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"A euphoric explosion of love". This is how Kylie Minogue's tour director, Steve Dixon, describes her show.
We chatted to the man behind the smooth running of "Aphrodite" about the venues in SA, Kylie's intimacy and why the hefty ticket price is worth it.
Channel24: Let's get the uncomfortable questions out of the way. R970 is a lot for an average South African to pay for a standing ticket. (There are seated tickets available for R400). What am I going to get for my money?
Steve: Wait, what's R970? Is that $120? Well that's half the price of Australia.
I think as far as arenas go, I don't think there's ever been a show like this brought down to South Africa. It's a very, very expensive proposition. It costs millions of dollars to transport a show like this through Asia and down into SA. That's just to move it, not to mention operating it. So, this is a much different experience. I can tell you that there are plenty of folks that come down with one truck of band gear and control board rigs and a 5-piece band and a singer, and they're probably more expensive than this show is.
There are elements of a $25m production that are coming here with 21 performers on stage and playing very intimate venues. There will never be a better chance to see a star of her calibre up close and personal like this.
Channel24: Sure it's costing you a lot too, but what's in it for me?
Steve: The show itself, it's different than a concert. It is a concert, but it's also a production show. And it has a theme, and so Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is transporting the public on an odyssey and a journey. So there are a lot of songs from Aphrodite that frame the show content and what the show is, however there is a really big mix of old and new. She changes the show from night to night, just a little bit here and there. There's a lot going on, but people will love it.
Channel24: It's a large, intricate, extravagant show. Why did you choose Grand West over the Cape Town Stadium as the venue for the show?
Steve: Kylie's show is a very heavy production with a lot of detail. Certain shows lend themselves to different environments. Especially since she's coming to South Africa for the first time, I think it's appropriate for people to be up close and experience her in an intimate way. They will find with her that she is very real. She's just very dynamic.
Channel24: Fair enough. Plus it's winter here so the show would probably be rained out at an outdoor venue. So what is Kylie like behind the scenes? Is she a diva or a darling?
Steve: She's intimate with everybody. Every artist approaches their creativity differently. Kylie is a very involved creative collaborator. She's involved in everything. It is a travelling family. We've all been working on this for over a year. We do outings together; we do dinners together, as a unit. These tours, when they're this big and this precise, we're very fortunate to have someone like Kylie who looks at us all like family.
Channel24: What is your impression of South Africa as a concert venue?
Steve: Yeah well I want to buy a house! I'm ready to move.
Listen, I think there's a really great coming together here - of a woman who has an amazing life story, who really focuses on delivering love and joy, and really cares about the quality she gives her fans, and it seems to me, from being here for the past 48hrs - and I'm not speaking for her I'm speaking for myself - there's an inherent joy here. Everyone I encounter, everybody smiles. Everyone has a very welcoming approach to being here.
This sounds so corny, but there's going to be this euphoric explosion of love at her concerts in SA.
Channel24: You're right Steve, it is corny, but Kylie certainly isn't. So it's all good.
Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite Live 2011 South African tour dates:
Sun City Superbowl - Johannesburg
Friday July 8
Saturday July 9
Grand Arena - Cape Town
Wednesday July 13
Thursday July 14
Limited tickets are still available from Computicket.
Photos by William Baker (Darenote)
We chatted to the man behind the smooth running of "Aphrodite" about the venues in SA, Kylie's intimacy and why the hefty ticket price is worth it.
Channel24: Let's get the uncomfortable questions out of the way. R970 is a lot for an average South African to pay for a standing ticket. (There are seated tickets available for R400). What am I going to get for my money?
Steve: Wait, what's R970? Is that $120? Well that's half the price of Australia.
I think as far as arenas go, I don't think there's ever been a show like this brought down to South Africa. It's a very, very expensive proposition. It costs millions of dollars to transport a show like this through Asia and down into SA. That's just to move it, not to mention operating it. So, this is a much different experience. I can tell you that there are plenty of folks that come down with one truck of band gear and control board rigs and a 5-piece band and a singer, and they're probably more expensive than this show is.
There are elements of a $25m production that are coming here with 21 performers on stage and playing very intimate venues. There will never be a better chance to see a star of her calibre up close and personal like this.
Channel24: Sure it's costing you a lot too, but what's in it for me?
Steve: The show itself, it's different than a concert. It is a concert, but it's also a production show. And it has a theme, and so Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is transporting the public on an odyssey and a journey. So there are a lot of songs from Aphrodite that frame the show content and what the show is, however there is a really big mix of old and new. She changes the show from night to night, just a little bit here and there. There's a lot going on, but people will love it.
Channel24: It's a large, intricate, extravagant show. Why did you choose Grand West over the Cape Town Stadium as the venue for the show?
Steve: Kylie's show is a very heavy production with a lot of detail. Certain shows lend themselves to different environments. Especially since she's coming to South Africa for the first time, I think it's appropriate for people to be up close and experience her in an intimate way. They will find with her that she is very real. She's just very dynamic.
Channel24: Fair enough. Plus it's winter here so the show would probably be rained out at an outdoor venue. So what is Kylie like behind the scenes? Is she a diva or a darling?
Steve: She's intimate with everybody. Every artist approaches their creativity differently. Kylie is a very involved creative collaborator. She's involved in everything. It is a travelling family. We've all been working on this for over a year. We do outings together; we do dinners together, as a unit. These tours, when they're this big and this precise, we're very fortunate to have someone like Kylie who looks at us all like family.
Channel24: What is your impression of South Africa as a concert venue?
Steve: Yeah well I want to buy a house! I'm ready to move.
Listen, I think there's a really great coming together here - of a woman who has an amazing life story, who really focuses on delivering love and joy, and really cares about the quality she gives her fans, and it seems to me, from being here for the past 48hrs - and I'm not speaking for her I'm speaking for myself - there's an inherent joy here. Everyone I encounter, everybody smiles. Everyone has a very welcoming approach to being here.
This sounds so corny, but there's going to be this euphoric explosion of love at her concerts in SA.
Channel24: You're right Steve, it is corny, but Kylie certainly isn't. So it's all good.
Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite Live 2011 South African tour dates:
Sun City Superbowl - Johannesburg
Friday July 8
Saturday July 9
Grand Arena - Cape Town
Wednesday July 13
Thursday July 14
Limited tickets are still available from Computicket.
Photos by William Baker (Darenote)
