Can a set of show tunes and Great American Songbook standards, rendered with a healthy measure of respect and virtuosity, also be a punk-rock show? Or at least something that kinda/ sorta feels like one? That basic question arose over the course of seeing Lady Gaga ’s secret post-midnight performance at downtown L.A.’s movie-palace-turned-music-club, the Belasco.
There are surely a few performers out there who have a feel for both the classics of the Broadway/movie-musical era and raw-power rock ‘n’ roll. They just don’t exist at anywhere near the superstar level, and even in a more niche world, they probably know better than to try to combine these extremely different ethos. Lady Gaga, thankfully, does not know any better.
After catching Monday night’s show, I’m happy to report that she is the woman who can marry the controlled genius of Tin Pan Alley and the wildly performative id of punk’s chaotic spirit...
if only for one extremely memorable late night (or early morning). The show had her and a truly crackerjack six-piece band barreling through her new “Harlequin” album in its entirety, with the energy level turned up to 111, well beyond any recorded versions. No one should imagine that she will stay in this mode for very long (she already characterized the current record as “LG 6.
5,” with a straight modern-pop album 7.0 to follow in four months). She’ll probably never even do another gig like this, with or without the strange set dressing at the.
