “The Fame.” At first I couldn’t recognize what song it was because at the beginning she remixed it and did a very elaborate dance routine. During the dance she sat on top of a giant metal bar and was lifted to the ceiling as she moved. Eventually she was lowered back onto the stage and performed the real version. Once again, Lady Gaga and her dancers stepped off the stage and another video began to play. This time the video was her promoting gay rights/tolerance in the world, which really got the crowd going- the guy standing next to me even began to cry a little. Again, Lady Gaga came back to the stage, but this time she was rolled out on a giant platform surrounded by moving metal rings which were strapped to her body. Suddenly a melancholy feeling swept over the crowd as Lady Gaga began to speak. “You guys have been a great crowd! My little monsters are happy so I am happy.” We knew it, we all knew that it was that time, time for the concert to end. Although, slightly upset, we still found ourselves having a blast when she performed “Paparazzi.” After “Paparazzi,” Lady Gaga performed the real version of “Poker Face.” Then, finally, came her grand finale, the song everyone had been waiting for, “Bad Romance.” When Lady Gaga started singing the opening chorus to “Bad Romance” the audience went wild.

I’ve never seen a more excited and energetic group of people. Lady Gaga sang her heart out and so did her fans. Clearly every single person in the arena was having a good time and Lady Gaga put on an amazing show. The one thing that I enjoyed most about her concert was that she sang live the entire time. Lady Gaga is an amazing artist who puts on an amazing show!