Lady Gaga, Arena Birmingham - review

It was as weird, wacky and wonderful as Wonderland, but one that she made her own. Sometimes it was bubbly and colourful but, at times, it was also fairly disturbing with plenty of sex appeal.

She showed both her emotive side, with interaction with her fans - known as Little Monsters - and her ferocity, to give a rollercoaster performance.

She strutted from the main stage to three stages in the audience via pathways that were lowered from the ceiling. The stage itself raised her up, dropped her down and tilted from side-to-side as if she was in a fun house. It all looked stunning as the set varied in colours and designs with every song.

Early on in the show, the microphone was too loud for her powerful vocals, but that was soon fixed so fans could enjoy her classics including Poker Face and Just Dance, as well as new material such as the highly-anticipated Joanne.

The Joanne world tour is named after her aunt, as revealed in a documentary, called Gaga: Five Foot Two, released on Netflix in September. She was asked by music producer Mark Ronson if she could make just one more album ever, what would it be about - and she replied ‘Joanne’. Her fifth album has more of a country-themed feel to it and so did the first few songs of her performance, as she and her dancers donned cowboy hats and tasselled clothes. At one point she stood over the back of a dancer on all fours, as if to ride him like a cowgirl.

She slipped in and out of sparkling costumes and large red gowns into no more than leotards - often while she was on stage - subtly, with the help of dancers.

The perfectionist pop star performed S******e again after a fault with the stage because the show was being filmed, which meant the gig dragged on a bit for an already long event.

But saying that, there was enough variety to keep her fans happy.

If her performance alone was not enough to love, her ethos to be yourself certainly was.

Her Little Monsters are often as interesting and bold as her in the way they dress and look - something she actively encouraged between songs.

“Let’s hear a massive cheer for the LGBTQ community and now let’s hear one for anyone who is not," bellowed Lady Gaga.

"It is fantastic because we love everyone here. It does not matter what race you are, what religion you are, what age you are, what gender you are. You were born this way.

“It will be an awkward couple of hours for those who are not in favour of equality."

In an emotional moment, one Little Monster named Collin, from Northern Ireland, shook with excitement as she read out a letter, or ‘monstergram’, he threw to her.

To end her performance, she sank into the stage with a piano and ran off through the audience to the sound of screeching crowds.

It was thoroughly entertaining, but then it is hard to expect anything less from the superstar.