Cher and Cyndi Lauper, two iconic singers, dazzled a packed Nationwide Arena audience last night in a concert that was impressive both musically and as a spectacle.

Cher, 67, made an amazing entrance. The curtain fell, and there she was, standing atop a 20-foot pole, looking like a cross between an Egyptian queen and a Vegas showgirl as she belted out Woman’s World and Strong Enough.

“This is my farewell-farewell tour, I’m not kidding,” she said with winks and crossed fingers. “ I’m too old for this.”

For this tour, Cher said, “I’ll come out, sing in fabulous costumes and be fabulous.”

And that’s just what she did, wearing 11 different costumes, including a mind-blowing, ground-touching Indian headdress of pink, blue and orange feathers for Half Breed. She also emerged from a Trojan horse as a blond warrior for Take it Like a Man; appeared in a silver-fringed, heart-shaped pasties thing with platinum/pink hair for Believe; and wore a cute tux-like creation on Welcome to Burlesque.

However, a concert is more than just fashion. Cher’s distinctive contralto voice was strong as ever on most songs, particularly on You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me; I Found Someone; If I Could Turn Back Time; Just Like Jesse James and a cover of Marc Cohn’s Walking in Memphis.

A highlight came when Cher sang, seemingly with late ex-husband Sonny Bono, on I Got You Babe as videos of him were shown. “I thought about doing this for a long time, but I never could,” Cher said. “But since this is the last tour … He was such a ham. He would love this.”

Cher concluded her concert in a gown, halo and blond pigtails as she hovered over the crowd to sing I Hope You Find It.

Cyndi Lauper gave a great 60-minute performance to open the night. Lauper wore a hooded robe and strode through the crowd like a boxer coming to the ring as she sang She Bop. She took that off to reveal a black leather get-up, combat boots and long flaming red hair while singing I’ll Kiss You.

You can still BUY TICKETS to see Cher’s Dressed To Kill Tour here.

As she sang the reggae-flavored Witness, Lauper, 60, was whirling around like it was 1984 again. This was repeated on dance songs like Into the Nightlife and Sex Is in the Heel, the latter song from her Broadway show Kinky Boots. She also screamed Money Changes.

Everything as if her fortunes had suddenly changed.

There was some art on All Through the Night, with Lauper illuminating her face with a light stick, holding a mirror ball in front of her face and holding long, beautiful notes. There was also some humor on Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Then there were the brilliant ballads Time After Time, Hat Full of Stars and True Colors. On the latter, Lauper screamed at the end, “Don’t be afraid! And that goes for everyone.”

Source – Columbus Dispatch

Cher and Cyndi have fun in Columbus, 8.2 out of 10 based on 12 ratings