I am loving Goldfrapp’s new album – Head First. At first listen, I was taken aback by how “on the nose” 1980s it sounds, but hey, I was there (shhhh don’t tell anybody) so it quickly grew on me and now…I’m addicted. But I have loved every album they’ve made so far, so I guess you could safely say I’m a fan.. My good friend Sean invited me and friends to their show at The Hollywood Bowl. As we walked in, an usher lead us down towards the front row, and then across to the middle and I just about died. There honestly wasn’t a better seat in the house. So we had some wine, some food and listened to the amazing Buena Vista Social Club Orchestra as the sun went down (they were an odd choice to open for Goldfrapp I thought, but hey, I was into it). Overall, at that moment the vibe at The Bowl was amazing.

Finally Alison, Gregory and troupe came out, dressed head to toe in 1980s metallic spandex garb and draped in key-tars. Alison’s soprano soared over the Hollywood valley. It sounded gorgeous. But after the first song….several people around us got up and left. I was close enough to see the look on Alison Goldfrapp’s face. She kept her cool, but as a performer, I can imagine playing such a prestigious venue, full house, and how it would feel to have half the audience directly in front of you get up and leave either during or after the first song. The Bowl being the type of venue it is, people have their box and subscribe to the shows they want to see. The Bowl is divided into sections and if you’re not holding a ticket that puts you in the first 3 rows of the front, you can’t get there….in fact it’s pretty hard to move from any section at The Bowl once you’re situated. In this case it was obvious due to the odd pairing, a large part of the front row circle crowd came for Buena Vista, used their boxes for a bit of a show, dinner and drinks and then left when this weird electro-pop European group came on stage that they had no idea what to make of and clearly didn’t care for. Who can blame them. The music industry isn’t really designed for someone who is a fan of The Buena Vista Social Club to also be a fan of Goldfrapp. Two different demographics entirely. Not that everyone falls into this trap, but you know….

This left a few of us fans up the front all alone with ourselves. Now, I’ve been sandwiched in amongst people at concerts more times than I care to remember, wishing I had more room to move or to breathe. It was interesting for once to have the best seat in the house, nothing but space all around me and feel completely alone in my concert-goer excitement. Be careful what you wish for. Such a huge act and so many die hard fans there, but the best seats in the house, empty and the majority of fans in the nose bleed section.

Anyway, Alison didn’t disappoint, even though it was obvious the start rattled her. I’m sure she’s experienced and old enough to have figured out what happened. And, she’s enough of a professional to go within her own mind and take control o f her experience. And she did this with flying colours. Will Gregory did his best to get people moving and deflect for his partner. However, his outfit disturbed me a little bit, and I’m quite sure I wasn’t alone. He had full metallic spandex on and a blouse-y shirt. He’s grown out his fringe and hair…looking quite neanderthal-ish…in a new wave 80s way that is. But, in his typical “I’m-super-multi-talented-thank-you-very-much” fashion, he did rock the violin, the guitar and the key-tar and did a fair amount of singing in his bizarre ensemble. Alison stuck to singing this time and performing. Her voice soared over soprano to alto parts down to tenor parts with finesse. At one point, half way through, she reached her arms out towards the back and screamed with frustration “AURG! I wish you were closer to me!”. Damn straight! At that point I jumped out of my seat and bonded with the two gentleman to my right who were enjoying their date together and started to get into it as I wanted to. By the end of the night, literally, I was one of 4 people who right went up to the stage and had arms flailing and feet stomping. Now that’s not right is it, but what the hell….I felt like I had the whole band and the whole Hollywood Bowl to myself…now who’s the rock star?

If you read my ‘Women in music, or little girls?” post you will know how I feel about female artists of late. Well, I went with my friend SuzAnn to see Lady Gaga. I’m not necessarily a fan, but like I’ve said before, I’ll go and hear almost anything live, at least once. It is the best way to truly assess an artist. Especially in today’s musical climate. Are they actually singing? Are they able to play the instrument they are photographed with? What is their message? Can they communicate that message artfully? etc.

If you saw Taylor Swift’s performance at The Grammys this year, you will know what I’m talking about. The Grammys forbids the use of auto-tune or lip syncing. They also like pairing up artists of contrast or different eras. Putting Taylor Swift with a veteran performer like Stevie Nicks was simultaneous brilliant and stupid. Either the mastermind behind that arrangement had it in for Taylor or was stupid enough to believe that Taylor could actually hold her own. I love that the label issued a statement to the public defending Taylor’s out of tune singing as technical difficulties. Who on this earth would buy that? OMG! Anyway….I’m not here to talk about her….I digress.

