I went to see Cher last night at Caesars. It was never really on my to do list, but a free ticket popped up late so I decided to take it. I haven't really kept up with what she has been doing the last 30 years, except when she does something so extreme that it makes the news. I've never seen her in a movie, never bought one of her albums since she left Sonny, and the only time I've seen her was in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1975 when I went to an Allman Brothers Band concert and she was dating Greg Allman. She didn't do much except fall around the stage like a drunken groupie. I walked through the Cher gift shop to try to get a feel of where she's coming from. I don't think it worked.

I was expecting lots of glitz and costume changes, and to that point I was not surprised nor impressed. When you first walk into the showroom there is a video of flying through space with planets and stars and galaxies passing by. It's a really short video on continuous loop, so if you get to your seat 20 minutes early and the show starts 20 minutes late, you see the whole thing at least 10 times. It gets old...fast.

Cher enters the stage flying down in a glitzy basket singing a song. Then she talks about 10 minutes about how famous she is, how good she looks, and how straight men hate her. She tried to make all of that into a joke, but it's obvious she is very proud of herself. Then it's a video for a costume change, a shortened song or two, then another video for another costume change, then another shortened song or two. And that goes on for about 14 costume changes.

I might not agree, but I kinda get it. That's what the people want to see. She makes the news when she does outrageous things and wears outrageous things. So with a multimillion dollar stage production and some costumes that you can't really wear in public, that's the show. She has a guitar player, a bass player, a drummer, two keyboards, and two back up singers, plus several dancers. And many of the songs she sang are songs that she did not make famous.

I thought that Cher's voice was very monotone. It might have been an off night, she might be getting old, or she might be protecting it from the desert dryness. I think she's probably getting old at 64 and is losing her voice. She's not as bad a Wayne Newton, although it seems like she's on that path. It's easy to hear the difference when the videos play her singing and when she sings live. She has much more range in the videos. I also think it's an age thing because she doesn't have much spring in her step, even when she probably wants to. And she seemed a little weak on head gear. She was big on wigs and small hats, but not that tall outrageous stuff in the pictures. The doctors have done a good job keeping her young looking…to a degree. I think that "soon" would be a good time for her to retire gracefully, because if she starts to look older, gains some weight, and loses her voice, her ego could make her crash hard. I know what getting old feels like and if I had an ego about it, it would hurt more.

On the positive side, the production is big, it's got lights, music, dancing, and Cher. It has acrobats. It has 2 strong guys that balance on each other, it has people swinging around on fabric, and it has aerial hoops. The show has outrageous fashion statements. It could easily be considered a festive atmosphere.

I re-read will800s report on the show and I see where he's coming from. I also re-read Mike D's latest review of the show and I can easily see where he is coming from. Being somewhere inbetween, my favorite parts were some of the videos of the old days with Sonny before they got their TV show.

I forget what I wrote in my original Cher review, but I still firmly believe that singers should be heard ..... but never seen.

I did go to the Debbie Rynolds show at South Point recently for old times sake but I was ready to leave after ten minutes of Debbie-ness.

Good singers are great to listen to.

But that's about it!

will, you said something about it being kinda fake Cirgue-like and you said it needed some kind of transition for her costume changes such as magician. At least that's what I got out of your post, and I saw that on stage.

OTOH, it seemed like Mike was fully enveloped in the festivities of one heck of a production where the glitz and glamor of Cher was the centerpiece. And it was a huge production, no matter what you think a singer should do or not do.

And while I think Cher is on the decline and should retire, I'm open to the possibility that I saw her on an off night. I'd love for her to prove me wrong and see her 15 years from now doing the same thing with more energy and more vocal range than what I saw.

I always love it when people have different opinions!

I went to see that show with no expectations at all and it absolutely hooked me in. I had never seen Cher in concert before, even though I had many opportunities over the years - she just never interested me. But when she was playing at Caesar's, I thought I'd give it a try.

I had been a fan of Sonny and Cher in my younger days. I used to love their TV show. Since I'm a movie buff, I had seen most of her movies.

I think what I liked most about this show was that they brought you a historical perspective of her career. She's done a lot, she's been through a lot. Good or bad, she's a survivor.

I loved how they used the giant LED screen in the theater to full effect - showing you all aspects of her life. I thought the live band sounded great and I loved how they were on a moving platform that came in and out. Cher is known for her multiple costume changes - some more outrageous than others - and they played that to full effect and I found that very funny. I like that she's not afraid to laugh at herself.

And when I saw the show, I thought she was in great voice. At first I thought she was lip-syncing, but I don't think she was. I thought she sounded great. The clips of her TV show, her movies, her life with sonny, and some of the music she sang brought back great memories for me.

As I said, the whole thing hooked me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This is what makes America great . We each have our own thoughts about Cher and that is cool. We are the same age as Cher is and we did see her concert the last Vegas trip. My questions are what other one person in their mid sixtys still pack people in at every concert ? Now other than Reba what other person has appeared in so many different forms of entertainment and still look great after all these decades ? We found her funny and very entertaining and her voice still sounded great for being her age but most of all Cher moved at the same speed on stage as all of the other dancers that were more than half her age. My final question is for all those people out there that are around her age think about this. Can you say your weight has not increased in thirty years ? Can you still move around now as you did then ? For short before talking about another persons appearence LOOK IN THE MIRROR.

vegas talker

Some parts of Cher aren't the same age as other parts. <vbg> I think Cher is about the same age as Bette Midler, who did well at Caesars.

As for me, I'm showing my age.