Hammerstein Ballroom
Monday, May 2
Better than: Wearing sweatpants and seated on the couch.
Let's get this out of the way: The Hammerstein Ballroom is a large way for spectacles. Some of the best shows I've seen in New York have been there, and all of them-Pulp, Kraftwerk, the Flaming Lips-have had a layer of showmanship about them that has been heightened by the room's deceptive intimacy and full sound.
The vibes inside are for the about part posi, too, which is a feat given that the lengthy security line, when I initially arrived at 7:45, stretched all the way down 34th Street and hang onto 9th Avenue.
Kylie Minogue, however, blew those acts (and pretty much everyone touring arenas right now) away last night, the beginning of her Aphrodite tour's three-evening New York run. Within the first six songs, she had made three grand entrances, arriving on a giant seashell, a pegasus, and a chariot pulled by two gladiators and trailed by a person tasked with fanning her. (Later, she would ascend from the stage's nether regions on a bust. of herself. A few songs were attended by aerialists, who at some points interlocked with one another in such a way that I wondered if The Aerialist Kama Sutra was available at the merch tables. The dancers were rich and they were all fantastic, resplendent in their high-concept outfits, waving feathers around like veteran burlesque performers.
But at the focus of it all was Kylie, who was by turns bashful and jokingly chiding and dead in command, changing dresses as quick as some people exchange their mind, flirting with the audience through performances of "The Loco-Motion" (how refreshing it is to see someone so positive in her self that she'll embrace what lesser artists would try to renounce as early-career kitsch! and "Slow." She might be a bit of a cult popstar in the U.S. but she radiated at maximum wattage throughout the evening, making me think that she could have exited the room and seized the Hot 100's No. 1 bit from Katy Perry with only the tool of an eyebrow.
Much of the set was taken from her 2010 album Aphrodite, but there were a few surprises. At one stage she covered Eurythmics' hymnlike "There Must Be An Angel"-it should probably be noted that this transpired shortly after three winged angels appeared onstage-and the room's energy shot through the roof, almost as richly as the improbable vocal runs first set low by Annie Lennox all those years ago. (Kylie got the help from her very capable backup singers/dancers on that one, but, you know, who among us wouldn't?) Her reworking of the sultry 2001 hit "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" turned up the song's volume all the way, giving it a makeover seemingly inspired by the grind of Janet Jackson's "Black Cat." (During this call the dancers paired off into male/female duos and occupied in what could alone be referred to as grappling-I half-expected a reader to emerge. There was likewise a mashup of the giddy "Love At First Mountain" and the Aphrodite track "Can't Get The Feeling," which was somewhat ingenious in a self-saluting kind of way.
The record complete with the gorgeous Aphrodite standout "All The Lovers," an ode to adam that blooms and stretches like a person realizing how to reply to meet after a too-lengthy period of solitude. The dancers recreated a miniaturized version of the song's humans-in-ecstasy-sculpture video while Kylie presided over them. It all ended too soon, though and as the song's coda played and Kylie exited the stage, glitter cannons went off, filling the air with light and giving the interview a small bit of fabulousness to bring place with them.
Critical bias: The Snow was fun, but oh, was it decent to see a record that directly counterbalanced the overwhelmingly masculine energy that drowned me this weekend. Also, I probably should have ranked "All The Lovers" way higher on my 2010 singles list.
Overheard: "Would you see at that dress??"
Random notebook dump: I really trust the guy in the presence of the audience excitedly waving his crutch around and attempting to provide it to Kylie is feeling OK today, because that only seems like a formula for longer-term pain.
Setlist:
Intro / Aphrodite
The One
Wow
Illusion
I Believe In You
Cupid Boy
Spinning Around
Get Outta My Way
What Do I Have to Do?
Everything is Beautiful
Slow
Confide In Me
Can't Get You Out Of My Head
In My Arms
Looking For An Angel
There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
Love At First Sight / Can't Beat The Feeling
If You Don't Know Me
Better The Devil You Know
The Loco-Motion
Better Than Today
Put Your Hands Up (If You Find Love)
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On A Night Like This
All The Lovers
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