So, I registered with 'Blogger' back in November 2010 it seems and I have never posted an actual blog. I always start one then delete it or save it for later only to never actually finish it or publish it. So, in an effort to start doing something with 2012, I plan on publishing a blog at least once a month. And to get me started is the below blog which I typed way back in 2011 and never published. I present it here. Untouched. Spelling and grammar mistakes included. Much to my embarrassment. Enjoy!
I always swore that I would never go to a pop concert. My belief being that the music is an afterthought and is instantly forgotten the moment it stops receiving air play. And yes, I do still believe this to be the case. My music taste ranges from Sinatra to Metallica, Lady GaGa to The Offspring. However, my absolute favourite artist is Bruce Springsteen. His songs are extraordinary and speak to me in a way no other does. So, being a rocker at heart who is addicted to the music of the likes of Springsteen, Pearl Jam and U2, what would possess me to go see Ms Kylie Minogue live? A few things actually. 1- The curiousness of exactly how a pop concert with lavish stage productions would differ to the usual gigs I attend. 2- that I, maybe find a few Kylie songs to be good,and 3- the fact that the boyfriend, who loves Kylie as much as I do Springsteen, demanded to go and I bought the tickets for his Christmas present.
As I was going to the concert (or show?) with a super fan, we obviously couldn't sit with the regular folk. This required me to splash out a few pretty pennies for the VIP 'Splash Zone' section. This meant we were right at the front of the stage so we could see the 'Minogue' up close and personal (and the dancers.)
So, we make our way to the special VIP designated area and feel like royalty. Bypassing all the queues of regular ticket buying folk and making our way down a special lane reserved for people of importance, the evening started pretty swell.
Before the show started we were 'treated' to an opening act so diabolical it made a Whitney Houston comeback seem like a good idea. I'm not going to dwell on them but I will just say that The Ultra Girls are just really really really terrible. Just awful.
Luckily we were saved by the Pop Princess her Kylie who put on quite a spectacular show. Really, it was top notch. The songs, the disposable pop music' I alluded to earlier, seemed to take on a whole new life and almost become...song's that meant something! As is usual after I see an act live, I tend to get into their music more and become fans. As a result I've been listening non-stop for the past week to the Aphrodite album and have come to the conclusion that I quite like it.
The show itself is quite a amazing. It becomes obvious how much work must have gone into getting the whole thing off the ground and running. It seems a pop concert requires a lot more work than a regular old rock 'n roll show. The choreography is amazing, the dancers are amazing, the staging is phenomenal and, perhaps most importantly, Kylie is amazing. You get the sense that she really does love her fans. Even the scary ones with massive blonde afro wigs. Yes, surprise surprise, Kylie attracts a large gay audience. In fact, that tends to be the majority of her audience.
I've never understood this 'gay icon' business. Maybe I'm just a different breed of gay guy. I can only chalk it up to the over the top production (she starts the show by rising up from the stage in a golden shell, then rides a golden Pegasus and finally, rides a chariot pulled by leather bound, hard bodied dancers), and the 'fabulous' costume changes from Kylie.
The music is secondary at this type of concert. You go for Kylie, the show and the music. In that order. You don't go to a Kylie concert wondering what the set list will be and whether she'll play this or that. If you want to know what songs will be played then have a look at a setlist from a few months back. It'll rarely change. However, with a show as spellbindingly brilliant as 'Aphrodite', you don't care.
I went to see U2 twice on their last tour and thought that was the most choreographed show I'd ever go to. However, compared to Kylie, they look like a pub band with a limited budget from the tip jar.
As a result of my experience of Kylie live, my eyes have been opened. The blinkers have come off. Yes, the music is secondary, yes the songs don't really mean much (to me, that is) but it sure is damn good fun.
