Live Review: Kylie Minogue at the Hollywood Bowl

Timothy Norris

Who: Kylie Minogue
Where: Hollywood Bowl
When: 5/20/11

It's been just about ten years since Kylie Minogue released "Can't Get You Out of My Head," the monumental global hit that went on to become one of the inescapable dance tunes of the first decade of the century and reignited interest in the Australian pop star in the United States. One might assume, then, that when Minogue burst into a fast, rocked out version of the song Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl, it would have been the biggest hit of the night.

It wasn't. In fact, the song that followed "Can't Get You Out of My Head"-- "In My Arms," co-written and co-produced by Calvin Harris and featured on her 2007 album X-- that drew an even greater roar from the crowd.

With more than twenty years of music under her belt and a score of songs that fall under the love-on-the-dancefloor school of lyrics, Kylie Minogue is a bona fide dance pop goddess everywhere, Los Angeles included. This wasn't the sort of show where you sit around wait for that one song that everyone inside a large amphitheater knows. There was no single moment that would have stood out during the concert for everyone there. Instead, there was a general feeling that every song she performed and every costume change she made (there were a lot of those, we lost count) meant something to someone at the Bowl.

Timothy Norris

"Aphrodite"

Minogue, whose latest album and tour is titled Aphrodite, made an entrance fit for Mt. Olympus. As the tour intro played, images of well-built men underwater were projected on the backing screens and dancers in toga-styled outfits slowly filled the stage. Two women appeared in white gown on two large staircases. The title track off Minogue's latest album soon filled the amphitheater. We could hear Minogue, but couldn't see her until a golden shell arose from the center of the stage. There she was, looking every bit as we might imagine the ancient Greek goddess of love. She was quickly flanked by exceptionally good looking men who accompanied her on the journey down a third staircase.

And, did we mention that there were aerial performers too?

Yes, it was a spectacle. Some might call it ridiculous, and maybe it is, but if you're the sort of person who appreciates over-the-top performances and grand entrances, as I am, then it doesn't get much better than this.

Timothy Norris

"I Believe in You" is Minogue's collaboration with members of the Scissor Sisters, which appeared on her 2004 singles collection Ultimate Kylie. It's a dreamy disco number that, unlike many of her songs, wasn't drastically altered for the live performance. Minogue appeared in a glittering, ethereal dress that recalled the white gown she wore in the opening of the "I Believe in You" video. In keeping with the Aphrodite theme, Minogue performed in a chariot led by several men as one walked behind and occasionally fanned her.

"Slow"

Taken from her 2003 album, Body Language, "Slow" hit as minimal techno was making waves at clubs. The original is a seductive and adventurous dance track that plays upon the spare grooves that were packing dance floors at the time. Live, though, Minogue turned it into a burlesque show-friendly jazz number. She was surrounded by corseted female dancers who maneuvered oversized, fanned feathers. Just as the audience thought the song had ended, Minogue purred a few lyrics into the microphone, the dancers removed their corsets and "Slow" very quickly morphed into an electro jam.