Cher - Dressed to Kill

I experienced an Icon.  Not just a Diva, but an Icon.  Capital I.  Yes she is and yes I did.

I went to a Cher concert and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Am I a big fan?  Not necessarily, but I do enjoy watching an entertainment brand in action, along with history in the making.  Cher is a brand that started in the 1960's, has reinvented many times along the way, and is just as vibrant now many decades (yes, decades) later.  A brand that, despite ups and downs and lots of curve balls, has remained true to herself and consistently, well, Cher.  A brand that has been criticized for not being a great singer, nor an actor, nor a Mother even.  A brand that stuck to her guns every step of the way.

The woman is amazing.  Signature songs, signature dresses, signature voice, signature staging ... it's the "Cher-ist Show on Earth!"  No one else could possibly pull it off.

Seriously, the woman is one-of-a-kind.  Her voice is in top form as is her body, squeezing into a "Turn Back Time"-inspired body suit, hitting every dramatic element of the song.  Every song.  Wow.

Highlights included a retro-duet with Sonny (brought a tear, I have to say), a Trojan Horse, "I Found Someone," and her finale which put her out over the audience in a cage-like contraption while singing her new song "I Hope You Find It."  Beautiful, stunning actually.  It felt like she really did want us to find our own happiness.  Right back at 'ya, Cher.

The joke of the evening was the fact that this is her second, never-ending farewell tour, as if we would ever let her retire.  We will never let her go, and she relishes in it.

The best-est of the best-est part?  The audience.  What a mix, literally.  There were much older people in wheel chairs and oxygen tanks.  I mean it!  There were gay men and all their friends.  There were women of all age, dressed in sequins, feathers, and beads.  There were adult couples of every certain age out for a night on the town.  And there were twenty-somethings most likely drawn in by her newest music.  It was amazing.

Even if you're not a fan, you can't deny the woman's pop culture impact.  And her ability to be her own brand.  I even wrote about her in my latest book on personal branding, and I'm not even necessarily a big fan.  But I am a big fan of big brands.

If you haven't experienced Cher, I highly recommend witnessing an Icon in action.

What's your experience?  JIM.