I must interrupt my Italian honeymoon posts to tell you about the Cyndi Lauper concert I went to last night at Amalie Arena! I love 80's pop music, and she's right up there with Madonna in my mind. I missed out on seeing Janet Jackson this summer, so I was NOT going to make the same mistake twice!
I ended up going to the show by myself, but I still had a fun time. I didn't dress up, but if I had gone with a friend, you can bet I would have worn fishnet and leg warmers!
The first opener was Emily Estefan, Gloria Estefan's daughter. I didn't even know she had a famous daughter (or at least famous enough to perform before Cyndi!). I thought it was pretty cool that she played the drums while standing and singing. And she plays the guitar, too! She had about ten other people on stage with her, like more drummers and horn players, so there was a jazzy vibe for sure. She only performed a few songs, so here are some of them:
I Just Want It to Be Over (from 2020...fitting for this week, too...)
Girl Power Medley (Not the best medley I've heard; not sure how you mess that up! I especially don't like that she is imitating Billie Holiday rather than reimagining her.)
Once she was done, there was a good half hour between sets, so I actually started writing this post while I waited. And then it was time for the main act!
The first thing I noticed about Cyndi is that she seems like such a real, down-to-earth person. She's like the wild, feminist great aunt we all wished we had. I enjoyed hearing her tell stories and talk about supporting women's rights. I liked that part as much as I did actually listening to the music! She talked about working on Broadway; she has written the music and lyrics for the new Working Girl musical that is coming out soon, so she said she had to fit in her farewell tour now before she was too busy with that. I didn't know she wrote a lot of her own songs, too; such talent. She played the guitar (and the recorder?) during the show, mentioned working with Elvis' piano player, Tony Brown, and undressed down to her slip and took off her wig! We saw and heard it all!
 |
| During "Drove All Night," she would hold up her dress and images were projected onto it. |
Drove All Night (I had no idea she sang this song! I had only heard Celine Dion's version!)
Who Let in the Rain? (She said she wrote this song when she was cleaning a house and the skylight was open. This was a time in her life around a break-up, so the song is about that.)
Time After Time (I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't think I knew she sang this song. Maybe I thought it was Bonnie Tyler from Total Eclipse of the Heart fame?)
During one of her costume changes, the band came to center stage and played instruments like the bongos, maracas, the tambourine, etc. It was a fun music break, and Cyndi used it to introduce the band members. Her bass player has been with her since the 80's! They all sang Iko Iko together:
 |
| She still wore the metal bib, but this time she was dressed up as... Big Bird? |
 |
| During one of the songs, there was a large sheet flying over a platform that had air coming out of it, so it was like the sheet was floating and dancing to the music. Very unique! |
 |
| Santa was in the sound booth! |
I left before the encore (it was getting late and I was so tired), but I assume she performed these two songs, her biggest hits without a doubt!
I'm sorry I missed these two songs, but I was falling asleep in my seat, and I knew I had an hour-long drive ahead of me to get back home. When I lived in DC, I could easily take the metro home (and even sleep on the train for a little bit), and now I no longer have that luxury. I think I'm becoming one of those people who says, "I can't; that's a school night." What a bummer! While I enjoyed the show, I am not sure it was worth driving two hours in rush hour to get there and then take the slog back home late at night in the dark. Womp womp!
No comments:
Post a Comment