: Unlike traditional concerts, Gaga framed the show as a "pop-electro opera". The narrative follows Gaga and her friends traveling through New York to reach the "Monster Ball," overcoming obstacles in a metaphor for self-discovery and the search for acceptance.
Madison Square Garden at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, New York.
"And then I realized," Gaga continued, pounding a single key. "The only way to stop feeling like a monster… is to throw a party for the monster. You don't kill it. You don't hide it. You give it a stage. You give it platform boots and glitter and a beat so loud it scares the shadows away."
"I wrote most of these songs in a tiny apartment," she said, her voice raw. "I was lonely. I was broke. I felt like a monster. But not the cool, shiny kind. The kind people cross the street to avoid."