I'm going on 26th July! Great seats as well! :cheer:

I'm going tomorrow night and Thursday night, very excited and don't wanna goto work!

A quick question (or three...)

 

Firstly, To anybody who has already been to Manchester (or anywhere), how organised are the merchandice stands? I would love some stuff, but i don't really want to queue for hours on end. I think i'm going early to stock up before the show starts :P . Secondly, what sort of stuff is there to buy. I don't want to arrive early only to find a load of expensive tat awaits me :wacko: Thirdly, can anybody suggest anything exciting to do in Manchester over 2 days. Me and my mate are getting there on Thursday morning and coming home Friday evening. We both love shopping, but does anybody have an other suggestions?

Edited July 14, 200817 yr by Glyn

rumours are she's touring in Aus in December!! YAYYYY!

its all expensive tat!!!!!!!!!!!!! god im going to be shot. theres like a tea cup set at like 50quid lol. theres loads of t-shirts, playing cards (8pound) tour book thing is fifteen quid. i think theres posters. keyrings and a couple of other things. i cant remember exactly. im going again tonight and as ive just been paid im going to buy some of that useless tat.

 

 

all i can suggest for manc is go shopping and get pissed. i really want to try and meet kylie, i think id cry or something like that lol. god im sad. cant wait til 2night

 

 

Thirdly, can anybody suggest anything exciting to do in Manchester over 2 days. Me and my mate are getting there on Thursday morning and coming home Friday evening. We both love shopping, but does anybody have an other suggestions?

Go out on Thursday evening. :P Are you going to Kylie on Thursday or Friday? Anyway my review of last night's show:

 

I'll just briefly some up each act I think:

 

Xlectro Static

The entrance and Speakerphone worked very well. Obviously a lot of the crowd didn't know Speakerphone and it was kind of hard to make out the words but it's such an upbeat number that it got most people dancing. It was actually quite surreal seeing her sing such a robotic song, in a good way if that makes sense. Singing the excerpts of Boombox was a great choice I think, it worked well and blended very well with Head. I have to say I was a bit surprised by how dead the audience were to begin with; even during Head they were barely singing along, in the front block where I was anyway, and the applause wasn't massive. Anyway it was a good performance if somewhat standard.

 

Ruffle My Feathers seems incredible. I really enjoyed it and having already been on Saturday I sort of knew the words to sing along to. The lyrics are great and it just seems like the sort of slightly more mature dance-pop song Kylie should be moving onto. Obviously it might not be as good in studio form but if it is I really hope she could potentially include it on her next album if she moves labels, because it sounds too good to waste. Also her vocals on it were the best I've heard them, really strong. In Your Eyes was a good performance but I commented to my friend on how the stage seemed a little bear without any dancers during such an upbeat song. Overall I thought it was a brilliant opening segment.

 

Cheer Squad

Well this was quite the revelation. The costumes/dancers all worked SO WELL here. Heart Beat Rock was very good (it really comes alive sung live) but Wow blew my mind. I'm not a big fan of it at all but somehow sung live it transforms into some mindblowing piece of pop. It was literally fantastic and for the first time it got the audience going crazy. Loved it. Shocked was also very good; I'm glad she keeps it on the setlist for every tour she does, it's a fab, underappreciated song. Another great act.

 

Beach Party

I've got mixed feelings about this one. The video interlude with the sailors and then Kylie on the boat deck was very nice, and the visual element of that kept the crowd entertained in an otherwise dull moment. However I thought Loveboat was a slightly odd choice of song to sing (it's great but doesn't work so well live...) and Copacabana even more so; that really should never have made the setlist. Either way the visual element of it with the faux fight on stage and the dramatics was pretty cool. Spinning Around was standard fare and really didn't fit being sung in a sailor-themed segment...also, Kylie's disgusting perm wig and that dress - she looked a mess! Certainly the worst act of the 8, but I think that's saying something given how it was still decent enough...

