Over the decades, Cyndi Lauper has always been driven by the beat of her own heart, from her hyperbolic fashion choices, to her unapologetic love of wrestling to her Tony-winning work on Broadway. And she still speaks proudly with a Queens accent that would impress Edith Bunker.
At age 71, she is touring for the first time in a decade, making what she calls a farewell run through North America and Europe, giving concertgoers her biggest hits and a bevy of beloved fan favorites. She stopped at State Farm Arena Sunday night for a nearly sold-out show featuring massive video screens full of kinetic images, a high-energy seven-piece backup band and multiple costume changes.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho
Lauper opened a bit stiffly both physically and vocally, missing a few notes on “Goonies R Good Enough.” But her vocals and energy levels both strengthened as the concert went along.
Over 100 minutes and 16 songs, she showcased her balladry (“I Drove All Night”), her torch singing (“Shine”) and her pure punk rock aesthetic (the criminally underrated “Change of Heart” and her propulsive cover of Atlanta band the Brains’ “Money Changes Everything” that concluded her main set and featured her jumping around the set like a banshee.)
The vocal highlight of the night was her bracing cover of the Gene Pitney 1964 top 10 hit “I’m Gonna Be Strong,” which she first recorded when she was in the rock band Blue Angel three years before she broke it big with her debut album “She’s So Unusual.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
She was also characteristically gabby at points with her sardonic sense of humor on full display. “We played a film” featuring Lauper through the decades, she said, “in case you walked into the wrong concert.” She described herself as a “ruffian, a little ‘what the hell!’”
But she also said this concert was a true thank you to her fans, giving a shout out to various famous wrestlers, her late mother and her former manager, producer and boyfriend David Wolff. “I figure if this is it, this is my gift to you,” she told the audience. “I may as well do this while I still can.”
She was also frank about how she skyrocketed to fame in 1983, then her career “hit the skids.” But Details magazine founder Annie Flanders gave her perspective by telling her that “there are many chapters in your life. You can’t let one thing define who you are. You learn and grow and experience real life.”
So Lauper “started a new chapter.”
She released her 1993 album “Hatful of Stars,” which didn’t become a huge hit but was embraced by both critics and hard core fans. She sang two lovely cuts from that album “Who Let in the Rain” and “Sally’s Pigeons,” a ballad about a childhood friend who died as a teen when she had a backdoor abortion pre-Roe vs. Wade.
Her only remotely political statement came while describing that song, noting that women while she was growing up were “disenfranchised at every level. … I didn’t think I would become a second-class citizen again.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
It would be criminal not to mention her fashion picks. She opened in a space-age style jacket with pewter tights gathered all the way down her legs while she sang “She-Bop.” Her goofiest outfit was a long red jacket with billowy bright yellow sleeve covers, black thigh-high stockings and a literal washboard over her chest for “Iko Iko.” She later moved on to a long cream-colored suit jacket playfully imprinted on the front and back with a black lace bra and garter for “Sisters of Avalon” until the end of the pre-encore set. During the encore, she donned a black-and-white pantsuit outfit with a wig that made her resemble Christina Aguilera.
In other cities, Lauper has occasionally brought in guests to sing “Time After Time” with her. In Columbus, Ohio, and Nashville, Tennessee, pop singer Elle King joined her. At Madison Square Garden for a hometown visit, crooner Sam Smith was her duet partner. Singer-songwriter Amanda Shires accompanied Lauper in Washington, D.C.
At State Farm Arena, R&B legend Chaka Khan popped in for a surprise appearance but appeared like she only knew “Time After Time” in passing, botching the lyrics and the melody. At one point, it was clear Chaka Khan was reading off a teleprompter karaoke style.
For Lauper’s encore, she spent two songs at a specially designed stage in the center of State Farm Arena created by Brooklyn artist Daniel Wertzel where fans blow a piece of fabric around in mesmerizingly random fashion. (Think the plastic grocery bag in the 1999 film “American Beauty” but much prettier.) During “True Colors,” Lauper held an oversize rainbow-colored scarf and let it fly above her and sometimes on her.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@a
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@a
Lauper finished with her signature anthem “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and honored renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. “She was doing things that were off the charts,” Lauper said. “She takes the energy of the universe and puts them into dots. She releases those dots to the sky with love. Picture a pink light that goes up and all dots inside you swirling about to bring a lot of love to this place.”
Her entire band wore matching white clothes with red dots, attacking the song with gusto and callbacks galore, bringing a final jolt of joy to a sated audience.
“Take care,” Lauper concluded. “See you in the next chapter.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@a
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@a
