Category: Concerts (Page 6 of 11)

Charlotte, North Carolina

“…Cher isn’t just any artist. At 67 (she’ll be 68 later this month), she’s the oldest female artist currently touring a full-scale arena show. But when she wore the floor-length Native American headdress and stick-straight black hair during ‘Half-Breed,’ it was as if time had stopped in 1973.

…So how does an AARP-card-carrying diva rule an arena for almost two hours and 17 songs? She paces herself, and takes a couple inches off her stilettos.

….[She] soared through the crowd looking as if she’d stepped from a Raphaelite painting during the closer of ‘I Hope You Find It.’

…As much as Cher played the over-the-top Vegas diva, what fans really like about her is when she gets real. For all the plastic surgery, skin, men, and incredible acting credits, Cher came off as pretty normal.

Raleigh, North Carolina

“For ‘Half Breed,’ she donned a Native American headdress and little else. (The recent kerfuffle involving the Flaming Lips, the daughter of the governor of Oklahoma and a native American headdress was clearly not an issue.)

I hadn’t heard about this. Here is the story, the latest controversey involving American Indian appropriation. I still wonder how Cher gets away with this without similar critique.

…During a montage of Cher movie moments, a fan could be heard exclaiming appreciatively, ‘Silkwood—now that’s my shit!'”

New York City

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas at the show

The New York Daily News

“Rosie O’Donnell, Liza Minelli make guest appearance onstage during Cindy Lauper’s opening set ahead of Cher’s ‘Dressed to Kill’ performance in Brooklyn Friday.

…It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Cher!

…The unkillable star swooped into Barclays Center on Friday with all the oddity and wonder of a superhero, if not a UFO.

…After more than half a century of media exposure, it’s still hard to prepare for the sight of a 68-year-old woman teetering on a sky-high platform, while crowned with a multitiered headdress of feathers, looking like nothing so much as the Queen of the Peacock People.

…Needless to say, Cher gets the joke in all this better than anyone. But sometimes it seems like she gets it too well. The star can claim a seriously catchy, and impressively varied, trove of thrilling hits — from “The Beat Goes On” right through the new “Woman’s World.” And her vibrato-heavy, pansexual vocals have a timbre, and a style, like no other singer.

…Of course, much of the show’s joy, and even its poignancy, came from its mission to defy common notions of taste, age and even self-parody. The lazy would call it camp. But it’s beyond that. Ultimately, it can only be described as just so incredibly Cher.”

The Daily Mail Online

This article has really good pics and a trailer for the show. Another page on the show.

The New York Post

The Examiner

“Cher still rules.

…Unlike Lady Gaga, Cher isn’t giving away hundreds of tickets in order to make her shows look full. Unlike Madonna, she isn’t starting her shows two hours late.”

Atlanta, Georgia

“Some musical events are concerts. Some are shows.

…But Cher always crafts her live outings as something completely unique – spectacles that are embellished to the point of excess. A concert within a show within a Broadway production.

…Cher planted her empowerment flag and let it fly for the night.

…While chatter will inevitably focus on the glitziest showpieces – the ginormous golden horse that opened to reveal a blonde-wigged Cher for the dance floor popper ‘Take it Like a Man,’ the well-produced Cher-as-vampire video preceding ‘Dressed to Kill’ – some of the show’s most memorable moments came without the razzle dazzle.

…And while the glitzy neon-clad dancers that pumped up ‘Believe’ were fun to watch, it was far more meaningful observing Cher close out the night with the new ballad, ‘I Hope You Find It,’ as she flew over the crowd while belting the poignant song.”

Cher scholar Todd from Wisconsin wrote to me a few weeks ago to discuss the costumes throughout the years at concert shows for the song "Believe." Todd flew down to Phoenix to see the opening show of the Dressed to Kill tour and he talked about the "cosmic" and "futuristic" theme always for costumes and set designs for the performance, how throughout the tours, the shows have stayed with that theme. Todd thought re-visiting the clubby "Believe" video, descending in a clear box, would be interesting.

