The Joey Factory

As you know I’m a huge Lady Gaga fan and I’d say that’s an understatement. Last Thursday, September 2, 2010 I attended the concert that will change lives. In retrospect my soul has been waiting for an event like this my whole life. A place where you can go and be free and be whoever you want to be. You can be yourself and ain’t nobody gonna tell you otherwise. Like a good little monster I had seen most of the concert online via low res YouTube clips, but those clips can’t express the amount of emotion, talent, and goodwill Gaga gives back to you in that concert hall.

The day started with my friends Jamie and Kristi and my sister Jackie driving down to Milwaukee. We left about 2:30 pm to embark on our adventure to The Monster Ball. We arrived at my sister Brigette’s apartment went to grab some yummy Jimmy John’s and then came back to get ready. I had downloaded a tutorial video off of YouTube onto my phone so that I could do my make up beautifully. The girls were in various places of the apartment also getting ready and just getting all pumped up for an awesome night. Jackie got makeup done by Brigette and I needed some assistance from Kristi for my super long eyelashes (last worn during my Lady Gaga Masquerade Bday Bash). Around 6 pm we were all ready to go to the Bradley Center and we took a fun cab ride to get there!

When we arrived at the Bradley Center it was everything a little monster dreams about: a place to be a freak and have a good time. The costumes were so beautiful and you just wanted to go up to every person and congratulate them on their excellence. I went up to a few fellow monsters to tell them I loved their outfits. One guy was wearing the most amazing shoes ever and I know he must have been in pain by the end of the night! Kudos to you fellow monster brother! We got our picture taken next to the GAGA bus and sort of just did our thing getting all excited waiting outside to get in!

Around 7 they let the people who didn’t have general admission ticket in the door. On our way up Virgin Mobile was doing a photo shoot of all little monsters of ages 18 years old and up. Jackie was sweet and waited with us as we went in line to get our photos taken professionally by this glamorous woman! You could see she was a very exciting and hyper lady ready to take your picture and make you look beautiful in your own way. I saw Kristi get her picture taken first and she was super stoked! Then Jamie was up, a little nervous, but she was also super cute in her little get up and she did great. Then the lady was like, “Hello! Joey! Are you ready?” And as a monster I instinctively said, “Rar,” and put my paws up at her! She was all like, “Yes. That’s amazing.” We took a couple of pictures and then she ran over to the girls at the computer and said, “That one!” Little did I know 24 hours after The Monster Ball I ended up here LadyVirgin.com in 9/02 Milwaukee Featured Monster Section! So cool!

We got up to our section 421 and bought some sodas and started to get ready for the opening act Semi Precious Weapons. While we were waiting for the opening act they were playing some good music and I may or may not be up on YouTube via a strangers camera. Kristi and I were getting our freak on to Ludacris and I believe I made one of the lady ushers night. If you go to Gaga you gotta shake your ass and be a free bitch, baby! As the clock approached closer to 8:00 pm I was getting excited to see Semi Precious Weapons, I’ve been playing their cd in my garage for almost a month now and I think they are amazing!

As per instructed on Semi Precious Weapons website I printed out the cut out of Justin, the lead singer, and I held his face proud during their sexy 45 minutes on stage. I love glam and I love rock! They were such a bunch of free crazy bisexual hotties! Owwa! When Justin began to chant, “LADY GAGA! LADY GAGA! LADY GAGA!” I got super excited for the moment was almost here: Lady Gaga and me. Of course I wasn’t the only one at the concert but the intimate relationship she shares with her fans it feels like a real loving relationship between two close friends. She knows this and we know this, we are all family in a world where we are made to believe that being different is slutty, inappropriate, and wrong in God’s eyes. You do not have to conform to society’s idea of what is normal!

The stage got dark, the scrim came down, and the projector started to project images of the monster that is Lady Gaga. My heart started to thump in time with the beat, knowing that she opens with Dance In The Dark, my favorite song, I begin to tear up. When the projection leaves and under the scrim is Lady Gaga, I am in heaven. I am where I belong with my musical best friend. She begins to sing and I just lose it, more tears for one of the happiest moments of my life. All you can see is her beautiful shadow as she sings and dances in the dark. The imagery and lyrics to this song create a place for me and all the loved ones I’ve ever lost, we are together and we dance in the dark. I haven’t been this moved since I saw my first gospel choir in a Black Baptist Church, the spirit is alive in Gaga!

After that song you get to see Gaga in the flesh doing what she does best: singing live, dancing, and putting on a good show. I’m proud to know that I have exposed my sister Jackie to a true artist, a genuine loving caring, individual who made Jackie’s first concert epic.

Later during the concert Gaga started to speak telling you things that you long to hear from your wayward parents or friends, something usually coming from a motivational speaker, but with Gaga it’s all real and honest, no bullshit. She tells us you can be whoever you wanna be and she tells us that she was a freak in high school and that she never fit in. Again I cry because it’s like hearing these things for the first time again: I did not fit in, I was a freak, and I’m gay. She expressed her opinions about being gay and how it’s okay and I just felt like a million bucks. No one woman can make you feel like this other than your mother, just an amazing concert.

When the concert was over Kristi and I went to the meet and greet with Semi Precious Weapons where we got autographs on Justin’s cut out head and the CD. We also got our picture taken with them, it turned out blurry, but who cares. I met one of Gaga’s dearest friends and the lead singer messed up my hair, just awesome! I left the Bradley Center a new man who had barely a voice from screaming for Lady Gaga harder than any roller coaster ride or injury in my life. We drove home that night happy, changed monsters.

The following day at work, as I was opening the store, the concert was still brewing in my mind and I broke down crying. I was crying because I’ve never felt so free in all my life. I’ve never felt this way and will never feel this way again. Some may call this brainwashing or something, I’d like to say it was genuine inspiration for a better life and a better world. We need less hate and more love like Lady Gaga. To those of you who say she is not a relevant pop culture figure, you have not experienced The Monster Ball. This is a woman who writes her own songs, sings live, and plays a plethora of instruments. Lady Gaga is a genuine artist who is possibly one of the most loving creatures on this Earth. Needless to say I’ll never be the same after The Monster Ball.

Thank you Lady Gaga for all that you do for us!

Love,
Joey Monster