I first saw Kylie at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC on her Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour in 2011. After years of being a fan for most of my life (her debut album was my first vinyl record), to see and hear her perform in such close proximity was life-changing. She has not toured in the US since then (except for the promotional tour Kylie Presents Golden, with a single show in NYC in 2018) so I was more than ready for her to announce that her latest tour would include North America.
Her announcement coincided with the release of Tension II, the fabulous follow-up to Tension which earned her a whole new generation of loyal fans. When announcing the tour, she issued the following statement: "I am beyond excited to announce the 'Tension Tour 2025'. I can't wait to share beautiful and wild moments with fans all over the world, celebrating the Tension era and more! It's been an exhilarating ride so far and now, get ready for your close up because I will be calling Lights, Camera, Action... and there will be a whole lot of Padaming!"
As always, securing tickets through Ticketmaster was an anxiety-ridden ordeal, which included their criminal “dynamic pricing”. Thankfully the pop gods were smiling on us as she announced a second date at Madison Square Garden, enabling us to get the golden tickets.
According to The Guardian’s Sian Cain the Tension Tour is “an excursion through every Kylie era: the sweet innocence of her early Stock-Aitken-and-Waterman era; the flirtatious disco on Light Years and Fever; and the pulsing Eurodance of Tension” with plenty of new arrangements on some of her older hits that make them feel fresh while still evoking plenty of nostalgia. With a discography as extensive as Kylie’s, favorites are bound to be omitted but I think she nailed it when it came to giving all fans what they wanted.
She kicked off the show with Lights, Camera, Action, perched on a swing suspended from the ceiling and surrounded by a diamond-shaped cage made of lasers. And then it was hit after hit, at times just a taste, at times an acoustic version but the fun and energy never waned - even on the ballads. I got a little reflective for a moment when she performed The Loco-motion, thinking back to 8-year-old me being obsessed with the song (I got her debut album for Christmas in 1988) and appreciating my journey to seeing her perform it at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Her discography has been such an integral part of my life so the live performance of these songs was simply magical.
She came across as confident and polished with no need to prove anything; the show was truly a celebration of an impressive career and defined by an increasing euphoria that culminated in a perfect encore, namely her viral hit Padam Padam and the eternally optimistic Love At First Sight. To reference her collaboration with Oliver Heldens, you know I’m gonna give her ten out of ten for looks, vocals, visuals and pure joy.
The complete set list was as follows:
Act 1
Lights Camera Action
In Your Eyes
(Shortened; Infinite Disco Version)
Get Outta My Way
(Shortened)
What Do I Have to Do?
Come Into My World
(Abbey Road version + Steve Anderson Remix)
Good As Gone
Spinning Around
(Contains elements of Cheryl Lynn's"Got To Be Real)
Act 2
On a Night Like This
last night i dreamt i fell in love
Better the Devil You Know
Shocked
(Shortened)
Things We Do for Love
The Loco-Motion
Act 3
Hold On to Now
Wow
(Acapella snippet; audience request)
Golden
(Acapella snippet; audience request)
New York City
(Acapella snippet; audience request)
Story
(Audience request)
Where the Wild Roses Grow
(Snippet)
Say Something
Supernova / Real Groove / Magic / Where Does the DJ Go?
(Contains elements of Indeep's Last Night a DJ Saved My Life)
Act 4
Confide in Me
Slow
(Contains elements of the Chemical Brothers Remix)
Timebomb
(Shortened)
Edge of Saturday Night
Act 5
Tension
Can't Get You Out of My Head
All the Lovers
Encore:
Padam Padam
Love at First Sight
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