I  agree with this. And besides the dance sound, I wonder why the interpretation of the song has always been so circus-top other-worldly.

I still defend the cartoon-like costume Cher wore on the opening night but it would be interesting to see an interpretation that shakes things up. Not that we have many opportunities left for that.

Cher's Farewell Tour was the first tour where fans could actually access concert reviews from other cities online. As fans would post links to reviews in their cities on the old Yahoo Cher freaks list, I tried to copy out as many as I could but soon got overwhelmed. I have a box of concert reviews from that tour somewhere unread in my garage.

I'm trying to keep up this time. I think there's something to be gleaned from the change in the tone of Cher concert reviews over the years. It seems Cher has finally worn reviewers down into appreciating her big circus shows. Since this tour began, I've yet to read one fully bad review, zero snarky Cher comments and only a few critical comments can be found at all. This seems different than the Farewell Tour if my memory serves me.

Let's step through the early accolades and notable news since she left Texas.

Of the Little Rock, Arkansas, show, Jennifer Christman said: "Speaking of her mother, Cher mentioned the Arkansas roots of her mother Georgia Holt (born Jackie Jean Crouch) who is a cousin to Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe. Cher also noted her great aunt was the first patient in Little Rock to undergo electric shock therapy."

Christman went on to say, "She might sing 'If I Could Turn Back Time' (and did, while strutting in a skimpy bodysuit nearly identical to the one in the 1989 video), but her figure reveals she already has found a way."

[It really irks me when they mistake the "Turn Back Time" concert outfit with the "Turn Back Time" video outfit. Am I the only one who is OCD over this?]

For the Tulsa, Oklahoma, show, Jerry Wofford said it was a "a wild, ornate and carefree show" and that she opened with a gasp: "…the curtain fell and on a pedestal, bathed in gold light with an enormous Vegas-style headdress was Cher, looking like the Goddess of Pop she is."

He said, "Cher’s humor between songs was incredible. She went from ripping on Dr Pepper to talking about her idea for a Perrier water commercial to the troubles of nail polish and toilet paper. She was carefree and irreverent and hilarious. He quoted her saying, 'I kind of make it up as I go along because that’s how Sonny and I used to do it.'"

About the song "Dressed to Kill" he said, "performed live, it was done incredibly well."

His only criticism: "There still were a few awkward issues to work out. Syncopation was off on a few songs."

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rachel Weaver said, "Perhaps the most endearing moment was when she sang alongside a video version of her late ex-husband Sonny Bono to 'I've Got You Babe,' a part of the show she admitted it took her some time to be able to do."

In Boston, Massachusetts, Chris Sosa (of the best-written review so far from The Huffington Post) said, "It's hard to really define a Cher show in the way one does a traditional pop concert. Sure, there's singing. Spectacle abounds. A great live band is present to bring decades of hits to life. But everything one sees is in tribute to something greater than the sum of these parts: Cher."

He continued, "Despite the intense effort that has to go into such involved showmanship, Cher keeps an amusing distance from the whole affair. It's the sort of devil-may-care persona only an entertainment legend can pull off without seeming glib."

Describing part of the show he said, "Then there was Cher, fending off a strapping 20-something while singing the tour's title track. Yes, she could be his grandmother, and he's probably gay. But damn it if Cher didn't infuse the situation with every ounce of sexual tension the number demanded."

He made a good defence of the Geffen-era hits: "During the megahits "I Found Someone" and "Heart of Stone," the multi-generational crowd seemed dangerously near spontaneous combustion from joy."

And concluded with, "Perhaps the absolute best use of such archival footage was her duet with Sonny Bono. She explained that after initially rejecting the idea, closing out her final (wink) tour with Sonny was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. In a visual effect that's been alternately described as disturbing and endearing, he stared right at Cher and sang 'I Got You Babe.' She sang it back with the sincerest expression of the evening. It was the first point of the evening where Cher the human emerged, a welcome guest given Pat Benatar had been blowing the roof off with husband Neil Giraldo just prior…watching a talented musical storyteller just emote from a place of sincerity is even more enjoyable."

