Did you see Lady Gaga in concert? Were you accompanied by little people? Were you horrified when Lady Gaga told everyone to get their c**ks out? I really wish I’d been there but without my kids because that would have defeated the purpose of being out at a Lady Gaga concert.
If I wanted to go to a concert with my kids? I’d buy Wiggles tickets. Oh wait, I’ve been doing that for 12 years and counting.
Oh come on people, do we really need a ratings system for concerts? How about the fact THEY ONLY START AT 9PM? Is that maybe your first clue that it’s not a suitable place to take your 8-year-old daughter?
Ok wait, maybe I’m being harsh.
Let’s hear the background. News Ltd reports…..
BLOOD, sex, gore, eating disorders and so much more – all in a day’s work for singer Lady Gaga. But when her Australian tour kicked off this week, using elements of bulimia, binge drinking and expletives as props, the chaperoning parents in the audience were not dancing to the same beat as other fans.
They are asking why no Australian concert is obliged to carry a classification to warn them, say, that a woman in a G-string might ask a kid to “get their c. . k out”?
There has never been a body set up to regulate the material featured in live performances in this country or force them to disclose warnings.
In her Monster Ball show, Gaga takes the audience into a gothic Wizard Of Oz land, where a video of a model making herself vomit onto Gaga is shown on a film loop. “This is a place where you can be free. A place where all the freaks are outside and I locked the f. . .ing door,” Gaga said during her show.
Linda Fitzsimmons took her nine-year-old daughter Jessica to the debut show on Wednesday and said that she was “shocked and surprised” by it.
VIDEO: The making of Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone’
“I couldn’t believe it. (Jessica) likes her songs and I’m OK with her listening to them. There’s no swearing in them and she’s too young to understand the hidden meaning,” she said. “But if I tried to take her to an MA 15+ movie someone would stop me at the counter. Why not with concerts?”
Promoter Michael Coppel said it is almost impossible to classify a concert and the responsibility lies with the parent. “It’s hard to rate a show. What someone might see as risque differs from person to person,” he said.
The Classification Review Board said it was not their area to comment on.
Mr Coppel said he doubted that Australian tours would ever carry classifications, because most promoters do not see the show before they book it.
When I was a kid, the first concert I remember going to was with my parents and it was The Osmonds.
That was a pretty hectic night for an 8-year-old and they were Mormons!
So what is it with today’s parents where we think it’s cool to be taking our kids to adult concerts? I include myself in this group because I took my 12 year old to see Beyonce last year. He was pretty luke warm about the idea but I had a spare ticket and couldn’t find anyone else to come with me.
I thought it would be fun. It was but he got sleepy and we had to leave early. This is not surprising because it was 11pm and he is a child. My bad. Didn’t think that one through.
Perhaps the key is that there is less of a gap now between the music we listen to and the music our kids listen to. It’s not like when our grandparents were listening to – I don’t know, Beethoven? – and our parents were rebelling with Elvis.
Like many parents, I like to listen to the radio when I’m in the car and my kids are frequently with me so it’s no wonder they know who Lady Gaga is. Now we ALL listen to the Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift and Gaga and Jay Z and Lily Allen.
But song lyrics (which kids – and adults – frequently get wrong anyway) are very different to concerts.
I remember reading recently about The Veronicas in concert and how it was full of mums taking their young daughters – around 8,9,10 – and looking rather askance when Jessica and (who’s the other one?) introduced one of their songs by shouting to the crowd “This is for all of you who’ve had your hearts broken by a cheating bastard”.
Uh-huh, yep, rightio then!
(Similarly, even a mother I know who took her 7 and 9 year old daughters to see Taylor Swift (along with every other mother or father of a tween or teenage girl) was a bit non-plussed when Tay-Tay started waxing lyical about heartbreak. “When a guy breaks your hearts girls you trust me that I know exactly how you feel and I’ll be right here beside you all the way! Woo!”)
This must prove something of a problem for artists who are deriving more and more of the income from touring now that CD sales are tanking. I imagine The Veronicas don’t want to be kiddie entertainers or else they would have auditioned for Hi-5.
They want to sing about the things they’re experiencing as artists and women in their twenties. Which is probably boys and drugs and threesomes and working out who the hell you are.
