So I went artRAVE'ing last night.

Well last night I got to see my two favorite pop stars in one place. Last night was Lady Gaga's artRAVE show in Pittsburgh and it was a fantastic show. Now of course Gaga didn't come alone she had an opening act which was none other than Hatsune Miku. Sadly I missed like two possibly three songs Miku did because like a bunch of dumb-asses driving up we missed our exit and had to back track to the arena.

I did get to hear hear Miku preform about 3-4 songs including closing with one of my favorite songs of hers "Tell Your World". so that was pretty great. Next up was Lady Neptune who is a DJ and also one of Gaga's personal friends. She played a pretty good set although gonna be honest here the anticipation for Gaga at that point was high so I don't think the crowd was that into it. Still, she makes some pretty cool music.

Gaga was finally on and this is what the setlist looked like:

Video Intro

Band "Art Pop" Intro

"Art Pop"

Greetings Himeros

"G.U.Y."

"Donatella"

Fashion Intro

"Fashion!"

---

(Venus Intro)

"Venus"

"Manicure"

"Cake Like Lady Gaga"

---

"Just Dance"

"Poker Face"

"Telephone"

---

(Partynauceous)

Brief Ambient Music

"Paparazzi"

"Do What U Want"

"Born This Way"

---

(Jewels & Drugs)

"Aura"

LG will talk before "Sexxx Dreams"

"Sexxx Dreams"

MJ Intro

"Mary Jane Holland"

"Alejandro"

---

(Ratchet)

"Bad Romance"

"Applause"

"Swine"

---

"Gypsy"

Quite a setlist spanning all four of her albums. The one song you might not reconise on that list is "Partynauceous" which is a new song that she is debuting at artRAVE. She's also recently said there might just be an Artpop vol 2 coming out soon as well so I expect that song to be on there if so.Anyways the stage was pretty crazy and it was really less of a stage and more a series of interconnected catwalks.

I've got some (mostly crappy) pictures I took with my sub-par camera phone last night. Sort of wish i bought a proper camera although the crazy lighting setup made it hard to actually take pictures regardless because it definitely lived up to the RAVE part of the show.

Right before she preformed "Bad Romance" she walked to the main portion of the stage where they had this sort of weird translucent coffin prop and said "Everyone always wonders how I change into my costumes so fast...so we're going to show you." Her stylists then came out and she stripped down to just pasties and a thong on stage as her crew put the next costume on her. I'd post pictures of that but uh... I'm not sure I CAN without getting modded. Photos of the change are easily enough to find if you google them.

Speaking of costumes, she had PLENTY of them my favorite being a blue octopus costume complete with a tentacle headdress and skirt. (not my pictures here BTW)

The night ended with Gaga performing "Gypsy" (secret best song on Artpop even though Applause is getting the biggest push) in a beautiful long white dress as the large screen in the back panned around the arena showing off all the fans on the screen. It was a fantastic show. If you even remotely like Lady Gaga and she is coming close to you totally worth your money. Oh I should also mention for you K-pop fans the second half of the tour Miku is getting replaced by Crayon Pop. Which if you haven't heard of them you really really should. They are adorable. It was tons of fun and I'm for sure going to see her next time she comes near me!

I don't know if this is a silly question or not, but how does one go about hiring Hatsune Miku to perform? Does she have a manager or is she, like, free domain?

@viciousbearmauling: The company who owns the vocaloid software Crypton Media puts on the show. They use a hologram method called "Pepper's Ghost" to create the hologram the same thing that was done to bring Tupac back from the grave at cochella a few years back.

I don't like her music, but I have to admit that she does at least have an...interesting sense of style when it comes to those costumes.

Wow that's pretty cool that they are bringing over those crazy Miku hologram concerts over to the west. I didn't even know that there was a big enough audience for one. Then again, didn't the rhythm game sold a bunch when they brought it over?

oh god that " real " hatsune miku is so terrifying/awesome.

@thunderslash: Yep. Apparently Gaga is a big fan of Miku. I'm sure this tour will do wonders for her exposure in america. There have been concerts before but they were only in huge venues like Los Angeles. I'm pretty glad I got a chance to see that live in some form. I found a YouTube video of the Alanta performance from the 6th here.

Lady Gaga is my favourite Japan-nerd of them all (you should see her twitter, not exactly worksafe) and if there was a make-a-wish foundation for someone like me it would be to have a jam session with her and a drummer of choice just letting loose..

Pop music isn't my thing but that hologram stuff is wildly fascinating.

Everything about this makes me feel one step closer to the "Fifth Element" future I so badly want.

@somejerk: Yeah, like I said in the OP she was at one point in the show in just pasties and a thong on stage. And good lord does that lady have an ass on her.