[Amen]

James Reed, of The Boston Globe, said "She is in exceptional form, as a singer, entertainer, and tour guide through her 50 years in show business" and called the duet with Sonny, "sweet and not at all morbid."

In Toronto, Canada, Brad Wheeler said, "She razzled, she dazzled, she costumed-changed like a pro (which is what she is). She defied gravity, and convention. She was an audacious Helen of Troy one minute; a chatty Cherilyn Sarkisian of El Centro, Calif., the next. She twirled on a chandelier, as one does. She head-dressed. Sequins happened. She believed in life after love. She said that this really was a farewell, and was lovingly booed for the suggestion, though she winked and nodded when she said it. Not unflatteringly, she wore sheer costumes that would frighten women half her age. She sang 'If I Could Turn Back Time,' and basically pulled off that trick."

He described her early 1970s hits thusly: "'Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves,' followed by 'Dark Lady' and 'Half-Breed' – the “great swarthy trilogy,” in the words of rock critic Robert Christgau."

[Interesting. Will have to look that up. The great swarthy trilogy.]

Wheeler didn't like the angelic flyover, however. He thought it was "far too much symbolism."

Kyle Gustafson of The Washington Post said, "Cher appeared to be physically in pain at a few points in the show" and that she had a "hard time freeing herself from the safety mechanisms as she tried to exit the flying contraption. That made saying goodbye to her fans hard, logistically and emotionally."

For the Mohegan Sun review, Donnie Moorhouse liked the Cher singing on a stool part of the show: "It was Cher without all the pomp-and-circumstance, the true “concert” part of the performance. While it may not have been what her audience came to see, it was a reminder of the talent that lies underneath the bells and whistles (and wigs)." He said she didn't fly over in her saint-mobile for this show.

Links to full reviews:

• Little Rock press review
• Tulsa press review
• Nashville fan review
• Nashville fan review
• Pittsburgh press review
• Pittsburgh press review
• Washington, D.C. press review
• Mohegan Sun press review
• Toronto press review
• Toronto press review
• Boston press review
• Boston press review

So I thought I would be real modern and hip and post tweets from the show (I did a few) and blog a report right afterwards. Like last Saturday! Needless to say, that did not happen. I blame my old age primarily. But also the fact that I had to race to Phoenix and back on little sleep in the midst of covering a Singapore meeting for ICANN's website (which means I've been on a night shift since last Thursday). I'm exhausted. Mr. Cher Scholar drove us to Phoenix Friday afternoon. We got in late and literally slept in our clothes. 

Saturday we got up early to do a Chastity movie location tour with Cher scholar Robrt Pela. Robrt is not an arena Cher fan; he's a 1960s Cher fan and an obscure-stuff Cher fan. He had just written about it in the Phoneix New Times and in a story for NPR. It was great to meet Robrt after all these years. Although we don't agree about every aspect of Cher product, we do connect on many intellectual aspects of being a Cher fan. Robrt has been doing Cher scholarship on the movie locations for Chastity and was very generous to give us a tour of all the locations he's found so far. Mr. Cher Scholar even expressed interest in watching the movie again. It was serendipitous that we randomly found a hotel (near the venue) that was right in the filming hood for Chastity.

Afterwards, we hooked up with my bff from LA and her boyfriend. We went to dinner at a St. Louis style place in Scottsdale (Julie and I both grew up in STL) and had toasted ravioli, St. Louis-style pizza and ooey-gooey buttercake. We got to the venue an hour ahead and crowds were milling outside because they weren't letting anyone in yet.

