Gig review: Lady Gaga in Auckland

Burning pianos, latex nun outfits and a fountain of blood - the Lady Gaga show had it all. Reviewer Tracey Bond was there.

Lady Gaga
Where: Vector Arena, Auckland
When: Saturday, March 13

There were plenty of sequins, sky high heels and brightly coloured wigs as Vector Arena prepared to party with the first lady of pop, Lady Gaga.

Support act Semi Precious Weapons set the tone for the evening by getting the stadium to chant Lady Gaga's name.

After lead singer Justin Tranter cartwheeled off stage the crowd continued to party on its own, chanting 'Gaga' and starting mexican waves which rippled around the sold-out arena.

Before Gaga even took to the stage at least one fan had to be carried off by security after fainting.

As the main lights went down a silhouetted Lady Gaga appeared behind a massive white drop.

Vector responded by erupting into a massive cheer.

Opening with Dance in the Dark fans had to wait until the next song before the curtain went up and the lady herself (and outfit number one) was revealed.

Throughout the nearly two-and-a-half hour show she made a staggering 16 costume changes going from wearing little more than a black latex bikini, to a complex animatronic angel dress.

The Monster Ball tour features elaborate sets, outrageous costumes and so much action on stage it was difficult to know where to look at times.

For the first few songs her troupe of scantily clad back-up dancers and singers looked like they had just stepped out of a Mad Max movie.

Wearing a sequinned body suit and high heeled boots she clambered deftly up the scaffolding to belt out Beautiful, Dirty, Rich.

It was nice to hear her breathing hard over the microphone after each number, proving that she really was singing and not miming.

Accompanied by her disco stick for Just Dance, Gaga ordered Vector to jump, and the crowd was only too happy to comply.

When she took time out to talk to the crowd, which she did at regular intervals throughout the show, she seemed genuinely overwhelmed by the affection shown by her fans.

"It's been a long few years, and it only seems like yesterday that I was here in New Zealand with the Pussycat Dolls."

On Boys, Boys, Boys she moved down a central catwalk into the centre of Vector Arena accompanied by dancers in overstuffed cycling shorts against a backdrop of giant, multi-coloured dildos.

The sets, like Gaga's costumes, morphed constantly between songs, moving from New York cityscapes to Tim Burton-esque dreamworlds.

Eveybody on stage, from the dancers to the bare chested guitarist seemed to be having a genuine blast.

On Brown Eyes and Speechless she proved that not only does she know how to put on a spectacular stage act, she also has an impressive set of lungs and bags of talent in the piano department.

And fireballs coming out of a piano? Elton John would be proud.

But the weird and wonderful props did not end there - there was a giant chandelier which descended onto the central stage, and enabled Gaga to get changed into an elaborate animatronic dress and headpiece.

And then for Monster, there was a fountain of blood.

Lying on stage she told the crowd "I'm like Tinkerbell, scream for me, you don't want me to die do you?"

And the crowd roarded back in response.

It was exhausting just watching her.

Just for good measure, Alejandro closed out with two of her male dancers enjoying a long kiss in the centre of the stage.

By the time she got to Bad Romance, clad in what can only be described as a spiky, metal sculpture, she looked visibly tired, spending most of the song sitting on the stage.

But the crowd was only too happy to help her along, turning Vector into one massive karaoke session.

It took a while for the house lights to come back up, so maybe for her second and final show in Auckland tonight, fans might be treated to an encore.

* Where you at the show? What did you think? Post your comments below.

 

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