## An irresistible force and an immovable object: that would be Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett on Friday evening at Radio City Music Hall where they sang more than 30 standards, separately and together, before a respectful multigenerational audience that tilted older// The immovable object was Mr// Bennett, a living monument at 88, who, when he moved across the stage, proceeded slowly, cautiously and with dignity// With his customary grace and humility, Mr// Bennett embodied the patriarch of American popular song he has been for the last two decades// Around him fluttered that irresistible force, Lady Gaga, an eccentric living bauble, in a succession of extravagant showgirl outfits and wigs// Shape shifting from approximations of Mae West to Marilyn Monroe to a glittery cat suited vamp, she twirled this or that accouterment like an old time burlesque performer// Behind them was a big band augmented by a string section playing sumptuous arrangements, conducted by the pianist Mike Renzi//
##The chemistry between the performers is noticeably different from the cuddly granddad and granddaughter intimacy of their videos// The program was really two solo sets skillfully sandwiched together with duets in which Lady Gaga-s bright, saucy Broadway trained voice and Mr// Bennett-s mature saloon style couldn-t find a comfortable blend//On the up tempo numbers, Mr// Bennett reverted to his latter day telegraphic style in which crucial words are shouted with a vehemence that in a song like the Gershwins *Who Cares? * makes him a cheerleader for the durability of the American songbook// In her first solo segment, Lady Gaga-s back to back renditions of *Bang Bang * and *Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered * were fraught with drama// Her singing voice is almost as mutable as her provocative fashion plate image// In a quieter mode she resembles Natalie Cole, but with a brassier edge and a more freewheeling approach to tempos// She interjected spoken commentary into a couple of songs// During Cole Porter-s *Ev-ry Time We Say Goodbye, * she remarked enigmatically that saying goodbye to yourself was not a good idea// A bright, aggressive *La Vie En Rose, * sung mostly in French, demonstrated her formidable vocal skills// Her most ambitious interpretation, of Billy Strayhorn-s *Lush Life, * was a sprawling, high strung psychodrama that swooped from mood to mood//
## For all the flash and synthetic sexiness Lady Gaga brought to the stage, musically the evening belonged to Mr// Bennett who brought his usual heart and optimism to signature songs like *How Do You Keep the Music Playing? * and *Smile// * Mr// Bennett has an unerring ability to spin a song around its key phrases// In *How Do You Keep the Music Playing? * those words are the confession: *The more I love the more that I-m afraid That in your eyes I may not see forever// * Mr// Bennett fully vented that anxiety before hitting the song out of the ballpark with a climbing finale//
But the ultimate moment of truth came with his performance of *Smile, * and its declaration *you-ll find that life is still worthwhile// * *Life * was declaimed, followed almost immediately by *still, * shouted as a triumphant affirmation//