 

Xposed

This was all kinds of amazing. Like A Drug was fabulous on the skull, and it really did have a big wow factor. It's the props like that which help to make Kylie's tours a show and not just a concert. Slow was absolutely BRILLIANT. The new mix with the stop-start synthy verse bits was well fabulous and then when it got rocky at the end I was just in heaven. Amazing how she transformed something that's been done so often before into something so fresh and new. It was also probably only the second time in the concert that the whole crowd was singing along which was nice. 2 Hearts is not a song I even like that much on record but my god, it was incredible here. Something about the atmosphere and the live band and everything all just collided to work so well. Again everyone knew every word which I guess is the upside to such simplistic pop. Very impressive.

 

Naughty Manga Girl

Whilst I agree with what most have said in that a video projection was an odd way to kick this off (I heard people in the row behind me say the same thing), it pretty much worked becuase the video for Sometime Samurai was so bold, bright and interesting, and the song itself is so damn funky. I've never even bothered listening to it before the tour but I'm really liking it now. Nu-Di-Ty worked very well too (I especially love the instrumental bit nearish the end with that bass-y beat). Sensitized was also fabulous, except I could only see one other person who knew the words; most looked really bemused as to what the song was! Slithering along the floor was fabulous slutty and I loved her outfit. The only thing I'd say is that what was the point of that BIZARRE box/cage-style prop thing she was in? It made the stage look like a building site.

 

Starry Nights

Flower is an absolutely gorgeous song. I'm really glad she stuck with performing this and Ruffle My Feathers throughout X2008 because everybody deserves to hear them. The lyrics and her vocals were both absolutely wonderful. I Believe In You worked reasonably well in ballad form; the crowd seemed to be loving it and singing along even though it wasn't in the upbeat form they'd be used to. Having this act so brief also worked well given that the following act lasted about half an hour...

 

Black versus White

This was SO orgasmic. Definitely the best segment from all of X2008, or Homecoming for that matter. On A Night Like This was brilliant (it seemed very dancey, I'd quite like the edit used if any insiders with leaking powers happen to reading this!) and it really got the audience pumped, they were going crazy. It's such a favourite of SO many people. Your Disco Needs You was absolutely the highlight of the entire setlist. From that euphoric intro to the anthemic chorus, I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed a moment of a concert as much as I did this. The gays who made up the entire front row (we were sat on the second row back from the stage) were literally shaking their booties, and it wasn't always pretty, but my god I won't ever forgot those few minutes. Amazing.

 

Kids was also fabulous (she shouldn't ever drop it from the setlist; I know most of the hardcore fans couldn't give a toss but it really got the entire arena jumping) even though for some reason only one of her two backing singers sang the alternative bits which Robbie sings, and the other backer just ooh-ed and aah-ed along. Step Back In Time was very decent (the projections were so well suited to the song and the dancers in those jumpsuits looked FABULOUS) but not a patch on what was next; In My Arms must've been my second-favourite of the night. The atmosphere in the arena was so electric and you could just tell Kylie adores the song and loves to perform it. Most of the crowd was singing along; nearly everybody knew it and took to it like her other most anthemic numbers. Black vs White was a definite, massive success.

 

Encore

Well besides the pretty foul outfit Kylie sported for this (that manky corset with those unflattering trousers looked pretty sh!t) this was also nigh-on perfect. No More Rain absolutely came alive and the projections were beautiful. Love At First Sight was as amazing as ever, there really are just no words for such a good performance of a song like that. The cheer as soon as the beginning of I Should Be So Lucky kicked in were totally deafening and I couldn't see one person not singing every word, it was awesome.

 

The One was also fantastic beyond words; it was another case of a song Kylie quite obviously loves performing (I Can't imagine why it wasn't on setlist before Dublin or wherever it got added) and the crowd seemed to properly connect with it. My friend said it was her favourite performance of the night, and she's just a casual fan. We left mid-All I See to beat the crowds but I stayed for all of it when I went on Saturday, and it was pretty decent and beautiful if not mind-blowing; really it should probably have come before The One.

