After the fever-pitched build-up and the fuss about a handful of religious protesters… came the squinting.

Lady Gaga kicked off her "Born This Way Ball" tour at Seoul on Friday night, but for most of those in attendance it was hard to tell for sure if it was actually the high priestess of pop on stage. And not because of her crazy costumes.

It certainly sounded like her — the sound system was excellent and she was in fine voice, barring a flub or two. But unless you were in the mosh pit, sorry Monster Pit, directly in front of the stage, opera glasses would've been a wise investment. (Not on sale at the show).

The problem was primarily the choice of venue. Seoul's Olympic Stadium is, as the name suggests, an arena built for sporting events. It seats up to 100,000 people and looks mighty impressive as you head towards it.

But once inside, the 50,000-or-so concert-goers found that most seats were beyond the half-way point of the sports field, with the stage at the other end of the stadium.