The 75-minute set,informally titledMore Than Just a Residency, lives up to its name. It is indeed much more than just a Las Vegas residency. It knots the strands of Minogue’s career - from gay dance clubs to arena tours - into an acoustic biography.
Minogue describes the show as “hedonism,escapism,joy[and] rapture”. It borrows creative touches from 19th-century Paris and meshes them with laser lights and a disco beat,all of it gently drifting towardsPadam Padam,the pulsing dance masterpiece which ruled the summer airwaves and broke TikTok.
The room - Voltaire,at The Venetian - is somewhat modest for an arena-seasoned performer like Minogue - it seats just 1000 people,at a mixture of small supper club-style tables and standing room spaces on the periphery. But the measurable energy surrounding the show is easy to interpret:it sold out within minutes. More tickets were released last week.
It also sets the stage for a very different show to the sort Minogue’s fans have traditionally seen her deliver. In an arena,she cuts a slender,solitary figure,surrounded by spectacular stage pieces. In Voltaire,surrounded by dancers,she looms larger than she ever has,almost within arm’s reach,a sultry and luminous figure,playing with shadow on a long narrow stage that draws her to the centre of the room.
The small space also transforms conventional stage banter into a more intimate conversation. She shares moments with members of the audience,drawing them into the show. In that sense,More Than Just a Residency harkens back to Minogue’s own pop infancy,pressing the flesh with her fans in London’s gay dance clubs.