Dakota

After quickly looking up the setlist from the Cher Farewell Tour DVD, I am disappointed. I probably wouldn't have been if I just took what I had watched as standard.

Lots was cut and/or different from the live stage show that I saw, which has probably had a few variations since it began 300-some performances ago. Cher was on fire, it was true, and she really funny more than anything. Her opening monologue, following the spirited and impressive "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" U2 cover, was classic. After mentioning some of the names of the more recent starlets on the Top 40, the audience started booing. She seemed so surprised by this; "We're so mean inside sometimes," she said with a sigh, "What can I say; they're hoes."

Before segueing into her next number she invited her competition to "follow this, bitches." A Middle-Eastern number that's allegedly the "Gayatri Mantra" became "All or Nothing," which was pretty much like the CD. She vanished right afterward, and we saw some Cirque-like fabric dancing. She came back with "I Found Someone," which I liked more than the CD version, so that was cool. And then she vanished again! These pauses between musical numbers were really annoying, even if the next number was impressive. It was like "commercial break" after each performance.

She came back to screeching electric guitars to do yet another update on "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" that was similar to her 1987 version. The acoustics on this song were intense at times incredibly jarring. It was a very impressive performance, though, blazing red with huge headdresses.

She ran off for another costume change, but we got to watch some Sonny & Cher clips of them singing some of "The Beat Goes On," and "Baby Don't Go" and most of "I've Got You, Babe." She came out for a 4-part medley of her 60's hits, "All I Really Wanna Do," "Half-Breed," "Gypsies...," and "Dark Lady," all with the video screens showing clips of her music videos for them, and live footage from the variety show. "Dark Lady" ended so abruptly that it was annoying, but all that came before it was nice.

She decided to do a full disco version of "Take Me Home," which was okay for what it was. I've never been fond of the song, so it didn't matter much to me.

She did "Love Hurts," which was really pretty and shifted into "After All" after a long montage of her film moments. The montage continued into her song, which made me completely ignore her on stage, but it was pretty for a song I'd never really noticed before. I liked it a lot.

"Walking in Memphis" came up next (without a costume change!), which I think must have replaced "Just Like Jesse James" somewhere along the tour, because the DVD lists that. "Memphis" is one of my favorite Cher songs, so I was happy and surprised. She then moved into "In His Kiss," from Mermaids, which was a very cute, throwaway number.

She left and returned for "Strong Enough," and then "If I Could Turn Back Time," which were both very good, high-energy numbers and ended the set very well. Anyone who left in the darkness (and there were a few) was stupid because she obviously hadn't done one of her signature hits. "Believe" began a few moments later and she did indeed sing the song as opposed to fully lip-sync it (due to the electronics in her voice, I wasn't sure she was going to).

Now, the show was all very well and good, but it seemed short. So to make sure that I'm not crazy, let's recount: I Still Haven't Found..., Gayatri Mantra, All or Nothing, I Found Someone, Bang Bang, Medley, Take Me Home, Love Hurts, After All, Walking in Memphis, In His Kiss, Strong Enough, If I Could Turn Back Time, Believe. 14 songs. Which, really, isn't bad. Pop that in with all the clips and everything, and it a solid set. The DVD nixes "Memphis," but in turn has "Song for the Lonely," (after the U2 cover) "Jesse James," and "Heart of Stone" (right before "In His Kiss"). As a fan of mostly Cher's club and rock eras, I'm disappointed to see those songs cut. It doesn't matter that much, since it was a great show, but the inclusion of those songs would've made it awesome.

I did really enjoy the clips, although some were a little loud.

All the same, Cher came off as a genuine person, and that was great. Seeing her, and especially Bette Midler this past fall may have added to my Gayest Things I Could Ever Attend list, but they were really enjoyable to watch, and made me appreciate Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez that much less.

Additional notes-- her opening act was the Village People. It ranged from tolerable novelty to painful.