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SXSW

South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of film, interactive, and music festivals and conferences that take place every spring (usually in March) in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987, and has continued to grow in size every year. SXSW Music is the largest music festival of its kind in the world, with more than 2,200 "official" performers and bands playing in more than 100 venues. SXSW Music offers artist-provided music and video samples of featured artists at each festival via their official YouTube channel.

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Bold Missions

It was announced on March 6, 2014, that fans must complete a bold mission for the chance to get a ticket to the show. "There are personal brave moments when you face one person, and brave moments that help change the world, when you face many," Gaga tells Rolling Stone. "Both are equally as important. My bravest acts have been the conceptual choices I’ve made when writing music. Whether I’m fighting for equal rights with Born This Way or fighting for creativity and art with ARTPOP, I’m always aware of the many I will face in opposition. With ARTPOP, I hope to inspire the audience at SXSW to cherish their individual talents. This simple act keeps music and art alive in a very commercial world."

For SXSW badge holders, they can be admitted to the show but SXSW will conduct ticket drawings, which grant priority entry for SXSW Platinum and Music Badges as well as SXSW Music Festival and Artist Wristbands.To enter a drawing, SXSW Platinum and Music Badge or Music Festival Wristband and Artist Wristband holders will have their credentials scanned and be given a bold challenge at any of the connection centers located in the Austin Convention Center from 10am-6pm Tuesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 12. After the drawing ends, the randomly-selected winners will be sent an email with further instructions no later than 12 hours before the show. Winners will be instructed where to obtain their tickets. Entrants who are not selected will also be notified by email at this time. A FAQ is available on the SXSW website.

It's also possible to win tickets through a special program that gives fans a chance to express their individuality. From March 6 until Wednesday, March 12, Doritos brand will reveal a series of challenges – known as Bold Missions – that fans must complete for a chance to gain access to the show. A special website explaining the Bold Missions is available here.

#BoldBravery

Mission Tell us about a bold thing you have done that makes you stand out as an individual for a chance to see Lady Gaga at the Doritos #BoldStage.
Proof Tweet, Instagram or Vine a picture or video that expresses your individuality through a bold action, and tag the post with the hashtags #boldstage and #boldbravery to enter. Videos must be between 6 - 15 seconds long.
Schedule Submissions close on 3/8/14 at 12:00 p.m. (CST).
Results announced on 3/11/14; Travel 3/13–15
Reward An all-expenses-paid trip (1) to SXSW 2014 and VIP ticket for one at the #BoldStage.

#BoldHaircut

Mission Find our barber and get an electrifying haircut in front of a wild crowd. Don’t get shocked by your new look.
Proof Tweet, Instagram or Vine a video of your haircut in progress, and tag the post with the hashtags #boldstage and #boldhaircut to enter.
Schedule Wednesday 3/12/14 2:00–5:00 p.m. (CST)
Thursday 3/15/14 1:00–4:00 p.m. (CST)
Reward One ticket to the #BoldStage for Lady Gaga’s performance on Thursday night and a new haircut. 8 winners will be selected.

#BoldSuitcase

#BoldPerformer

#BoldLeap

#BoldSwap, #BoldUpdate and #BoldMoves

#BoldDerby

March 13, 2014

As part of the SXSW Music Festival, Gaga will perform for the Born This Way Foundation Night on the Doritos #BoldStage. For the night, the #BoldStage will be located at Stubb's at 8th and Red River. To gain entry, 2 200 tickets are being given to people doing "Bold Missions".

For an article about the show, Gaga explained to Rolling Stone that:

The ARTPOP performance at SXSW will be a completely one-off set and experience. I’ve been dreaming of this moment. It’s all about the music and the connection with the crowd, and I want the audience in Austin to see me live in a way I never have before. I love theatrics, but I started out singing at a piano with a Bud Light in a bikini. Performing at Stubb's is a real blast from my past, I can’t wait to celebrate with the audience how far music can go when we believe and stick together. It’s moments like these that I live for.

Lady Gaga for Rolling Stone

During Lady Gaga’s appearance on NBC’s Today show on March 21, 2014, she claimed that her and Brown’s stage show displayed the essence of her "ARTPOP" album, adding that neither performer was surprised by the negative reaction they received from some quarters.