 

Highlights: Ruffle My Feathers, Wow, Slow, 2 Hearts, Come Into My World, Flower, On A Night Like This, Your Disco Needs You, Kids, In My Arms, Love At First Sight, I Should Be So Lucky, The One

 

Yes, I know 13 songs is half the concert but it honestly was THAT good.

 

Best-forgotten: Copacabana

Best outfit: That gorgeous purple gown she wore during the opener

Best act: Black vs White. Perfection

 

I honestly thought it was an improvement on Showgirl Homecoming (which is all I can compare it with since that's the only other Kylie tour I've been to). I thought Homecoming was bogged down with too many oldies-but-goodies and that the second half lacked energy, making it seem disappointed compared with the opening half. On X2008, it was the other way around - the opener couldn't compare with the second half, so as the audience livened up it got truly amazing and the atmosphere was just so good. The toning down of the campness (which was obviously still present, especially in Cheer Squad and Beach Party) also worked well; a perfect balance.

 

I would die to be able to go again (a third time!). It was fabulous as anything.

 

^_^

its all expensive tat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

:( as i thought. No doubt i'll find myself buying some though - i just won't be able to help myself :D

 

:w00t: at Jarks review. I was getting excited just reading it :yahoo:

Great review Jark, I thought the mixes she used worked so well and the whole thing was amazing. I can't wait for Thursday!

less then 24 hours to go :yahoo: i'm currently listening to the Homecoming live CD :wub: it's getting me in the mood :D

Im seeing her tomorrow in Manchester and next Thursday in Newcastle. Cant wait.

oh you lucky boy dannyboy

wooooooooo i'm here. i'm sat waiting and shaking with excitement lol. my mate has just worked out she's spent £50 or merchandise :-D

I went last night again, she finished with "I Should Be So Lucky" so no "The One" or "All I See" was still fantastic though, my friend had never seen her live before and was blown away! The Black & White section is still my fave 2nd time round. Bring on the DVD!

I've just got back home from last nights show :w00t: it was AMAZING.

 

As first the audience seemed to be a bit lifeless - there was only a couple of stands where people were actually seen to be singing along and having fun :huh: but by the time she got to 'Like a Drug' the majority of the audience was going mad :cheer:

 

The first half was great, but the second half was just AMAZING. Perfect infact. I agree with the posters who say Black vs White was the best. It was absolutely brilliant. All 5 songs were just :wub: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

Sadly she didn't sing The One or All I See :( but hey, you can't have it all.

 

I'm so happy i've finally been

Edited July 19, 200817 yr by Glyn

Amazing. Thats all I can say about Fridays show. It def one of the best Kylie shows ive been to. And vocally she was v good. Not as nazally as she normally is. Great crowd interaction. Seeing her again on Thursday and cant wait. I would def leave out the Loveboat section though. That was a bit of a let down but over all. Amazing.

I definitely agree with the comment on her vocals; they were the best i'd heard form her in awhile. I know what you mean about the Loveboat section but Copa Cabana was just camp cheesy gloriousness!

I agree with Loveboat. It seemed to be showhorned in just so it fitted with the theme, It was the only non-single track performed (aside from her X stuff) and I don't really like it that much to begin with, but Copacabana was amazing. :w00t:

Edited July 21, 200816 yr by Glyn

saw her again tonight. Simply amazing. I mean like simply amazing. My mate wasnt even a fan but she has saw her twice in one week lol. She loves her so much now.

I'm going next Friday 1st Aug :dance: :dance: :dance:

While I agree with above reviews that second half of the show by far outranked first half - which was simply bogged down with too many poor song choices (Ruffle My Feather - meh, Heart Beat Rocks - yuck, Loveboat - wtf?) I actually think that the Loveboat segment as a whole was the highlight of first part of the show, at least dramatically. The setup was amazing, and I did love how she performed Copacabana. She genuinely seemed to have fun during this, which was really refreshing.

 

That being said, I agree that it was only from Black and White and onwards (cf. my previous review) that things really got going, which ment that the first two thirds of the concert actually afterwards seemed mostly like a missed opportunity to have done something really great. It was good, but imagine how it would have been, had she got the show off ground from the first set? It would have made it unreal!