And though she’s accomplished all that she’s set out to do, NYC has a way of reminding Gaga of where she’s come from, of who she is, and all she's gone through to get where she is today. So, when her Mayhem Ball tour rolled into Madison Square Garden on Aug.

I’ve been a fan of Lady Gaga since the first time I heard “Just Dance” while driving down La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles in 2008. I was a 17-year old starving artist, and it was refreshing to hear a New Yorker on the radio during a time I was really missing the East Coast.

The singer and songwriter proved she’s operating at the peak of her powers during a two-and-a-half-hour set that drew sharp connections between her past and present.