Kylie Minogue – Live Review – Scarborough Open Air Theatre
By @Steve Crabtree, August 2019
When the big names are in town, the Scarborough vibe is something else. The Open Air Theatre played host to Lionel Richie, Nile Rogers and Brittany Spears last year, and a bar was set. And you didn’t think they’d be able to achieve a headliner on those levels for a while.
Well, the town needn’t have worried. Because this summer they should be so lucky to have got Miss Kylie Minogue as their star of 2019. And what a show she gave them.
“Fun times and camp disco”
A sell-out from the off when tickets went on sale months before, there’d been all this anticipation leading up to the show. And when the Thursday night had arrived for Kylie, the atmosphere in and around the Open Air Theatre was exciting beyond belief.
You wouldn’t believe it, but she’s been releasing music for over 30 years, with all of it as relevant today as it was when it first came out. And on a night like this, she’d please us all by performing hit after hit,
Kylie came on to a rapturous reception, not just from her hardcore followers, but everyone who was there. This shiny stage set up a perfect backdrop to her as she launched in to ‘Love At First Sight’ to set the night off on an energetic foot. Full-steam-ahead fun times and camp disco.
There was a life and energy in the crowd that was just enjoyable. And how could it not have been? Songs like ‘Never Too Late’ came out early doors, and Kylie kept up this feeling throughout her show.
“Re-live a bit of youth”
The age range at the gig was very diverse. Kids in single figures, to grandparents in their 70s were all enjoying the Aussie superstar, who was as good on the mic between songs as she was when she sang. And I have to add that at 51 years old, she STILL looks amazing.
‘In Your Eyes’ went down well, as did ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, which came with an acoustic intro that twisted the night up a little. ‘Shocked’ was brilliant, and do I win anything if I admit to knowing the rap in that one off by heart? And throughout the gig the AV show and confetti cannons just added even more.
She gave us 23 songs in total, and to think you could sing along to all of them and re-live a bit of youth is pretty special.
“Disco tune to end all discos”
‘Especially For You’ became a duet between her and us, and she led up to the end part of her set with ‘The Locomotion’ (that she’d already performed on the park train earlier – see social media for that!) and ‘Step Back In Time’. The latter of those being my favourite tune of the night..but then, it’s my favourite Kylie tune anyway.
A brilliant encore came far too quickly, and the audience were all checking their watches as we’d got to ‘Dancing.’ And of course, the disco tune to end all discos: ‘Spinning Around’ went down a storm. We could have stayed and listened to that one all night!
We were sat down for this concert, and when you’re at a show like this you want to be stood up dancing. Thankfully we were on a back row, so that’s what we did. But next time we’ll have to be there down the front.
What a brilliant show. And there’s no question that it’ll be a talking point on the seafront for years to come. It was a show that slotted straight in to my top five best gigs, and Scarborough Open Air Theatre had once again delivered a fantastic night.
Images: Cuffe & Taylor
