It's hard to believe Cher is really retiring.

The original diva was glam as ever when she performed for more than 20, 000 widly cheering fans at the packed-to-the-rafters Air Canada Centre last night.

It was the kick-off concert for her living proof tour, which she claims will be her last, though she plans to continue recording.

The 56-year old singer changed from fabulous costume to fabulous costume more than 10 times, singing a selection of hits that spanned her 40 year career, from 1966's guitar driven rock song "Bang Bang" right up to her latest "Song For The Lonely" considered by many an ode to the victims of Sept. 11.

The crowd gasped, then cheered like crazy when the star made a grand entrance on a silver platform, descending from above the stage wearing a glittering fur trimmed anoarak and a matching headdress to sing the U2 hit "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

"It's the best way for me to open, and it's the best way to describe me," she later explained.

She went on to say that she'd had asked someone to ask fans for questions on their way into the concert, and she chose to answer this one:

"Tell us, is this really your last tour" one said voicing the question that was on the tip of ever tongue.

"I'm old for this, all right?" said Cher, but it was highly unconvincing. Known for her highly unwrinkled skin and rail-thin physique, she looked vibrant and fit.

In an era in which aging rock stars simply refuse to die, touring long past their best-before dates, it's hard to believe this tour will really be Cher's last, particularly since her career seems to be at its zenith

Her last two CDs, have debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard list, and her fans aren't just nostalgic baby boomers dreaming of their hippie history. The middle aged-maven has managed to be relevant even in a youth-obsessed culture, pulling new generations into her fan club each decade.

"Kids like me and I'm not sure why," she said in a recent USA TODAY interview earlier this year. " "If you listen to the critics, I've been on my way out again and again."

Indeed, her 40-year career has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Ups have included more than 15 top-20 hits, the first being 1965's "I Got You Babe" written by her first husband and performing partner Sonny Bono.

The two met in a coffee shop in 1962 when Cher was 16 and he was 27, and went on to become poster children for 60's hippies. They had their own television show, a mix of comedy and shtick and music, by 1971, and it ran off and on until 1976.

Cher had many solo hits too, several of which she sang last night, including the 1979 disco song "Take Me Home," for which she wore a spangley scarlet dress and matching wig"

In the '80's, though, she remade herself as a movie star. with parts in Mask, Silkwood and Moonstruck for which she earned an Academy Award.

Clips of those movies filled in the spaces in last night's show, allowing for her costume changes, but made for a show that seemed to stop and start, having no sense of flow or continuity.

Kind of like her career.

By the late '80's, Cher's stardom was suffering and she was releasing exercise videos and appearing in infomercials, a bit of a laughing stock.

In 1998, she came back with a vengeance, making an album of danceable songs to appease young audiences and her huge contingent of club-going gay male fans.

Believe, the album, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, and then similarly named single, a dance club anthem featuring Cher's electronically distorted voice, hit No.1 in more than 20 countries - her biggest hit ever.

She ended the night with that song. Giving the crowd the ear candy they really craved. Seems Cher's fans still believe, even after all these years.