On arriving at the O2, I was struck immediately by how well the old Millennium Dome has been redeveloped. A tube station right next door is obviously still a winner, but when you enter the dome itself, there are shops, bars and restaurants, then what looks like a huge stadium, built right in the middle of the dome. In fact, the O2 would put most big concert hall or arena buildings to shame, but the fact that it is built entirely inside another building, just makes the scale of the whole thing seem much more impressive.Because of the free food and drink, we were slightly late into the venue, and Kylie was already on stage. There seemed to be the obvious audience of women, families, and gay men there, and I walked into the arena to be greeted by the middle of a huge dance routine, with the world's supply of stage lighting, and some pretty extravagant costumes. That set the tone for the whole evening.
I guess that Kylie is one of those acts that surprises you as to how many of the songs you know - if you have had your ears open for the last 20 years, you can't fail to know quite a few. This show featured lots of hits, and there were lots more than could have been played but were omitted. Musically, I thought it all sounded very "polished" - but that could have been because there were so many backing singers and musicians, that I suspected the real star of the show musically was the person in the mixing desk that put it all together.Which leads onto the main point about a Kylie show - the music is only a very small part of it. It seemed to be as much about the dancing, stage lighting, and costume changes as anything else. Definitely more like a "West End" show than a "gig" - there was even an interval for 15 minutes in the middle. An interesting experience, and definitely a good opportunity to visit a very impressive venue, but I certainly wouldn't pay to watch that show again. Not bad, but not my thing - but then I knew that before I went!
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