Kylie Minogue, live in the USA

You're probably wondering, "How was Kylie's first-ever live concert in Los Angeles last night?"

WELL.

As to be expected of someone like Kylie, it was quite the spectacle. What we mean by someone like Kylie is someone who is a true showman/woman. Kylie is certainly that. She is not the strongest vocalist, nor the best dancer, but she has the gift of pulling it all together when she's onstage, and yes we realize there's a huge helping hand with lighting, staging, choreography, and even right down to the fact that the majority of her finest music was written for her by other people. But in spite of all these elements not within her control, she still brings the life and energy forward, and all that is completely on her shoulders.

For someone who's just barely over five feet tall and has the physique of a fairy, Kylie's stage presence is surprisingly commanding, and yet inviting at the same time. She interacts with the crowd. She's light-hearted, she's funny, she is unquestionably sexy but still has a twinkle in her eye that almost says "Yes, I am writhing about in leather pants that were practically painted on my dainty ass, but this is just a show and we're all still having fun". She doesn't jet into show-stopping moves like Britney used to, nor shatter the amplifiers with a voice like Christina, but the entire time you're glued to her.

The songs, of course, are the other important factor. It's rather telling that of all the songs on this mini-tour's setlist, the five tracks from X were without a doubt among the weakest when done live. X is a bit of an odd one in our opinion (some days we like it, some days we don't), but there's no denying that most everything on the album does not exactly translate well onstage.

Something that does translate INCREDIBLY well to the stage (and you wouldn't think so; we certainly didn't) - "Slow". One of the best numbers of the night, surprising considering how sparse and trapped by electronics the studio version is. The older hits definitely were a joy to hear live- "Can't Get You Out of My Head" predictably drew a massive crowd reaction, "Confide In Me" was powerful, the jazzed-up rendition of "The Loco-motion" was quite the showstopper, and "Love At First Sight" expertly ended the show on a euphoric note.

Overall, a rousing success.