Cher: Here We Go Again

Cher Live in NYC

After months of excitement and anticipation, I found myself at Barclay's Center waiting for the iconic and age-defying Cher to take to the stage (for the second time!).  Although the seats were pretty high up, we still had a great view of the stage - the biggest problem was actually the giant speaker hanging down from the ceiling which partially obscured the view of the main background screen.  Nevertheless, one doesn't need a perfect view to enjoy the electricfying energy and unadulterated fun that is a Cher show.

In the tour book (well worth a purchase with it's beautiful photos of the diva in spectacular outfits and equally incredible wigs, some of which are on textured pages), she pokes fun at her decision to go on tour after several farewell tours, which reads like something she might tweet:  "I want you to be there at my 'honest to goodness, no doubt about it, one and only, I'm not kidding (I can't believe I was kidding?), you 'have' seen the last of me (I lied) 'you haven't seen the last of me', 'here I go again...here we go again!!!" (most likely, c'mon you knew I'd be back) farewell, farewell, FAREWELL Tour.

The show itself was an amalgamation of some of her previous tours, specifically the original Farewell Tour (for example, Hindi Cher perched on top of a giant mechanical elephant for All or Nothing) and the Dressed to Kill Tour from 2014 (the near-naked silver sparkly ensemble with the red heart on her boob for a high-energy finale of Believe).  When she strutted onto stage in yet another iconic look, the revealing body suit and black jacket reminiscent of the one from the If I Could Turn Back Time video, the audience were on their feet immediately, screaming with excitement.

There were of course some new additions to the show, inspired by her role in Mama Mia 2 and the subsequent album of ABBA covers, Dancing Queen.  I will admit I was a little disappointed that she only performed three songs from this album, namely SOS, Waterloo and Fernando (the latter was my favourite with a stunning night sky backdrop and a shower of fireworks).  But no Gimme Gimme Gimme or Mama Mia?  There was also a sequence of scenes and iconic lines from her illustrious film career ("Snap out of it!") which delighted the audience and an always emotional rendition of I Got You Babe, featuring images of Sonny on the screen.

Whether or not this is truly her final tour remains to be seen but I'm grateful that I have had the opportunity to experience the magic of Cher twice in my lifetime.

The complete setlist was as follows:
Woman's World
Strong Enough
Gayatri Mantra
All or Nothing
The Beat Goes On
I Got You Babe
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me
Welcome to Burlesque
Lie to Me
Waterloo
SOS
Fernando
After All
Walking in Memphis
The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)
I Found Someone
If I Could Turn Back Time
Encore:
Believe