International pop superstar Lady Gaga opened the UK leg of her “Monster Ball” tour to a sold out crowd in Manchester, England at the Manchester Evening News Arena last Thursday night (Feb 18). According to an in-depth review from the BBC, the “hugely ambitious” show included 15 costume changes a 40-foot sea monster … and a few technical glitches.
It was a hugely ambitious, terrifyingly loud show, spread over four acts and held together by a flimsy “narrative” about Gaga and her dancer friends trying to get to a party. Impressively, the entire spectacle was put together in just four weeks.
The singer told fans at the MEN arena: “We were doing another show in the United States… but I got very bored, so I threw it away.” In fact, the production was so last-minute that the star was still on stage adding the finishing touches just half an hour before the doors opened. Inevitably, then, the first night didn’t run entirely smoothly.
Lighting cues were missed, the sound mix wasn’t properly balanced and the show over-ran by 30 minutes, leaving some of the audience stranded in a cold and snowy Manchester. But nearly all 23,000 of them stayed on to the bitter end – because, make no mistake, this was a sight to behold.
Wow… opening your first headlining tour told a sold out crowd in a massive arena that holds over 20,000 people? It’s hard to believe that this “Lady Gaga” person has only been on the scene for a year and a half.
Check out 20+ pictures of Lady Gaga at the opening night of her “Monster Ball” tour below and after the cut. We also have a few videos from the concert waiting for you when you continue reading…
INTRO + DANCE IN THE DARK
JUST DANCE
THE FAME
LOVE GAME
BOYS BOYS BOYS
TELEPHONE
SPEECHLESS
SO HAPPY I COULD DIE
POKER FACE
PAPARAZZI
BAD ROMANCE
SETLIST:
ACT 1: City
Intro
Dance in the Dark
Glitter and Grease
Just Dance
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
Vanity
The Fame
ACT 2: Subway
LoveGame
Boys Boys Boys
Money Honey
Telephone
Brown Eyes
Speechless
So Happy I Could Die
ACT 3: Forest
Monster
Teeth
Alejandro
Pokerface
ACT 4: Monster Ball
Paparazzi
Bad Romance
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / WIRE IMAGE / WENN