But those grown-up life experiences are a little….alien? Inappropriate? Not relevant to little girls who just want to sing along to a catchy melody and flick their hair around a bit.
So here is my thinking: sure, let your kids sing along to the radio, download the music onto their ipods but maybe don’t let them watch the music videos or go to the concerts – which are both aimed at an adult audience.
Do you think there should be a classification system for concerts? I truly don’t believe the argument that it’s too hard – it’s not THAT hard. Everything else is classified. But surely parents should also exercise some responsibility and judgement, yes?
And any concert that starts after 8pm is probably not going to be suitable for little kids.
[*A total side note: What I noticed most about the shots of the Gaga concert was that her boobs are real! It's a bit sad that this is such a revelation or even bears comment but there's something so lovely about seeing that natural fold of a natural breast. Seeing it makes me realise how rare it is to see in pop culture icons anymore....
Go Gaga.]
Do you think there should be a ratings system? Were you at a Gaga concert and what did you think? Do you remember the first concert you ever went to?
Comments
246 Comments so far
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I was at the concert last night in Melbourne and ever after all this was horrified to see SO MANY children there. One woman had two 8-year-olds with her.
They had their ears covered for the first 20 minutes of the concert, and then they left once images of Gaga eating a heart while blood ran out her eyes was projected on the big screen. I hope the poor babies didn’t have nightmares.
I even saw a girl who couldn’t have been older than 5 or 6 in the audience. The language, the costumes and the content were entirely inappropriate.
All that said, for anyone 18+ (or, 16+ is also probably fine) she was AMAZING. If there are tickets left, go get them now! The woman is genius!
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i was doing a show a few years back and while there was not a classificationa s such there was a restriciton on children under the age of 8. Sorry i but i think this is firmly in the court of the parent. Do you take your kid to a night club and then complain they serve alcohol to any one in the venue?? I’m sorry if i offend but it’s up to you not the censorship board who get it wrong more than right anyway. This stuff makes me angry, i now teach kids and i got complaints because we sang “we will rock you” at the request of a 5 yr old. The problem was we sang the word blood. There is no way of knowing what each child will find frightening or too much but their parent.
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Anybody who has seen Lady GaGa’s music videos would have a good idea what her concert would be like. Parents need to do the research themselves and figure out if it’s ok for their kids or not. I love Lady GaGa but there is no way in hell I would take my kids to her concert!
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I gave my 15 year old daughter tickets to Taylor Swift for Christmas. I couldnt NOT believe when I was there, the amount of kids under the age of 10, some as young as 6.
Firstly, what the hell does a 10 year old (or younger) need to be out after 8pm on a school night. Secondly, those tickets were around the $100 mark. I struggled to pay for 2 and one was a Christmas gift! What kind of spoilt 10 year old has that kind of money spent on them!!
I hate to sound like my mother but my god why do we give our kids EVERYTHING these days? I thought twice about taking my 15 year old. I work in the education system with young children and their access to everything instant, adult and often their extreme lack of patience should be of genuine concern to parents. But its us that perpetuate it. Who is in charge? Our children or us?
Seriously, how can you go to a Lady Ga Ga concert and expect it to be Hi 5 with just a bit more glitter?
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Its a storm in a teacup! Her 8 or 9 year old is allowed to listen to Lady Gaga but surely you’d research past concert reviews to know if this show would be acceptable for that age bracket and given the performers can and do say anything including profanity I’d never have taken a child to this show. I just pity the poor daughter who was probably excited to see Lady Gaga live and was yanked out of the show because her Mother was offended.
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“I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”
The meanings aren’t that hidden, when asked to confirm what that meant the fair Lady said outright that it did mean penis.
That would’ve been easy to find out if the parents had done any research. And that’s not all, the rest of her songs are all about drinking and hooking up.. and she never wears pants!
I don’t have children and I still wouldn’t take them.
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i don’t know, i think the mum in the article answered her own question by saying that her daughter doesn’t understand the hidden meaning. so she’s aware that there is another layer to lady gaga songs that would perhaps be a bit more overt in film clips/concerts etc.
as well as that, these tickets are expensive! it’d be a hassle taken smaller children to a late night concert, having to make sure they’re alright in the crowd, getting home afterwards etc etc. concerts are for an older audience, i always thought.
