Countdown to Gaga

It's the most exciting thing to happen in Pittsburgh since... well, since McCartney came on August 19.

She's coming.

4 days.

Gaga.

And we're all counting down.

Highlighted today on the post-gazette homepage is this fantastic photo by PG photographer Mike Henninger, who found clear evidence of the GAGA hysteria on a trip downtown. This statue outside the the Art Institute of Pittsburgh was decorated to mark the star's imminent arrival.

The basic jist of of what we're all feeling is this:

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[Consol Energy Center]

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A spectacle like none other.

But what can we really expect from the upcoming Lady Gaga concert besides the assured bleached highlights and scantily clad dancers?

Well, for one, we will definitely see the star give it her all on stage for her "Little Monsters—" Gaga's own term for her devoted fans. [As an aside, have you seen this article about the newest, and perhaps most famous, little monster of all??]

Gaga is sure to go to great lengths on Sunday to please her Pittsburgh fans. She already went under the knife to prove how important her 'Little Monsters' are to her. Maybe an inked Pittsburgh skyline will surface in the future? An appearance at PNC park? A trip to Primantis? We can only dream. 

Amid all the speculation, one thing's for certain. Gaga's masterful use of online marketing has made her one of the most successful artists in the business these days, and all that capital, the millions upon millions, has got to go somewhere. My guess is that this show at the Consol Energy Center— from the lights, to the sounds, to the crowd— will be positively epic.

Still not as excited as I clearly am? Try re-living the phenomenal performance Gaga gave alongside Elton John in January to open the 2010 Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in LA.

Ga-ga-ooh-la-la, indeed.

- Beth