Devon Alter

The Monster Ball July 29, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Devon Alter @ 9:00 am
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Like I said before, I was lucky enough to get to attend the sold out Lady Gaga: Monster Ball tour on Sunday at the Toyota Center in Houston. And I again repeat that I am officially a devout Little Monster! I love, love, LOVED her show! Lady Gaga is an incredible performer with an incredible message for all!

Equality. Self love. Truth of Self.

But all of this aside, it was simply a ton of fun! My friends and I got dressed up and I was in charge of makeup. It was one of my first chances to try some crazier looks I have not had the opportunity to play with before. Any anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE makeup. Below are some of our pictures from the night.

Not bad for a first timer!

I have only one bad thing to say about the show, which I will qualify before. Although Lady Gaga’s costume and makeup changes were incredible, as always, some of the “quick changes” were not so quick. And during these moments, we only had Gaga videos to fill the time. It created too much dead space for me. BUT, like I said, the costumes were incredible!

As soon as it was over, I told my friends I would happily go back again, with crazier outfits and for better seats! Some of my favorites moments were (in no particular order):

1. I got made fun of a lot in high school, so I really milk this part of the show. Do you think I’m sexy? (CHEERS!) Do you think I’m beautiful? (CHEERS!)

2. I’m like Tinkerbell, if you don’t clap for me, I’ll die!  DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!??! CLAP FOR ME!

3. The phone call to an audience member (that my friends and I desperately wanted to receive.)

4. Her great outfits and personalized interactions with her dancers, talking to and with them, calling them by name.

5. Making every audience member feel like she is talking directly to them. I was like a mesmerized child!

6. She was very clearly thankful for all she had.

7. Though we assumed we would fit right in with a decked out crowd or little monsters, we stood out with out makeup and clothes, and we loved it!

//

 

Lady Gaga: Little Monster Conversion July 27, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Devon Alter @ 12:42 pm
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Not long ago, I learned that a friend of mine could not use the Lady Gaga ticket she bought, and I therefore inherited it (for the price of the ticket of course.) I was EXTREMELY excited, as I expected the show would be a spectacle. I truly thought that I would listen to Gaga’s un-autotuned voice which I would only forgive because of her crazy/amazing costumes and theatrics. (Not to mention, my friends and I were planning on getting dressed up, and I was in charge of makeup!) But boy was I WRONG!

First of all, yes, the theatrics and costumes were everything I hoped that would be. But, I was wrong about Lady Gaga. Not only does she have an amazing voice, but she puts on an amazing show, costumes and theatrics aside. She uses this opportunity to raise awareness about LGBT rights. She also uses this opportunity to support all her “little monsters,” enforcing self-confidence and self-awareness. Lady Gaga then follows with a few life anecdotes, including letting everyone know that, yes, she was made fun of in high school for being herself, but look where she is now. She shows unending gratitude to her fans and supporters. She even calls one person in attendance in the middle of the concert and moves them to better seats after a quick convo. Sometimes, she will even agree to meet them after the show ends! (I won’t lie, my friends and I were DYING to be the ones that got called.)

All in all, Lady Gaga not on puts on a great show, but uses the opportunity to send out a great message. Did she say F*** a lot? Yes. Were her dance moves and costumes extremely sexual? Yes. Did that make for some awkward for us and the 10-year-olds sitting in front of us? Yes.

Did she apologize for being herself? No. Would I change any little bit of it? NO!

For these reasons and more I am officially one of Lady Gaga’s little monsters.

 

Happy Bonnaroo! June 16, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — Devon Alter @ 11:16 pm
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Monday night, I returned from Bonnaroo, and it was in no fewer words AMAZING! I have been to Austin City Limits (ACL), but Bonnaroo is so vastly different than my experiences there. And the music was amazing. This is the first of a few posts about my Bonnaroo experience. But as I am still exhausted from the 4-day festival, the following is a quick overview who I saw/listened to this weekend.

THURSDAY:

Leave Austin at 8 am, arrive in Nashville at 11
Take the shuttle from Nashville to Manchester, arrive 12:30
Carry large suitcases and 50-pound bag of camping gear to campsite, unpack and explore
Heard:
  • Erin McCarley
  • MURS
  • The Knux
Attempt to sleep through a tornado watch…

FRIDAY:

Heard:

  • Gomez
  • Kaki king
  • Belleville Outfit (Austinites should check them out!)
  • Galactic w/ Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  • Santigold
  • Al Green
  • Ani DiFranco
  • Beastie Boys (guest appearance: Naz)
  • David Byrne
  • Phish
  • Girl Talk
  • Pretty Lights

SATURDAY:

Heard:

  • Jimmy Buffett w/ ILO & the Coral Reefer AllStars
  • Bon Iver
  • Allen Toussaint
  • Jenny Lewis
  • Of Montreal
  • Wilco
  • Elvis Costello (guest appearance: Allen Toussaint)
  • The Decemberists
  • Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
  • Ben Harper & Relentless 7
  • MGMT
  • moe.

SUNDAY:

Heard:

  • Erin McCarley (yes…again)
  • Todd Snider (guest appearance: Robert Earl Keen)
  • Citizen Cope
  • Erykah Badu
  • Andrew Bird
  • Snoop Dogg
  • Phish (guest appearance: Bruce Springsteen)

I don’t think I have forgotten anyone. For a full schedule, please click here Bonnaroo 2009. Thanks for reading. More to come about the overall experience.

 

Bonnaroo! June 9, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — Devon Alter @ 1:10 am
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Thanks to the lovely people at 101X in Austin, I am heading to Bonnaroo this weekend. I accidentally put my name in their drawing for an all expense paid trip to this music festival in Tenessee and won! (I thought I was entering for free tickets to a Guster concert in Austin – oops!) The trip is for me and a friend, so my friend Randi and I will be camping on site and listening to people like Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello, Snoop Dogg, Girl Talk, MGMT and so many more. (To see the full lineup please click here.)

I will be tweeting about the music, sites, people and general experience as long as I my phone’s battery holds out. Please feel free to follow my tweets during the festival! I will not post again until after the festival. Thanks! D

*I am also giving up my computer today for some maintenance. Here’s to hoping it’s all better when I return.
 

 
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