KylieX2008

Background

After months of speculation it was announced through Kylie's official website that "KylieX2008" would commence in Paris, traveling internationally.

By way of introduction, Minogue stated:

While rehearsing for the tour, Minogue released several behind-the-scenes videos on her website. Concurrently, she released "X" in the United States and filmed two music videos for the third single, "All I See" (including an acoustic rendition).

As the tour began to sell out all over Europe and the UK, many fans speculated that Minogue would bring her tour to Australia and Japan. While promoting her ITV special, The Kylie Show on "Sunrise", she stated: "I just want to have in my head more solidly what the tour will be and if I can manage what I have so far, I would love to come back [to Australia]". It was later revealed that Minogue would bring a limited number of shows to her home country, stating, "The reason I hadn't confirmed dates in Australia is I really didn't know what I was getting into [...] But now I know".

Following KylieX2008, Minogue toured North America for the first time with 2009's For You, For Me Tour.

Concert synopsis

As with the X album, the tour rippled the "new wave" theme, made popular in the '80s. The show was divided into seven acts along with an encore. Throughout the course of the tour the show evolved, with numerous changes and revisions.

The concert consisted of a high-tech three-tier stage. On the left and right, mini-stages were made available for the band and backing singers. The main stage was minimalist, with an illuminated video floor and huge moving video curtains as the backdrop. For performances in amphitheaters, open air venues and small arenas the illuminated floor and the lavish props were removed due to technical limitations.

Minogue described the show as being "a show within a show", stating that each act is dramatically different from one another. Minogue stated she was inspired by Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury. "I'm releasing my inner Freddie Mercury. It's hard to explain but parts of the show are so over the top. When I sing 'Your Disco Needs You', it's a real Freddie moment."

The first act Xlectro Static act opens the show with a futuristic video showing the outline of Minogue's face polarised in neon colours. The huge video curtains slide open to reveal Minogue perched in a giant hoop dressed in a 'spiderwoman' gown (the dress, however, changes as the tour reaches South America). On technically limited shows, the giant stereo speakers move to reveal Minogue. She performs "Speakerphone", "Can't Get You Out of My Head", an unreleased track entitled "Ruffle My Feathers" and "In Your Eyes".

The second act Cheer Squad opens with an homage to the Toni Basil hit "Mickey", with Kylie and her dancers appearing as American cheerleaders. Themed as a high-school pep rally, Minogue performs "Heart Beat Rock", "Wow" and "Shocked", the latter being reduced to a dance interlude at some dates.

The third act Beach Party this act is a rereading of the On a Night Like This tour. This act begins with "Loveboat" and continues with a cover of the Barry Manilow hit "Copacabana". On the opening night, "That's Why They Write Love Songs", a tribute to the many romantic show tunes of the 1940s and 1950s, is also performed. Kylie closes the act with "Spinning Around".

For the fourth act Xposed, Minogue is dressed as an 'erotic bellboy'. She appears on a gigantic skull suspended high above the stage performing "Like a Drug". The skull descends to the stage and Kylie goes on to perform "Slow", with excerpts of "Free" (from Intimate and Live), and "2 Hearts". The skull received a very positive reaction from the fans, and was replaced by a CG reproduction at the concerts it could not be featured due to stage limitations (this additional projection was not present before the South American leg).

The Asian-influenced fifth act Naughty Manga Girl sees Minogue emerging on stage in a pyramid which unfurls to reveal Kylie in an outfit inspired by Japanese manga, performing "Come into My World", "Nu-di-ty" and "Sensitized". This segment, which opens with a video of "Sometime Samurai", was completely cut from the technically limited concerts.

The show progresses to its sixth act Starry Nights, with Minogue appearing in a blue satin gown and premiering another new song, "Flower", she then performs a ballad version of "I Believe in You". The act ended with "Cosmic" on the initial dates, but this song was later dropped.

In the seventh act Black Versus White, Minogue appears as a tsar, performing "On a Night Like This", "Your Disco Needs You", "Kids", "Step Back in Time" and "In My Arms". The act begins with a black and white theme and progresses into colour.

