Live Review: Kylie Minogue, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Friday 3/6/11

 

This is what my top five artists of all time looks like:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Madonna
3. Kate Bush
4. Prince
5. Kylie Minogue

Should we assess the live performance situation? I’ve heard that Michael Jackson is no longer touring. Madonna hates Australia for some reason. Kate Bush hasn’t been seen in public since 1979. Prince hasn’t been here in ages. So that leaves Kylie Minogue, who has toured at least four times since I’ve been a fan but each time I’ve been unable to go. Until now.

The fact that she tours Australia extensively is not the only thing that sets Kylie apart from my other favourite artists. My fandom for her is different, in a way. It might be because she’s Australian and it might be because she acts and looks like a human being, but I feel like we can relate to Kylie in a way that few other popstars ever allow. As a personality, she is perhaps my favourite celebrity ever. Who has ever been offended or put off by something Kylie has said or done? Nobody. And on top of being super nice, she has consistently put out amazing music for almost 25 years.

Kylie has also just been a general part of Australian life for me. Simply always there, like her former show Neighbours, or John Farnham, or Pink (who has been touring Australia non-stop since 1983 and is now Deputy Prime Minister). The first music video I ever remember seeing on the ABC video show Rage was ‘Did It Again’, when I was seven years old. When I joined a theatre group later that year, the first song we learnt was ‘Step Back In Time’. My aunt had the 1994 album Kylie Minogue and that was how I discovered my favourite Kylie song, ‘Confide In Me’.

And now, so many years after discovering her, I got to see Kylie live, on the spectacular tour in support of her album Aphrodite. I waited for five and a half hours in line to guarantee a spot at the barrier – I was not going to allow my Kylie experience to be hindered by anything as silly as people standing in front of me. During the opening numbers I could hardly process the fact that Kylie Fucking Minogue was standing before me. Holy shit. Hooooly shit.

I tried to avoid major tour spoilers but I did check that she was going to do ‘Confide In Me’ and ‘Better The Devil You Know’, which are the two Kylie songs I’ve always known I had to see live one day. The other selections from her back catalogue ranged from the obvious crowd-pleasers (‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, ‘Love At First Sight’) to tracks like ‘The One’ and ‘What Do I Have To Do?’, which were only moderate hits but huge fan favourites. And then there was her stunning cover of ‘There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)’ and the obscure ‘If You Don’t Love Me’, which continued the tradition of Kylie including some rarities or unexpected covers in her live shows. There was nothing in the setlist from Impossible Princess or Let’s Get To It, but I can deal with that because as much as I love them, they are the two black sheep of her discography. Kylie’s vocal performances were amazing, and it still surprises me just how strong she can be, especially when she has a reputation as a subtle vocalist.

Visually the show was just awe-inspiring, as everybody has said over and over again. ‘All The Lovers’, water jets and all, was without a doubt one of the greatest live performances I have ever seen, in person or on video. If I wasn’t so busy freaking out at the spectacle I may have shed a tear or two.

I tend to say this after every tour I see, but this may just be the greatest show I have ever seen, and I really mean it this time. To illustrate my ascension to heaven thanks to Kylie, I leave you with this photo of me, taken by my friend Anthony, who was across the catwalk in the Splash Zone.

You know that I’m magical 
I am the original 
I am the only one 
To make you feel this way

Live Review: Rihanna, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Friday 25/2/11

There are two different kinds of superstars: those who feel like real people and those who don’t. Both varieties have their pros and their cons, and I have been fortunate enough to witness both types of act live in concert. For example, when I saw Britney Spears and Beyoncé (seperately – though that would be quite the double bill), I was in awe of their prescence, fascinated that such figures of wonder could have stepped foot into my city, which feels light years away from where they spend most of their time. I was beside myself with excitement for Britney, especially. It was like an alien had landed, a wonderful, popstar alien. For Pink, and now for Rihanna, I can say I was most excited because I feel… proud? It’s so hard to explain – they feel like one of us normals who happen to be extraordinarily gifted, as opposed to someone who got beamed in from another planet. Instead of just being excited by the fact that they’re in the same room as us, we’re also really happy that they made it because we can see a human being behind the wigs and the costumes. I love, love, love the alien popstar – my favourite singer is Michael Jackson, for cry-yi – but there’s something to be said for that sort of audience connection.

Rihanna was on fire this evening, and I don’t just mean her bright red hair. In Brisbane for the Australian leg of her Last Girl On Earth Tour, this was her first show of the run and she killed it. I had heard mixed things about her live concerts but tonight she worked the crowd like she’d been doing this for decades. And she had such a great relationship with the audience despite not saying much – she had things to say, of course, but there were no big monologues – it was all through the movements and the facial expressions and the music.

She looked great as usual with hair that reminded me of her very early days, and her voice sounded excellent too. Most of the big singles were here, and the delivery was energetic and hit all the right spots. The only songs I really wanted to see that weren’t present were ‘Pon De Replay’ and ‘Man Down’, which I expect will make an appearance on the upcoming Loud Tour. The staging, dancers, band – I couldn’t find a fault with any of them, and though I obviously have no way of knowing for sure, it seemed like the kind of show that could be enjoyed from the barrier or from the very back of the arena. I guess what I liked most about this show, and Rihanna herself, is that she just always looks so happy to be a popstar, even when she’s doing “moody”, and that energy means that she can elevate her own performance, and the crowd then pushes back that energy tenfold.

Support from Far East Movement and Calvin Harris was very good, Far East Movement in particular were much more entertaining than I thought they would be. Having two support acts was a nice touch because often waiting times (in the standing area especially) can be fucking excruciating, but this wasn’t too bad at all. It was, however, a bit too much for my 16-year-old sister, though – she collapsed halfway through the show and had to be lifted out like one of those girls you see in Michael Jackson live videos. She’s usually okay at concerts but the fact that she was already a bit sick mixed with the time we’d been standing there mixed with how hot and pushy it was all took their toll. I expect she’ll be back there up the front with me next time just fine. Anyway, what that meant was that I experienced half the show from the third row and the other half from the side of the crowd, but it was fantastic no matter where I was. I saw ‘Umbrella’ live. ‘Umbrella’, one of the greatest songs to ever hit my ears. I could have been underneath the stage with a cardboard box on my head and that still would have been a musical moment to remember forever.