Live Review: Kylie Minogue, Jake Shears, Client Liaison

The first show of Kylie Minogue's homecoming tour was an occasion worthy of all the glitter, pizzazz and many shades of gold we got tonight at the ICC. There has been high expectation for the Golden tour following an album that topped the charts in both her adopted home (the UK) and her real home, Australia (and raised even higher by a fleeting surprise appearance at Mardi Gras). Her fourteenth album proved that, not only can Minogue continue to evolve as an artist, but that she is only getting better.

Client Liaison are no strangers to glitz and glamour, albeit from a slightly earlier era than the headliner. The group have their shtick down pat. '80s pastiche, pumping bass, corny dance moves and pop tracks that could have come from 1984. But during their show you did start to ask the question, ‘Is it a case of all style and no substance?’ Survival In The City, while a pseudo-saccharine electro-pop song, lacks the punch of a true pop hit, and despite their stage show really trying, there was just something missing. We did get a taste of a brand new, unreleased track though that included an impromptu rap from keyboardist, Harvey Miller. To be fair, playing first in an 8000-seat theatre is not an easy gig - if we were six drinks down and partying, it might have been a different review - and frontman Monte Morgan did his best to keep up the energy with a quirky dance performance. With only five songs performed, including the final track and highlight, World Of Our Love, they certainly didn't overstay their welcome. 

Jake Shears, more commonly known as the singer from Scissor Sisters, started with Good Friends, a track from his self-titled debut solo album. The 2018 LP - with its disco-tinged pop, boogie-woogie beats and a touch of flamboyance - is not dissimilar to the output of the band he formed in the early ‘00s. Shears' performance is vaudevillian and sparkly, though his vocal and dance moves may have seen better days. Bringing the old tracks to life is not an easy task without the accompaniment of a certain Ana Matronic, or a backing band, but the saxophonist on stage was a decent substitute and a good touch.

His solo tracks may not be well known but they exhibit his skill at writing honest, fun, upbeat pop tracks and his obvious joy at being in Sydney, especially having headlined the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras just two nights earlier, was obvious. "You know what the greatest thing about Australia is?” asked Shears, “The men like to show off their legs!" Take Your Mama gave Shears a chance to show off the falsetto he's known for and the crowd to get into the familiar track. The song went off, as did I Don't Feel Like Dancin’, even if he had to bring it down an octave in the chorus. Overall it was a good-natured, entertaining warm-up act, which is exactly what you’d ask for.

A set adorned with a Wild West Americana backdrop, a couple of Harleys and a gold sparkling walkway built the anticipation for the main show, not to mention a mix of S Club 7, ABBA and Sugababes. It was Dolly Parton’s 9 To 5 that Kylie chose as her lead-in song and it fit perfectly.

A full band and a set of eight dancers, dressed as cowboys and cowgirls of course, took to the stage as the lights dropped. The opening strands of the title track of the tour started and the Kylie Minogue show began, just ahead of the 9.15pm schedule. 

With a huge catalogue of music, Kylie fans needn’t have worried that she’d only play her newer tracks, but that’s not to say that we shouldn’t look forward to them. The critically acclaimed album brings Minogue's voice to a new generation that’s growing up on Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves and she really played up the Tennessean influence in her opening act. At the third song, we were treated to a version of Better The Devil You Know that we had never heard before. This was to become somewhat of an exciting trend for the night, with lots of fresh twists on old classics.

“I had a huddle with my band before we came out and I told them, 'Welcome to my home country!'", announced Minogue to rapturous applause. “Cheers!” she continued, taking a swig of what we are supposed to assume was whiskey. “To health, happiness and to love.”

The evening was broken up into a number of acts, including costume and set changes. The second act saw things start to morph into a new era as Minogue, in all white, started with an emotional rendition of Confide In Me. The arrangement morphed the song into a stadium-sized rock power-ballad and it’s never sounded better.

There was a little tease of her Nick Cave collaboration as she handed a rose to a woman in the crowd and sang a line of Where The Wild Roses Grow. It’s probably all we’ll ever get of it, but it was a cute touch.

One of Minogue's greatest traits her ability to just be herself – to be the one and only Kylie. She isn’t one for putting on a facade and when she announced that her family were in the audience and that she wanted to sing a song, Shelby ’68, dedicated to her car-loving father, you could tell she was being authentic. She enjoys being home.

Can’t Get You Out of My Head felt the rockiest it’s ever been as the show transitioned into ‘At the Biker Rally’ with Minogue doing her best Sandy impression from Grease, with her own version, named Pearl. A little mix with Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain was used at the end as well, again exhibiting the clever design of the score. Slow felt like it was a ‘90s-esque industrial track with a tinge of The Human League as she made her way, slowly of course, down the ramp. We moved into funk that turned into a rocked-out version of Kids, with her backing vocalists amply covering the Robbie Williams line. 

There was a sweet touch as Minogue pointed out a small girl, named Poppy, in the audience that she’d discovered on Instagram. She’d get to keep a signed program, which she will surely treasure into the future. Stop Me From Falling, a highlight from the latest album and equally impressive on stage, rounded out the act.

The flanny shirt came out as Minogue turned back the clock to 1989 for her duet with Jason Donovan, Especially For You, with his part covered by the 8,000 people in the ICC. All The Lovers was dedicated to Sydney as rainbow confetti filled the air. It was to be the start of a confetti frenzy - golden glitter sprayed out not long after as the stage switched to the ‘Studio 54’ act of the show, which included a performance of the cover that propelled her career into the stratosphere, The Loco-motion.

Emotions were high as the crowd gave an epic standing ovation after main set closer, Spinning Around. Minogue looked visibly moved as the adoring crowd cheered enthusiastically, not wanting the show to end.

There was a short break (and the fifth and final costume change) before Love At First Sight took us back once more, this time to 2001, before the show rounded out with the first single from Golden, Dancing with the lyrics, “And when the final curtain falls/We could say we did it all,"  suiting the night perfectly.

No number of streamers and confetti showered on the crowd could match the love being showered on Australia’s golden queen, Kylie, as she smiled and thanked each corner of the room following an absolutely epic two-hour performance. This was a performer at the top of her game. The choreography, the updated musical versions and the set design all proved the effort that Minogue has put into making a show that exhibits the best of her music and her personality. Her graciousness in thanking the band, dancers and crew were noted - and also props to the venue, which was a perfect setting for such a performance, giving everyone the best view (and sound) possible.

As the tour is set to travel around the country, there is no reason not to catch this performance. Whether it’s your first time or your eighth time, it would almost certainly go down as one of the best shows you’ll ever see from one of Australia’s living icons.