Just over a year ago, Madonna was performing at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, when she unexpectedly brought out Kylie Minogue to run through Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," and a snippet of Kylie's "Can't Get You Out of My Head." Predictably, the crowd went insane.
Fourteen months later, Minogue was headlining her own big show in Los Angeles, this time at the downtown Crypto Arena. 38 years into a career that launched with a cover of "The Locomotion" in '87, Minogue is firmly in the "icon" class now, and the reception she received from a L.A. crowd keen to party was solid, irrefutable proof that she's a beloved figure in these parts. There may have been a time when she held cult status with dance-pop fans, but she's now up there with the best of them. A true pop star!
The atmosphere was electric before opener Rita Ora took it upon herself to warm everyone up further. Beyoncé was in town this week and, like Queen Bey's crowd, Kylie has a fanbase that likes to dress to impress. There's likely some crossover; the queer community was certainly in full voice at the Crypto, while fans of Kylie across the decades were determined to make the most of this chance to see Minogue in her pomp.
The recent Tension album, and the sequel Tension II, also offered proof that she's making some of the best music of her career right now. Whilst still retaining the hyper-cool dance artist vibe, she's also not shying away from pop hooks. That's a heady brew.
We got a lot of those tunes at the Crypto. "Hold On to Now" and "Things We Do For Love" highlight that unrelenting desire to release one pop banger after another--songs that refuse to leave your consciousness long after they've finished.
We got more songs from the early Stock Aitken Waterman days than we maybe expected, including the absolutely perfect pop song that is "Better the Devil You Know." Rita Ora reappears for dance floor filler "Spinning Around," and there was a killer medley from the magnificent Disco album.
"Confide in Me" was epic and oozing with sensuality, and that theme continued with "Slow." "Can't Get You Out of My Head" was a predictable crowd fave, while "Tension" and "Padam Padam" from Tension are glorious dance-pop anthems.
By the end, L.A. was left feeling very lucky.
(Lucky, lucky, lucky)
Photos, by Chloe Irving, taken elsewhere during the tour.
