skills as it does any of the special effects." Alex Stedman for Variety stated: "Lady Gaga can do more than your average pop star. ... Though there's much to be said about Gaga's unfaltering vocals and high-energy showmanship, it's also worth noting one of the most impressive parts of the show: the set." In another positive review, Las Vegas Weeklys Josh Bell wrote: "Even as Lady Gaga's studio albums have become more scattered and uneven, she remains a fantastic live act, distilling the best of her music, her fashion sense, her vocal skills and her charismatic personality into a two-hour stage spectacle. ... Gaga herself remained the most mesmerizing part of an impressively crafted show." Reviewing the first show at Fenway Park, Brett Milano from Boston Herald praised Gaga's voice: "She's a remarkable singer, equally at home with blue-eyed soul, hard-edged dance tunes and torchy cabaret numbers. ... There wasn't a bit of evident lip-synching during last night's show and for mainstream pop artists at superstar level, that's a pretty big exception to the rule. The show suggested that her career may be moving into a less flashy, more intimate phase — but last night she brought it all, the cheap thrills and the underlying heart." Jon Caramanica from The New York Times felt that the first part of the show was "disjointed, shifting styles and attitudes seemingly at random", but Gaga later "struck a rhythm". He further complimented the piano sessions, writing that "Gaga was at home" with the instrument. Selena Fragassi from the Chicago Sun-Times complimented the set design, the costumes, and Gaga's "nearly pitch-perfect" vocals, saying that the show is "just another testament to Gaga's star power". However, she was critical of Gaga's dancing abilities, saying that "the singer, though, was a shadow of her former dancing self, relying on years-old choreography and struggling to keep her balance on 'Bad Romance'." Similarly, Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times believed that the ballads were the concert's highlight, adding that "she's begun to tire of carefully synchronizing all those moving parts. In busy old hits like 'LoveGame' and 'Telephone', Lady Gaga put across little visible excitement". Richard Burnett wrote a positive review for the Montreal Gazette, saying that "what Gaga lacked in overall musical momentum was more than made up for by her eye-popping multiplatform main stage" with its special effects. Writing for The Detroit News, Adam Graham