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Concert reports: Kylie, The Kills
May. 1st, 2011 01:14 pmKylie Minogue @ Bell Centre, April 28, 2011
The bad: the muddy sound at the Bell Centre, urrrgh I am probably not supposed to talk crap about it now that I work for the company but it's like a sandbag levee between the act on stage and the audience. It's an unfair context for Kylie, whose pop is rather finely calibrated on the whole. Speaking of which, I wasn't sure about the industrial rock(?!) version of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"; seemed like it missed the je ne sais quoi of the thing.
The good: well, everything else was good. Other than the latest album being one of her strongest (at least most consistent), the Aphrodite/Ishtar schtick is a good look on Kylie. XD She is well-cast in the role, yanno? And I could fend off cognitive surplus by considering the semiotics of the costume changes, which zoomed forward in time in discrete bursts, through pannier skirts and ostrich fans to daisy dukes and beyond.
The awesome: there was a golden winged horse, and a chariot and stuff. Kylie sang an acapella version of "Your Disco Needs You". And "Looking for an Angel" segued into - of all things - a cover of "There Must be an Angel (Playing With my Heart)", so I sang along loudly with the dude in a neck brace sitting next to me, who obviously also dug the Eurhythmics hardcore.
By the by, multiple someones in Kylie's camp must've seen the original video, because it was exactly what I was thinking toward the beginning of her show - "This has a vibe of court entertainment circa Louis XIV."
THE SUN KING KNOWS THAT GOSPEL CHOIR IS ANACHRONISTIC. HE WILL NOT BE FOOLED.
Hang on, there is video of Kylie too:
By "and beyond" I meant of course "Barbarella". Fashion magazine interns must fight over Kylie photoshopping duty.
The Kills @ L'Olympia, April 30, 2011
The Kills are sort of like The Black Keys - simple concept, flawless execution. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hart's presence, as rock stars, doesn't feel accidental, nor is it simply practiced motion - it had to have started with talent, backed by the mythical 10,000 hours required to turn it into unthinking flowing mastery. They are very, very good at this one thing. We started off in comfortable balcony seats with a good view (went down halfway because the dance imperative became irresistable), so I can vouch that they projected all the way to the back of the room. I think ppl focus on Alison more because she's the main vox and it's still rare to see a female rocker arrogate this... I mean, female rock stars are usually sexy. But a certain type of male rock star can move into this vulnerable, bi-attractive space, where you're almost not allowed to be unless you're a male rock star (or comparable), and that's where Alison Mosshart situates. A comparison with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is instructive; Karen O is a charismatic frontwoman, who presents as flamboyant and feminine but not conventionally sexy, and she's not in that space. But I always get the sense from Alison that this is something women can do as well as men, it's just that women mostly don't. (To be fair, male rockers who can pull this off are rare as well.)
Band fashion watch: I sometimes wonder if Alison Mosshart has just the one leopard-print long-sleeved blouse, or if she owns a buttzillion interchangeable ones. The stage background was based off that shirt! Ditto Jamie Hart's polka dot scarf. XD; (I've also come to realise that, although Jamie Hart started off in the public eye craggy and 50-year-old-looking, he's stayed the exact same craggy and 50-year-old-looking since the early 00s.)
Afterward I went over to Chris Hum's practice studio to listen to the Dharovar Project EP over good monitor speakers. I've got to upload this for you guys, it's been progressively blowing my mind.
The bad: the muddy sound at the Bell Centre, urrrgh I am probably not supposed to talk crap about it now that I work for the company but it's like a sandbag levee between the act on stage and the audience. It's an unfair context for Kylie, whose pop is rather finely calibrated on the whole. Speaking of which, I wasn't sure about the industrial rock(?!) version of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"; seemed like it missed the je ne sais quoi of the thing.
The good: well, everything else was good. Other than the latest album being one of her strongest (at least most consistent), the Aphrodite/Ishtar schtick is a good look on Kylie. XD She is well-cast in the role, yanno? And I could fend off cognitive surplus by considering the semiotics of the costume changes, which zoomed forward in time in discrete bursts, through pannier skirts and ostrich fans to daisy dukes and beyond.
The awesome: there was a golden winged horse, and a chariot and stuff. Kylie sang an acapella version of "Your Disco Needs You". And "Looking for an Angel" segued into - of all things - a cover of "There Must be an Angel (Playing With my Heart)", so I sang along loudly with the dude in a neck brace sitting next to me, who obviously also dug the Eurhythmics hardcore.
By the by, multiple someones in Kylie's camp must've seen the original video, because it was exactly what I was thinking toward the beginning of her show - "This has a vibe of court entertainment circa Louis XIV."
THE SUN KING KNOWS THAT GOSPEL CHOIR IS ANACHRONISTIC. HE WILL NOT BE FOOLED.
Hang on, there is video of Kylie too:
By "and beyond" I meant of course "Barbarella". Fashion magazine interns must fight over Kylie photoshopping duty.
The Kills @ L'Olympia, April 30, 2011
The Kills are sort of like The Black Keys - simple concept, flawless execution. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hart's presence, as rock stars, doesn't feel accidental, nor is it simply practiced motion - it had to have started with talent, backed by the mythical 10,000 hours required to turn it into unthinking flowing mastery. They are very, very good at this one thing. We started off in comfortable balcony seats with a good view (went down halfway because the dance imperative became irresistable), so I can vouch that they projected all the way to the back of the room. I think ppl focus on Alison more because she's the main vox and it's still rare to see a female rocker arrogate this... I mean, female rock stars are usually sexy. But a certain type of male rock star can move into this vulnerable, bi-attractive space, where you're almost not allowed to be unless you're a male rock star (or comparable), and that's where Alison Mosshart situates. A comparison with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is instructive; Karen O is a charismatic frontwoman, who presents as flamboyant and feminine but not conventionally sexy, and she's not in that space. But I always get the sense from Alison that this is something women can do as well as men, it's just that women mostly don't. (To be fair, male rockers who can pull this off are rare as well.)
Band fashion watch: I sometimes wonder if Alison Mosshart has just the one leopard-print long-sleeved blouse, or if she owns a buttzillion interchangeable ones. The stage background was based off that shirt! Ditto Jamie Hart's polka dot scarf. XD; (I've also come to realise that, although Jamie Hart started off in the public eye craggy and 50-year-old-looking, he's stayed the exact same craggy and 50-year-old-looking since the early 00s.)
Afterward I went over to Chris Hum's practice studio to listen to the Dharovar Project EP over good monitor speakers. I've got to upload this for you guys, it's been progressively blowing my mind.
