Paws were up on Thursday night as an array of monsters packed the Honda Center for somewhat of a religious ceremony with their “Mother Monster,” Lady Gaga. Dressed in bright, sequined outfits that were complemented with vibrant peroxide-blonde wigs, those in attendance were constantly on their feet, worshipping their goddess. And Lady Gaga, like her followers, was also wildly dressed throughout the night.

The Scissor Sisters entertained and “warmed up” the crowd with ’80s-inspired tunes coupled with goth-like costumes.

“Hello, little monsters. When you grow up, you can be a scissor sister and we’re here to convert you any way we can,” Ana Matronic (vocals) announced. “If you haven’t heard of us, you’re either one of two things: not gay or not British.”

The New York-based group had the audience dancing and possibly even caught a few googly eyes from some in attendance who couldn’t keep their eyes off Jake Shears (vocals). He was wearing almost nothing, decreasing his amount of clothing as the set progressed. The buff singer flaunted his well-maintained chest and arms as he pranced around stage in leather chaps.

The group thanked everyone for attending, especially those who chose to dress up. Attendees were decorated with glitter and elaborate makeup and costumes, while some drag queens impersonated Mother Monster herself.

As the clock struck 10 p.m. the lights dimmed and a curtain was revealed with images of Lady Gaga. The speakers repeatedly blasted the words “I’m a free bitch” and when the curtain dropped, Lady Gaga appeared, wearing a navy jacket with big, heavy square shoulder pads and blue leopard print lingerie underneath.

Kicking off the night with “Dance in the Dark,” Lady Gaga was full of energy, noting that she and her little monsters only had two hours together.

During the sing-along, “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” Lady Gaga commanded her fans to do several hand motions, including fist pumps and “getting their guns out” to shoot in the air. “Bang bang, we're beautiful and dirty rich,” she sang as a sea of hands raised in the air to resemble weaponry.

After performing a few numbers, Lady Gaga officially welcomed everyone to the Monster Ball.

“The Monster Ball will set you free,” she said. “It’s a place where all the freaks are outside and I lock the fucking doors.” She said that it was also an area where anyone could be who they wished to be, citing her own harassment from bullies when she was growing up.

“My mother told me that one day I would be singing and dancing in front of those who bullied me,” she said.

Throughout the night, Lady Gaga proved that she was musically multi-talented. During “The Fame,” she played a combination guitar/keyboard while draped in red cloth with giant triangular shoulders and a huge bow in the middle. She also proved her musical talents as she played piano and keytar during several songs.

The performance was not only audibly stunning, but visually as well since Lady Gaga’s outfits seemed to outdo each other every time, from see-through garments to a fire-igniting bra. Peculiar visuals were also projected onto the screen, such as her eating a heart and drenching herself in blood. The sets were also alluring, including a mock subway and a gigantic, terrifying “Fame Monster.”

“Today is the 150th Monster Ball arena show… which means I’m almost 200 years old,” Lady Gaga proclaimed to her fans, citing the gays as her biggest aficionados. “You guys are my religion,” she said.

And religion seemed to be a reoccurring theme for the night. Before the show, religious picketers held up signs that suggested partying and homosexuality were sins. Lady Gaga said she spoke to one of the protestors to try to get them to understand her point of view that “Jesus loves everybody.” The man responded by giving her a “get out of hell free” card.

“Why are you standing outside an arena, holding up hate signs when you can just make these get out of hell free cards?” she asked the man, chuckling as she repeated this occurrence to the audience.

Opposing what the picketers protested, Lady Gaga embraced the LGBT lifestyle throughout the night. During “Boys, Boys, Boys,” her backup dancers paraded around in boxer briefs and grabbed their junk. As well, she showed her support of the Re*Generation homeless youth organization. As a show ritual, Lady Gaga called one lucky fan in the audience, who just happened to be celebrating his 18th birthday. Since the fan answered his phone, she said she would donate $20,000 to Re*Generation and would celebrate by sharing cake with him after the show.

Lady Gaga also performed a piano rendition of her latest single “Born This Way.”

“You guys kept this at number one for six weeks!” she exclaimed while performing the song. Fans belted out the lyrics a capella every time they sang “cause baby I was born this way.”

Lady Gaga also performed several songs from her upcoming third album, due out later this month. “You and I” was a piano-driven love song that she dedicated to “a really handsome man in New York” and was produced by a celebrity who has yet to be revealed.

Dressed like a crow with a black veil over her face, Lady Gaga emerged onto a Tim Burton-like forest set, complete with haunting trees and gothic costumes, to sing “Monster.”

“He ate my heart. That boy is a monster,” she sang as her dancers performed zombie-like choreography. Lady Gaga vanished beneath a trap door for a second then reappeared with her stomach covered in blood, citing one of her many quick costume changes.

She then collapsed on the floor. “I’m kind of like Tinkerbell,” she said. “She’ll die if you don’t clap for her. Scream for me!”

As she attempted to get back up, a male dancer hovered over her. “This is Michael,” she announced. “Michael likes girls from Anaheim and boys from Anaheim ― just like Jesus.” As Lady Gaga announced the different sexes, Michael motioned the movements to performing oral sex on each.

Sexuality continued to be showcased as two male dancers passionately kissed each other on stage during “Alejandro.”

As Lady Gaga danced around in a silver sequined jumpsuit with fire coming out of her breasts during “Paparazzi,” she defeated a giant “Fame Monster,” which looked hauntingly similar to a humpback anglerfish.

“Take pictures, little monsters! We need to defeat the Fame Monster!” she commanded, eventually taking down the beast. “We killed him!” she announced.

Lady Gaga reemerged onto the stage for an encore, standing in a globe that spun in several directions and dressed in a silver present bow-like outfit. She concluded her set with two of her biggest hits ― “Bad Romance” and an encore of “Born This Way.” \

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