We killed time standing in line to get a group photo with Cher impersonators. We then stood in line to get in. We then stood in line to get swag. There was no lunch box there yet so I'm glad I ordered mine from the online Cher store. There was mostly t-shirts and posters. Some small kitch: mugs, keychains and a lanyard for $20! There were no buttons or magnets. Phooey. I got four tshirts, two tour shirts, the 60s-style one and the shirt with my favorite Norman Seeff Cher photo on it. That picture was also available in poster (sweet!) and there was also a tour poster and one of those funky posters that changes when you move in front of it. I have it sitting on its side now and it shows Cher half-blonde-half-brunette. There's also a program, colorful and high-quality per usual but no intro text inside. However, the back of the book does have a funny Cher message full of mea culpas for returning with another tour after her farewell shows.

It took so long to get everyone in the venue that Pat Benetar didn't start until about 8:30 or later. She kicked ass, by the way. She made a believer out of Mr. Cher Scholar who always thought she was sub-par. Her mercilessly made fun of Neil Geraldo before the show. Said if I ever did poetry readings, he wanted co-billing. But their show made him a changed man. It appeared even Pat Benetar and Neil Geraldo were a bit surprised at how supportive the Cher fans were. We knew all the songs.

When I was a kid, my brothers were into Pat Benetar and disparaged my Cher obsession. This was back when Cher didn't even have a slot in the local record stores and Benetar was filling arenas. How surreal then it was to see Pat Benetar open for Cher. It was a perfect opening act, full of energy, hard rocking, highlighting both Cher's love of rock and serving as a tasty raw contrast to the spectacle of Cher's show.

Benetar opened with my favorite song of hers, "Shadows of the Night" and did all my favorite hits, "We Belong," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Heartbreaker."

Then it was almost another hour (it seemed) more waiting for Cher! The old people around us (and there were quite a few) were really sweatin' it out.

Mr. Cher Scholar at the show. Blurry pic of an impersonator walking around.

Apparently, according to Cher, she was having a meltdown back stage because nothing fit. She started at 10:20, finally coming on over the  loudspeaker, asking, "Can you guys hear me?" She made a Hoveround joke and said, "If you’re gonna grade the show, grade it on the f*cking curve."

And here is the spoiler alert. If you don't want to see pics of the show and a set list, do not proceed.

Continue reading

The countdown to Cher’s opening night of the Dressed to Kill tour is ticking down. The big news last week (and it was BIG NEWS) was that Bob Mackie had stepped out of doing Cher's costumes for the tour, despite Cher’s pleas to "end with her." That has a sad ring to it.

Reports said that "other commitments have since prompted 73-year-old Mackie to withdraw, leaving Cher to put her faith in Hugh Durant, a British designer she previously worked with in 2003." — Hollywood.com

Cher reminded us that Mackie has made all of her costumes since 1972! That is over 40 years. 

Not only did some of my Cher friends notify me about Cher’s tweets a few days ago, but the story has been posted everywhere, including:

• Hollywood.com
• NY Daily News
• E! Online
• Los Angeles Times
• ABC News
• US Magazine

Bob responded in Us Magazine: "Nobody wanted to design this last tour more than I did! I am sick about it. My professional and business commitments were just too great. There simply was not enough time to give this wonderful project the proper amount of care and attention it deserves.  After all these years of collaborating, it is like turning down your own little sister, and how many guys have a little sister like Cher.”

This is news on top of previous tweets that rehearsals have been a bit rough on Cher. The desert air has been hard on her voice, the new songs stretch her vocal range and a crew member was recently killed in a car crash.

 Her arrival to Phoenix last week made the local news and the opening show is coming in 7 days.

Cher News also reports you can get some tour merch before your shows from her website shop: http://cher.shop.bravadousa.com/

I truly have always wanted a Cher lunchbox. If only I were 7 again! The mug would be filled with Campbell’s tomato soup and the rest with a bologna sandwich and a Twinkie or a Chocodile.

I will try to post again about the tour next Saturday night (and if possible tweet out news).

These billboard pics were sent by Cher scholar Bruce from Vancouver.

The first was as seen on Facebook, a shot from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I saw Cher perform there on the Farewell Tour.

The one below is from Cher scholar Olga taken of the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Is there a Cher billboard currently up in your town? Kindly send it to me and I will post it here. It would be even better if you were in the shot.

Send pics to mary@cherscholar.com.