Cher in Concert in Nashville - Part 2

This is the continuation of my post of April 15, 2014.  As the Cher Dressed to Kill Concert started there was a montage of video clips on a large screen on the stage.  In addition two large television screens were hanging up on each side of the stage, also zooming the scene from the stage.  When the curtain dropped, Cher, wearing an elaborate peacock inspired feather headpiece, was standing on a giant pedestal and started singing "Woman World" from her latest CD.  (Click on collage twice to enlarge.)

She sang a second song "Strong enough" without her headpiece.  I took pictures with my new small Nikon Coolpix S9700 - it has a wide angle lens and a 30X zoom.  I tried to take some videos with it, for the first time, but I moved the camera too much, only a small video is acceptable and I'll show it later (if I can figure out how to do it.)  But the 30X zoom worked very well as you can see from the close-ups below.  The picture in the center is from the video screen above the stage.

It is hard to sum up a two hour show with singing, dancing, acrobats, video clips and more.  It was not a concert really.  It was a spectacle as performed in Las Vegas.  Cher sang 19 of her hits and changed outfit ten times with assorted wigs.  It was an electric atmosphere with people standing, jumping, clapping and making noise between sets - a non-stop sensory show.  I had never seen anything like it.  She sang "I Got You Babe" in front of a video feed of Sonny Bono, her late ex-husband.  It was very touching.  Then it was a circus style stage where she appeared as a gypsy in a colorful dress, all the while smoke, lights and dancers were moving all around her.

For her song "Half Breed" number she appeared in a glamorous native Indian costume complete with floor-length headdress around a nude body stocking - a great visual effect.

In between sets there were video montages illustrating her life and performance both on the screen and on the stage.  Next came the number for the song "Welcome to Burlesque" but this was my favorite, so I'll show it at the end.  A dramatic set, with bonfires and drums was next.  Aerial acrobats performed high over the stage.

A giant gilded Trojan horse was pulled to the stage.  Cher emerged from the horse wearing a gold mini dress aka gladiator armor with blonde curls gushing all around her head and singing "Take it Like a Man."

Next came a salute to Elvis Presley in a video clip showing Cher as a child, in an Elvis-like costume, and going with her mother to an Elvis concert.  Cher then emerged on the stage wearing a black jumpsuit and singing "Walking in Memphis" with gospel style sounds in the background.

The audience stood up to watch Cher wearing an outlandish biker leather jacket, thigh-high boots and a sheer body stocking, looking like a reincarnation of her 1989 video.

In her penultimate number she burst on the stage wearing a very revealing outfit - a dress made of diamond-encrusted fringes over a nude colored body suit complete with nipple pasties.  She let the audience sing along her hit "Believe" with her and her backup singers. I took a small video and will try to place it on this post, below.

 

In between numbers she would talk to the crowd, entertaining them with stories - such as the time she was almost arrested in Nashville, and the crowd loved it.  For her last number she appeared on a platform, similar to a religious figure with her circular gold headpiece, strapped into a harness that slowly went up and glided over the arena as she was singing "I hope You Find It."  The audience was standing and most were taking photos with cell phones, cameras, and videos.  It was quite the theatrical gesture and very "Cher" - her fans cheered widly.

Along the years I have attended numerous live shows - the last ones were operas and jazz concerts.  I also attended symphonies and tango shows in Paris.  Years ago I saw live concerts in Paris too - Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Georges Brassens.  But I can't recall a show like this one.  Even the Joan Baez or Bob Dylan concerts I attended were more reserved, and the Monterey Pop Festival of June 1967 now seems so sedate.  This is not the type of shows I usually go and see but I found it quite fascinating.  This Cher concert was a non-stop sensory feast and a two-hour extravaganza.

Her contralto voice sounded better than on her CDs.  Cher is certainly a professional performer with great talent and a strong presence.  She appears to have found the secrets to eternal youth - her voice and looks seem frozen in time.  It had been a fast-paced, colorful and fabulous performance.  As we were leaving the arena I could hear fans exclaiming with enthusiasm at how fantastic, amazing and awesome the show had been - more adjectives than I can remember.  It certainly had been lavish, fast paced and camp.  We were energized as we went back to the parking area, passing numerous limousines.

I almost forgot my favorite piece, which was the "Welcome to Burlesque" number.  I don't know why I preferred it - maybe because the tune is catchy, and the backup musicians have the right sound, or maybe because as I was growing up we lived close to the naughty Pigalle area of Paris and Cher wearing a corset and pink satin-lined jacket among scantily clad dancers remind me of France.  As a teenager my parents took me along several times to the Folies Bergeres and the Moulin Rouge when they were entertaining friends from out of town or cousins from Egypt and Syria.  I did not make a video this time, but Steven Hannah of Nashville made a good one.

 Show a little more, show a little less

Add a little smoke, welcome to Burlesque

Everything you dream of but never can possess

Nothing's what it seems, welcome to Burlesque

Oh, everyone who's buying, put your money in my hand

If you got a little extra, oh well, give it to the band ...