ENIGMA POPSTAR IS FUN!
e·nig·ma
/iˈnigmə/
nouna person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.
I don’t think it takes much effort to explain my zeal for Lady Gaga. When she announced her Las Vegas residency at the Park MGM a little over a year ago, I could not have been more excited. And when she announced that it was going to be a two-show engagement, I knew we were all in for something quite spectacular. The reviews for the shows were unbelievable, meaning that it truly wasn’t something to miss (especially after seeing those Celine Dion videos).
I headed down to Vegas on a very early Saturday morning flight with my friend, Joe, to meet our other friends, Wes, who was flying in from Seattle, and Buck, who was driving in from LA. We stayed at the Park and instantly felt wrapped into all of the excitement.
Now I must include one vital detail to this story. We went to Vegas with tickets to Jazz & Piano but not for Enigma. We had been searching for months but felt it was a little wack to pay $1000 for a ticket. We remained optimistic, manifesting those glorious GA tickets. After a day of feverishly searching Craigslist, we were able to find two floor tickets.
As Joe and I were going to meet up with the woman who was selling us tickets, an Enigma miracle happened. Joe forgot his cash, so he ran back to our room while I pulled some out of the ATM. I was literally pulling my money from the ATM, I received a phone call from Wes which started with, “COME TO THE BOX OFFICE RIGHT NOW!”
Buck and Wes has gone down to the casino before us to see if they could scalp tickets or snag some from the box office. Jenny, who was helping them at the box office, told them that she found two tickets, but the seats weren’t together. The boys said fine and decided to take them. As Jenny went to check them out, though, the tickets had been purchased from under her. She said she would talk to the manager and then quickly checked the available tickets again. Jenny looked at them and said, “If you don’t mind that you have to stand, I have two general admission tickets available.” The boys were SHOOK!
Wes then said, “We’re here with two of our friends and I feel that it would be a disservice to them not to ask if there were two more.” Jenny checked. “Yes, I have four GS available,” and that’s when Wes called me. We rushed over to the box office and processed our transactions. It was 7:20 and the show was to begin at 8, so we quickly paid and ran into the theater.
Buck and Jenny from the Box Office
Engima was one of the most incredible shows of Gaga’s I ever have seen. It was so well done and the details were crafted so perfectly. I think the set list was so strong, and I was so excited to hear tracks like “Dance in the Dark,” “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich” and “Aura” that I never thought I’d hear again. She sounded phenomenal, and the show’s story was fun and exciting to follow.
One of my favorite parts of Gaga shows is interacting with those around you. It’s so funny to be in an environment where everyone loves the main attraction as much as you do and knows all these niche stan jokes and isms. It’s incredible that after eleven shows, I still have the same energy and so do those around me.
I loved just letting loose and dancing (and singing along in my best fest voice) to each and every song. The normies (not stans) around us were astonished with our enthusiasm, and I loved interacting with them to make them part of the full experience. I also had this really awesome moment with a younger girl during “Born This Way.” I think I saw a bit of my younger self in her and wanted to make sure she knew how safe and loved she was.
The second day was much less stressful knowing we were all set with tickets for that evening — so much so that we slept right through the entire Super Bowl. We were sitting up in the 400s, which we were cool with because we had been all up in the action the night before.
Jazz & Piano was incredible, and anyone who’s considering going to see Gaga in Vegas should definitely see this show. Gaga mainly did jazz covers, many from her album with Tony Bennett, but also worked in new renditions of songs like “Bad Romance” and “Paparazzi.” Her voice sounded so fucking good, my god. Her range is incredibly wide, and she was able to master each note while each person was on the edge of their seats. I loved her interactions with the crowd, her band and of course, (ladies and gentlemen!) Brian Newman.
My absolute highlight of the weekend — and I wholeheartedly believe the boys will agree — was going to this bar/lounge in the casino in the hotel after Jazz and Piano. Gaga had stopped in to greet fans a few weeks prior after the last jazz show, so we figured we should take the chance.
A DJ was spinning top 40 hits with Gaga songs here and there. As you all know, my friends and I are never too shy to hit the dancefloor, so we took the lead and started to get things moving. We were screaming each lyric at the top of our lungs and causing quite a commotion. All of these other patrons in the bar began to come over and join us. We all danced our hearts out as drinks sloshed over and blue feathers from my boa ever so lightly covered the floor. Together, we (forcibly) campaigned to get this DJ to throw on more Gaga songs, even if it meant numerous requests or holding up our phones plastered with “HAIR BODY FACE,” “MORE GAGA” and “SCHEIßE.” (The absolute best song he played had to be “Why Did You Do That?”)
The camaraderie in that bar reminded me why this fan bass is the best is the whole world. We all come from diverse backgrounds with different stories, yet we were all misfits in one way or another. Gaga has been a guiding light for us, providing a space for us to truly be ourselves while spreading love. Her music speaks for itself, and there is no fan base even close to the Little Monsters.
It’s crazy to believe that this was my tenth and eleventh times seeing Lady Gaga. Every show I’ve seen has been such a different experience from the other, and I’m reminded why I love her so much every time I see her. I hope that everyone gets to experience this kind of excitement and zeal in their lives at least once — it’s something so unique that you have to be there firsthand to truly understand it.
Side note: here’s a fantastic photo I took of RL Grime when we stopped into Intrigue to see him after Enigma
