As part of my Epic Birthday Weekend,* I saw a Cyndi Lauper concert at Spirit Mountain Casino. My friend Cara happens to be the daughter of Lauper’s drummer, and she got us tickets. (You can read her blog on the matter here.) Plus, we went back to the green room after the concert and met everyone. Here’s some random observations, in no particular order:
- Cyndi Lauper is pretty nice for being famous. She did a meet and greet/handshake thing with a line of fans after the show and let us take pictures with her (see below) while we were hanging out in the green room.
- When Cyndi Lauper takes her shoes off during a show, it means she’s about to DANCE.
- Lauper and her band played “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane. Yeah, that White Rabbit. Before the song, Lauper told the crowd about how she grew up listening to Grace Slick, whom she described as “my Cyndi Lauper.”
- Spirit Mountain Casino is not the coolest venue, especially for a high-energy show. It’s all seated (no general admission), and the staff was very insistent on not allowing people to bring drinks inside the concert area. There was a small bar set up outside the entrance, but the line was huge. Furthermore, it closed down as soon as the concert started. So, if you want to sit down and watch a show stone sober, by all means head to Spirit Mountain. That said, the show itself was great.
- The crowd was divided between middle-aged people who wanted to sit down and bob their heads and gay people who wanted to DANCE. No one loves Cyndi Lauper like the gay crowd, and Cyndi loves them back.
- Speaking of which, Lauper plugged a cool organization she helped start called Give A Damn. It’s a campaign that addresses a broad range of LGBTQ issues. Pretty cool beans. Check it out.
- Lauper’s band had a tasteful food spread backstage. For example: a fresh pineapple, chips and salsa, hummus and pita bread, one bottle of Patron, almonds, Fiji water. I’ve often thought about what I would put in my contract rider. The short-list includes Goldfish crackers, Dead Guy ale and pineapple. Definitely pineapple.
- Cyndi Lauper can play the dulcimer.
- One song had a melodica solo — by far the highlight of the show for me.
From left to right: Cyndi's drummer Sammy, Cyndi Lauper, my friends Cara (Sammy's daughter), Lyzi and Stephen and me.
*I turned 25 on Friday. Hooray for being a quarter century old.
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[...] My dates to the show were my dear friends Stephen, Lyzi, and CJ, and let me tell ya, the crew could not have been better. We danced and shmoozed and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. CJ posted some insight on the show too which you can read by clicking here: “Observations Upon Meeting Cyndi Lauper” [...]