The Music You Were Playing Really Blew My Mind: Kylie Minogue in Toronto |
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| Written by Mike Cullen |
| Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
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I write this while still on a musical high from seeing Kylie Minogue live in Toronto during her current North American Tour. I had the opportunity to see Minogue twice last year in London, England, while she was promoting her then latest album, X. The shows at the O2 Arena were two of the best live performances I have ever seen. I once argued that U2's Vertigo Tour and The Killers at V-Fest in 2007 could never be beaten, and yet they were both surpassed by a pint-sized Australian!
While not a brand new tour, these nine dates take the best from the previous Showgirl Greatest Hits, Showgirl Homecoming, and KYLIEX2008 tours. By revamping musical arrangements, choreography, and costumes, fresh life was breathed into Minogue's show, which many hardcore fans are already familiar with from various tour DVD releases over the years. There was an overall sense of near perfection to the Toronto show, with individual sections standing out in their own unique way. As much as I do not care for the ballad version of "White Diamond," a song written with the Scissor Sisters shortly after Minogue's recovery from breast cancer in 2007, it works remarkably well live, especially when paired with the likes of hit songs "Confide in Me" and "I Believe in You". The energy in the Air Canada Centre pulsed throughout the evening.The dance numbers, including worldwide smash "Can't Get You Out of My Head," "In My Arms," and "Love at First Sight," in the words of Minogue herself, "go off like a frog in a sock." This, along with fan request "Your Disco Needs You," sung during the encore, meant the energy in the Air Canada Centre pulsed throughout the evening. As a bonus to fans, some of whom have waiting over twenty years to see their Princess of Pop perform live, Kylie unveiled a new song, the Nerina Pallot penned track, "Better Than Today". While an uplifting number, one that Minogue has confirmed will be on her next album, the song did not particularly wow me. Unless the produced version has a better hook, the song is nothing more than a common album track. That said, having 
Photography by Mike Cullen
The costumes were the typical sci-fi/punk/glam inspired outfits seen in past tours. As the adage goes: "if it ain't broke...." Choreography, while updated, still retained the very technological robo-dancing aspect familiar to fans. Minogue, performing for two solid hours, appears content to sing live, leaving the heavy duty dancing to her dancers. She moves, dances, shimmies and everything in between when needed, but without excess and never at the expense of her voice. (I hope you're reading this, Madonna...) Some ten thousand screaming, singing, and dancing fans were highly entertained for the duration of the two-hour show. In true Minogue fashion, she was all smiles and a consummate showgirl throughout. One can only hope a DVD of the show will be released, so that the rest of her fans in North America and abroad will have the opportunity to see another successful notch in Kylie's belt. It was quite possibly one of the best evenings of my life. Just when I thought the peak of my concert-going experience was the KYLIEX2008 tour last year, Minogue has managed to outdo even herself. One can only hope that the positive reviews for this tour will convince her not to wait another twenty years before playing our side of the Atlantic again. Setlist: Overture Encore: Better the Devil You Know
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When Kylie announced that she would be hitting the road to perform a small North American tour this fall (with Toronto being the only Canadian stop), I knew I had to go. I was excited when I managed to snag tickets, but little did I know just how magical the night would end up being. My third row floor seat turned out to be third row, centre stage. At times, Minogue was less than thirty feet away from me. For two hours she performed a myriad of hits and fan favourite songs spanning a twenty-plus-year career.
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