Detour to Fun
When Cyndi Lauper was a young girl, women didn’t have so
many rights, at least not so many choices as they do now. In 1953 women just
waited to be married. “What do you want to go to college for,” Cyndi said her
Nana asked, in her heavy New York accent. “You’re just gonna get married.”
You can imagine that at the age of thirty when offered the
opportunity to record “Girls Just Wanna
Have Fun,” what an evolutionary process that was from the self-proclaimed
freakazoid from Queens. Now at the age of 63, Cyndi Lauper is yet again
recreating herself. On the “Detour Tour,” she’s still a lil’ more Rock ‘n Roll
than Country. But that’s a lot more Country
than before.
Detour is a cover Country
album released by Cyndi Lauper this year. That’s correct, an album of covers of
Country songs from the hay day of Country sung by 80’s pop sensation Cyndi
Lauper. Covers of songs from Wanda Jackson, Patsy Cline, and Patsy Montana to
name a few. It is a lot to take in – and a lot of fun to see performed live.
Decked out in head-to-toe leather, during a heat wave in a
theater with no AC in Santa Barbara, Cyndi was as cute as a country button and
as hard as a girl from Queens. Opening with a cover of Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel
of Love,” Cyndi’s distinctively unique vocals made it her own. But it was surprising and unexpected (to the
uninformed) coming from the pop star. What a detour indeed.
But it wasn’t all Country all night. Cyndi and her band
infused the set with many of her earlier pop hits and even a cover of Prince’s
“When You Were Mine” in recognition
of his passing. The range of songs covered during the night truly spoke to
Cyndi’s ability as a performer. Her voice seemed stronger than I ever remembered,
begging the question – how much synth did they use on artist’s voices in the
80’s? Really. Her vocal range and strength was commendable, even while dancing
around the stage and twirling on a revolving platform. At the age of 63… in all leather… under house
lights… during a heat wave in a theater with no AC.
As much as the singing impressed, it was the story telling
that really hooked the audience. Taking her time between songs to tell her
tales, Cyndi proved to be quite the comedian. She talked about “her evil
cousin, Madonna” and even related “What Would Dolly [Parton] Do” to “What Would
the Dalai Lama Do.” She infused stories of her family, speaking fondly of
watching TV with her Nana, and later watching it hopped up on sugar cereal with
her siblings. Heavily influenced by TV, Cyndi admits to reenacting Saturday
morning Country Westerns and to trying to sing “like a Country star” at first.
Cyndi then decided she sounded like she was having an “Ethel Merman sound off”
and just embraced her own sound introduced in her first band, Blue Angel. And
it works. Cyndi’s voice translates well into the country genre of that era.
Being the rock star that she is, Cyndi stopped mid-encore, insisting
that the security allow the audience to get out of their seats and dance up by
the stage. “What is this – The Mormon
Church?” Cyndi asked, again in her heavy New York accent. “People want to rock
out. I could be sitting in a chair too – but I‘m up here bustin’ my ass.” Obviously,
this detour into country hasn’t stopped this girl from just wanting to have
fun.