Kiss Me Once Tour - Friday 26th September - Manchester Arena
I've seen Kylie on every major tour since the Showgirl tour. I must admit I was never a very big Kylie fan 'til I saw her Fever tour coverage on TV and became smitten with the very showmanship of the whole affair. Visual spectacles - costumes beyond imagination, sets that look like they have been taken directly from dreams, shaken up renditions of old classics and, well, quite honestly, the dancers (which usually are some of the finest male specimens you could ever want to lay eyes on).
A stage full of 20 or 30 of the finest dancers imaginable grooving to the pop princesses tunes with some amazing visual direction by Kylie's long time partner in crime William Baker usually delivers track after track and scene after scene of delight. This time, not so much.
I wouldn't like to say whether it is due to her move to Roc Nation or perhaps a want to do something a little more subtle that means we are delivered a dance troupe of only 7 on this tour (purse strings tightened or maybe she just wants to be able to move on stage without it having to be carefully choreographed so that she doesn't crash in to someone) but it somehow lacked the energy of other performances. That having said, during Slow (I can't fully commit to that being the right track, must remember to make notes next time) I felt moved. The dancers on stage with Kylie are usually magnificently attractive and can move to a beat like no other, but with this, I was blown away and speechless. The movements were so beautifully executed, I'd struggle to think of a ballet that has such wonderfully precise grace. The other standout moment of course being Kylie's cover of "Need you Tonight", sexually charged and loaded with questions on her relationship with INXS singer Michael Hutchence.
Whilst slightly more concept heavy and a little less "showy", a good time was still had by all. Without hesitation I'll still be booking tickets on the next tour when the time comes, interested to see whether this a permanent change in direction or a blip on the radar.
All images are my own.
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