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Kylie Minogue -The Tension Tour

by 12 Comments

Venue:

Utlilita Arena, Newcastle/BP Pulse Arena, Birmingham

Date: 05/06/2025

The initial viral reaction to the opening Australian dates of this tour were pretty scathing and, it turns out, hopelessly misguided. The general cause of the bitching was that the show is minimalistic, low on stage production and costumes, and generally considered ‘cheap’. Well, to an extent, m’lud – La Minogue is feted for the spectacle of her stage shows, and compared to say the Showgirl and Aphrodite: Les Folies extravaganzas, this one is indeed stripped back. But there are still lasers, a ceiling descent, dancers, confetti showers, bespoke filmed inserts, a mirrorball and copious costume changes, so we’re not exactly talking Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts at the Student Union here.
Yet the main objections to those early shows have been emphatically silenced by the sheer quality of the performances and the giddy sense of communal ecstasy that they have inspired. (Review continues in comments)

The audience:

Unsurprisingly an eclectic multi-generational mix, with a gratifying proportion of boomers and Gen-Xers, and heartwarming pockets of dads-with-young-offspring generally congregating near the B stage. And of course a huge gay contingent in their many manifestations, from those in all their glittering peacock finery to a fair few Muscle Marys (for the record, dear reader, I sported Padam red for one show and the tour-coded royal blue for the other).

It made me think..

La la la Wow wow wow wow

4

Comments

  1. The show itself comprises five ‘acts’, some more distinct than others. Starting off with a bang(er) as our queen descends from the rafters on a swing-seat with ‘Lights, Camera, Action’, we are immediately into a full-on electro take on a selection of Tension-era tracks and beloved stand-outs from across her storied career. Particular highlights for me here were the double whammy of the SAW gems ‘Better The Devil…’ and ‘Shocked’, followed by the surprise inclusion (even to Kylie! ) of her countrified smash ‘Dancing’. This works so well that it’s hard to fathom why, as she concedes, it was originally nowhere near the set list.

    After the nostalgic throwback of ‘The Locomotion’, she makes her way through the throngs on the floor to a small stage towards the back of the arena. This is for the more intimate and interactive section of the show, where she selects requests from those around the stage and sings her choices acapella, followed by the ‘wild rose’ moment when said flower is offered to some lucky, lucky, lucky sod as she sings a snippet of the titular heartwarming murder ballad to them. These moments, whilst planned to an extent, have had wildly different interactions across the tour, making each show unique and providing special memories for each audience. Following this, her guitarist joins her for an acoustic version of the lockdown anthem ‘Say Something’, an emotional high-point which then evolves into a glorious mini-selection of songs from the Disco album, complete with mirrorball turning the space into a massive nightclub (call me shallow, but I’m a sucker for glittery effects).

    Moving back to the main stage, the mood goes dark and sultry for the one-two of possibly my favourite Kylie songs, Confide In Me and Slow. The former is performed by her alone on stage, to a backdrop of a gorgeous noir-esque filmed narrative. And she sings the hell out of it; be in no doubt that, far from being the ‘singing budgie’ of early critical infamy, she has a formidable voice and uses it in versatile ways always to serve the song. ‘Slow’ begins as usual with its achingly cool beats before it transitions into a manic, EDM-adjacent wig out.

    This trajectory prevails through more Tension songs, an ecstatic ‘Can’t Get You… Head’ and the climax of the main show, a euphoric version of what has become the signature song for hardcore Kylie fans, ‘All The Lovers’, complete with more confetti blizzards and emotional overload.

    For me, this would have been a perfect finale for an absolutely joyous occasion, but the icing on the cake was the inevitable encore of the song that has, to a large extent, enabled this incredible resurgence of Kylie’s popularity; of course, I’m talking ‘Padam Padam’, extended and ramped up here to evokr a frenzied reception, and underlined by the closing ‘Love At First Sight’.

    So, a thrilling and endearing performance that, whilst obviously well-rehearsed, was as loose and intimate as any you’ll see by an artist of this stature in a venue of this size. It’s incredible that after nigh on forty years and so many personal and professional peaks and troughs, she is probably more popular and adored now than she has ever been. She’s an International Treasure and an artist of real substance who has proved the doubters wrong time after time. She deserves her flowers.

  3. Great review. It sounds like it was a wonderful show.

    Kylie’s longevity means that she has developed a second string of fan-based bangers outside of the hits that most people know. Ooh – I don’t recall that being discussed before here so I’m going to start a thread on it.

    I remember her performing Hand on Your Heart on TOTP and being amazed at how much energy she puts into performing, every single time. There’s also that Spanish TV footage of her singing in the round to what looks like an audience of wasp-chewers – she’s completely dying on her arse but you won’t see that in her performance.

    She has become a national treasure pretty much for that reason I think.

  9. I’m so out of touch with the zeitgeist, to the extent I’d never heard the monster hit Padam Padam… so, inspired by your review I listened… and it’s great! Cheered me up no end.

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