On December 6, 2019, I had one of the most transformative experiences of my life.
I had just gotten off the train at Philadelphia and had the worst time finding my Uber driver to take me and my friend to someplace in Chinatown to eat before the show. Even this experience couldn’t hinder our spirits; we were just too excited for what awaited us to let this get us down.
That night, we journeyed to the Wells Fargo Center for a once-in-a-lifetime experience seeing the one and only Cher live for her latest tour, the Here We Go Again Tour celebrating her recent album release of ABBA covers. The show began at 8 p.m. with Nile Rodgers and Chic as the opening acts, and they entertained the audience and got them pumped up for around 45 minutes. For another 45 minutes after that, we sat and waited for Cher’s entrance as the stagehands prepared the elaborate two-story stage she’d be performing on.
Finally, a video began to play with a remix to Woman’s World, and soon Cher descended on a moving platform onto the stage and joined a group of backup dancers dressed like warriors—all while Cher was decked out in a silver, sparkly cloak and a bright sky blue wig. She then transitioned into Strong Enough, where she shed her cloak to reveal a skin-tight suit.
Once her brilliant opener was over, Cher took the next 15 minutes to talk to the audience, which felt more like a comedy routine more than anything, filled with jabs at Madonna and David Letterman, as well as herself, all in good spirit. If you’ve ever seen Cher’s incredible tweets, she’s just as funny and unpredictable in person. Frankly, I have never laughed so much at any singer’s concert. Her jokes were actually able to land and felt like they came naturally to her as opposed to an overly-rehearsed bit—probably due to her past in TV comedy.
After her comedy sketch, Cher left the stage for one of her many costume changes of the night. Personally, this stretch of songs was my favorite of the night. Even while off-stage, Cher sang the Gayatri Mantra—a Hindu prayer—live, up until she emerged from a fake elephant to finish out the song, which would immediately lead into a rendition of her b-side song All or Nothing. Even at her age of 73, Cher participated in the choreography alongside her dancers, demanding attention from the audience.
Cher then went for another costume change and came back out to give heartfelt versions of two Sonny and Cher songs: The Beat Goes On and I Got You Babe.
Cher also performed Welcome to Burlesque in a very fitting costume before the ABBA portion of her setlist. Waterloo, SOS, and Fernando were the songs she picked off of her cover album to perform live. I wasn’t personally able to enjoy Waterloo because my seat section got blasted with bright lights during the chorus, blinding me from seeing the stage. However, I rather enjoyed SOS and Fernando. SOS is my favorite cover from her album, and it was done beautifully live.
More covers followed, such as Walking in Memphis, The Shoop Shoop Song, and I Found Someone. Cher ended with If I Could Turn Back Time in a skin-tight leotard, and then gleefully skipped off-stage.
Fortunately, there was an encore. The backup dancers got some spotlight for themselves with an intensive choreography to a remix of Believe, and soon Cher came out to sing Believe, with the chorus looped over many, many times before the show truly came to its end.
Only recently have I started going to concerts, and Cher blew me away in what a concert could do for me. I laughed at her jokes, I teared up when she spoke of Sonny, I screamed her lyrics at the top of my lungs—I experienced so much in just one short night. It was an incredible feeling, and I couldn’t listen to anything but Cher for days.
I bought two shirts at the venue to commemorate the occasion, and they have quickly become my favorite shirts. My friends tell me I wear them too often, but I can’t help it. They’re infused with the memories of that night—and also they fit perfectly and are truly comfortable.
I hope I can experience another Cher concert in my lifetime, because that was the best night of my life.