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Everyone keeps going on about how parents should be responsible for what thier children view. This is true, parents SHOULD be responsible, but the reality is that they AREN’T!!!
So, what exactly is the harm in a ratings system. A ratings system does not mean that the performer has to change, it just means that the age of the viewer is limited. If so many parents aren’t going to be responsible, maybe “society” has to force a bit of responsiblity on them?
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I think the distinction is that some parents are happy for their kids to view this sort of content, so if a ratings system was created it would limit their freedom as to how they can parent their children. Things should be left as they are… parents who wish to limit their children’s exposure should just be aware that the onus is on them to do so.
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I understand your point nat, but I guess it’s a matter of priorites for me. Is it more important to preserve the right of these parents to parent, or to preserve the right of the children who’s parents couldn’t be bothered parenting. You’d be hard pressed to find too many parents that think that Gaga’s concert content is appropriate for tweens, problem is SO many parents clearly dont think about it at all.
I mean, many parents think it’s fine to smack their children, but society has legislated against it, even though the arguments here are far less clear than those surrounding Gagas content. Similarly, how come it is ok to put limits on kids watching movies, but not concerts. What’s the difference? Those ratings are there to protect people.
Just because you managed to give birth doesn’t mean you have the right to do whatever you like with your kids. So IF parents choose not to protect thier kids, then someone else must step in.
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possibly but when i was about 16 my mum wanted to allow my sister and i to see a movie that was r rated (because of the violence) and she was not able to even though she was there.She was very full on and prtective of us but she couldn’t see the point of this particular rating as she had see the movie with my dad (the biggest prude in the world and both had ok it) So what about their right to escort me to a film?? I guess i am just tired of people popping out kids an expecting someone else to make the decisions
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I strongly believe that it is the responsibility of the parent to research the suitability of the content of concerts before purchasing tickets for their kids. Same as any movie, play or TV show – whether it is rated or not, if you want to protect your kids, you take the responsibility.
I saw Gaga’s thursday night concert last week and LOVED IT – she is amazing! I must admit I was shocked at how many teens, tweens and kids were there and I agree that some of the content was not appropriate for them. If I had to choose though, I would prefer that the kids weren’t there rather than Gaga being forced to limit her freedom of performance. On a perfectly selfish note, our experience was diminished somewhat having all these kiddies around us – they don’t dance, they don’t cheer, they don’t even smile! Perhaps because they’re too young to understand what’s going on around them? It ruins the atmosphere.
It was also interesting to see how many kids/teens were there without supervision but were obviously not deemed old enough to make their own way home as the road outside was clogged with parents waiting in their cars. This is the greater evil. Last year I was at a Presets (all ages) gig at the hordern where there were more tweens and teens than there were adults. Some very drunk teens and tweens as well. And some very naked ones. Obviously one girl had decided it would be cool to take her top off and dance around in just her bra and half the crowd had copied. Then there was the bumping, grinding and making out!!! The gig finished, shirts were replaced and the kiddies met Mummy and Daddy outside for their ride home – with M&D none the wiser as to what went on inside.
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The problem here is the IF in the first sentence. IF you want to protect your child. What about the rights of the children whos parents don’t want to protect them? Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you should be able to do whatever you like with them.
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I agree, obviously Gaga concerts are not a good place for kiddies. BUT, in regards to the rating system, I’m not sure its such a bad idea. I mean, I’m kinda sensitive when it comes to a lot of things. Of course, being this way I probably wouldn’t go to a gaga concert either, but it would be nice to know approximatly what to expect at other concerts. Why can’t the same rating system used for movies be used for concerts? i would like to be warned if there’s going to be video’s of vomiting on people (eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww) or references to S&M or other things covered by the rating system. obviously it’s not going to be perfect, but isn’t it fair to give fair warning?
It used to be concerts were about the music and the atmosphere nowadays,who knows what you might find!
