Cher shows off one of her many outfits Saturday during her show at the Bradley Center.
Cher shows Britney a thing or two
By GEMMA TARLACH
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Cher shows off one of her many outfits Saturday during her show at the Bradley Center.
"The Cher-est Show on Earth," as its star called it, rolled into the Bradley Center Saturday with a challenge.
"There are some girls coming up - J-Lo, Britney - and I want them to have something to aspire to," said Cher early in her sold-out Bradley Center show. "Follow this show if you can, you little bitches."
Having thrown down her Bedazzled gauntlet, the 56-year-old one-name wonder went on to prove lip-synching pop tarts have a long way to go before they're fit even to try on Cher's stiletto boots.
Before a crowd of more than 15,000, Cher did indeed turn back time, waltzing through every phase - and nearly every over-the-top outfit - of her nearly 40 years in show business.
The career retrospective gave some credibility to the Wrinkle-less One's claim that this is her farewell tour, but Cher gave no sign that she's ready to retire. Her distinctive alto was strong throughout the set, from the techno-throbbing "Song for the Lonely" to a seamless medley of early hits such as "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" and "Dark Lady."
And the outfits. Oh, girl, the outfits!
Cher began her show with a party-ready cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" that was as close to the plaintive original as, say, Motley Crue pounding out "Man of Constant Sorrow." But no matter. She looked stunning in a fur-trimmed czarina coat and hat, suspended in a gilded carriage 40 feet above the stage.
Other featured outfits included a tribal-tattoo body stocking and towering mohawk made of black feather plumes during "Bang Bang (You Shot Me Down)" and an Indian princess as envisioned by Victoria's Secret, complete with life-size elephant puppet.
While any lithe lass can slip into some over-the-top outfit, what made Cher's show so entertaining is the person under those swatches of sequins and spandex. Between songs, she chatted with the crowd - sharing a Spinal Tap-esque anecdote about getting stuck in the air during her opening number in Cleveland - and gave one the sense that, when all is said and done, she puts on her skintight pants just like the rest of us, one leg at a time.
Deadlines precluded a review of the encores, but we're sure they were fabulous.
Middle-aged mom or not, Cyndi Lauper is still a girl who just wants to have fun. Despite some overloud mix problems, Lauper's hourlong opening set was a romp through most of her big hits and an introduction to some new material, including the fun and frothy rocker "It's Hard To Be Me" - "inspired by Anna Nicole Smith," Lauper quipped.
The punk fairy princess shaved off the top notes while singing "Change of Heart" and "Money Changes Everything," but it wasn't clear why. Her multi-octave, high-octane pipes are still in terrific shape, as she amply demonstrated on a stunning "True Colors" and "Time After Time."
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 14, 2002.