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<\/p>\nLady Gaga<\/p>\n
Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, VIC<\/p>\n
Friday, December 5th<\/p>\n
As we settle into our seats, operatic music soothes our souls and sets the scene for Lady Gaga\u2019s \u2018Mayhem Ball\u2019 \u2013 her eighth world tour and first Australian visit since 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Little Monsters inside Marvel Stadium prematurely squeal like banshees over a puff of red smoke. Footage of Gaga journaling, using an oversized red-feather quill, runs for at least half an hour before, finally, ornate calligraphy materialises on screen: \u201cLady Gaga Presents The Art of Personal Chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Mayhem Ball\u2019 is divided into five acts. Across two-plus hours we\u2019re treated to back-to-back hits and zero misses.<\/p>\n
The show opens with a Lady in White and a Lady in Red (both played by Gaga, the latter depicting Mother Mayhem, aka the Mistress of Mayhem), bookending the stage and facing each other on the giant screen. These \u201cduelling twins\u201d recite a manifesto of sorts in perfect unison and appear to be working towards reconciliation.<\/p>\n
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The ultimate musical theatre stan, Lady Gaga sure knows how to keep her stage manager under the pump. As the crowd\u2019s interactive, LED wristbands illuminate \u2013 transforming the stadium into a sea of dancing red dots \u2013 we get our first glimpse of Gaga in a 25-foot Tudor-style crinoline gown, thrashing her arms about to \u201cBloody Mary\u201d. Resembling a Cruella de Vil toilet roll cover, she commands, \u201cDance or die!\u201d So what\u2019s under that ginormous hoop skirt? A gazillion dancers in a cage, obviously.<\/p>\n
The immaculate opera house stage set is multiple storeys high with a catwalk extending way out into the stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Green fog oozes from the ceiling down either side of the set before \u201cGarden of Eden\u201d, during which Gaga straps on a guitar and busts out some riffs while strutting down the catwalk: \u201cGo get your friends and meet me on the floor \/ You\u2019re out of candy, I can get you mo-o-ore\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gaga may be \u201cBorn This Way\u201d, but she\u2019s also in the shape of her life \u2013 physically and vocally. She doesn\u2019t let up for a millisecond throughout. She\u2019s never not \u2018on\u2019 and her acting ability gives her an edge: every eye movement, gesture, breathy exhale, and perfectly executed dance move is done with intention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As \u201cPoker Face\u201d wraps, Gaga knocks out her white-clad, lace-masked nemesis by literally poking her in the face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Parris Goebel\u2019s creative choreography encapsulates Gaga\u2019s universe and these dance athletes have been drilled to perfection. Even the cameramen become part of the choreography, chasing dancers down the runway to ensure every line is captured from the best possible angle. As for Gaga, singing while the ensemble manoeuvres her in the air during complex lifts? Stunning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Gaga leaves the stage, we\u2019re wowed by freestyling moments and ballroom battles that honour NYC\u2019s voguing scene. Knee slide, back arch and freeze! Gaga certainly keeps up with the high-energy Polyswagg choreography in amongst 24 of the world\u2019s finest dancers, one of whom is Australia\u2019s own Michael Dameski, who you may recall he snatched 2014\u2019s So You Think You Can Dance Australia crown.<\/p>\n
Some of Gaga\u2019s costume changes are blink and you\u2019ll miss it.<\/p>\n
She performs \u201cPerfect Celebrity\u201d partially buried in a tilted sandbox, gyrating against a skeleton; performing \u201cPaparazzi\u201d, she struggles down the catwalk on shiny metallic crutches (the cost of fame, perhaps?), trailing billowing white fabric from the back of the stage to the end of the runway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLoveGame\u201d gets everyone dancing \u2014 \u201cLet\u2019s have some fun, this beat is sick \/ I wanna take a ride on your disco stick\u201d \u2013 and a heavy musical interlude gives Gaga\u2019s astonishing backing musicians time to shine. Then Gaga materialises alongside a huge skull to present \u201cKillah\u201d. Given that \u201cZombieboy\u201d is one of Gaga\u2019s best new songs, there were always going to be dancing zombies and they\u2019re the funkiest undead specimens we\u2019ve ever seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
@katepatto_<\/a><\/p>\n Gaga sings Brooklyn Nights in Melbourne (2025) \ud83e\udd79 @ladygaga #mayhemball<\/a> #australia<\/a> #brooklynnightsladygaga<\/a><\/p>\n \u266c original sound \u2013 Kate Pattison<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Dead Dance\u201d could have been a Kylie song, but Gaga\u2019s belting gives it oomph. \u2018Mayhem Ball\u2019 also sees \u201cSummerboy\u201d performed live for the first time since 2007.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gaga gives a shout-out to the gay community before \u201cBorn This Way\u201d, which artfully incorporates some of the original choreography (how quaint!) so the Little Monsters can join in to demonstrate their superfandom: \u201cDon\u2019t be a drag, just be a queen!\u201d<\/p>\n In the ballad section, Gaga shows off her matchless pipes with stripped-down versions of songs such as \u201cA Million Reasons\u201d, \u201cShallow\u201d (performed in a travelling gondola), and \u201cDie with a Smile\u201d, during which she accompanies herself on piano.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a time when I didn\u2019t realise what touring was gonna look like for me,\u201d Gaga admits, referencing her struggles with fibromyalgia \u2013 a chronic pain condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gaga shares that she worked up \u201cBrooklyn Nights\u201d to perform tonight at soundcheck, then suddenly realised the last time she performed this unreleased song (\u201cmusic that was too hard to release\u201d) was in Melbourne; she often glances at the sheet music while performing this one on piano.<\/p>\n The full complement of dancers return to the stage for \u201cBad Romance\u201d, which is punctuated by pyros. Then Mother Monster disappears down a trapdoor.\u00a0<\/p>\n After a break long enough for some crowd members to give up and start trekking up the stairs towards the exits, Gaga appears on screen live from the bowels of the stadium. Wigless and sporting a black beanie and relatively casual threads, she removes her makeup while performing \u201cHow Bad Do U Want Me\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s such a powerful statement of authenticity to watch Gaga revert to Stefani Germanotta before our very eyes. She\u2019s been a global superstar for 17 years now, and \u2018Mayhem Ball\u2019 finds this once-in-a-generation artist at the peak of her powers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ticket information for Lady Gaga\u2019s remaining Australian tour dates can be found here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n