Opinion
04 Dec 18

Live Review: Kylie Minogue at The 3Arena

The Kylie Minogue locomotive chugged into the 3Arena on Monday night for the Golden Tour, in what was a glitter-disco extravaganza, with a sprinkling of country music set over eight acts.

The pop icon is back in Dublin promoting her fourteenth studio album ‘Golden’, celebrating life, love, and loss much to the delight of a heavily bedazzled crowd who are, on the whole, basking in the presence of their idol and guzzling prosecco out of plastic flutes (a serious vibe).

Kylie took to the stage just after 8 o’clock amidst a backdrop of an arid desert and the night sky bespattered with bright stars. She appears in a pewter pink night shawl complete with trademark Christian Louboutin boots atop a pile of suitcases, setting the scene of a jilted lover who’s on the move.

From the outset, this show feels like pop musical theatre; replete with denim chap wearing backup dancers busting intricate high octane moves, props aplenty and a full live band proving a perfect set up for the eponymous track off the album.

Then it’s straight into ‘Get Out Of My Way’ before Kylie welcomes the crowd, proclaiming “I’m so happy to see you! A few weeks later than expected but we made it!”.

Indeed, throughout the show the pop juggernaut spoke candidly about her disappointment in having to cancel her October 7th show due to illness. In a series of tweets, she explained

“I’ve been trying everything possible to be well enough to perform for you but a throat infection has led to vocal strain. I promise I’ll be back as soon as possible and at 100%.(The Guinness will be on me!)”

True to her word, the Australian songstress organised all Dublin and Belfast ticket holders a free tour of the Guinness Storehouse which is a classy and thoughtful touch.

After her second of eight costume changes, Kylie returns to the stage in a billowing white pant suit and gives a powerful, hypnotic and goosebump inducing rendition of ‘Confide In Me’ released in 1994, with the crowd chiming “we all get hurt by love” in unison.

Tonight's show has one eye on the present and another on the past, as reimagined hits such as ‘Especially For You’, ‘Locomotion’, and ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ sit nicely alongside newer tracks ‘Stop Me From Falling’ and ‘A Lifetime To Repair’.

Kylie’s longevity and staying power as an artist is something that most performers could only wish for. Her career has spanned over three decades; in that time she has fought breast cancer, been through numerous relationship breakdowns and has openly spoken about her battles with depression. Her ability to be candid and publicly vulnerable has won her many die hard fans in the process. “We’ve been through a lot together” she proclaims to the adoring masses before taking a shot of Whiskey atop a pool table, “Slainte”.

Closing the night with her disco back catalogue, Kylie gets everyone up dancing with 2000’s smash hit ‘Spinning Around’ off fan favourite ‘Aphrodite’ as glitter streamers shoot out from the sky and refracted light from giant disco ball swirls around the arena.

It’s lit up like a Moore Street stall at Christmas as an encore of ‘Let It Snow’ gets everyone in the festive spirit before Kylie takes her leave, showering us in fake snow and showing us how it’s done in the major league.