Lady Gaga took to the stage at Burswood Dome last night for the second last night of her Australian tour and provided all the trademark elements of the Gaga brand, there were outrageous costumes, hit songs and incredibly elaborate sets. It was a show that delivered everything that fans would want, but maybe left curious audience members unfamiliar with the world of Gaga, scratching their heads.
The stage was dominated by a gigantic three story castle that opened up like a dolls house to reveal the band inside. Lady Gaga and her troupe of backing dancers first appeared out of the castle on top of a horse, (a bit like the stage version of Warhorse) and made a trip around the circular runway that enclosed the Monster Pit. Inside were Gaga’s most ardent fans, the little monsters. Watching the show from further back in the arena – there was a marked difference between the energy level near the monster pit and the seated area. There was enough energy in the monster pit to fuel a city.
Appearing as a giant Alien Resurrection like creature with a giant belly, Gaga then gives birth to the dancers through a giant zip in her body. The dancers and Gaga the spill out on to the stage to sing Born This Way. The anthem set the crowd wild, but it was surprising to see such a big tune so early in the show.
The hit songs and amazing costumes rolled out one after another, a headpiece reminiscent of Alien, a latex blue dress for Judus, and amazing white dress that looked like origami swans, hits like Love Game, Telephone and Just Dance followed in quick succession. For the performance of Heavy Metal Love Lady Gaga appeared as a motorbike, recreating her bizarre album cover – but admirably pulling off the trick driving around the circular runway catwalk.
Where the show became most engaging was when the costumes and theatrics were toned down and Gaga just sat and talked to the audience, taking pieces of clothing from the little monsters at the front and adding them to her look. Sitting alone at a keyboard, (added to the motorbike) Gaga performed fan favourite Hair, before performing controversial new song Princess Die and launching into You and I which brought back the rest of the band.
The next section of the show saw Gaga appear in a recreation of her famous meat dress, performing Americano and Poker Face. The final section of the show saw Gaga appearing with a conical bra with added machine guns to perform Alejandro. The final song of the night was announced as the faux-German filled Schebie.
There was more to come though as Gaga returned for a few more songs performing Edge of Glory from the top of the castle tower and Marry the Night back down at ground level, pulling some of the best dressed little monsters on stage for the final number.
If you were a major Gaga die hard this show was probably the greatest performance you’ve ever seen, but to the newer followers trying to enter the world of monsters, her enemy mother G.O.A.T., disco sticks and so on – it may have been a bit confusing.
The castle was an amazing stage piece but it didn’t allow the performers a lot of opportunity to engage with the audience beyond the general standing area. To their credit though, the video footage of the show was the best I’ve ever seen at a live concert with a massive job used to raise cameras up high and over the crowd.
Overall the show was a huge success, walking out of the Burswood Dome, you were singing Lady Gaga’s songs, feeling confident about who you were, and considering spending Sunday making a suit out of some unexpected material so as to wear something fashion-forward to work on Monday.
Lady Gaga’s final show is on tonight at the Burswood Dome, limited tickets remain.
Graeme Watson