Minogue re-emerges on stage in an evening suit to perform an encore. This began with "No More Rain" at all shows except in South America. There, it was removed from the set after the 1 November show for the remainder of that leg. Many songs were added and swapped around during this act including "The One", "Love at First Sight", "I Should Be So Lucky" and the acoustic rendition of "All I See". Starting during the South American leg, "Better the Devil You Know" was performed. For the first two performances in South America only, "Somewhere" was performed, a song from the musical West Side Story.

Critical reception

The tour received excellent reviews from many critics throughout the UK and Europe. Many called it Minogue's best tour to date. The tour generally sold well throughout Europe and has been seen as a major success. Due to large public demand, several additional dates were slowly added since the tour announcement. Tickets for the original eight shows of the UK leg sold-out in just thirty minutes, and Minogue went on to sell tickets for more than twenty-five shows in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The six shows at the Manchester Evening News Arena made Minogue the all-time most-featured artist at the venue. The UK leg of the tour grossed over US$26,000,000, with Minogue performing to around 300,000 spectators in total.

Broadcasts and recordings

Main article: KylieX2008 (video)

KylieX2008 premiered on the launch night of 4Music channel in 15 August 2008. The concert was one of the first broadcast on the new station. It was later shown on Channel 4. In October 2008, it was revealed that FremantleMedia would release a DVD entitled KylieX2008. The disc features the full length concert along with a photo gallery and screen projections. It was released in the United Kingdom and Australia on 1 December 2008. A later release on Blu-ray followed.

Set list

This set list represents the 2 August 2008 concert in London, England. Act 1: Xlectro Static

1. "Speakerphone"
2. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (Greg Kurstin Remix) (contains an excerpt from "Boombox" and elements of "Blue Monday")
3. "Ruffle My Feathers"
4. "In Your Eyes" Act 2: Cheer Squad
5. "Heart Beat Rock" (contains elements of "Mickey")
6. "Wow"
7. "Shocked" (DNA Mix) Act 3: Beach Party
8. "Loveboat" (contains elements of "The Love Boat")
9. "Copacabana"
10. "Spinning Around" (contains elements of "Got to be Real") Act 4: Xposed
11. "Like a Drug"
12. "Slow" (with excerpts from "Free")
13. "2 Hearts" Act 5: Naughty Manga Girl
14. "Sometime Samurai" (Video Interlude) (contains elements of "German Bold Italic")
15. "Come into My World" (Fischerspooner Mix) (contains elements of "Finer Feelings" and "Dreams")
16. "Nu-di-ty"
17. "Sensitized" Act 6: Starry Nights
18. "Flower"
19. "I Believe in You" Act 7: Black Versus White
20. "On a Night Like This"
21. "Your Disco Needs You"
22. "Kids"
23. "Step Back in Time"
24. "In My Arms" Encore
25. "No More Rain"
26. "The One" (Freemasons Remix)
27. "Love at First Sight" (Ruff and Jam U.S. Remix)
28. "I Should Be So Lucky"

• "That’s Why They Write Love Songs", an unreleased song, was performed during the opening night in Paris.
• "Your Disco Needs You" was performed only at select dates, and was not originally a part of the setlist.
• Starting on 14 May, "Cosmic" was cut from the set list.
• Minogue performed "Confide in Me", as a fan request, in Frankfurt.
• "I Should Be So Lucky" was added to the set list on 17 May, but was not performed in Lima, Santiago, and during the third Sydney show.
• "Somewhere" was performed from 1 to 4 November.
• Minogue covered Juanes' "La Camisa Negra" during the performance in Tocancipá.
• Starting on 1 November, "Better the Devil You Know" was performed during the encore.
• From 4 to 15 November, "No More Rain" was temporarily removed from the set list.
• An a cappella of "Come into My World" was performed in São Paulo.
• "The Loco-Motion" was performed in Santiago.
• "Bésame Mucho" was performed in Buenos Aires.
• "Flower" was not performed in Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, and Auckland. Additionally, "I Believe in You" was performed earlier in the set list.
• Minogue performed an excerpt of "Please Stay" in Beijing.
• "Did It Again" and "The Loco-Motion" were performed as fan requests on 17 December.
• Minogue performed "Santa Baby" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on 22 December.

Tour dates

Box office score data

Personnel

Adapted from the KylieX2008 credits.

