Saturday night, Cher played to a sold out XCel Energy Center and as expected, it was a spectacular as much as it was a tribute to her musical career. The night featured several set changes and costume changes with elaborate stages and video clips of her six decades in the entertainment business.
Opening act Chic played a nine-song set which included its biggest hits. The audience were on their feet, signing along and dancing throughout the set. With guitarist/front-man Nile Rodgers performing with two female singers and a six-man band, the group filled out even its short set with offerings such as David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out and Upside Down,” Sister Sledge’s “He’s the Greatest Dancer” and “We Are Family” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”
The group closed with their biggest hits, 1978’s “Le Freak” and a seven-minute version of “Good Times” that segued into Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”.
Backed by a five-person band and two backup singers, and with as many as 10 gladiators/dancers with her on stage, Cher performed a 16-song show. The second song was another Dance chart hit, 1999’s “Strong Enough,” after which the singer gave a 15-minute monolog of recollections of her long career. Cher closed the monolog with asking the crowd “What’s your granny doing tonight?”.
The evening included many outfit changes (9), frequent TV, movie and assorted video clips. The clips incuded duets with Sonny Bono singing “The Beat Goes On” and “I Got You Babe”.
At 72 (Cher turns 73 on Monday), she proved that she’s not done yet, putting on a great performance. On Saturday night, Cher did seem to turn back time.
Encore: Believe
