Cyndi Lauper sings ‘Time After Time’ with Sam Smith on farewell tour

Three days after former President/Felon Donald Trump staged a vindictive race-baiting rally at Madison Square Garden, music icon and champion of LGBTQ and women’s rights Cyndi Lauper attempted to sanitize New York on Wednesday Air (October 30) at the city’s iconic venue during her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun farewell tour.

“It’s time [women] Start taking a step forward and vote for ourselves. We need equality — and I’m not going back, that’s for sure,” she said earlier in the evening, before referring to Sunday night’s MAGA rally: “We need a lot of love tonight to dispel a lot of hate. I didn’t want to That’s what I said, but then I said it,” she added with an unapologetic shrug. She’s also true to her word, donating proceeds from her merch table wig sales to the Tides Foundation’s Girls Just Want Fundamental Rights Fund, which provides funds for “safe and legal abortion… women’s health care, prenatal “Raise funds. Nursing, Postpartum Care, Cancer Screening – Women’s Health. ”

The Billboard Hot 100-topping, EGT-winning music icon never shies away from speaking out on politics, creativity and music, and the world is a better place because of it. So while Cyndi Lauper’s farewell tour was a bittersweet affair (one audience member screamed an emphatic “NO!” when she talked about it being her last major trek), you can’t blame her for being on the road. Want to get out while still in peak musical condition.

At 71, Lauper has not lost the unique power of her voice. She roared through “She Bop,” belted out “I Drove All Night” with 100-mile-per-hour passion, and delivered a stunning rendition of Prince’s “When You Were Mine,” her voice fragile but formidable. For those ’80s classics, her band, led by musical director William Wittman, played on the classic debut that launched her career she is unusual (1983) – judiciously stays close to the original arrangements, giving the material a crackling new wave punch rather than trying to recast them through a modern lens. When you hear these songs, you’re going to want those floating synths, fast percussion, and bright guitars—not to mention the beautiful recorder solo on “She Bop” that Lauper himself performed on stage .

Having such a tight and well-oiled band also gives Lauper the freedom to stretch her voice and relax her body – something that’s evident at the end of the stunning “Money Changes Everything,” when she raps on the chorus Hitting out various riffs while rolling on the ground.

Lauper’s setlist didn’t deviate from the hits, but half the fun of the show came from her off-the-cuff banter, delivered in that indelible, no-nonsense Brooklyn style. “I still can’t parallel park,” she quipped after “I Drove All Night.” While sharing a story about a famous actor, he told her that he was The Goonies, She assured the audience that she would never name names, then paused and said “Andrew Garfield” before launching into a peppy rendition of “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough”; before introducing her pre-fame band Blue When Angel sang a cover of Gene Pitney’s “I’m Gonna Be Strong,” she joked about how difficult it was to figure out the song before learning the appropriate key changes: “I was trying to sing like him and I sounded a little bit Like Ethel Merman, Lauper rolls her eyes, makes faces, and spits quips out of the corners of her mouth, and she’s a naturally funny person who has no problem holding the audience’s attention (a pity for the 1988 adventure comedy). resonanceThe movie she starred in alongside Jeff Goldblum and Peter Falk bombed at the box office, and because her performance in the movie was so damn good – you can’t help but wish she’d do more big screen work.

Like many funny people, Lauper can use humor to deliver an emotional punch. “Can you imagine if a man could get pregnant?” she asked before singing “Sally’s Dove,” a harrowing story inspired by real life about a back-alley abortion that ultimately resulted in death. “What did Gloria Steinem say? This will be a sacrament.” Lauper’s eyes sparkled as she performed “True Colors” on a small stage in the center of the stage, a colorful scarf in the air. Twisted; the long pause after she sings the final line “Don’t be afraid” is particularly poignant.

Of course, “Time After Time” had more than a few people wiping their eyes, not to mention when surprise guest Sam Smith came out to join Lauper on the Hot 100 No. 1, blending their dulcet tones with hers. They were all stunned with surprise. (Smith watched the rest of the show attentively from the side of the stage.)

The show naturally ended with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” which Lauper performed in a red polka-dot costume by Yayoi Kusama. After singing the lines of “boy” [who] Took a beautiful girl and hid her away from the rest of the world,” and lamented, “I want to be the one walking in the sun,” Lauper added, following Roy’s appropriately lyrical update: “Every Everyone wants to have basic rights. Before leading fans for the final chorus, she urged the crowd to give it their all: “Say it louder to get rid of all the bad energy in here,” she shouted with a smile. Based on the energy, power and joy she brought to MSG on Wednesday, it’s safe to say that under her watch the famed Manhattan arena has undergone the musical equivalent of sage burning, fumigation and reconsecration.