Kylie arrives in California for incredible performances at the Hollywood Bowl, the low open-air venue on the Aphrodite Live Tour, and in San Francisco where costumed fans send welcome messages from the queue...
It's been only about ten days since Kylie Minogue released "Can't Get You Out of My Head," the monumental global hit that went on to get one of the inescapable dance tunes of the first decade of the hundred and reignited interest in the Australian pop star in the United States. One might assume, then, that when Minogue burst into a fast, rocked out variant of the song Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl, it would have been the biggest hit of the night.
It wasn't. In fact, the call that followed "Can't Get You Out of My Head"- "In My Arms," co-written and co-produced by Calvin Harris and featured on her 2007 album X- that drew an even greater roar from the crowd.
With more than 20 days of music under her belt and a grade of songs that come below the love-on-the-dancefloor school of lyrics, Kylie Minogue is a bona fide dance pop goddess everywhere, Los Angeles included. This wasn't the kind of record where you sit around waiting for that one song that everyone within a great amphitheater knows. There was no one minute that would have stood out during the concert for everyone there. Instead, there was a general belief that every song she performed and every costume change she made (there were a lot of those, we lost count) meant something to somebody at the Bowl.
Below are the highlights of our night.
"Aphrodite"
Minogue, whose latest album and go is titled Aphrodite, made an entrance fit for Mt. Olympus. As the tour intro played, images of well-built men underwater were projected on the backing screens and dancers in toga-styled outfits slowly filled the stage. Two women appeared in white gown on two large staircases. The title track off Minogue's latest album soon filled the amphitheater. We could hear Minogue, but couldn't see her until a gilded shell arose from the sum of the stage. There she was, looking every bit as we might think the ancient Greek goddess of love. She was quickly flanked by exceptionally good looking men who attended her on the journey down a third staircase.
And, did we observe that there were aerial performers too?
Yes, it was a spectacle. Some might claim it ridiculous, and perhaps it is, but if you're the form of someone who appreciates over-the-top performances and grand entrances, as I am, then it doesn't get much better than this.
"I Believe in You"
"I Believe in You" is Minogue's collaboration with members of the Scissor Sisters, which appeared on her 2004 singles collection Ultimate Kylie. It's a dreamy disco number that, unlike many of her songs, wasn't drastically altered for the lively performance. Minogue appeared in a glittering, ethereal dress that recalled the white gown she wore in the possibility of the "I Believe in You" video. In keeping with the Aphrodite theme, Minogue performed in a chariot led by several men as one walked slow and occasionally fanned her.
"Slow"
Taken from her 2003 album, Body Language, "Slow" hit as minimal techno was making waves at clubs. The master is a seductive and adventurous dance track that plays upon the spare grooves that were packing dance floors at the time. Live, though, Minogue turned it into a burlesque show-friendly jazz number. She was encircled by corseted female dancers who maneuvered oversized, fanned feathers. Just as the audience thought the call had ended, Minogue purred a few lyrics into the microphone, the dancers removed their corsets and "Slow" very quickly morphed into an electro jam.
"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)"
The hot guys theme of Minogue's show peaked with her brood of the Eurythmics' hit "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)," when the singer, now wearing a gold minidress, appeared with a shirtless man wearing angel wings.
Minogue's cover was likewise one of the most rousing moments of the night, a big, soulful dance routine that showcased her singing abilities. It was a strain so potent that it felt like it should have been the end of the concert. However, there was more, a lot more.
"The Loco-Motion"
Minogue doesn't shy away from playing her older material in concert and updated versions of songs like "Better the Deuce You Know" went over very well with the crowd. But "The Loco-Motion," a cover song that became one of her earliest hits and her better known song in the U.S. until "Can't Get You Out of My Head" was an unexpected delight.
Towards the end of the show, Minogue had asked for requests from the crowd. It was "the king of mime," she said, that prompted her to represent "The Loco-Motion." Judging from the enthusiastic response of the crowd, we're not the only ones who nonetheless get their cassette copies of her debut album.
"All the Lovers"
Minogue ended the picture with a sci-fi Esther Williams encore that was possibly still more hideous than anything leading up this moment. For "On a Night Like This," from Light Years, footage of synchronized swimmers played behind the performers. Dancers were decked out in silver sequined robes and Minogue wore a beaded ensemble with her hair covered in what resembled a swim cap. But that was nothing compared to "All the Lovers."
Minogue drew from the picture for her first one off Aphrodite for this interpretation of the song, with dancers stripped down to flesh-colored basics either surrounding her or paired up for the final aerial routines and images of couples kissing playing in the background. A sweet synthpop number seemingly made for singing along with your friends in the car or club, "All the Lovers" is clearly the big hit off Aphrodite and the only fitting way to conclude the show. "All the Lovers" has the form of bright and endearing quality you need to wish to continue with you after your trying to get out of the Hollywood Bowl. We couldn't get the song out of our heads as we walked with the massive crowd towards the Hollywood Bowl shuttles. In fact, the air is still stuck in our minds almost a week later. Undoubtedly, Kylie Minogue left the push on a high tone and we'll be remembering this point for a long time.
By Liz Ohanesian
Montage of clips recorded from Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite Live performance at the Hollywood Bowl on May 20th, 2011...
Confetti blows at the close of the Kylie Minogue concert at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, May 20, 2011...
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