It’s been 18 years since Minogue last performed in Belfast and now, over two decades on since her first number one, ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ (more on that later), she’s back with her most ambitious and expensive tour to date. With production costs totalling in the region of £10million, the singer has decided to put her money where her mouth is in a bid to show everyone that she can still cut it with the Madonnas and Gwen Stefanis of this world. Thankfully, it’s a gamble that has definitely paid off.
Opening the show with a cut from her latest record, X, called ‘Speakerphone,’ everyone’s favourite neighbour arrives onstage suspended in the air like some kind of new-age electric messiah, complete with a halo around her head. While you’d be hard pushed to find anyone who would compare Kylie to the Virgin Mary, she is seen by her fans as a bit of a modern-day saint at the moment, and once she launches into ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ straight after the opening number, her acolytes are in raptures as her dancers parade around the stage dressed like crazed, goth motorcycle enthusiasts.
Tonight we see Kylie undergo many Barbie-esque costume changes; we get Cheerleader Kylie during ‘Heart Beat Rock’ and Viscount Kylie for ‘On A Night Like This’, while Geisha Kylie and ‘50s Kylie are thrown in for good measure too. At one point we even see the star straddle a huge, glittering Damien Hirst-inspired skull as she sings ‘Like A Drug,’ and for this writer’s money it certainly puts those sultans of cheese Spinal Tap to shame any day of the week.
Kylie didn’t speak much to her ever-loyal fans, but she was the consummate professional throughout, making sure she provided as much bang for our buck as she could by delivering a visual extravaganza. On the musical front, what really stood out was the sheer quality of her latter day songs. Sure, ‘80s classics like ‘Step Back In Time’ and ‘Shocked’ will always be camp hair-brush anthems until the end of time, but ‘2 Hearts’ and ‘In My Arms’ out-class them by miles.
Before the delectable diva bid adieu to her adoring crowd, she gave us one last surprise to round off the night. With a a theatrical flourish, her keyboardist rattled out that old familiar Stock, Aiken and Waterman riff and ushered in a straight-down the line performance of ‘I Should Be So Lucky.’ This time around, there were no knowing nudges or winks, or recitals of the lyrics as if they were poetry. It was just an honest to goodness rendition of the song that made her famous, and it sounded ace. These days, Ms Minogue is as comfortable with her past as she is about her future and for that we think she should count herself very lucky, lucky, lucky indeed.