One week after Miley Cyrus twerked her way through Toronto, it was up to a pair of female rock icons to bring some class back to the Air Canada Centre stage. With Cher headlining, and Pat Benatar pulling her weight (and then some) with an hour-long opening set, Monday night wasn’t lacking for polished performances at the Hangar.
First up was Benatar, who provided a contrasting-but-complementary opening act to the featured performer. Where Cher provided a sensory overload with costume changes galore and ornate, over-the-top staging, Benatar offered a no-frills set featuring little in the way of spectacle, but plenty of edgy and emotive rock.
Backed by long-time guitarist and husband Neil Giraldo and an eclectic group of musical talents, the 61-year-old Benatar demonstrated a dominant vocal presence that packed as much punch as it did during her early-‘80s peak. Though many of the 14,000 in attendance were still shuffling in as she came on stage, she received a roaring ovation from a packed house by the time she hit her stride with a string of hits, including “We Belong,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “Love Is a Battlefield,” before wrapping up her night with “Heartbreaker” blended together with a pop cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”
The sound and energy of Benatar’s set would have been difficult for any performer to match and, in all fairness, I had to wonder how Cher would follow her formidable opener. The good thing about Cher, though, is that her live show goes so far beyond her own performance.
Not that her performance left much to be desired, mind you. The 67-year-old is (understandably) a step or two less mobile than I remember her being during her most recent ‘Farewell’ tour. However, one of rock’s most distinctive voices is still as clear as ever, with a larger than-life personality to match. Continuously toying with the audience and shifting between feigning humility and serving up a dose of diva-sized ego, she proudly observed at one point, “I can still fit into my ‘Turn Back Time’ costume and I’m almost 100.”
But Cher serves as a secondary star, even during her own performance, to the colourful costumes and stage designs that accompany her—there's a reason why it's called the 'Dressed to Kill" tour. As she first emerged on-stage to the opening notes of “Woman’s World,” it was hard to tell if the ensuing ovation was directed at her, the song, or the elaborate Greco-Roman-themed stage that revealed itself. Later in the set, the show was transported back to the ‘60s as a psychedelic backdrop set the tone for “The Beat Goes On” and a (somewhat creepy) digitally-remastered Sonny Bono took part in a duet with Cher on “I Got You Babe.”
Her presence wasn’t even required for some of the night’s high points, as a continual reel of some of her career highlights – presented on numerous screens around the venue and even on the elegant curtains featured on the stage – were met with eager applause. The video montages were necessary—if not to afford Cher a break or two during the 100-minute set then to allow for one of the countless costume changes that took place.
Whether you were there to experience the aura of Cher, hear her one-of-a-kind voice, absorb the mesmerizing costume and stage designs or simply to witness two rock femme fatales do their thing, it was a good night to be a music lover at the ACC.
