Going To Kylie’s Vegas High-Rolling Residency At Voltaire?
Here’s a few things you will want and need to know…
I was one of the lucky, lucky, lucky few to have a seat at the table to Kylie Minogue’s second show of her residency at the ultra-chic fantasy showroom Voltaire, at The Venetian in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Not because I was fortunate in the first or second round of impossible-to-get tickets in July but as recently as last Monday, a friend in LA texted me in Sydney with this proposition: “There’s a table – it’s crazy, but it’s this weekend, are you in?”
Mentally rearranging some real-world appointments and commitments but otherwise without hesitation, I booked flights and the next minute my eyes are high-rolling back to Vegas High (an obvious choice to include early on in the setlist).
“Is anyone here from Australia?” Kylie asked the crowd.
“Me!” I yelled, and she turned and made direct eye contact. I’ve been intimate and live before, however, never fully immersed in this way. Not even earlier this year for Sydney WorldPride. The vibe was magnetic and electric!
This show is not necessarily crafted for Kylie’s gays. You’ll be treated to all four singles from the Fever album (very successful in the US), topical Tension album tracks (the intro to mega-hit Padam Padam is something else), a cover, the occasional unreleased track mixed into a medley, culminating in a tribute to all Kylie’s Lovers. This show, informally titled More Than A Residency, feels much like a Spotify playlist for the high-rollers or something for American out-of-towners to do now that Adele and Katy Perry have both decamped from Vegas.
It’ll be interesting to see if Kylie shuffles or provides variations to the setlist over the course of this residency, but this is Vegas, and you need to tailor the experience for this audience. Kylie includes a heartfelt love letter to Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love… and that’s pretty special to be in the room for.
We all have designs on what “Our Kylie” should be doing, and a Vegas-like residency has been up there for years. I’d have voted to include less-famous-but-equally-adored sister Dannii, but here we are. I’m just grateful Kylie continues to release music and go on the road – no mean feat for a showgirl who shot to fame in 1986, has endured career highs and lows, and has survived breast cancer. She looks and sounds stunning, and commands the full attention of the room. Hang out for that last note of Your Disco Needs You.
I noticed Kylie’s long-time musical producer Steve Anderson in the audience. Anderson continues to breathe new life into crowd favourites like Locomotion and I couldn’t wait to thank him for it. This version transports you back to 1987, moves you through the Abbey Road reinvention, and sprinkles elements from the Golden tour version into an arrangement that sounds as fresh as the anthemic highs of her latest single, Hold On To Now.
Other return collaborators who’ve had a hand in curating your Vegas high include choreographer Ashley Wallen, production designer Rob Sinclair, and recent creative director Aries Moross.
I’ll return to Australia with the quiet hope an announcement will be made for a full-scale tour for Tension, or similar residency to take place on home soil. Coming to Vegas is never realistic… it’s flat out indulgent. But when your disco still needs you after 35 years, you certainly deserve to gift yourself a magical evening under a canopy of rosé-hued baubles and shimmering starbursts.
Further tips for attending Kylie’s Voltaire show:
- You could get lost inside a Vegas hotel/casino, so plot your route. Voltaire has only just re-opened under that name so inside The Venetian look for the Opaline Theatre (what it used to be called) on signage to help navigate.
- Bring your passport or government-issued ID, especially if you secured the table. Don’t waste time lining up without it or they’ll refuse to admit you. Having a VIP table only means you have to wait in longer lines to get in, get security swiped, get stamped, ID checked, and be escorted to your table where you will have a better view.
- The vibe is On A Night Like This, so dress tizzy and double-check the dress code.
- The table buy-in is your ticket cost + minimum spend on food and beverage per seat. In America, this is referred to as “bottle service”. After spending less, we were still charged the minimum spend, plus tax, service and tip.
- Tour shirts, jackets with a diamond on the pocket, a cap, a few lithograph photographs are on offer at the merch stand, no program. My pick would be the pack of playing cards for USD25. These featured her characters from the Tension video. Kylie flicked a packet into the crowd during the show and I took home the King of Diamonds! Naturally.
- Kylie is on around 11pm and the set runs about 75 minutes. She swaps outfits four times, and there are three acts and an encore.
- The opener is a Parisian circus/burlesque series of cabaret acts under the moniker Belle de Nuit. These are shuffled between DJ interludes. It’s more disco tunes as you settle your bill and are ushered out to the casino to decompress.
- These are early days for the Kylie at Voltaire experience. Bugs need to be ironed out, but your itch will be well and truly be scratched.
Kylie plays 18 more dates on Fri/Sat nights through to April 2024. Limited tickets are available through voltairelv.com (or gifted through your most available sugar daddy).
