The astronomical alignment of the pop-music firmament.

Last summer I traveled to Vegas to see Lady Gaga perform.  I bought those tickets just weeks before Gaga announced she was coming to Salt Lake City.  Last fall, I traveled to Denver to see the Scissor Sisters.  That was just months before they announced they would be opening for Lady Gaga.  Last weekend, the pop-music stars aligned as Lady Gaga and Scissor Sisters performed right here in Salt Lake City.


I'll start with the Scissor Sisters.  As always, they brought more energy to a performance stage than just about any band I've seen.  Jake Shears looked amazing and a little trashy while Ana Matronic classed-up the joint with her big vocals and even bigger persona.


I will say that the Denver show was better for two reasons: 1) The group played a much longer set.  Here they played about five songs.  And with Gaga taking an hour break between the bands, it would have been nice to hear a few other of the Sisters' big dance-y gems.  And 2) The Scissor Sisters are for me, a classic bar band.  Which means they're best is smaller, divier venues, like the Odgen Theatre in Denver.

Lady Gaga's show is pure spectacle.  Seeing it twice may minimize some of the magic as you begin to realize how precise the show works.  But Gaga's performance was still exceptional thanks to her honesty both from a vocal standpoint and from her message of inclusion.


There were some big differences in this show, most notable the ending.  In Vegas, the ending involved massive sets with set pieces falling from the sky and Gaga rising dramatically on a giant riser.  Even her costume seemed to come alive.  In SLC, that entire scene was eliminated, I assume to allow for the final song, Born This Way (a song which hadn't yet been released at the time of the Vegas show.)