Cyndi Lauper - concert report

Some had already given up hope that such a concert would ever take place. Others probably didn’t believe it until the very end, even after it had been announced—after all, how many times have we heard of events that were almost canceled or postponed at the last minute due to the artists’ unavailability? Fortunately, however, what Cyndi Lauper herself had often joked about proved true: that—just like her friend Cher—she is indestructible on stage. And with her characteristic energy, she treated the audience at Atlas Arena to an outstanding, nearly two-hour-long show.

In the promotional materials for the tour, the artist—who is, after all, also well known for her work in musicals—announced that she and her band were preparing a unique show, polished to perfection in every detail. And that is exactly what we saw in Łódź. It began with a dynamic intro, as the main video screen, positioned just behind the stage, showed Cyndi at various stages of her illustrious career. Even this brief segment foreshadowed that a lot was about to happen under the roof of the largest arena in this part of the country—and the minutes that followed confirmed it.

As for the setlist itself, there weren’t really any surprises. To greet the audience, the American singer performed “She Bop”—one of the songs that made her history as the first artist to have four singles from her debut album reach the top five of the prestigious Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song was followed by the long-awaited greeting to the Polish audience—you could feel that it wasn’t just the fans who had been waiting for this very moment. The artist herself seemed very happy that she had managed to visit our country, at least during her farewell tour. Not only did Cyndi, with obvious embarrassment, start apologizing and explaining why she had never visited us before, but she also searched for Polish connections in her biography (which, incidentally, she did several more times during the concert). And, clearly embarrassed, she apologized for not being able to say anything in Polish. Yet she could just as easily have simply walked out on stage, thrown out some clichéd “dzen dobry” or “hello Lodz,” played her songs one by one, and disappeared into the comfort of her cozy dressing room…

Meanwhile, the audience was unanimous in its opinion: Cyndi acted as if she wanted not only to present the material in the best possible light, but also to share as much as she could about herself—thus trying to make up for the years she’d been away from us since her stage debut. Thanks to this, the concert was truly multifaceted—it was fun, nostalgic, inspiring, and… the list goes on. And, of course, this was accompanied by appropriately selected visual effects on the big screen and costumes. Suffice it to say that Lauper changed outfits for the first time after just the third song—“When You Were Mine” from Prince’s catalog. In the meantime, “The Goonie ‘R’ Good Enough” was also performed, reminding us in turn of the artist’s strong ties to the film industry.

After that, time seemed to fly by even faster at Atlas Arena. First, the original performance of “I Drove All Night” made a huge impression—a song younger fans surely recognize much better thanks to Celine Dion’s later version. Then the melancholic “Who Let In the Rain” stole the audience’s hearts, with huge raindrops on the big screens. Then the temperature rose again when Cyndi and her accompanying musicians, with drums and other traditional instruments, transported us to Africa with their performance of “Iko Iko” from the repertoire of Sugar Boy and His Cane Cutters.

For this American artist, who is rightly regarded as a feminist icon, references to the first women to top the charts were a must. Before performing “Funnel of Love”—originally sung by Wanda Jackson—she reminded the audience that women had reached number one even before Elvis Presley. During this song, practically everyone in the hall was dancing to the rhythm of the melody, only to listen, after a few moments, with rapt attention and emotion to the ballad “Sally’s Pigeons,” whose lyrics are based on childhood memories of the New York-born singer. The reflective mood didn’t last long, however, as the next song on the setlist was “I’m Gonna Be Strong,” written by Frankie Laine, who—interestingly—like Lauper, had Italian roots. And this was certainly one of those songs where we could clearly appreciate the power of Cindy Lauper’s four (some sources even say five) octaves.

The end of the top ten took a slightly more alternative turn with “Sisters of Avalon,” the title track from the album that Friday night’s headliner released in the late ’90s. This was followed by a return to the previous decade—specifically, the mid-’80s—when Lauper competed with Madonna for the title of queen of pop. Maybe I’m not being objective, because “Change of Heart” is one of my favorite Cyndi songs, but I still feel that it’s one of the most underrated gems in her musical catalog today—judging even just by the number of views on YouTube…

As the penultimate song on the main setlist, the star of the evening performed “Time After Time,” a song that needs no introduction. Within seconds, the lights from cell phone flashlights lit up the Atlas Arena, and several thousand people sang along with the artist to one of her biggest hits. Without a doubt, it was one of those moments that will remain in the minds of concertgoers for a long time to come. And before the American singer said goodbye for the first time that day, she delivered a stunning performance of “Money Changes Everything”—her own interpretation of The Brains’ song and another standout track from her debut album “She’s So Unusual” (which, as a reminder, went multi-platinum).

As the final notes faded away, Lauper disappeared backstage with her band, but no one moved from their seats toward the exit. For one thing, everyone could see that the 71-year-old was in great shape. And for another—everyone realized that this wasn’t the end of the evening’s magical moments. That there were at least two more to come…

And they were. Before the moving finale, the American singer treated us to “Shine,” which was both a musical trip back to the early 2000s and a nod to her eighth album (of the same title). For Cyndi, it was also a perfect opportunity to make a trip into… the audience—high-fiving fans sitting at the edge of the rows, the artist made her way to a specially prepared second stage, where she finished the song. There, she performed the next one and once again delighted the audience gathered in Łódź. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that the message of “True Colors” and Lauper’s one-of-a-kind vocal tone gave most of the guests goosebumps. And the sight of the artist holding a colorful scarf billowing in the breeze from specially prepared fans is yet another image that will long be associated with her concert at Atlas Arena.

By the very end of the performance, it was hard to find anyone in the venue who was still sitting in their seat. But it couldn’t have been any other way, because as soon as the first notes of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” blared from the speakers and the star began making her way back to the main stage, an enthusiastic squeal rang out from the audience, quickly followed by all sorts of dancing. But did anyone even doubt that it could be any other way? After all, it’s a massive hit that launched Lauper’s global career and whose popularity hasn’t waned over the years. Just consider that the music video for this song on the artist’s official YouTube channel has been viewed over 1.5 billion times to date, placing Cyndi among the absolute global elite. Young and old alike sang along, fully aware that they were part of an event that might never happen again. Similar feelings likely accompanied the singer herself, who made no secret of the fact that while greeting our country, she was also immediately saying goodbye to it as a singer. Though after what we saw, surely few would complain if Lauper changed her mind and let herself be persuaded to do one more round of a farewell tour across Europe.

At the Atlas Arena, Cyndi proved herself to be an outstanding artist. It was no coincidence that she was invited, alongside a constellation of stars, to record the anthem “USA for Africa” (by the way, this July you’ll be able to hear Lionel Richie—another participant in that exceptional project—in Łódź). Nor was it a coincidence that Roger Waters invited her to perform the legendary “The Wall” after the fall of the Berlin Wall just across our western border. And that’s just the beginning of a list filled with countless awards, successful tours (including those with Tina Turner and Cher), and off-stage achievements… But what is worth emphasizing is that with her performance, Lauper also proved that despite all these achievements, she still maintains a great sense of perspective and ease. It was futile to look for the traits of a capricious star in her, which is by no means the norm among performers of the younger generation. Instead, modesty and authenticity prevailed, including a genuine joy in the opportunity to be here and now. That’s how we valued her while waiting for her. And that’s how we’ll remember her—in the hope that she’ll still surprise us with something as an artist in the future!