What can I say, you know you’re going to get a camp time at a Kylie concert, people knew what they were in for and this show didn’t disappoint. When I arrived, magical super camp maestro, ex-Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears had just started his support slot dressed in an amusingly over the top silver suit, cape and bowler hat. Shears is reigning global gay royalty for the simple fact that he was the charismatic frontman of sophisticated but fun New York indie dance band Scissor Sisters for the better part of a decade. So, having the chance to see him here in Melbourne wasJake Shears, Kylie Minogue, Ana Matronic, Melbourne 2010. quite exciting. While the people were here to see Kylie there was a lot of affection for Shears amongst the audience and they cheered him enthusiastically.

And deservedly so, because he’s a great entertainer and the Scissor Sisters’ songs still radiate exuberance and joy after all these years. While there was no Comfortably Numb or Filthy/Gorgeous, we did get Take Your Mama and Better Luck Next Time. Towards the end of his set, Shears ripped off his pants with a flourish which was met with rapturous screams from the audience and much giggling and admiring commentary from the young females near me. It wound up on a high with beloved Scissor Sisters hit, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing‘. Shears performed a couple of songs from his new solo album which while unfamiliar, sounded quite promising.

The Myer Music Bowl is a quite particular creature as far as live music venues go. On the one hand, if you’re on the lawn like I was, the shorter people like myself have to jostle for a good spot. So long as you know this it’s quite easy to find a place, especially if you get yourself in reasonably early. Initially you do question the wisdom of choosing a venue like this, as it’s like a pub, crowded and quite easy to find yourself with an impeded view, with the giant pylons holding up the canopy disrupting it here, or straining to get a good one, when the ticket prices are quite high, you should be able to get a premium experience. On the other hand, the only word you can use to describe the Bowl as a concert venue with the right artist is magical.

I’m also aware that it was alright for me, having secured myself an ideal bolthole at the front right of the lawn with a largely uninterrupted view, using my experience of previous concerts here, which garnered envious looks from people around me. Whereas any further back on the lawn and you can’t really tune in to the vibe of the show anywhere near as well and this constitutes the majority of the audience. However, this didn’t seem to dissuade them as the whole crowd united in festive rapture for the next two hours. The crowd erupted to ecstatic cheers as Kylie appeared to the strains of the title song from her current album, Golden.

Which the set reflected, a broad, star-filled desert sky with video of cactuses in the desert on the stage screen and the dancers dressed in cowboy regalia and corresponding choreography. This constituted an appealing rejig of the familiar Kylie concert elements. Whether intentional or not, still camp and snappy, shiny and glossy but real and relatable. Hit after beloved hit followed, Better the Devil You Know, Get Outta My Way, In Your Eyes and the crowd seemed to raise into fever pitch with each song, audible oohs of recognition heard as each one began. This was a concert where you could sing along as half the audience was.

‘Dancing’, taken from Kylie’s new album ‘Golden’, 2018The thing that struck you was as well as the remarkable expanse of memories stretching back 30 years if you’d lived that long, how catchy and high quality Kylie’s songs are. It’s the best of time capsules, songs that when unearthed still sound great and take you back to a range of experiences and memories it’s quite eye-widening to contemplate. It also jolted the memory as to how Kylie’s songs started being played by the indie clubs in the early 90’s alongside The Smiths, New Order and Jesus Jones because the quality of Kylie’s songs was being recognised. And it came across in this concert, how sturdy and well-constructed these songs are.

They take you to a happy, energetic place that is very uplifting, too. It was an excellent production and if you could see the stage well enough, it was a feast for the eyes and senses as well as the ears. Things took a radical turn from here with the impeccably chosen and sublime, torchy Blue Velvet, Tony Bennet’s song that was canonised in the David Lynch film of the same name. Sultry versions of Confide In Me and Where The Wild Roses Grow followed. One of the great things about this concert is that the songs were really well chosen from across Kylie’s career, obviously with the fans in mind but because Kylie loved them as well.

From X we had disco heaven belters Wow and The One, current album, successfully country-influenced foray Golden gave us an interesting selection of Shelby ’68, with a touching story from Kylie about what the car named in the song meant to her father, A Lifetime To Repair and upbeat show closer Dancing. And then there were the huge Kylie hits we had to have, such as Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, ingeniously mixed with Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, an inspired choice, Spinning Around and On A Night Like This from Light Years which were highlights met with screaming applause, All The Lovers and Love At First Sight.

By the second half of the concert, nearly every song was met with wild enthusiasm, and this included early hits Especially For You and Loco-Motion, as well as a beautifully felt and touchingly apt Wouldn’t Change A Thing. The timing of my liquid consumption wasn’t the best early in the night and four songs in I had to forgo my possie at the front left of the lawn for the toilet after downing a can of Jim Beam. So I decided to try the front right this time and luckily managed to find a spot with a good view again and from this vantage point, the people around me seemed to be in a celebratory and joyful mood and the whole show seemed like a giant party.

This at the Myer Music Bowl created a magical atmosphere on a cool but pleasant autumn night. The Golden show and Kylie herself were what I can only describe as peak Kylie. I’ve seen Kylie in her various guises over the years and in my opinion, on this tour she is at her best. Minogue was positively radiant, full of good natured cheer, in fine voice, with plenty of costume changes culminating in a reflective gold dress that drew admiring gasps from the crowd. At the concert’s peak towards the end, Kylie was brought to tears, visibly moved by a prolonged ovation in her hometown. A triumphant homecoming for Minogue and a touching, emotional moment for all of us. The Golden show proved a joyful celebration of life and light, and we all went home very happy.