AsiaWorld Arena, Wed May 2

A bra made of guns, a see-through latex number, a motorbike as a piano, the meat dress (accompanied by butcher-hooked meat and bizarre meat grinders). There’s nothing underwhelming about Lady Gaga live, and it’s almost best summed up by the absurd extravagance of her costumes and sets.

An unrivalled spectacle, of course, was always expected. And so, on cue, the reigning Queen of global pop delivered, emerging from the pregnant belly of a sprawling castle façade, beneath an immense gleaming pink neon diamond prop. As she ripped through her massive catalogue of hits – Born This Way, Poker Face, Love Game, Paparazzi and Telephone among them, Lady Gaga’s first of four sold-out arena shows here in Hong Kong was significantly powered by glitz and glamour, a massive troupe of energetic, flair-brimming dancers, horsemen encircling the extended catwalk stage and props galore.

But for all the entertaining façade, beneath the plethora of ostentatious costumes and sets, there was a strange hint of robotocism about the Lady herself, about her millisecond perfect choreography, pitch-perfect vocal gymnastics and hyper-energy. Even when she improvised elements slipped into the night – like when ‘Ra Ra Ah Ah’ in Bad Romance became ‘Ra Ra Ho-ong Ko-ong’), there was a hint of over rehearsal about it.

Not that many in the crowd would care. The Mother Monster was in their midst – and in essence, she delivered everything any Lady Gaga fan could hope for – including a bra made of guns.

Louise Choi

Lady Gaga plays AsiaWorld Arena on May 3, 5 and 7. Restricted view tickets on sale at 3128 8288; hkticketing.com
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Set List
Highway Unicorn
Government Hooker
Born This Way
Bloody Mary
Bad Romance
Judas
Fashion of His Love
Just Dance
Love Game
Telephone
Heavy Metal Lover
Bad Kids
Hair
You & I
Electric Chapel
Americano
Poker Face
Alejandro
Paparazzi
Scheibe
Black Jesus
The Edge of Glory
Marry The Night