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Just wanted to add that I’m not talking about obvious concerts like Gaga here, just a general heads up in regards to concert content. Not a control thing, just a warning. I also agree that swearing etc couldn’t really be controlled here, cause, well, that just kinda comes out! i dunno, i haven’t been to a concert for years, and maybe this stuff is obvious if you look into it, but honestly, people are lazy and often you have to spell things out. At least an MA rating might give a few people reason to look more carefully at the content instead of the limited “I LURVE thier music” so i’ll go to their concert
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You only have to listen to her music and watch some of her music videos to know that a Lady Gaga concert is probably not going to be appropriate viewing for a child. This story just had me shaking my head when I first heard it. Why take your 9 year old to a concert by an adult artist and then complain that it’s themes/language/images were innappropriate? Of course they were – Lady Gaga is not a children’s entertainer, she doesn’t write her songs and make her videos for children.
I went to a Pink concert last year and I was actually surprised by the amount of children there – it had never occurred to me that people would actually think a Pink concert would be suitable for kids. My 5 year old daughter likes listening to Pink’s cds with me but there is no way I would take her to a concert.
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I went and saw Lady Gaga on Saturday night (LOVED IT btw) and saw plenty of younger kids there as in myabe 8 or 10 yr olds and I was horrified! Knowing what some of her songs are like, even if they don’t get the hidden meanings, the videos should be enough for parents to know that it isn’t a concert for kids!
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I’ve come to this one late and haven’t read all the comment but wanted to say I felt EXACTLY the same about Gaga’s breasts – YAY for them! And how extraordinary that they are so extraordinary!
Not sure what I think about classification, but maybe some of these artists who have such a young fan base (who are probably some of the biggest consumers of their albums and merch) should think about a one off daytime concert on their tours for the kiddies…I think that would be awesome for kids and parents!! And another potential money spinner for them….
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I agree 100% Mia, we are talking adult entertainment in an adult timeslot. I couldn’t believe how many kids were taken to the Pink concert. It’s not hard to work out a concert is for grown ups.
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LMFAO…. Why Would ANY parent, who doesn’t want their kids exposed to the world of sex, drugs, etc… to a Lady Gaga Concert?! I think its pretty obvious what she’s like ay!? I highly doubt one would buy a $100+ ticket to see an artist without knowing what they’re known for…..
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I don’t like Lady Gaga much, and I wouldn’t go to see her show.
The first concert I went to was Culture Club with Do Re Mi with Mum in 1983. I was 8/9. I didn’t fall asleep! When I watched an old countdown on Rage years later, I was blown away by their overt homosexuality! But that was after I became a fag hag anyway.
I saw Pink on her last two tours, maybe not so much for the kids. Why would you think Gaga would be any different? You know, aside from the fact she’s quite mental…
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I’ve seen a few comments about this woman trying to be a cool mum or others trying to. I HAVE a Cool Mum. I took her to Green Day for her 59th birthday. My Mum is not a try-hard at all. She just likes music and likes concerts. I’ve been to tons of concerts with her over the years! And if she didn’t come, she dropped us at the Entertainment Centre or Hordern and picked us up.
And one of her first concerts was the Beatles when she was 13/14! Clearly I come from a line of irresponsible parents.
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I think there’s a big difference between 1) being a cool mum who has an interest in their children and knows what their children like/dislike, and 2) TRYING to be a cool mum who thinks she’ll be popular for taking her kids to the latest concert!
As Kris2040 points out – her mum is cool, and if they enjoy the same act – they attend the concert together. Kris2040 – As a cool mum, your mum would’ve known what music you loved, what the band/artist was like, and if their concert might’ve contained the odd swear word (which to me is o.k.), or if their concert would’ve been totally inappropriate (like Lady Gaga).
It’s not irresponsible parenting to be cool and enjoy what your kids enjoy, and share the experience with them. It’s just irresponsible parenting to buy tickets to a performer without really knowing anything about that performer – if this mother had knows anything about Lady Gaga – she wouldn’t have taken her child! So I guess this mum wast TRYING to be a cool mum. lol
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I reckon you’re bang on, my Mum totally rocks. Its funny cos she’s used to being in the car on her own, and when any one, even us, get into the car, she has to turn it down! You know, cos she’s been yelling along to Pearl Jam. Coolest. Mum. Ever.
