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No rest for the mayhemic! Fresh off of killing it headlining back-to-back weekends at Coachella (even making a mic snafu work for her), Lady Gaga took her show on the camino to Mexico City for two 63,500-capacity sold out concerts over the weekend. While it was titled The Art of Personal Chaos at Coachella, Gaga renamed the operatic, multi-act piece ¡Viva La MAYHEM! for her local Pequeños Monstruos. Not only that, but La Dama Gaga added a moment to the show where she displayed the Mexican flag and recited, in Spanish, a letter to her fans. The devil’s in the details, and no one knows that better than Madre Monstruo. And as I predicted, Coachella was a preview of The Mayhem Ball shows to follow. And why not, as it continues to dazzle all those who see it, including Jamie Fullerton at The Telegraph who praised the show: “Tim Burton meets Rocky Horror.”
Thankfully her new tour is a Tim Burton meets Rocky Horror high-concept, high-camp goth opera that sets the standard for gloriously overblown pop performance. Gaga’s 2025 global tour dates follow her Coachella headline slot and the release of new album Mayhem, generally regarded as a return to form as well as widescreen dance-pop. Most are arena gigs dubbed The Mayhem Ball, with Gaga saying arenas provide an “intimate… more connected” experience — which just proves the level of her global fame.
…The crowd, sporting far more gay fetish gear than the Coachella hipsters, whooped during Saturday’s show as Gaga read a speech in Spanish praising the city’s passion. A large man wearing a papier-mâché version of Gaga’s famous meat dress cheered particularly passionately.
…The show was separated into acts, each with an enjoyably pretentious title such as ‘And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream’. There may have been a story linking them, but as Gaga and her dancers faced off on a giant chessboard for Poker Face, narrative didn’t seem important.
Parris Goebel’s choreography sometimes appeared to be designed more for the camera than the crowd, but it also required one hell of a workout and Gaga was clearly unafraid to show the lung-busting effects of the writhing and sliding which ensured that the show still felt human.
…During the third section (sorry, I mean, ‘The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name’), things drooped a bit. Killah’s twiddly riffs sounded like they were commissioned by an advertising agency as a cheap substitute for Kiss by Prince. The Chic-esque Zombieboy was more salon than stadium, although as Gaga and her dancers were grinding with more skeleton props, you couldn’t call it boring.
Momentum was regained by the dirty synths of Born This Way, with Gaga and her dancers wearing militaristic jackets, shiny hot pants and tights, like the Imperial officers from Star Wars on cabaret night. It’s a flawless banger in any context, but it felt newly significant to hear a US icon sing this anthem of inclusiveness during the second age of Trump, in a city big on machismo. Gaga dabbed her eye as she introduced the song’s message of relentless positivity.
After playing the equally heartfelt, if slightly dull, piano-led Blade of Grass live for the first time, Gaga ended the set with Bad Romance. As a goodbye she waved massive parsnip-like body horror claw props during the thumping version of her 2009 hit. It was a brilliantly bonkers finale, and beat Katy Perry being blasted into space in an Amazon van as the most epically odd pop event of 2025.
“…with Gaga and her dancers wearing militaristic jackets, shiny hot pants and tights, like the Imperial officers from Star Wars on cabaret night.” This has to be one of the most fabulous and canny descriptive sentences ever to be strung together. That’s a sentence that will live in famy (not a typo). But now I want Gaga to release mood boards or brainstorming notes or something because I think the chances are high that “Star Wars Imperial officers at cabaret night” is written down somewhere as EXACTLY what she was going for. The line is so good, it almost makes me forgive Fullerton for having the audacity to call “Blade of Grass” dull. How very dare you, sir!
Oh, and as for that last crack about Katy Perry, I’m surprised he brought up the space flight (though “Amazon van” is another gem) as opposed to the direct comparison of Katy having her own shows in Mexico City that week. In fact, guess who attended and raved about Gaga’s show?! Katy said she was “proud” of Gaga and “grateful to grow up together.” Curious word choices, and I’ll leave it at that. ¡Viva La MAYHEM!