Cher

I saw Cher live in concert over the weekend. I’ve never seen her perform live before. I knew it would be more than just a concert; it was a performance. I wasn’t disappointed, and I enjoyed every minute of the show.

Not that this is a review of the show, I don’t do reviews. I will write about my experiences related to the show. For me, the show was in a city about 70 miles from my home. Not too bad for travel. I planned on departing with plenty of time, and I arrived at the highway exit to the venue about forty-five minutes before show time. Was that enough? Apparently not. I spent the next hour on the offramp and navigating the traffic to get to my pre-paid parking garage.

After parking and walking into the venue, I know I’m twenty minutes late, and thinking I’ve missed the opening numbers. I’m bitching in my head, cursing the traffic and my carelessness of not leaving earlier. I made that decision when I saw Elton John last summer in the same venue, sitting around outside for over an hour, my urgent bladder making life difficult. I figured I could arrive thirty minutes before show time and all would be great. Going through security, it’s going on twenty-five minutes after show time, and I’m anxious.

The Opening Act

Getting to my seat, I found out I didn’t miss a thing. In fact, I got a bonus. Cher had a warmup band on stage. It’s a band I used to enjoy back in the disco era and figured they had long since disappeared. I was wrong. Chic play for about an hour, and I heard most of my favorites. Already, my foot was tapping to the beat, and I’m singing along.

When they left the stage, there was a forty-five-minute intermission as the stage crew did the reset. I was getting antsy, as was the rest of the audience.

Cher Arrives

Finally, Cher starts her show. It was no surprise she came out dressed to the hilt, wearing a huge red wig and clothes to match. After the opening numbers, she disappeared behind a door centered on the stage for a costume change. Cher did this after every two or three numbers, changing outfits appropriate the new segment of the performance.

What was most interesting was that she spoke to the audience during that first costume change from behind the curtain. Apparently, she had a wardrobe malfunction in need of repair. I smiled, somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t more interesting to my keen eye. Coming back to the stage, she spent about ten minutes telling us stories of her life. I found them interesting and gave me personal insight into the woman I admired much of my life.

Jump right into the next numbers and for the next ninety minutes, she performed a series of old and new hits highlight various stages in her life. One set included a love scene between her and her beloved Sonny. I say beloved, as it was plain as she sang to him, there was still love in her heart for him. Her body language screamed it.

Not just a Concert

As the performance went on, and yes, this was much more than a concert, Cher paid homage in a fifties diner scene complete with the neon sign of the time, a burlesque sequence, and her iconic concert on the decks of a modern navy destroyer dressed in a black mesh catsuit that revealed everything and showed nothing.

After the concert, I spent another hour in the car park, waiting for the thousands of cars below me exit the venue. Driving home the seventy odd miles and my head still playing the songs in my head, I got home at almost two in the morning. I slept till noon the next day.

I had a great time, and I’m so glad I got to see this fine, flawed lady, who struggled her entire life.

Why isn’t she in the Rock-and-roll Hall of Fame? Lets her voted in.