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Lady Gaga asked Boy George to autograph her vagina. Read an article, watch an interview – spend all of 5 minutes familiarising yourself with her work and persona and most rational individuals would quickly come to the conclusion that this diva is a strictly adult entertainer. So the mom got caught out for being lazy and not doing some basic backgrounder on a popular entertainer to see if it was suitable for her child- she wants to point the finger at someone else for not doing the work for her? Give me a break.
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Let’s be realistic here – unless the performer is a MINOR you have to assume any concert has ‘adult’ content. Performers shouldn’t be expected to tone down their ‘artistic expression’ because kids may be present. I don’t feel there’s any need to provide a classified rundown of their show’s content either.
When you go to watch a movie, you usually have no idea of how the plot will unfurl. But when you buy a concert ticket, the artist’s image, songs and reputation are widely known. It’s up to the parent’s to use their best judgement as to whether a child is of the appropriate age – if in doubt, then don’t go. Kids have a lifetime of concert experiences still ahead of them.
I’ve taken my kids to a few concerts when we’ve had free tickets. The only problem we encountered, was when one concert was too loud for one boy, and we ended up having to leave. It’s a good idea to consider earplugs to muffle the volume!
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Well you could be forgiven for thinking the concert would be G rated given the simplistic, puerile music this person makes. Meooowwwww
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Oh please – nobody complains about Lily Allen and there were loads of kids at her concerts and her lyrics are even worse if parents are going to get outraged
“I lie here in the wet patch in the middle of the bed, Im feeling pretty damn hard done by, I spent ages giving head”
Gaga and Lily are indeed very similar, except Gaga uses meatphors and innuendo and Lily just sings exactly what she thinks.
If you dont like whats on TV, you change the channel -if you dont like whats in concert, dont buy tickets. Simple
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Hehe it was HILARIOUS at the Big Day Out how many blokes started to have urgent stuff to check on their phones and in programmes when Lily sang that!
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Now I am nervous….Santa gave myself and miss 6 tickets to see Kelly Clarkson!
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lol Santa has good taste, I’m going to see her too – and she is definitely nothing to worry about vulgarity wise
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There’s no point in putting a rating system out there – like Lu says, there is always someone who thinks it doesn’t apply to them. People need to be responsible for themselves and for the experiences they choose to give their kids.
We gave our 6 yr old daughter a Pink CD for christmas and she loves it (sings “beep” where the F word appears as she knows she’s not allowed to say it). It also had a DVD with videos for about 5 of the songs in it, and we all watched it together, but had to turn it off due to the violence in one of the clips. I didn’t get upset at Pink for creating the clip, or at the producers for not warning us – I chose to put the clip on without vetting it first, so of course it’s my mistake.
I think it’s more of the move towards the litigious society that America seems to be – blame someone else and then see if you can profit from it (I’m not saying that’s what this mother did, but it seems to be a trend).
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I don’t understand why any mother would take her young daughter to Lady Gaga. Honestly! To even make the comment that her daughter doesn’t understand all the inuendo in Gaga’s songs indicates that as a mother she does understand it! So why expect her concert to be anything less than an adult experience.
Why are there parents out there not taking responsibility for their own stupid decisions – not to mention the irresponsible decisions of their children. Teach children right from wrong and lead by example! It’s not really that hard….
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If I don’t go to concerts any more because they are too loud, I would hardly risk my 9 year old’s hearing. Another tip that this mightn’t be a concert for a tween is that Lady Gaga pretty much runs around in a leotard and the latest controversy was whether she had a penis.
You can’t rely on the government or concert organisers to hand hold or spoon feed us.
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I am a bit disappointed. I thought she might do something a bit more for women and ask everyone to get their c**ts out instead of c**ks.
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Touche!
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The band supporting her asked for the women to gets their boobies out, kinda evened things out a little
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I agree – surely parents, at some point, need to take ownership of the choices they make on behalf of their children. A ratings just abdicates all the responsibility of parenting back on somebody else…someone else can be ‘blamed’ for your poor choice.
Parents make mistakes, but at least we should own them and learn from them, and that will teach our children so much more about how to be responsible adults, rather than relying on someone else to make all the important judgment calls for them.
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Ratings will never work because there are so many morons who think the rules apply to everyone but them.
