Pretty incredible, right?

The thing is I have always liked Kylie, but I’ve never really been a die hard fan.  A Kylie gay, if you will.  My friend Oliver, however, is absolutely a Kylie gay.  He, his friend Davinia, my friend Brady and I all went together.  But I digress.

Kylie’s show was amazing, and her stage presence was undeniable.  While she was without a doubt a powerful presence and force to be reckoned with even in front of over 17,000 people, she was at the same time humble, grateful, and clearly in awe of her surroundings.

She knew her audience, too, which was the largest assembly of gay men I have seen outside of a gay pride parade.  I think there may have been 10 women there.  Total.

At one point, there were male dancers in Speedos taking showers onstage, and then they assembled beneath her so that she could walk on their hands.  Notice the shower on the right…

The show itself was an incredible spectacle of light, sound, costume, video, theatrics and general innovation.  The word ‘thrilling’ comes to mind.

Still, Kylie never once pretended to be anything she is not.  For the dance routines, her songs were layered with backing tracks for her to sing over.  And at times she would stop singing and yell, “Los Angeles!” or even talk over the music, engaging the audience, sure, but also letting us know that she knows exactly who she is.  She, like us, was there to have a great time.

But for me what truly set her apart from the pack was that she could actually have fun and be spontaneous with the audience.  She could literally step out of the routine, have an impromptu moment with the crowd and walk right back into the performance without missing a beat.

And so I left The Hollywood Bowl a huge Kylie fan.  She won me over.  I loved all her songs, and the staging was beyond.  I left there a happier, more hopeful and joyous Peter, which is, I think, how you know you’ve just seen a true superstar.

Check it.