Lady Gaga, love her or hate her, is the real deal. I know enough people connected to Lady Gaga to know that the tour was thrown together in minutes and was on the road virtually seconds after her songs were written and recorded. I know that ‘Teeth’ was being recorded in the studio in October and I saw the show in December. That’s almost unheard of. And, she has since completely redesigned the show to take it to Europe and is revamping it again to come back and tour the states as soon as she is finished in Europe. Every single penny she makes is put back into “The House of Gaga”, which from what I understand, is her own empire of set designers, fashion designers, producers and worker bees working in said house to constantly create and develop everything and anything to propel her music and her performances forward. This girl has a strong work ethic….and a drive that is very rare.

She has a very clear message which she unabashedly flaunted. She is entertaining. Her set is full of strong visuals, leaving no stone unturned. Costume after costume, costume within costumes. Even the piano was barricaded and designed to look like a broken down shack of rusty nails and drift wood, she had big black wings on her back and sat squatted on the piano stool by herself and played and sang a ballad really really well. I say that with enthusiasm because that is a big deal, especially with an artist who’s so young and whose music is so electronically driven. That girl can sing and play. I mean, she’s no Herbie Hancock, but she doesn’t need to be.

What blew my mind the most was the diversity of the audience. Sold out shows every night – yes. I know she’s got the gay vote, that goes without saying, so I expected a strong representation of the gay community. I also expected a strong presence of those under 21 years old, and I was not disappointed. What I didn’t expect in a million years was the presence of woman and men, both single and couples over 40…dressed to the nines – mardi-gras style. Mums and Dad’s with their kids, and not sitting down with their faces in their blackberry’s or waiting at the bar until it was all over, but dancing and singing and as into it as their children. Families dressed up like gaga. I’m serious. I’ve never in my life seen anything like it.

Gaga has wormed her way into the hearts of the insecure freak in many a demographic. If you were the wall flower in high school in 1975 or if you are the in-the-closet lesbian in junior high now, she is your ambassador and she knows it. Or maybe you just have a penchant for drama and dressing up, and if it’s as simple as that, she is your queen.

Ok…couple of criticisms. Had my friend Craig (who incidentally represents the queer vote) not called me and ordered me to take earplugs, I would have most likely bled to death in the isles or choked on my own vomit. Now, I’m not a light weight, I’ve been going to concerts since I was 12, and I’ve been in more rock bands than I can remember. I rarely plug my ears (I’m not proud of that, I should), but this was just offensive. It wasn’t that is was loud, it was loud and bad. Strong and wrong. Whoever does her sound should be fired. Distorted, bad levels, you name it. Horrid. There were times when I could only hear the drum loop and nothing else. I could hear the stomping of the feet on the stage and nothing else. Gaga struggled with the mic and the sound, and the show went on, but it was a black mark on the report card…that’s for sure.

Also, it wouldn’t hurt her to polish up her dancing or at least stop pretending she is a good dancer. She could finesse her in between song banter. It’s understandable though. Her rise to super stardom has been so incredibly fast that I think she is still learning to fill the shoes of the level she’s actually at. In a way it’s nice that it’s not so overly produced that it impersonal, but it’s definitely a few notches down from the type of production she is putting forward.

Yes…it was all very self indulgent. Yes…she is determined to be the biggest star in the world. But I’m sure we’ll see her put that celebrity to some use in time. Right now, I can’t imagine she has time for anything. She’s so busy grabbing hold of her constantly evolving and growing status. However she did pair with Cyndi Lauper recently to promote aids awareness, and I have faith that as she settles in to her new found mega stardom she’ll do more for her freaks. She’s a good Italian catholic girl after all.

Lady Gaga….an artist with a vision. An artist who is a woman and proud of it. An artist who will be around for a very long time and will never sway from her directive….world domination. Like it or not, she is here to stay.

My favourite vintage clothing store in LA is The Way We Wore. I will talk about things of this nature from time to time. Got a question or a vintage fashion emergency? Hit me up! I love this stuff.

The Way We Wore had me speak for them on a TV segment, that will air in the not too distant future. I’ll let you know once I know the details, (only if I like the edit job!) Here’s a pic from the shoot…they allowed me to wear their clothes and I love love love this dress!
(Raymond Morales did my make up…bless him!)