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I don’t think that there is a real need for a classification system for live shows (people ignore the movie ones anyway), but I certainly wouldn’t fight one were it to be created. The one reason I really see it being useful, however, is for those children who’s parents woke speak up for them, and control what they see – some parents are negligent, and if there’s SOMETHING to make them think twice, why is that a bad thing?
I’m only sixteen, and I went to my first concert when I was 6 days away from being 15.I went to a Fall Out Boy concert with three similarly ages friends, and my mum drove us to Melbourne and back. We never left the group, and I felt really safe the whole time. Sure they swore, but who hasn’t heard it by that age?
Whilst I agree that parents should be controlling some of the cruder things children see, I personally don’t understand why they get so upset about the littler swear words (shit etc), unless they’re aimed at them personally. By the time your child is 5, they know those words. Whilst they shouldn’t be saying them, they know that they exist. As long as they’re not said about them or another person, I think people need to relax a little. (Keep in mind, I don’t like swearing, I just think kids aren’t as naive as some people think – they do know they exist).
As my last note, I just wanted to say that I have been listening to kinky songs since I was young – and had no idea of their sexual undertone. You’ll find kids are completely unaware, until they need to be. Whilst they shouldn’t be seeing anything too sexual, if it’s just a sexual undertone to a song, they wont understand it – there’s no reason to ‘protect’ them from something that doesn’t exist to them.
Sorry for the rant xD
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I agree Leah. The first concert I went to was Culture Club. I had no idea what they were singing about until years later watching old countdowns. Countdown was a music show Molly Meldrum used to host. I do remember Mum and I both wondering if Deb Conway was a girl or boy though – she has a deep voice and it was the androgynous 80s.
Mum wouldn’t let me see Guns n Roses for some reason in Yr 8 or whenever they toured, but had no problem with me listening to them, though…
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I too am going to her concert at the end of the week and am absolutly jumping out of my skin to see her….
I just can not get over the fact that this woman is pissing and moaning about how inappropriate the concert was for a 9 yo! Seriously, has she not seen any of her film clips, flipped through ANY magazine or listened to any of her songs on the radio! Wake up and smell the coffee luv! When I heard about it I actually laughed at how stupid and totally ignorant this woman must be!!
I definatly don’t think there should be ratings on concerts! A little research wouldn’t hurt before booking the tickets!! Why spoil a fantastic concert for everyone else who can handle a few swear words and flesh just so someone can bring their children!!!
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I can’t believe parents took their kids to see Lady Gaga. Don’t her music videos say enough? I went to my first concert when i was about 13 and it was Debbie Gibson….that only feels like yesterday….
I don’t think there should be a classification system, but rather parents making a judgement call.
My son listens to and remembers the words of songs on the radio, so i have to be very selective and quickly switch over to another channel….otherwise the lyrics will be repeated.
One tip for parents with young ones….there are shows at the opera house catered for kids!
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I agree with the comments made, just can’t believe that parents are making such obviously bad decisions for their children. When did we become so immune to common sense?
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I went to Cyndi Lauper when I was 10, and Bon Jovi the same year. I loved both concerts, and I don’t remember being psychologically damaged by the content, except that when Jon Bon Jovi got on a flying fox and swung over the audience, his sweat dripped into the crowds. So disgusting. Even worse, some of the teenage girls seemed to like it! That was my 10-year-old take. I can imagine Cyndi saying all sorts of things, but all I recall is the cool outfits and great songs. A bit less *intense* than Gaga although both show ponies!
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Do you know what She Bop is about, now, Maya?
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lol…good point!I do now, back then I had no clue!
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My partner’s ex took their 9 year old son to AC/DC. He’s a mad music freak and actually does like their stuff but seriously…. I think this was more a of a “I’m a cool fun mum” stunt than anything else but it was on a school night and he didn’t get home until something like 2am!
Someone else here said it – music and concerts are very different things. Ratings would never work because even if concerts are rehearsed to a certain extent there is always going to be a spontaneous element to them as well. Plus, you could never control what the other concert goers are going to be like either. I totally agree on the common sense, time of concert, availability of alcohol thing – it can’t be that hard can it?
