December 19, 2009. I can't believe I'm seeing Cher in Las Vegas, in Rear Orchestra seats. The closest seats I've ever had to Cher. I've seen Cher 7 times before Las Vegas. I'll never forget the first time I saw her, August 1999 in Mt. View California, it was a dream come true! I saw the "Do You Believe" Tour 3 times and the never ending "Farewell Tour" four times. Both tours were fantastic, giving the audience just what we wanted, needed and expected! Compared to Cher's Vegas act, those tours were just a warm up. Any production can be bigger and better when it's planted rather than on the move, and Cher does not disappoint. Even her opening number which hasn't changed in the last ten years takes on a new spin as Cher comes in from the side, still singing U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", breathing fresh life into her entrance with a Vegas worthy outfit and dangling over the audience, giving us all a close up view before the "death trap" as she refers to it, moves back and Cher walks out on stage. I am pleased to say, the Vegas show was not a rehash of the same material from the tours. Of course, some of the songs are done again, in a fresh new way. Cher brings out a giant closet which she comes in and out of for different songs, stating every time she steps out of the closet, she's younger. Included in the "closet" segment are "Dark Lady", "Gypies, Tramps and Thieves", "All I Really Want To Do", "Half Breed" and "Dark Lady". The videos shown are new and never before seen, Sonny is of course included and Cher sings a duet with a video of Sonny, there's a conversation with alter ego Laverne, who determines she can do a better opening number than Cher - so while the set and Cher change, we see Laverne's opening number. The set opens to a 50's street scene with Cher singing "Fire Down Below", then entering a car and emerging from another car singing "Old Time Rock n Roll". As part of her 70's performance she sings part of Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way" before breaking into "Take Me Home". The dance numbers in between costume changes (a different outfit for every song) were fantastic, even better than the tours. My favorite ones were during the closet segments, especially "Half Breed" where the guys were dressed as Indians, and "Dark Lady"/"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" where the guys were dressed as...well you guessed it. The closet even turned into a Gypsy cart for this number. My favorite number by far was when Cher rose from the floor and stepped out of a giant ball type thing singing "Love Hurts". This is one of my favorite Cher songs, and she gave me goosebumps hearing it live. "Believe", the standard closing for Cher was a big ol "circus" event as usual, only, bigger and better. The only downfall to the show is that it couldn't go on for 3 or 4 hours!
