I have loved Cyndi Lauper since she burst onto the scene in 1983, I was 12. I was always drawn to the unusual, and she certainly was, she said so herself!
It was her voice, the music, the colour, the clothes, and the fun she was definitely having. Girls Just Want to Have Fun was an anthem then, although I didn't know that, and it still is.
When she announced this tour and it was coming to Newcastle I was excited, but then I found out it was at The Shed, I hate that venue. Some friends were thinking of going, but that fell through and I decided I would get a ticket and go solo. But then other friends decided to go and invited me, yay! And we got some really decent seats, especially given it was pretty last minute.
Because it was last minute and because it was the Monday after the Writer's Festival weekend, I hadn't really thought about expectations. We arrived and caught the last 2 songs from The Veronicas, and they seemed like a tight group with good voices.
During the break we sat and took in the crowd, a real range of ages from much older than us to young kids and everyone in between. There was a lot of dressing up and colour and so much laughter and joy. It was contagious and fun to be within. We were in the 12th row which was pretty close. Behind us was a lady with the exact same cut and colour from Girls Just Want To Have Fun film clip, it was her own hair and I was super impressed and gave her two thumbs up, lol!
I read a review a few days later that said it was more than your average concert, and that was an understatement.
The vibe was high as they played a video montage of her career, and the enormity of Cyndi as an artist really sank in, I got emotional and very excited.
The huge glitter bombs popped on stage and she appeared and got straight into She Bop, the perfect opener. We were on our feet and in awe.
In fact, the first 4 songs, She Bop, Goonies theme, When You Were Mine (which Prince wrote for her) and I Drove All Night, showed the powerhouse singer and range in style that she has.
Each song had videos made to go with it which added to the spectacle and her band were really tight. They were a mix of young and old and all were excellent musicians, who obviously loved being there and playing with Cyndi.
But Cyndi, she was amazing!
Almost unbelievably so.
She looked great, sounded fantastic, and told many amusing and interesting stories in between the songs. Stories of her life, her feminism, her songwriting and more.
And that accent, absolutely adorable.
ONce she swore, looked into the audience and saw kids and apologised, she was very humble and sweet.
She spoke about Molly and his support but then also mentioned he had been cancelled, which is not exactly true but close, lol.
She spoke about women in rock and how elder statesmen in the industry were dismissive of her and she ratted off a list of strong women who came before her. This led into her singing Wanda Jackson's Funnel of Love!
The concert was incredibly arty, and she spoke about that, from the set design, to the costumes, to the videos, it was as visual and it was musical.
She wore this amazing flowing white dress during I drove all night, to which old cars were projected, very clever. She said she wrote that, because there were so many songs about men and cars, why can't a woman write one too!
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There were many costumes changes, some funky and cute, and some extravagant and mesmerising.
She wore a washboard dress to Iko Iko, so she could get her rhythm on.
She finished the show with Time after Time, and a very rousing version of Money Changes Everything, but we knew she would be back for an encore, but we didn't realise how amazing it would be.
Just to the right of our seats, was an area, that we thought was a mixing desk, but no, it was a small stage, and for the encore she came down the aisle and went to that stage.
We were beside ourselves, we moved ever so slightly to be closer and if we had reached out we could have touched her. Grins on faces all round, we just couldn't believe our luck!!
She sung Shine, and then some fans started up and she reached into an old suitcase for a rainbow coloured long scarf, and sang True Colours and it was jaw droppingly good. Her voice, as good, if not better, it sounded as good as the record, truly beautiful and emotional moment.
Then she talked about a famous artist she had met, and I realised she meant Yayoi Kusama, and she changed into a red and white dotted dress and made her way back to the main stage to the opening strains of Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Her bands were dressed similarly and they pumped it out.
The evening ended with small cannons pushing out streamers of red and white into the crowd. Everyone was on a high, it was one of the best concerts I have seen I declared as we walked back to our car.
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Setlist
She Bop
The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
When You Were Mine
I drove all night
Who let in the rain
Iko Iko
Funnel of Love (Wanda Jackson)
Sally's pigeons
I'm gonna be strong
Sisters of Avalon
Change of heart
Time after Time
Money changes everything
Encore
Shine
True colours
Girls just want to have fun
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