Gaga for Gaga

My first post. I'm just gonna jump in here. I had an annoying experience today that I feel like sharing. Lady Gaga is coming to Houston this summer. I’m not the hugest fan, but I like her stuff (my fave is probably "Bad Romance") and I am endlessly fascinated by her freakishness, her melodrama, her "pop art." Like she says in that song, "I'm a freak bitch, baby." Yeah she is! So I got together a little posse of friends, put on my best poker face and prepared to just dance at her sure-to-be-a-spectacle-like-no-other show. It'd be fun b/c she's crazy, and because I'd be hanging with my girls.

I made sure my students were working independently so that I could buy tix online as soon as they went on sale. You see, I don't play when it comes to concert ticket purchases. I believe in purchasing as soon as they go on sale, so as to avoid a sellout situation. Plus I usually want the cheap seats (unless it's Prince, I don't need to be all up close and personal; nosebleeds + binoculars = affordably priced satisfaction), and sometimes those go quickly. So I'm on my game. I also don't tend to let others buy the tickets. I'm a control freak like that.

Anyhoo, I get online all set to get my Gaga on, and lo & behold, I can't even get on Toyota Center's website for almost fifteen minutes! I knew that was not a good sign. When I finally get through, I request my 5 tickets, and I have to type in that ridiculous “security word.” (Sidenote: the security word isn’t even a word, it’s a bunch of nonsense letters and they’re all askew and crazy looking, and half the time I get a letter wrong, then have to start all over, which is endless fun…) No tickets. What the **bleep**? I wasted another fifteen minutes still trying (it didn’t say the show was sold out). Mind you, it took me about 10 minutes to get back onto the freakin’ website. Same thing. I even called the charge-by-phone line, something I haven’t done in over a decade. It made me a little nostalgic for a simpler time. I remember when I felt all progressive for ordering on the phone, as opposed to getting up at dawn and gong to stand in line and wait for tickets in person. Ah, memories…

Finally they officially posted “sold out.” I had lost. I was crestfallen. The whole experience left me speechless. What kills me is that Gaga was slated to be the opening act for Kanye last fall (before Kanye “soy bombed” Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards, forcing Gaga to distance herself—she be a freak, not a fool). Opening act, people. Now that bitch is selling out arenas all by her lonesome, in record time no less. Wow—what a difference 6 or 7 months makes. It’s good to be Gaga.

It also strikes me that I had no problem getting tix to Madonna’s show in Houston back in 2008 (which I perceived as a personal affront to Madonna’s iconic status). This baffled me, seeing as my recent Madonna shows (NJ 2001, Chicago 2004, CT 2006) all sold out very quickly. Granted, Madge was playing at the baseball stadium here, which is much larger than Toyota Ctr, but still. It’s insulting and it made me wonder what the hell is wrong with these Texans and their pop sensibilities? But they embrace the Gaga, who, let’s face it, is just the reincarnation of, yep you guessed it: Madonna!

But back to today’s drama. I was hoping they’d announce “second show added,” and after another hour or so they did! But in the interim, I was really bummed cuz I thought my Gaga girls’ night wasn’t going to happen. Tix for the second show go on sale next week, so I’ll prepare to do battle again. The disco stick dream lives! I’m praying she can’t sell out two shows. At least not before I get my tickets!

Ra ra ah ah ah
roma roma ma
ga ga ooh la la
want your bad romance