Ever since 3D burst onto the cinema scene in recent years and with U2 becoming what would be a concept attempt at proving that a concert film would work, we've seen a proliferation of 3D concert films, and GV being one of the cinema chains now bringing in a slew of titles over the last and next few weeks, featuring the likes of Mayday, Ayumi Hamasaki, Super Junior together with music documentaries such as Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam Twenty, in addition to acts in the past like May'N during ScreenSingapore, and others from Hanna Montana/Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, to Justin Beiber and Glee 3D next week.
Then there's Kylie Minogue's recent Aphrodite World Tour which concluded earlier in year in July 2011, having been on the road from February throughout Europe, Japan, USA and Asia, with the Singapore leg that happened on 29 June 2011 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. That version though was Aphrodite Live, a smaller set compared to this one that was part of the European leg, shot on the 11th and 12th of April on the last two days of the London leg at the O2 arena. While the set was largely similar across all geographies, the highlight of the performance was definitely that of the water jets and movable stages that became the piece de resistance of the encore segment where Kylie Minogue performed On a Night Like This and All the Lovers. Sheer spectacle. Period.
In just under two hours the pop princess showed why she is still, in her early 40s, at the top of her game, being the consummate performer at her element over the set of 25 songs, strutting her stuff on an elaborate stage setup complete with a circular styled runway, mega video walls that sometimes have the camera focused too much on that the performers get sidelined, the aforementioned water jets and fountains that form a splash zone for fans right in front of the stage (probably the best area to be during the concert) and a multi-layered platform. Technical strengths aside, there were plenty of aerial performers, dancers, Greek mythology inspired costumes and moves, with Kylie herself decked out for the tour by Dolce and Gabbana.
Unfortunately this screening was limited to four sessions only, but to those curious to check it out, I'm pretty sure portions of it would have been uploaded onto YouTube, otherwise the DVD will be out by the end of September. My favourite segment will be the consecutive performances of Slow, Confide in Me and Can't Get You Out of My Head which were made over with very different sounds and tempo, while the downsides, and probably what would make me think twice about going to any concert, will be the constant, almost ridiculous, proliferation of mobile phones and cameras flashing away, making it seem like an army of concert goers not all that out to enjoy themselves, but to outdo one another in capturing the best pictures, videos and moments from the performance.
Some may argue watching a concert movie is no substitute for the real thing, but I suppose it's a good enough alternative, which also gives you better than ringside seats, and an outlet to watch your favourite musicians and performers at their element during a tour, especially if they don't swing by to this part of the world.
