Following forays into Americana and heartland rock on 2016’s Joanne and the A Star Is Born soundtrack, there was a split second where we worried Lady Gaga might be abandoning her more outré creative impulses for good. Then came 2020’s Chromatica – a maximalist dance-pop project complete with an outlandish, cyber-punk visual concept – and suddenly all was right with the world (aside from the raging pandemic, that is).
Two years later than originally planned, this weekend the Chromatica Ball finally arrived in London, bringing with it an extraordinary stage show that more than matched the ambition of the album. Cocooned inside a Gareth Pugh creation resembling a brutalist sarcophagus – and flanked by a 12-strong team of dancers – Gaga kicked off Act I with an audacious opening salvo of early singles Bad Romance, Just Dance and Poker Face. Any fears she might have peaked too soon were instantly allayed with the arrival of Alice, a standout from Chromatica which she performed trussed to a tilting operating table, electrodes attached.
