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.
Throughout, there was a perfect marriage of visuals and sonics, with the toughness of Gaga’s convulsive choreography and fetish-inspired outfits reflected in industrial rock-inspired arrangements provided by a full band featuring three roaming guitarists. Indeed, it was such a convincingly steely performance from Gaga, that when she finally broke character in Act IV it felt momentarily arresting.
Sat playing piano on a second stage located in the centre of the pitch, she praised the audience’s resilience over the past couple of years, before showcasing her truly extraordinary vocals on soaring renditions of Shallow and Always Remember Us This Way. After transforming the pumping Europop of 1000 Doves into a ballad, she confided, “Chromatica is a dance record, but the truth is I made it for whoever feels pissed off at a party.” Judging by the sea of LED wristbands that bobbed beatifically during Stupid Love and Rain On Me, Gaga hasn’t located her target audience just yet.
For the finale we were treated to Hold My Hand from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack, a power ballad so brilliantly overblown you simply can’t imagine any other major pop artist pulling it off. But then the same could be said for tonight’s show, which was as ludicrous as it was compelling, and all the more unforgettable for it.
“Thanks for loving a weirdo like me,” Gaga had smiled earlier in the set to huge cheers, adding self-deprecatingly, “I’m not special – there are a lot of weirdos like me.” The Chromatica Ball roundly disproved this theory. Almost a decade and a half on from her debut single, our self-styled “Mother Monster” remains a glorious one off.
