By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL — As promised, Lady Gaga tore the face off Manhattan Wednesday night at the first of four sold-out hometown performances.
The "Monster's Ball" show was as over-the-top and weird as Lady Gaga fans have come to expect, according to news reports, but also showcased the Upper West Side-raised singer's vocal talents.
After belting out her hits, like "Paparazzi," "Bad Romance" and "Just Dance," Lady Gaga kept the stage lights up for her camera-toting fans.
“Take my picture!” she told the audience, according to the New York Times. “I want to be a star.”
As usual, her costumes went from the bizarre to the ridiculous, as she dressed like an "intergalactic Viking, a spike-headed monster, a human clothes hanger, a murderous vulture and a gladiator straight out of Fellini's 'Satyricon,'" the Daily News reported.
Before the show, many fans showed their love by turning out in their own Gaga-esque outfits.
“I was here at the [Video Music Awards] and I wanted her to see me, but she didn’t get a chance,” Keanu Lopez, 18, of Brooklyn, who was wearing vampire fangs, a wig and lingerie. “Someone needs to let me in because she’s the love of my life.”
Regarding his outfit, he said, “I came from the ghetto dressed like this, that’s why I brought my brother.”
Lulu Ashley Dassa brought her little sister, Juicie Dassa, 3, who had her own little Gaga getup.
“She’s the biggest fan, she knows all her songs,” Dassa said of her sister.
“I love her so much because she loves her fans. She’s not afraid to got out in a red-sequined Prince jacket and own it,” John Giordano, 19, who snapped a picture of Lady Gaga coming out of her Black SUV near the stage entrance because he was taller than everyone else.
His two friends, Nicole Urbonas, 17, and Shannon D’Onofrio, 17, were clearly unable to maintain a "Poker Face," and started squealing and crying.
There was concern among fans earlier this week about whether her Radio City shows would go on, after she canceled several gigs due to dehydration and exhaustion. But on Wednesday, she sent out a tweet to fans saying the show would go on.
"Can't wait 4 Monster Ball, ready to tear the face off my hometown 2nite xx," the superstar tweeted.
“I never thought that she would cancel New York City," said Claire Marzocca, 23. "I don’t think anyone is dumb enough to do that.”
