Review: Greg Phillips
Last night pop diva Lady Gaga launched the Australian leg of her epic global jaunt ‘The MAYHEM Ball’ and her Little Monster fans were out in force to greet her, draped in their finery. The LGBTQ community in particular were dressed to kill. It had been a long wait, the 14-time Grammy Award-winner had not been on Australian soil since 2014’s ARTPOP Ball and with a stated show starting time of 7.30pm, fans had to wait a little longer.
Opera music boomed out of the PA system for around ten minutes before the first vision of Gaga appeared on screen, decked out in red ball gown, red feathered quill in hand as she proceeded to write … and write she did for around half an hour before her image disappeared from the screen.
The stage plunged into darkness and emblazoned across the screen in gothic font were the words “Lady Gaga Presents The Art of Personal Chaos”, the manifesto she’d apparently been writing. Then again on screen and facing each other, Gaga in Red and the Mistress of Mayhem, dressed in white recited their manifesto. A single dancer performed in a sea of red light, courtesy of the Marvel attendees wristbands and the screen then beamed out the words ‘Act One: Of Velvet And Vice’, the first of five acts.
Finally atop an enormous covered hoop skirt, Lady Gaga arrived in person and broke into Bloody Mary from her Born This Way album. The curtain surrounding the skirt (cage) then dropped to reveal a flock of 22 dancers, as she implored us to put our wristbanded hands in the air and dance to the instantly contagious Abracadabra, and so the Gaga party had begun.
The ambience of the stadium turned from red to green as mist dramatically seeped out and around from the stage as the band led the queen into the grandeur of Garden of Eden, with Gaga donning a guitar in front of her contingent of fabulous dancers.
Still recovering from the scale of the spectacle fans were then treated to an early Pokerface, arguably her biggest hit. Meanwhile the Mistress of Mayhem reappeared, dancing and trading death stares with Gaga. A refrain of Abracadabra then led us into Act II: And She Fell Into A Gothic Dream, where we found Gaga in a sandbox full of skeletons, from which more dancers suddenly emerged as she performed Perfect Celebrity.
Make no mistake, this production, directed by Gaga and Ben Dalgliesh is an epic piece of theatre, years in the making and implemented with precision. With each new show by arena-level superstars like Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Pink, the bar is raised higher and higher and today The Mayhem Ball is where we are at and kudos to Madonna and Cher for paving the way.
Continuing with the celebrity fascination theme, Paparazzi saw her grappling with crutches as she strove to push down the runway, with metaphorical camera flashes chasing her. A fabric train extended from her body to the back of the stage, a hundred metres away.
During Love Game, Gaga again pleaded with the crowd to jump, sing and raise hands in the air. It was also the first real vision we had of her incredible band led by brilliant guitarists Tim Stewart and Ricky Tillo. Tosh Peterson also took a moment to educate the younger Gaga fans on the hedonism of a long drum solo. The Beast then gave the Lady a chance to return guitar fire with Tillo, which brought us to the half way mark of the show and Act III: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name.
An enormous skull suddenly presented on stage, a monumental prop for Gaga to sidle up to and perform Killah from the Mayhem album, followed by Zombieboy and The Dead Dance, offering the audience another chance to dance and test their vocal range. Just Dance slayed and led us into Act IV: Every Chessboard Has Two Queens, with a cheer of acknowledgment for the new chapter.
Shadow of a Man featured the entire contingent of dancers, who provided unceasing energy throughout the night. Kill For Love featuring a gorgeous melody and 80s era vibe radiated a feel-good vibe among the elated crowd. Saluting the LGBTQ community, Gaga again involved her multi-faceted dancing crew as they powered though a joyous Born This Way.
A mass singalong joined the diva on Shallow as she paddled down the runway in a Venetian-style gondola, eventually arriving on her own at a piano where she performed a stunning solo version of Die with a Smile. “I can’t believe that we’re back here,” she announced before telling us that the next song, Brooklyn Nights had not been performed since she was last in Melbourne in 2014. Moments before she began singing, a hush of anticipation overcame the crowd before joining her in song.
Video courtesy Dorky Cabello YouTube
Still at the piano alone, she ripped out a heartfelt version of The Edge of Glory, showcasing her insanely strong voice. She then told the audience that they’re so special and it’s amazing that such a large crowd “can be in this stadium and be so loud that you can tear the roof off, then you can be so quite that you can hear a pin drop…a dynamic group … filled with love!”
Sensing an impending conclusion to the celebration, the fans took the opportunity to sing their lungs out on Vanish Into You and dance their butts off to Bad Romance when she finally came back after an extended breather backstage. Then taking an even longer stay backstage, we eventually saw Gaga reappear on screen, in casual clothes wiping her makeup off and beginning to sing How Bad Do U Want Me. Beamed to the arena on screen dancing around the under stage area, she gradually made her way back to the stage to finish the song and farewell her fans.
While Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball is undoubtedly a modern day theatrical masterpiece and benchmark for others to aspire to it, it’s the juxtaposition of the highly finessed, huge production numbers against the human moments alone at the piano that reveal the enormous creative scope of this artist. After a 90 minute sensory overload of lights and colour, it was in the final half hour, hearing Gaga speaking from the heart at the edge of the runway to her fans and singing sans-production with that glorious voice where I saw the true music icon.
REMAINING AUSTRALIAN DATES
Sat Dec 6 – Melbourne, AU – Marvel Stadium
Tue Dec 9 – Brisbane, AU – Suncorp Stadium
Fri Dec 12 – Sydney, AU – Accor Stadium
Sat Dec 13 – Sydney, AU – Accor Stadium