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Hehe… Completely unrelated note- my post was about AC/DC too and my initials are CB! Bizzare coincidence!! =P
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Of all the media attention that Gaga gets and the why behind such attention, why would any parent think it wise to take their child to her concert?
One parent mentioned that she was OK for her daughter to listen to Gaga’s songs since she didn’t understand the lyrics, but surely the mother did, and therefore had a inkling what her concert would entail?
Que?!
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I’m heading to her concert with my partner in Adelaide on the 3rd of April. I cannot wait!! She is amazing!! I’m 22, my partner is 26. Is it bizzare that he’s as excited as I am??? We saw her when she was here as the supporting artist for the Pussycat Dolls last year and she was just fantastic so we both can’t wait to see her in her own show!!
As for my thoughts on children and her concerts… Uhh… C’mon!?!? How stupid is that lady to think that “oh well she doesn’t swear in her songs- that must be okay” If anyone listens to the lyrics of her music then they will realise that they’re not exactly rainbows and sunshine… Surely you don’t need a rating on a concert to tell you it’s going to be not suitable for children. Parents need to accept responsibility rather than pushing the blame on someone else.
I got yelled at by some big burly bloke at AC/DC because I stepped out of the way so his little boys (maybe age 6 and 8 roughly) could go past- “how f**king dare you push past!! I’m trying to keep watch of my bloody kids!! It’s hard enough without F**king people like you… etc. etc.”
To clear the record- I didn’t actually push- I was letting his kids through and making things easier for him. I just let him abuse me and ignored him- as a young female who was on her own (I was coming back from the toilets to meet my friends) what else could I do!?!?
I couldn’t believe that any parent would bring their small children into a General Admission area (where the mosh pit is) of any concert- let alone an AC/DC one where the girls are getting their tits out, people are pushing, shoving, jumping, fighting, and there were people getting pissed and smoking weed everywhere!! Plus AC/DC’s music is not exactly kid friendly either. It just wasn’t safe or appropriate!!
I have been to a lot of concerts over the years. I think my first non-child specific concert was John Farnham’s Romeo’s Heart tour when I was about 9. I think to an extent it depends on the child too- some children are very aware of the “themes” that are included in the music of many artists- and if the child and parent deal with the themes in an age appropriate manner, then I don’t think there is an issue with them attending a concert- if you as a parent have a problem with the themes, then it is up to you to explain to your child why the music is inappropriate or why the concert is more inappropriate than the music on the radio/CD and it is your responsibility to provide the level of censorship you desire.
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Who care’s if she said “get your cock out”
How many people would have actually done it?
NO ONEE!!!
So no cock’s would have been seen
And Mia, agree with everything you say
Parents need to put their parenting cap on
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Given her nose, the fact that her boobs are real is really no surprise at all. I’m sorry, just saying.
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Um, that’s really..nice..
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My rule of thumb is if it’s a venue that serves alcohol, you don’t take anyone under 16. Simple.
Some parents actually need to start doing the parenting on their own and not expect society to do it for them. Lazy.
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Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!
Maybe a live show – that, as Mia rightly pointed out, starts WELL beyond your precious little Johnnie and Jillys bedtime – is NOT a kids party.
Maybe this one is just for adults…performed by adults…who should be free to express themselves. And ya know what? Adults say bad words sometimes and have had sex and know what a cock is and may make references to it. Shock. Horror.
Crap like this makes me so angry. Engage your brain before you open your pie-hole, jeez!
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The most memorable quote from gaga’s concert on wednesday night:
“Welcome to the monster ball, now dance you mother f**kers!”
And there was also something along the lines of:
“I heard I had a tremendous d**k. Get your d**ks out”
Don’t quote me exactly on that one though!
It was a truly awesome night and parents shouldn’t have taken their kids. But, the parents should’ve had some sort of idea of what a gaga concert would entaill. A “ratings system” is a ridiculous idea.
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Billy Joe said similar at Green Day “Everyone get the fuck up and dance”. There were plenty of kids there, too.
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parenting is a verb….it’s about time people took responsibility for their own actions and decisions with regards to their children, does it really take a genius to realise that these concerts aren’t appropriate places for young children?
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She sings about taking a ride on your disco stick… really think that that says it all. With lyrics like that don’t you think the show would be a little raunchy?!
