Around two-thirds of the way into Kylie’s sole Melbourne show of 2015, on the back of last year’s middling Kiss Me Once, I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince myself this wasn’t one of the best pop shows I’ve ever seen. Better than Gaga. Better than Biebz. And yes, even better than Beyonce. I walked into Rod Laver a Kylie agnostic, never truly appreciating her standing as one of our true musical icons. That’s my bad.
Tonight’s show is a masterclass in arena pop, flicking the switch between aesthetics – all tasteful, entering a mitigated, classy raunch at times (“All my family are here. Dad, don’t look at certain parts,”) – shifting to bubblegum Barbie to BDSM-lite with uncanny ease, all pulled off with a distinctly relatable, down-to-earth charm. Kylie’s still our neighbour: “Wow, looks like some of you put the pedal to the metal on the Janome.”
The dorky charm is set up by an opening DJ set disco producer legend, Giorgio Moroder, who only really started DJing two years ago, perched at the end of the runway with lights and lasers blasting overhead as he pulls endearing grandpa shuffle shapes while relaying Donna Summer classics and a truncated, more-upbeat version of Daft Punk collab Giorgio By Moroder. He later joins Kylie for their collab Right Here, Right Now, which works better in the arena environment, before Kylie stuns with an a cappella run-through of I Feel Loved. After Moroder exits the stage, Kylie confesses one of three demos she recorded at 17 was Donna Summer’s Giorgio-produced Dim All The Lights.
“Right now, this is the biggest disco in the world.” It feels like it, and it feels great, with Spinning Around going into the brute Your Disco Needs You.The late-nite hypnotic sex of Slow, which feels as modern as a FKA Twigs cut, is replete with a jaw-dropping backup dancer. The sheer pop glee of Hand On Your Heart and I Should Be So Lucky are all compounded by ridiculous theatrics and all-encompassing lighting.
The third act, though by no means terrible, fails to stick the immaculate landing set-up by all that came before, mired by newer material that doesn’t quite sound as timely as her truly timeless top shelf selections from her decades-long canon. But the fan service is genuine. There’s a lot of heart here tonight. Before the show, Sam Johnson takes to the stage to command a chant for Molly Meldrum, who he depicts in an upcoming telemovie, while the guru makes his way to his chair before popping a rainbow umbrella. Later on, INXS’s Need You Tonight is performed while a platform lifts Kylie above the stage. We’ve got a good musical history here.
“Looks like we’re pulling into Flinders Street,” precedes The Loco-Motion: a reminder that Kylie, an international icon, is still Our Kylie.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
Loved: Slow being horny as hell.
Hated: No Confide In Me, but that might not work in a stadium, but still, no excuse for leaving Better The Devil You Know off the setlist.
Drank: Bubbly.