So I have a genuine question for you, and I hope it doesn't come off as offensive or anything because that isn't what I am going for.
But I'm curious as to what is the point, for lack of a better word to seeing Hatsune Miku 'perform' at a concert? Like, if it's just a hologram and just some audio playing out of speakers could you not get the same effect from watching a video online or listening to a song on an ipod or something? When it comes to Gaga it makes sense cause she is live and there is that certain feeling or almost emotion you can get from having someone preform a song you love live in-front of you. But the Hatsune Miku stuff isn't exactly 'live' so I'm just kind of wondering what you get out of all of it? Is it just cool seeing the sort of fantasy and theatrics of the whole thing? Is it like watching a show or movie where you know it's not real but you don't care because you are connected to the character?

What's the difference between watching the Superbowl at a sports bar and watching it at home alone on your couch?

I love the fact that this piece of vocaloid software spawned a personality that's bigger than Jesus and everything that's come out of it is absurd in an amazing way. Seriously, I love everything about this concept in theory, I just wish I found it more pleasant to listen to, 'cause I'd be right there with you. In practice though, I find the music kind of annoying, and it's too damn bad.

@zolroyce: Ever been to the cinema?

You sure know how to live a life.

This really. Sure, its mostly the same thing but its a MUCH more extravagant setup and performance than say just playing Project Diva or watching a video you YouTube. That and the energy from the crowd the bass literally vibrating through your body its a fun experience that you don't get every day.

@demoskinos: @ervonymous: @starvinggamer: Okay, that completely makes sense! I kind of forgot to factor in the crowd (anti-social ass that I am) thanks for the explanation!

I'm not going to lie: Having Hatsune Miku as an opening act seems like the most Lady GaGa thing imaginable.

Huh, that looks really cool. Was the hologram a "true" hologram? Full 360 body model etc. That would be a sight to see.

@smokeyd123: I'm sure it looked that way if you saw it head on but we were off to the side a bit from the main stage and viewing it from a bit of an angle it didn't look as good as it could. It was still pretty cool. :)

There is an honesty about the vocaloids that I admire. They are much more appealing to me than the manufactured pop star in the form of a media conglomerate turning some poor kid's life in to a literal Brand™ of cash grabbery. And I do mean poor unfortunate kid. The pop stars of this description that are now in their 30's and 40's are not doing so well. It is quite sad. Yes yes they're millionaires if they were smart enough about it along the way but even so, that is not a life I would wish on anyone. :/

That seems pretty cool. I like Miku but am not into Gaga at all. I wonder how many people just showed up for Gaga and when Miku got on stage were like "what the hell is this shit?"

Sounds like you had a great time! I can't say I listen to Lady Gaga that much, but it's really cool that she's got Miku tagging along as part of her latest concerts.

I'm not the biggest fan of current pop music, but there is no doubt that Lady Gaga is awesome. She's really talented, has amazing pipes, totally fearless, and honestly inspirational to people everywhere.

Thanks for sharing duder.

Edit: Now I'm watching all of her vidoes and performances, YOU CAN'T DENY THIS EXCELLENCE.

GODDESSLIKE

That's a long fucking setlist. Do pop artists typically sing that many songs per concert?

I'm so jealous, Demo! Wish I could have gone!

And I saw these and immediately thought of you.

http://www.welovefine.com/featured/118-hatsune-miku-chromatic-leggings-vocaloid-fashion

@truthtellah: Heh, yeah I've seen those before. Contemplated getting one of the shirts they sell. If I could pull off the pants I'd wear those two but I don't think I can rock the pants.

I'm sure you could pull it off. You would find a way!

I must agree with everything past the first sentence. But it must be kind of irritating to be the producer tracking all of the vocaloid MIDI, or the musician writing the music and lyrics, knowing that a cartoon character and the software developer are getting all the credit. It would be a bit like everyone lauding Apple or Propellerhead and the music video's director but never acknowledging the musicians.

I think it's less "she's that popular in the West" and more "Lady Gaga is fucking eccentric and wanted something that seemed equally exotic and eccentric to open her concert with so they got Hatsune Miku".

She is actually more popular over here than you might think (Toyota used her for a commercial over here), though I would imagine that a good portion of that crowd was like "What the fuck is this shit"?

I fucking love the idea of a completely fictional virtual pop star being in concert. It brings us one step closer to the glorious techno-dystopia Jeff keeps talking about.

Indeed. :D

*hugs copies of Snow Crash and The Diamond Age* ♥

I wish there was something crazy like that that was for me. I don't think I am a big enough fan of anyone to go see them in concert.