MUSIC PREVIEW: Cher and Cher alike
You can’t be too mad at Cher – who retired and then changed her mind, not once, not twice, but thrice!
At least she has a healthy sense of humour about it. The show coming to Rogers Place on Saturday night is part of the “Here We Go Again” tour.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: On Tuesday night in Winnipeg, Cher was forced to cancel the show just hours before stage time – due to a “sudden short-term illness.” Promoters have made assurances the show in Edmonton will go ahead as scheduled.)
Fans compelled to see Cher on her last two farewell tours because they might not have gotten a chance to see her again aren’t going to mind seeing her … again. Here’s the bonus: She’s singing ABBA songs! This in keeping with her latter-day-yet-again stardom at the age 73, star of the movie Dancing Queen, and her new ABBA covers album of the same name.
A quick Cher history reveals more career upheavals, revivals and reinventions than … well, there really isn’t any adequate comparison … other than Cher herself.
Sonny & Cher started in the 1960s, first as a folk duo famous for I Got You, Babe, and later a TV show; she went solo to some success in the 1970s with songs like Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, had her own TV show, went to Broadway, starred in movies – and turned out to be a better actor than singer. She won an Oscar for Moonstruck in 1987. Her first “comeback” (or by now maybe the second) was the 1998 smash hit Believe, considered the first pop hit to feature that “Over-Auto-Tune” effect that’s overused to this day. Thanks a bunch, Cher. Huge tours followed, then a farewell tour, then another comeback tour; there were some health issues and personal setbacks here and there, but also a new Cher perfume line, and yada yada yada ABBA!
Now this will be something you’ll never see again … probably.
Opening the show at 8 pm will be the legendary Nile Rodgers & CHIC.
Advance tickets are $97 to $425.
Thursday 23
SonReal – If country can get in deep with hip hop, why not folk with rap? This Canadian was way ahead of the game on that mash-up, crafting his wry and witty mix of dope rhymes and sensitive singer-songwriter back in ought-eight. His early mix-tapes paved the way for later success; his latest studio album is The Aaron LP. DJ Rich-A opens the show at the Starlite Room at 8 pm, tickets from $21.
Friday 24
Orville Peck – They call him the “masked gay cowboy crooner” – and you had us at crooner. Hailing from parts unknown, and usually performing behind of a mask of strings (like Sia with her hair), this mysterious artist is looking to explode a few stereotypes of the conservative country music establishment with the release of his LGBTQ-friendly debut album, Pony. The Bobby Tenderloin Universe opens the show at the Starlite Room at 8 pm. Tickets $13 and up.
Stewart Copeland’s Orchestral Ben-Hur – The drummer for The Police has taken on an ambitious project: Composing and scoring an original soundtrack for 1925 film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the most expensive silent movie ever made – and then taking it on tour. With the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the show comes to the Winspear Centre Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm. Tickets from $24
Saturday 25
The Planet Smashers – There’s nothing like ska to make you feel good: The brisk offbeat groove, like a funk tune turned inside out; the delicious squirts of organ, the stirring blat of the horns, and the political commentary that doesn’t sound so much like political commentary when it’s rendered into such happy shiny melodies. This skanktastic band has been the pride of Montreal since the 1990s, and tours Canada to support their 10th studio album, Too Much Information. K-Man and the 45s opens the show at the Station on Jasper. 7 pm, advance tickets $19
Sunday 26
Emergency Church Meeting! – This is an odd title for a show that actually features the captivating Billie Zizi as the headliner, on stage with Hush Hush Noise, and Tanyss Nixi. No explanation in the show press about either the emergency or the church, or what one has to do with the other. Find out at the Aviary – 6:30 pm, $10 advance
