Review...

Cyndi Lauper in Iceland: concert review from Fréttablaðið

"Erm, Im just here with my wife" said one of this writers pal at the bar on Sunday night, before admitting that in fact he was the one who insisted on buying tickets to the concert.

Most likely the same thing had happend to more of the almost 2000 people that showed up at Harpa for a meeting with Cyndi Lauper, the pop queen that was responsible for some of the most enduring songs of the 80s. And it is hard to imgaine that many were left dissapointed. Most people were there to hear the hits from the 80s, but they also got more then that.



With the new romantic image of Cyndi stuck in my head, it was a little weird to see the New York singer come onto the stage (possible after having a drink or two), dance like Janis Joplin and belt out some pure blues songs from her latest album Memphis Blues, which was the main part of the nights program. But the voice (and what a voice!) has lost nothing, gotten more mature and better if anything and gives the formula a brand new life.



In between Lauper threw in several crowd pleasers with great professionalism. She told long, weird stories (about grasshoppers, Fisherman's Friends throat tablets and more), talked to the audience in between songs, ran all over the hall during the songs Girls Just Want To Have Fun, She Bop and Change of Heart, got up on some of the seats and wipped to crowd in such frenzy that at one point she had to fight off an adoring fan (insert: no, it was not the Galaxy leder, just in case you were wondering).



She was excellent with the dulcimer in the beautiful "All Through The Night", "Time After Time" (that amazing song which was the highlight of the evening, even though the famous background vocals in the choprus were missing) and the final song of the evening, "True Colors". All of these songs alone would have made the concert well worth attending.



Some audience members complained about bad sound, especially at the beginning of the show, but it didnt seem to affect the overall experaince in Harpa on sunday night. Overall, this concert was fantastic entertainment. The band was a great support to the singer without taking anything away from her, and it is always enjoyable to see a fun artist who respects the audience and give their all. Well done.

Reults: Cyndi Lauper offered fantastic entertainment and gave her all.



After the concert the singer went over the street to the most popular Hot Dog stand in Reykjavik, much to the delight of customers there. Sadly I didnt dream she would appear there...

Short clip from Icelandic TV news



In Icelandic:

Tónleikar
Cyndi Lauper. Harpa 12. júní 2011.

„Ég er nú bara hérna með konunni minni, sko," muldraði kunningi undirritaðs í röðinni við barinn á sunnudagskvöldið, en viðurkenndi svo eftir stutt spjall að hann hafði sjálfur heimtað að keyptir yrðu miðar á tónleikana.

Líklegt er að svipað hafi verið uppi á teningnum hjá fleirum af þeim hátt í tvö þúsund ný-sólbrenndu andlitum sem lögðu leið sína í Hörpu til fundar við Cyndi Lauper, poppdrottninguna sem ber ábyrgð á nokkrum af varanlegustu afurðum níunda áratugarins. Væntanlega hafa fáir orðið fyrir vonbrigðum. Flestir voru mættir til að heyra eitís-hittara og fengu þá í röðum, en líka ýmislegt fleira góðgæti í kaupbæti.



Með nýrómantíkur-ímyndina af Lauper pikkfasta í höfðinu var dálítið undarlegt að sjá söngkonuna frá New York brölta inn á sviðið (hugsanlega hefur hún hresst sig við með nokkrum áfengum blöndum á undan), dansa eins og Janis Joplin og syngja hreinræktaða blús-standarda af nýjustu plötu sinni, Memphis Blues, sem voru meginuppistaða prógrammsins. En röddin (og hvílík rödd!) hefur ekkert látið á sjá, frekar þroskast og eflst ef eitthvað er, og gæðir formúluna lífi.

Inn á milli skellti Lauper „krádplíserum" af mikilli kunnáttusemi. Hún brast í langar, skrítnar en sniðugar sögur (um engisprettur, Fisherman's Friend hálstöflur og fleira), spjallaði við áhorfendur milli laga, hljóp um allan Eldborgarsal í smellunum Girls Just Want To Have Fun, She Bop og Change of Heart, klöngraðist upp á stóla og kom mörgum gestum í svo gott stuð að á einum tímapunkti neyddist hún nánast til að berja af sér æstan aðdáanda.



Þá sýndi Lauper góða takta á kjöltugítarinn í hinum gullfallegu All Through The Night, Time After Time (því stórkostlega lagi sem var hápunktur kvöldsins, jafnvel þótt röddunina frægu í viðlaginu hafi vantað) og lokalaginu True Colors. Öll hefðu þessi lög ein og sér gert tónleikana vel þess virði að sækja.

Einhverjir áhorfenda kvörtuðu yfir slæmu sándi, sérstaklega í upphafi, en það virtist ekki koma um of niður á heildarupplifuninni í Hörpu á sunnudagskvöldið. Þessir tónleikar voru í það heila fyrirtaks skemmtun. Þétt bandið studdi dyggilega við bakið á Lauper, án þess þó að trana sér fram, og alltaf er jafn ánægjulegt að sjá skemmtilega listamenn sem bera virðingu fyrir áhorfendum sínum og gefa sig alla í verkefnið. Vel gert.

Niðurstaða: Cyndi Lauper bauð upp á frábæra skemmtun í Hörpu og gaf sig alla í verkefnið.