I have always thought that Lady Gaga is an amazing performer with a flamboyant persona that is fun to watch but I began to respect her as a singer when she sang a medley of songs from The Sound of Music as a tribute to Julie Andrews at the Oscars. I was absolutely blown away by her performance and since then I have really wanted to see her live. When I found out that she was doing another residency in Las Vegas this fall featuring her Jazz & Piano Show I spontaneously bought a ticket and, even though I have spent way too much money on concert tickets this year, I am so glad that I did because it was an unbelievable experience! The concert was last night in the Dolby Live Theatre at the Park MGM Resort and it is an incredible venue! Lady Gaga had an insanely talented band backing her (like the big band singers in the glory days of Las Vegas) and the setlist included selections from the Great American Songbook as well as jazz and piano arrangements of some of her most popular hits. The show was divided into five sets and each featured a different costume (and sometimes an elaborate headdress). For the first set she sang an acoustic version of "Orange Colored Sky" while walking out on stage and then "Luck Be a Lady," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "The Best Is Yet to Come," and "Call Me Irresponsible" with some hilarious interactions with a couple sitting at a table on stage. She ended this set with a naughty (naughtier?) version of "Poker Face" on piano (she joked that she hoped no one was foolish enough to bring their children to a Lady Gaga show). The second set featured "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "If I Had You," "Do I Love You" (one of my favorite moments in the show), an incredibly powerful rendition of "Born This Way" on piano, and a jazz version of "Stupid Love" with extended solos from Brian Newman on trumpet and Steve Kortyka on saxophone. Next came "Sway," "Rags to Riches," "Mambo Italiano," and an impressive vocal performance of "'O sole mio." This set concluded with a jazz arrangement of "Paparazzi" which was another favorite moment for me. The fourth set included "La vie en rose," "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," and a piano version of "Bad Romance." For the final set she sang "Lush Life" and then spoke about her friendship with Tony Bennett before giving an emotional performance of "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)." As an encore she sang "New York, New York." I loved all of her interpretations of these standards because, not only does she have the vocal chops to sing them, she also really respects these songs and all of the all of the singers who performed them before her (there is an ode to the songs and singers in the playbill). Lady Gaga was also hilarious in her interactions with the crowd. She is almost larger than life and there were several times when I wanted to pinch myself because I couldn't believe that I was actually in the same room with her! This was definitely a bucket list moment for me and I loved it so much! There are eight more concerts in this residency (although she hinted that she would be back with a new setlist) and I highly recommend this show!
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