I guess we weren’t completely surprised. Millie Brown and I know that not everyone's going to love that performance, but we both really believe in artistic expression and strong identities and I support her and what she does. "ARTPOP" is about bringing music and art together in the spirit of creative rebellion, and for us that performance was art in its purest form. But we totally understand that some people won’t be into it. [Controversy] doesn't matter. We don't make things for any intention in particular other than in the spirit of entertaining the crowd and really for the moment. It was meant for a club performance in Austin, and it was a great time.

Lady Gaga on NBC's The Today Show

A writer for Rolling Stone noted that "For the rest of the show, Gaga would have this black sheen, marking her as a metaphorical survivor of rape and an actual survivor of performance art."

During The Howard Stern Show interview on December, 2014 Howard Stern had asked Lady Gaga about a controversial SXSW performance of "Swine" and she told:

The song is about rape. The song is about demoralization. The song is about rage and fury and passion, and I had a lot of pain that I wanted to release [...] I said to myself, 'I want to sing this song while I'm ripping hard on a drum kit, and then I want to get on a mechanical bull' – which is probably one of the most demoralizing things that you can put a female on in her underwear – 'and I want this chick to throw up on me in front of the world so that I can tell them, you know what? You could never, ever degrade as much as I could degrade myself, and look how beautiful it is when I do.

Lady Gaga on The Howard Stern Show

Performance

Lady Gaga opened her SXSW set at Stubb's in Austin, Texas, strapped onto a giant spitroast. Prior to Lady Gaga's arrival on stage at 10pm local time, a spotlit woman on the stage ate BBQ meat and sausages in front of the crowd, pouring sauce over herself for a good five minutes. Tied to a spit, Lady Gaga was rolled on and rotated, as leather clad men 'tenderised' the singer, by grabbing her bottom and thighs as she sang "Aura." Let down from the spit, Gaga went on to address the crowd, saying: "Are you having a good time? I've been having such a good time all week. I haven't showered. I've been drinking a lot and eating. Are you hungry?" She then played "MANiCURE", during which she pulled off her shirt, playing the rest of the set in her bra and knickers. "Jewels N' Drugs" featuring Twista followed, with Gaga's band showering the crowd with beer, as did as the woman who had eaten the meat at the start of the show. At the end of the song, Lady Gaga told the crowd to stop taking pictures on their camera phones, saying: "Do me a favour and don't take a picture. Put your fucking phones down. Fuck your cell phones and fuck your friends instead." "Swine" saw Gaga welcoming a "friend from London", artist Millie Brown, onto the stage, whilst neon signs saying "Lady Gaga's BBQ - Haus of Swine" lit up at the back of the stage. After Lady Gaga was vomited on by Millie Brown, covering the singer and stage in luminous green-colored liquid, the pair clambered atop a large brass pig styled bucking bronco, which had a ball gag in its mouth, and rode it together, simulating sex. Brown continued to vomit on Gaga and her white apron until the track's close. A solo piano performance of "Dope" was followed by a country music, fiddle-assisted version of "Bad Romance." After that Lady Gaga welcomed her friends in the band Semi Precious Weapons onto the stage. She sang an a cappella song with lyrics about them, followed by the set-ending Applause." Lady Gaga's friends hugged and drank beer. "Gypsy" was dedicated to the victims of the car crash in the early hours of morning of March 13, 2014. "I really want to dedicate this song to the tragedy of last night," said Gaga, who added that life is "so short sometimes and it's so unfair." She then said: "When you leave this earth no-one's gonna give a fuck what you tweeted."

Setlist
  1. "Aura"
  2. "MANiCURE"
  3. "Jewels N' Drugs (feat. Twista)
  4. "Swine" (with Millie Brown)
  5. "Dope"
  6. "Bad Romance" (Country Version)
  7. "Applause"
  8. "Gypsy" (Acoustic)

March 14, 2014

KeyNote Speech with John Norris

Interview

Dress and boots by Gareth Pugh.

Backstage

  1. Custom T-shirt by Christian Benner, sneakers by Reebok customized by East Village Shoe Repair, and sunglasses by Prada.

Trivia


Links

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