The lights go down in Glasgow, and Kylie Minogue ascends from underneath the stage like a pop deity: head-to-toe in electric blue PVC, sitting in the centre of a giant neon diamond. After acclaimed runs in Australia and the US, she’s kicking off the UK leg of her Tension tour, celebrating an era that started two years ago with lead single Padam Padam – a phenomenon everywhere from gay clubs to TikTok – and continued with her equally hook-filled albums Tension and Tension II.
In contrast to some recent over-complicated arena tour concepts from the likes of Katy Perry, the Tension show is admirably straightforward after Kylie’s big entrance, allowing her to remain the focus at all times. She races through hits – some condensed into medleys – at an astonishing pace; from 1991’s What Do I Have To Do, to Good As Gone from Tension II. For Better the Devil You Know, she changes into a red sequin jumpsuit and matching mic, leading a troupe of highlighter-coloured dancers in front of a minimalist, impressionistic backdrop. There’s something of the Pet Shop Boys’ art-pop flair in the show’s considered design choices, and in Kylie’s inherent – rather than costume-driven – flamboyance.
The primary aesthetic is the bright electropop of both Tension albums, but there’s frequent reminders of the kaleidoscope of genres in Kylie’s back catalogue. The country-inflected single Dancing would fit perfectly among the current wave of Stetson-clad pop. After briefly missing a lyric – the only break in her consummate professionalism – Kylie invites a backing dancer to join in with her. This relaxed mood continues as she moves to the B-stage, where she sings a cappella snippets of fan requests: early single Never Too Late, Nick Cave duet Where the Wild Roses Grow, even Spinning Around B-side Paper Dolls. A sweet acoustic sing-along of 2020 single Say Something harks back to its lockdown-era genesis (its parent album Disco was “finished in my kitchen” during the pandemic) kicking in to full party mode before we think too much of real-world worries, past or present.
It’s not the only song to get a refreshing revamp. Many of Kylie’s best known hits are dolled up to suit the clubby vibes of her current era: the tropical noir of On a Night Like This is transformed into a near-future techno odyssey; The Locomotion (“from a far away place … called the 80s!”) gets a clubby sheen while retaining its kitsch charm; and Spinning Around has a new piano house mix, a reinvention worthy of this ultimate comeback anthem. The finest rework comes towards the end, as Kylie takes the stage in a gold and black cape for the penultimate act. Shrouded in dry ice, and bolstered by heavy, propulsive drums, she performs cult 1994 single Confide In Me as a drama-laden doom metal ballad, upping the already high stakes of the original to stratospheric levels. It’s also a fine showcase for her vocals, allowing her to stretch and reach for big sustained notes. It’s a six-star moment in a five-star show: someone get her in the studio with Stephen O’Malley.
After this emotional high, there’s just enough time to collect ourselves for the final run: taking us from the moody swagger of 2003’s Slow to the open-hearted emotion of All the Lovers, to a high energy encore of Padam Padam and Love at First Sight. At the show’s end, Kylie seems endearingly overwhelmed by the raucous audience response, but this belies supreme confidence: she knows she doesn’t need extraneous bells and whistles to carry this bravura show.
