Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker of New York group Daisy the Great told us about their Lady Gaga and Panther Hollow experiences...
Kelley Dugan: My favorite concert experience was seeing Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall with my mom when I was about 15. I’m from New York City and Gaga went to my school growing up. As a very musical and ambitious kid, I was so in awe of her and all she was creating as she was growing as an artist. I looked up to her so much and still do!!!! I was really interested in the NY club scene/LES music world and I was so excited because Semi Precious Weapons was opening the show. It was all so cool to me, and I remember thinking they were so awesome and theatrical and freaky and glamorous. I was so inspired. Jason Derulo was also direct support if you can believe it. I was a gigantic Imogen Heap fan in high school, still am, and I was mostly curious about Jason Derulo because of ‘Whatcha Say’ which borrowed the end of Imogen’s song ‘Hide and Seek’, which is one of my favorite songs of all time.
I made a 7 part vocal arrangement of it for my school choir the following year. Anyway, all night the tension was growing at Radio City and when Gaga’s set started I got crazy chills– it was so suspenseful and so epic. I was so moved by seeing how she built such a creative and massive show. I grew up playing piano and I remember feeling so delighted by seeing her play and smack her heel on the keys and it really rocked me and imbued me with this wish to be really proficient and really playful and really fearless on stage. The way she performed was so primal and so filled with love for the music and for the crowd. It was really palpable in the room.
I remember there being a lot of video interludes, crazy amazing costumes and sets, high moments and really stripped back vulnerable moments, and I loved the idea of crafting a show that was so detailed and theatrical and captivating. I also loved being there with my mom because my mom taught me to sing when I was little – she’s an opera singer, and she is my favorite person in the world. It was very special to be able to be there with her.
Mina Walker: It’s so hard to pick a favorite concert, but honestly my favorite experiences are usually watching my friends perform. One time I remember being so moved by was watching Nardo, our guitarist do a set for our friends Aviv and Kristen’s wedding, which was basically a music festival they set up I think in Massachusetts? And it was so many friends who we’ve been friends with for 10 years playing music they wrote when we were all growing up together.
Nardo’s band Panther Hollow played a set, and I was crying the whole time ,hearing both songs I was fond of for so long and new songs. His songwriting has always been so wonderful and poignant, and he really lit up in a new way at this particular show, probably because he was performing for everyone he loved. Everyone was singing along. He also decided to do most or all of the set guitarless, which is very unusual for him because he is the primo guitarist. His singing and stage presence was so uninhibited and beautiful and I just felt so moved to see how lived in and free his music felt. I guess I was also feeling nostalgic and warm about knowing everyone for so long.
Daisy the Great's The Rubber Teeth Talk With Friends album is out now.
Photo credit: Athen Smith