The first concert I went to was when I was 12 – Prince and the New Power Generation. It was on the school holidays and we were supposed to be going away for a week, but I think because dad really wanted to go to the concert he took us to the show instead of spending the money on a holiday.
It hadn’t been released on the radio yet, but Prince debuted his song “Sexy M.F.” that night – much to the shock of my mum who had her hands over my younger brother’s ears!
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I saw Prince on Diamonds and Pearls, and he was exhorting the audience to miaow!
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As what I had planned to say has been said before in previous comments (and more eloquently), all I will say to Hear, hear. I could not agree with you more, Mia. Please, it starts at 9pm. Is that really the place for your 8, 9 or 10 year old?
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Really, you’ve got to be as thick as two planks to not only drag a kid along to her show, but to be willingly quoted complaining about it. Really, your own ignorance is not something that should make news..
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This reminds me of the fuss caused when ‘The Dark Knight’ was released and makes me sceptical as to whether classifications make much difference anyway. When the new Batman film was released, with an M rating, a mother took her 9 yr old son to see it, and subsequently complained about the violent content and implied that because it was a Batman film, it should be suitable for kids. Taking your kids to see an artist perform who uses very unsubtle terms such as ‘disco stick’ in her songs is a questionable decision.
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I agree with most of the other comments. Hilarious that anyone would take their child to a Gaga concert! Do we really have to dumb down the world to the point that everything needsd to be spelled out for us?
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This is just another confirmation for me that the world is going mad. What parent (and I use the term loosely) thinks it is OK for an 8 or 9 year old to go to a concert by Lady GaGa?? Kylie maybe…. GaGa definitely not! We also listen to the radio a lot in the car and my kids who are 6 and under love Pink, GaGa, Kylie just to name a few but you do have to be careful to talk at appropriate times when a choice word is coming up (especially in Pink songs). We also teach them the wrong lyrics on purpose eg, Sex on Fire became Pants on Fire and the kids think it is hilarious. They will find out the proper lyrics in their own time and probably think it is even funnier then. Come on people, use your brain and some common sense and then nothing needs to be rated. Having said that there will always be boneheads out there who need someone else to point out right and wrong for them.
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The thing is Bexta, when it comes to the radio playing these songs ALOT of the ‘bad words’ are snuffed out anyway during the day, I think from breakfast through to end of drive time in the arvo. LOVED the Pants on Fire thing, what a GREAT switcheroo!
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My sister changed “I’m gonna drink my money not gonna pay his rent” to “I’m gonna spend my money” in So What, cos the kids just adore the “Na na na na na na nah” in it.
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Just use your commonsense folks! I wouldn’t class myself as a Lady Gaga fan but having heard the lyrics to some of her songs I wouldn’t consider her to be appropriate for some kids. Some may argue that we are wrapping our kids in cotton wool and others may say that kids are getting exposed to too much too soon.You have to make your own call as parents-but I personally wouldn’t take my kids to see her.
My first two concerts were the Vans warped tour(punk/ska music) and Metallica! Maybe I am getting older
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Yeah, I can just picture these kids on Rockwiz in 15 years – “My first concert was Lady Gaga – with my MUM when I was 6!”. Just doesn’t have the same ring as saying you went to see the Hoodoo Gurus with your boyfriend at Festival Hall!
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It’s pretty obvious Lady Gaga isn’t exactly child friendly or G-rated! This issue calls for common sense. Would you take your child to see a movie about someone who has been associated with hermaphrodites, sex, extreme raunch and all the other stuff Lady Gaga? No. Soooo, why would you take your kid to see that LIVE?
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There does not need to be a ratings system, because any parent who is not a complete moron would know not to take their kids to Gaga. Some parents just seem to think that bombarding the kids with any kind of imput any time is ‘fun’ – it is like the parents I saw taking the little 7yr olds to see the last Batman film and Avatar, the violence in them is obscene for children of that age. Its a shame that common sense is no pre-requsite for parenthood. ‘Pity the little children’ indeed.
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i think the most important part of this story was… Mia, you had a spare ticket to Beyonce and couldnt find anyone to go with????!!! next time PLEASE give me a call
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haha yeah