Another Farewell
Back in 2002 I went to Las Vegas to see Cher in her farewell tour. It was a fabulous show with Cyndy Lauper as an energized opening act. Cher had a schtick at the beginning of the show where she said she had been a “fricken’ Diva” for forty years and that she had killed it in that role. This was classic Cher show of extreme self-confidence, the sort of thing only a lithe, beautiful, successful, famous woman who has outlasted all her peers and then some can wear quite well. She was telling the audience, who she addresses like an old friend on an ad-libbed basis, that she was tired of carrying the Diva banner and that it was time for the other pretenders to the throne like Madonna or Britney to take over. She ended the soliloquy by saying with the utmost panache, “Follow this, ya bitches!” That’s when the show started for real.
And here’s the thing, the only one that’s even come close to following her act is Lady Gaga, who has how enhanced her singing career with a movie role in A Star is Born with Bradley Cooper. Madonna, Britney, Beyonce, Whitney (RIP), Taylor, Mariah, Christina, Rihanna. None of them rise to the occasion though Whitney had a shot. There is significance in staying power in this game and no one has stayed center-stage for as long as Cher.
Since 2005 (her first farewell tour took three years), Cher has held two more farewell tours. Last night we attended the latest of her farewell performances at Madison Square Garden for her Here We Go Again Tour, which runs through March 2020. In between she also had a 2014 Dressed to Kill Tour, which I didn’t get a chance to see. At this stage, even Cher makes fun of her “farewell” tours. She is now proudly 73 years old and looking great, and still she makes jokes about saving things for her next farewell tour. Admittedly, she does not exactly jump around the stage, but I’m not sure I ever saw her do that anyway. She does do dance steps and swing her hips like a youngster. In general, any of us would be happy to be in the shape she is in at age 73.
I, on the other hand, am getting way too old to go to concerts…at least sitting in the mosh pit of the fourth row, like we did last night. The chairs are uncomfortable folding chairs, the bathrooms and refreshments are too far away to be comfortable. If you’re not on the aisle you must disrupt everyone to get out. I recognize that these are all “old guy” complaints, but I guess that’s where I am. The opening act last night was the band Chic, which sang such crowd-pleasers as Dance, Dance, Dance, Everybody Dance, Le Freak, and Good Times. It was inspiring, but loud.
I have been a big Cher fan for years. I liked her in her old Sonny & Cher days and religiously watched their TV show. As she went on, I ignored her during her Gregg Allman days and now that seems like an after-thought anyway. A big part of her show is dedicated to her days with Sonny. It might be argued that it’s included for audience purposes, but I get the feeling that he was her one true love and she speaks about him with the reverence to show that. What I admired as much as anything about Cher’s career was her great movie roles.
Our floor neighbors here in our apartment are huge Cher fans. They have two black standard poodles that are named Dolly and Loretta. We initially assumed the guys were country music fans (Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn), but their fanship for Cher extended to their calling their poodles after Cher’s most famous movie roles, Dolly Pelliker from Silkwood and Loretta Castorini from Moonstruck. Both of those movies are among my favorites, as is her role with Eric Stoltz in Mask, and her fantastic role as Mrs. Flax in Mermaids. Cher has a more accomplished film career than most people remember. She did 64 films, has a best actress Oscar and several more nominations. Her breadth of talent never ceases to amaze me.
During this show they seem to highlight her TV show and her movies. I found myself wondering why she was singing ABBA songs and then Kim reminded me of her recent role as the grandmother in Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, a name that sounds made for Cher. Cher has been such a phenomenon for so long that she really can’t rely on studio work and online sales to keep her career going. Indeed, her physical presence has always been a big part of her appeal, so its not hard to understand why live performances have become such an important part of her presence.
Music careers these days can be built without live performances, but there is a lot to be said about creating a following and an audience for your music by touring live. It must be hard work, but its impact is far more lasting than a downloaded song that may come and go with equal ease. Think about the security questions you are asked when setting up a new online account one the first security questions you will be asked is what concert was the first one you saw. That is a big indicator about the memorability of live touring music. In the summer of 1971 I was seventeen and out on my own in between high school in Rome and college at Cornell. I was taken to my first concert by a secretary in the Sociology Department, where I was doing summer work as a research assistant. I went to see a performer I had never heard of, some guy named Cat Stevens. This was Cleveland, 1971 and without knowing it I was at the epicenter of Rock n’ Roll history. You can’t buy that sort of memory and I will forever be a Cat Stevens fan as testament to the impact of live music performances. Now you all know one of my security question answers.
I have been an Elton John fan since 1970, having heard his Tumbleweed Connection album while I was in high school. I went years and years listening to Elton John’s music, but I missed his concert at Cornell for some reason (truth be told, I wasn’t a big concert-goer). A few years ago we spent a few weeks in a rented villa outside of Rome. It was a great way for me to reconnect to my roots from my high school years in Rome. It was particularly fun to see my youngest son living in Trastevere for the summer while he took Cornell extension courses. It felt like he was reliving my life, discovering the joys of the ancient city at the same age as I had done fifty years before. The most memorable moment of that visit was when we went to see Elton John in concert in the Terme de Caracalla, the ruins of the old baths at the foot of the Aventine Hill. Few moments are more memorable than that and it wasn’t even Elton’s farewell tour.
I am going through my own mini farewell tour of New York right now so it was great to go to Cher’s latest farewell. I guess that’s the best part of saying farewell, it never has to be the last farewell until it is.
