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Published: Friday, January 11, 2013, 12:01 a.m.

Your choice: Lady Gaga’s spectacle or Chris Botti’s jazz

  • Lady Gaga is scheduled to perform Monday at the Tacoma Dome.

    Associated Press

    Lady Gaga is scheduled to perform Monday at the Tacoma Dome.

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There's a reason some people call Lady Gaga the millenium's first superstar.

Her string of hits -- "Bad Romance," "Poker Face," "You and I" -- just tell half the story.

At last check, the videos on her official YouTube channel had been played 2.35 billion times.

The reason: They're entertaining, much in the same way Michael Jackson videos are entertaining. They're audacious and over-the-top. They're not just commercials for a song. They're mini-movies. Lady Gaga strives to make them events.

The pop star brings that same ambition to her live shows--there's a reason that, in reviewing one recent tour, the New York Times sent its theater critic. She's not just a singer. She's a performer. And she'll be performing again in the area as she brings her "Born This Way Ball" to the Tacoma Dome at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

The tour is expected to be another over-the-top spectacle, divided into five "acts" and featuring 14 costume changes.

Tickets run $62.48 to $194.38 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.

While Gaga deals in pop, Chris Botti owns the jazz charts.

The chart-topping trumpeter will team up with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for a 7:30 p.m. Thursday concert at Benaroya Hall.

Born in Portland, Ore., Botti first made his mark as a hired gun, playing in Paul Simon's band and on Sting's "Brand New Day" album.

Starting about 2000, though, he became that rarest of birds: the modern jazz musician capable of scoring mainstream hits on his own.

His past three albums -- "Italia," "Chris Botti: In Boston," and "Impressions" -- all cracked the top 40 on the Billboard 200 and easily topped the jazz charts.

He likely will take his crowd-pleasing sound to new heights with his Seattle orchestral show, which will feature a set list announced from the stage.

Tickets are $70.93 to $124.18 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.

Finally, Windowpane, the Seattle-based hard rock act, will headline the Showbox at the Market at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The bill includes Van Eps, Mechanism, Black Diamond, Jason Kerston and the Immortals.

Windowpane has been kicking around the hard rock scene for more than a decade. After getting its start playing Led Zeppelin covers in Maryland, the band moved first to Orlando, Fla., and then to its current home in the Northwest.

During that time, it refined its sound, and has released three albums of original material, including its most recent record, 2009's "Daybreak."

Its live show promises to be the antithesis of Lady Gaga or Chris Botti. The group favors a simple, straight-forward performance, relying solely on its amps, guitars and drums.

Tickets are $12 in advance or $16 on the day of the show.

Andy Rathbun: arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Story tags » Rock MusicJazz
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