There are homecomings, and then there is whatever cosmic, glitter-soaked eruption Lady Gaga delivered to 80,000 devotees at Accor Stadium. Sydney’s night one of “The Mayhem Ball” wasn’t just a concert; it was a reclamation of chaos, queerness, and absolute pop majesty.
For many of us in the community, Gaga’s journey through Sydney charts our own evolution. The first time we saw her live, she was the wide-eyed opening act for The Pussycat Dolls – a tiny bolt of electricity in giant sunglasses who kinda stole the show.
Then there was the night she transformed Sydney Town Hall into “Monster Hall” for an international TV concert special, thundering away on the century-old Town Hall pipe organ like she was summoning ghosts and Little Monsters past.
And who could forget her last minute surprise performances at ARQ and Nevermind – the two hottest queer nightclubs on Sydney’s iconic Oxford Street strip back in 2011.
Those moments built mythology. Last night, Gaga detonated it.
Sydney’s Accor Stadium pulsed like it had its own heartbeat. Before the show even began, the queer crowd turned the concourse into a runway, a rave, a reunion – club kids, muscle queens, baby gays in their first Gaga gear, drag monarchs… You could feel the shared ownership: this wasn’t a pop show we were attending; it was a world we were co-creating.
And then the gothic stage split open with a snarl of digital static, and Gaga emerged with her dancers – among them several Australian performers, who absolutely devoured the choreography. The pride in the stadium was instant and explosive.
Vocally, Gaga thundered. Emotionally, she carved us open. “Abracadabra” slammed into “Judas,” and somehow she made 80,000 people feel like they were inside a sweaty, neon-lit club circa 2009.
“Put your paws up!” she screamed, possibly 200 times. While it worked every time, we couldn’t help wishing her commands showed the same range and imagination as the spectacle unfolding around her.
But Gaga’s most powerful trick has always been her vulnerability. When she sat at the piano and drew us in with a spine tingling version of “Edge Of Glory” she spoke about living life on the edge and learning to survive.
Cue tears.
Built into acts, the show was a theatrical fever dream – latex, metal, fire, and choreography so sharp it felt like a weapon. At times, the performance felt choreographed as much for the cameras as for the crowd. It was occasionally distracting to see camera operators manoeuvring through the action and breaking the illusion on stage, but this more than paid off when you glanced across at the cinematic visuals being created on the jumbo screens.
The Australian dancers shone brightest here: fierce, technical, hungry. It felt correct that this tour – a celebration of identity, self-creation, and beautiful disorder – featured performers from the very country that gave her first #1 single, a year prior to the rest of the world catching on.
We recognised influences drawn from other iconic tours from the likes of Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Taylor Swift and Cyndi Lauper – but all filtered through Gaga’s unique lens and given a macabre twist.
When “Born This Way” began, the stadium roared with the force of a thousand Mardi Gras parades. “Where are our queer friends in the audience tonight?” Gaga asked to a thunderous cheer. “Sydney, if you were wondering – we made this show for the queer community.”
It was impossible not to think of that young girl warming up for the Pussycat Dolls. Or the surreal moment she made history at Monster Hall, pounding away at that organ.
Last night at Accor Stadium, she didn’t just revisit those memories – she honoured them.
“The Mayhem Ball” is Gaga at her most elemental: theatrical, inclusive, rebellious, and relentlessly loving toward her queer family.
Sydney didn’t just host a concert. We became Gaga’s cathedral, runway, battleground, and glitter-stained confession booth.
And we are still buzzing.
Thanks to our friends at Live Nation for having us along.