Performers

• Sarah deCourcy – keyboards
• Matt Racher – drums
• Jenni Tarma – bass
• Adrian Eccleston – guitar
• Barnaby Dickinson – brass
• Graeme Blevins – brass
• Graeme Flowers – brass
• Dawn Joseph – backing vocals
• Roxanne Wilde – backing vocals
• Anoulka Yanminchev – dance captain
• Jason Beitel – dancer
• Hakim Ghorab – dancer
• Marco Da Silva – dancer
• Jessica DiDirolamo – dancer
• Jamie Karitzis – dancer
• Welly Locoh-Donou – dancer
• Jerry Reeve – dancer
• Tatiana Seguin – dancer
• Nikki Trow – dancer
• Terry Kvasnik – acrobat
• Nicolas Bosc – acrobat
• Vincent DePlanche – acrobat
• Johan Guy – acrobat

Technical

• Phil Murphy – technical manager, showcaller
• Toby Plant – stage manager
• Rodney Matheson – monitors
• Audio Crew Chief: Al Woods – audio crew chief
• Phil Down – audio technician
• George Hogan – audio technician
• Becky Pell – audio technician
• Matt Harman-Trick – audio technician
• Adam Birch – backline
• Marcus Lindsay – backline
• Nick Sizer – backline
• Andrew Porter – lighting
• John Sellors – lighting
• Jim Mills – lighting
• Hayden Corps – lighting
• Victor Anderseen – lighting
• Craig Lewis – lighting
• Barry Bamford – lighting
• Steve Belfield – lighting
• Dave Rowe – rigger
• Dave Brierley – rigger
• Omar Franchi – rigger
• Vinnie Rivenell – rigger
• Steve Walsh – rigger
• Ian Macdonald – motion control
• Simon Wait – motion control
• Chris Hansbury – motion control
• John Richardson – motion control
• Toby Pitts – carpentry
• Andy Pearson – carpentry
• Martyn Drew – carpentry
• Jem Nicholson – carpentry
• Pete Coryndon – carpentry
• Lisa Williams – wardrobe
• Naja Banz – wardrobe
• Becky Belfield – wardrobe
• Louise Martin – wardrobe
• Madge Foster – hair and makeup
• Gemma Flaherty – hair and makeup
• Stuart Heaney – video
• Andy Tonks – video
• Patrick Vansteelant – video
• Peter Laleman – video
• Graham Holwill – cameras
• Mark Cruickshank – cameras
• Darren Montague – cameras
• Gary Beirne – cameras
• Luke Levitt – cameras
• William Baker – creative director
• Steve Anderson – music producer
• Sarah deCourcy – musician director
• Sean Fitzpatrick – tour manager
• Kevin Hopgood – production manager
• Chris Pyne – audio, FOH sound
• Rod Matheson – audio
• Blink TV – screen visuals production
• Nick Whitehouse – lighting designer
• Bryan Leitch – lighting designer
• Nick Whitehouse – lighting director
• Raury Macphie – tour video director
• Michael Rooney – choreographer
• Jean Paul Gaultier – costume design
• Emma Roach – costume design
• Steve Stewart – costume design
• Gareth Pugh – costume design
• LeAnne Buckham – personal assistant to Kylie Minogue
• Michele Tankel – financial controller
• Lynn Curtis – guest list and sponsorship
• Juliette Baldrey – production coordinator
• James Gentles – head of security
• Jason Buckham – tour DJ

References

References

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2. (6 May 2009). "Kylie Comes To America". Pollstar.
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4. Schmidt, Veronica. (2007-11-28). "Kylie Minogue announces European tour". Times Online.
5. (14 January 2008). "Exclusive Kylie Minogue interview on Sunrise (Part 2/2)".
6. Koha, Nui Te. (2008-08-24). "Kylie Minogue homecoming tour confirmed". Sunday Herald Sun.
7. (2008-08-26). "Kylie Minogue: Freddie Mercury Inspires Tour Performances.". Play-2-Win Ltd.
8. Pollock, David. (2008-07-07). "Kylie Minogue, SECC, Glasgow". The Independent.
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13. (2008-09-27). "Billboard Boxscore".
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20. "KylieX2008 Live in Bangkok". BEC-Tero Entertainment Pcl..
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24. "TAPEI TO PLAY HOST TO KYLIEX2008!". Minogue's Official Website.
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