Dive Bar Tour (Lady Gaga)

The Dive Bar Tour was a promotional concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, sponsored by Bud Light, in support of the singer's fifth studio album '' Joanne'' (2016). The tour visited three dive bars in the United States on the 5, 20 and 27 of October in 2016. All performances were live streamed on Bud Light's Facebook page.

Background

In a statement, Gaga said: "My first performances were in dive bars in New York City and around the country, so working with Bud Light to go back to my roots to perform songs from my new album ''Joanne'' is such an exciting way to connect with my fans and share this music with them for the first time", and added that the venues would accentuate the "raw Americana vibe" of her upcoming album. She added that she wanted to "have a more natural human experience" with her audience, something which was not possible with her stadium shows.

Prior the tour, it was reported that the audience will be made up of winners of an unknown contest, and all shows will be live streamed on Bud Light's Facebook page. The locations of the shows were kept a secret, and passes were given to the selected audience members only shortly before each show took place, to avoid large groups of people turning up, who wouldn't be able to fit into the small clubs.

According to ''People'', hearing impaired people representing the group ''Not Impossible'' were invited to the first concert, in Nashville, who were introduced to a "groundbreaking technology" that included "a custom vest, wristbands and ankle bands that vibrated in time with the music." In addition, all songs were performed in sign language by famed interpreter Amber Gallego.

Concert synopsis

For her Nashville show, Gaga took the stage in a black and gold jacket and a pink hat with matching rhinestone-bedecked hat band. She sat down, and started performing "Sinner's Prayer" while strumming an acoustic-guitar, before her band started to play their instruments. For " A-Yo", she stood up and played an electric guitar. After asking the audience to call her Joanne for the night, she invited Hillary Lindsey on stage, with whom she co-wrote two songs for the ''Joanne'' album. They then performed "Million Reasons" together. For the final song, " Perfect Illusion", Gaga removed the hat and jacket, and danced around the stage in a crop top, while whipping her ponytail around.

At The Bitter End, in New York City, Gaga donned a see-through shirt, emblazoned with the logo of tour sponsor Bud Light, and jean shorts. After debuting the track "Diamond Heart", she invited Mark Ronson on stage. They performed "A-Yo" together, with both of them playing electric guitar. Gaga then shared the story of her late aunt Joanne with the audience, and how her death impacted her family. She performed the song named after her while playing acoustic guitar, and dedicated it to her father. She called Lindsey on stage, telling the audience how they wrote the following song "Grigio Girls" together, which Gaga then dedicated to her friend, Sonja, who was battling cancer and was present in the audience. "Million Reasons" and "Just Another Day" was performed with Gaga playing a piano. After the performance was over, Gaga went on to the roof of the bar using the fire escape, where she reprised "Joanne" and debuted new track " Angel Down" to the crowd standing outside, who were unable to get in due to the limited capacity of the venue.

The final show in Los Angeles's the Satellite started with Gaga walking through the audience with two of her dancers, while performing "Come to Mama". They were dressed in matching jackets with two letters written on each of them, which made up the word Joanne when they stood next to each other. After performing "A-Yo", for which she was again joined on stage by Ronson, Gaga debuted new song " John Wayne". She then thanked her global audience for purchasing the track "Million Reasons", and performed the song. After giving a speech about the importance of love and respect, she sang "Angel Down", and changed up the lyrics to reference shooting victim Trayvon Martin in the outro of the song. Talking about her family led to a performance of the track "Joanne". Before performing the final song, "Perfect Illusion", Gaga changed into a white crop top and denim shorts. During the performance, she crowdsurfed, and poured beer onto her head.

Critical reception

Reviewing Gaga's Nashville performance, Jewly Hight from '' Billboard'' opined that the Dive Bar Tour is "a return to her humble performing roots" and an "experiment with transforming how she presents her music and herself." She added that "judging from Wednesday's show, Gaga's latest reinvention has her embracing emotional directness, and coming from her, that too packs a punch."

Reviewing the show at New York City, Yohana Desta from '' Vanity Fair'' wrote that "the show featured some of Gaga's best characteristics: strong vocals, dedicated performance, coaxed emotions (she seemed to tear up at certain parts of the night, inspiring some fans to tear up too)." She highlighted her performance of "Just Another Day", "in which the singer hammed it up behind the piano, resting her foot on the instrument in a trademark move", and Gaga's impromptu performance on the bar's roof as the most memorable parts of the show.

Eve Barlow from '' LA Weekly'' reviewed her show in Los Angeles's the Satellite, and called it "bonkers" to watch "one of the world's biggest superstars in a room with just 300 people", and appreciated the opportunity to get to see her up close, which was not possible with her stadium-sized shows. She added that "her set runs through emotions the way musicals move through scenes", and while she believed that "at the age of 30 she seems to have left some of the poses of her 20s behind, ..she remains pure theater, a one-woman '' Annie Get Your Gun''."

Set lists

Shows

Cancelled shows

Personnel

*Lady Gaga – vocals, guitar and piano
*Brockett Parsons – keyboards
*Aaron Spears – drums
*Jonny Good – bass
*Ricky Tillo – guitar
*Tim Stewart – guitar
*Mark Ronson – guitar
*Hillary Lindsey – Background vocals (Nashville and New York)

References

{{Lady Gaga, state=expanded

2016 concert tours
Concert tours of the United States
Concert tours of North America
Lady Gaga concert tours