People just can’t stop themselves from Facebooking, Instagramming and Tweeting about last night’s Cher concert at the packed KFC Yum! Center. It’s probably bordering on annoying for those who didn’t get a ticket. At 68, it’s hard to believe the music and film legend looks as vibrant and full of energy as she did 30 years ago.
The always solid and still quirky Cyndi Lauper opened the “D2K (Dressed to Kill)” show with “She Bop,” and she stuck mostly to notable hits off her debut album, She’s So Unusual, which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary. “Money Changes Everything,” “Time After Time,” “Witness,” “All Through the Night” … the hits just kept coming, and by the time she sang the first few notes of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” the shrieking audience was on its feet, dancing like nobody was watching. I saw you.
Lauper talked briefly to the audience at one point and brought up the incident that took place last time she was in town — when she dropped the f-bomb live on WAVE-3 during the Derby Festival Pegasus Parade. “Shit happens,” she said as the audience applauded her candidness.
She ended her 60-minute set with her take on Etta James’ “At Last,” followed by an a cappella version of “True Colors.”
Less than 30 minutes later, Cher took the stage atop a pedestal — as she should — singing “Woman’s World.” Nearly every song after entailed a costume and genre change — from vampires to a traveling circus to an ’80s dance throwback during “Believe.”
A touching moment came when she sang a few songs to footage of her and Sonny back in the day — “The Beat Goes On” and, of course, “I Got You Babe.” As she sang the latter duet along with Sonny’s recording, she intently watched the screen and couldn’t help but smile — “He’s such a ham,” she said. “He’d want me to do this for you.”
Cher dazzled the crowd with all her favorites — “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “Strong Enough,” “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,” “Walking in Memphis,” “I Found Someone” — and never cut corners on costumes or choreography. During wardrobe changes, videos of Cher’s milestones would play, including a clip of her winning an Oscar for “Moonstruck” in 1988.
She closed the show with “I Hope You Find It” while soaring over the audience on a platform. Earlier she joked this was her “Farewell, Farewell Tour,” but then winked at the audience and exited the stage with her fingers crossed behind her back.