Whilst Lady Gaga – in her first Australian bout of concerts in over a decade – claimed that the evening’s rules were to either “Dance or Die,” Brisbane really had only one choice when being enveloped by The Mayhem Ball; “Put your hands up” and dance!
Gaga perhaps overdid it on how many times she stated a variation on demanding people’s hands – or paws – to raise, but you simply had to put it down to her enthusiasm at the Aussie crowd, who were clearly appreciative of Gaga returning to the shores that have always shown her much love.
Though across the mammoth 150 minute production she was mainly in character, leaning into the show’s large-scale staging, narrative elements (Its storyline exploring themes of duality, death, and rebirth, expanding upon the operatic and psychological motifs of the Mayhem album), and couture-inspired fashion, with its main set piece being a Colosseum-like opera house, the extended set-piece towards the back-end of the show where she sat down at the piano and belted out a string of ballads (a solo outing of “Die With A Smile” and a lush, acoustic version of “The Edge of Glory”) allowed Gaga to momentarily drop the performance persona and just be; the juxtaposition to how soft and self-admittedly nervous she was only warming her to the 52,000-strong crowd even more.
Of course, at a Gaga show, the moments for the audience to catch their breath are few and far between, and The Mayhem Ball served as something of a career retrospective, both sonically and psychologically, with her biggest hits (the viral success “Bloody Mary” and Mayhem single “Abracadabra” served as the openers, whilst “Bad Romance” was the faux closer) merging with select album cuts, some expected (“Garden of Eden”, “Shadow Of A Man” and “How Bad Do You Want Me” some of the Mayhem highlights), others a surprise (the Artpop and Born This Way records getting a healthy shout-out through a medley of “Judas” and “Aura”, and the faux-German electroclash “Scheiße.”)
Gaga has never been one to shy away from owning her truth, and some of the theatrical subtleties in the show speak to the personal troubles that have marred some of her professional achievements. The film A Star Is Born, which rightfully earned her such accolades as an Oscar, and was given a Phantom of the Opera-like revamp as she sang the signature ballad “Shallow”, was made under the duress of her own mania. The 2020 album Chromatica was released around a period of time she admitted to losing touch with reality. All of this is to say that Mayhem signals something of a rebirth, and it’s probably why she’s clearly having so much fun on stage – even if her “character” across the show’s five chapters (Act I: Of Velvet and Vice, Act II: And She Fell Into A Gothic Dream, Act III: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name, Act IV: Every Chessboard Has Two Queens, Act V: Eternal Aria of the Monster Heart) is navigating chaos.
Dedicating the show to the queer community who has stood by her since her creative inception, Gaga was all too aware that a decade between Australian visits is too long; “I promise it won’t take another 10 years,” she assured the crowd, adding that she’ll always find a way. And whilst we’d absolutely love to take her at her word, the truth is if she keeps creating such masterful art – and a show like The Mayhem Ball was born from such – then another decade will truly be worth the wait.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Reviewer attended 09/12 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The tour continues in Sydney across the 12th and 13th December. For remaining tickets, head to Ticketek.
