True Colors Are Shining Through

Recommended beverage

to go with this show: red sangria

($9 for a big cup of yummy)

True Colors is a 15-city tour of music and comedy in support of Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which advocates fairness and opportunity for the gay and lesbian community. The concerts unite both the gay and the straight for a night of entertainment and an education in humanity. The tour, conceived of and headlined by Cyndi Lauper, brings together people from all backgrounds to oppose discrimination of any kind, promoting harmony, dignity, and equality for all.* A noble goal.

True Colors rolled through our area on June 17 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. A short video shown late in the evening about Matthew Shepard and the problem of hate crimes was especially significant in the DC area as the Senate considers passing federal hate crime legislation, namely, the Matthew Shepard Act.

Comedian Margaret Cho emceed the evening with her raunchy comedy between musical acts so there was never a lull in the five-hour show.

The evening’s music started out with two newer bands, The Gossip and Dresden Dolls. First up, the Arkansas-based garage/gospel punk trio The Gossip opened the show with power and gusto. Featuring danceable beats and experimental sounds, this eclectic band has quite a following in Europe and is headed out there on tour later this month. Singer Beth Ditto performs with a mix of rage and passion; they sounded altogether funky and fresh.

Dresden Dolls have been labeled “punk cabaret,” which is fairly accurate for a band that defies description. The Boston-based twosome, Amanda Palmer on keys/vocals and Brian Viglione on percussion and guitar, take the crowd on a unique, mad musical journey. In their short opening set, their song “Coin-Operated Boy” was particularly entertaining.

Next up was a treat as he’s only appearing on the DC and Boston dates of this tour: Rufus Wainwright. His soulful, melodic musings are a treat and so beautiful are his vocals that his sweet voice lulled me into narcolepsy for a couple of songs (I awoke refreshed!)

Then came the old-school artists, whom I remember all too well from back in my day, particularly Erasure who made me spastically dance around for an hour. First up, and somewhat of a disappointment, was “Deborah” Harry, as she’s now known. Like the two artists that would follow, Harry has new material that she wanted to unload on the crowd. Some of it was pretty decent and she did include two of her well-known solo tracks, “Rush Rush” and “French Kissin.’” But not one Blondie song? No “Rapture,” no “Tide is High,” no “Heart of Glass” no “Call Me.” Not a one. It’s time for another facelift, woman. **

Next up came the two wonderfully quirky blokes known as Erasure. Singer Andy Bell gleefully pranced and spun around the stage, and sang as flawlessly as he did two decades ago, and Vince Clarke backed him on synth/keyboard. One almost didn’t recognize Bell clothed! And he remained clothed throughout the show, only removing his ornate jacket, while keeping his t-shirt and pants on.

Erasure's set was smart. They too have a new album and played a couple songs from it, but they included a half dozen “oldie” crowd pleasers: “Blue Savannah” and “Drama!” from the Wild album; “Chains of Love” and “A Little Respect” from The Innocents; “Sometimes” from The Circus, (which tickled me pink); and “Oh L’Amour,” perhaps their most famous song, from their debut album, Wonderland. Brilliant.

Lastly, Cyndi Lauper emerged in a hat that was…large and vibrant. She succeeded if she was going after the rainbow effect. Lauper put on an fantastic show, bursting with energy, and with surprisingly strong and crisp vocals. Really, her singing doesn't at all resemble her Lawng-Island speaking voice.

Lauper's new material sounded fresh and she put a great modern spin on her arrangement of “She Bop.” She of course also included “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” in the encore, during which Rosie O’Donnell came out to play drums. (no, really. She came out earlier too to relieve Cho for one brief set of comedy. I'll leave it there).

The show’s finale was spectacular. Large, colorful beach balls floated out from the stage as many of the musicians of the night came out, joined by some people from the movement, to sing Abba’s “Take a Chance on Me,” which Erasure had covered and released as a single about a decade ago. Lauper and Bell traded off on lead vocals and the crowd chimed in. The final song, of course, was “True Colors,” with Lauper on slide guitar and singing, and the whole crowd swayed and sang along to the chorus.

A really fun night. Peace!

*While ClubD is a girl who likes boys, she opposes discrimination of any kind (with the exception of the very rude and Red Sox fans, who sometimes are one and the same).

**In response to the comment posted, yes, she did look great (probably because she's all plastic by now). My facelift jab was just mere anger at 'Debbie' not playing a single Blondie song.