Lovably odd pop siren Cyndi Lauper seems determined to make her True Colors tour an annual recurrence - not a bad idea. Now in its second year, the Human Rights Campaign-sponsored event offers quality entertainment with a queer twist; nothing else quite like it exists in the summer shed lineup.
The slightly under-attended opening night of the tour at the Bank of America Pavilion Saturday was harmless fun. But the gig’s overall rhythm could use some work: less between-set blather from a comically challenged MC and a different strategy for sequencing the music might make the difference.
Bronx-born Latin pop sensation Kat DeLuna opened with a pair of utterly forgettable track-sung tunes that epitomizes just what True Colors doesn’t need: low-brow hit radio bilge.
Filling in where The Gossip shook the Pavilion’s foundation last year was the gnashing, guitar-centric sound of Canadian quartet The Cliks, featuring the impressively masculine bellow of transman-vocalist Lucas Silveira.
New York-based Russian songstress Regina Spektor’s flexible pipes lent themselves well to a stunning blend of pop, new wave, cabaret and classical elements, beginning with the a cappella “Ain’t No Cover,” and finishing with “Hotel Song” featuring NYC’s Only Son (Jack Dishel) and his marvelous beatboxing. Alas, Spektor’s set was a creative high point that proved a tad demanding for the antsy crowd.
After a 20 minute break from “Queer Eye” MC Carson Kressley’s painfully campy monologue (where’s Chuck Barris and his gong when you need ’em?), Rosie O’Donnell emerged for a surprisingly sensitive comi-tragic discourse on maternal relationships and Irish-Catholic guilt. The B-52’s followed with a festive set fueled by guitarist Keith Strickland’s signature sci-fi-gone-surfing riffs, featuring a half-dozen songs from the recent “Funplex” CD. But while the new tunes were good, the B-52’s performance would’ve been better balanced with one or two more oldies.
Despite being visibly annoyed with some technical problems, Lauper turned in the evening’s best set - a mix of high-energy showmanship and quirky, powerhouse vocals. Sprinkled in between fan favorites such as “I Drove All Night,” “Change of Heart” and “She Bop” were hot tunes from her new CD, “Bring Ya to the Brink,” such as the Latin-tinted “Rockin’ Chair” and Kylie-esque electro-meltdown “Into the Night.” O’Donnell joined in on backing vocals and drums, Silveira transformed “Money Changes Everything” into a charged vocal duel, and the whole gang turned up (minus Spektor) for a cover of Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and, of course, “True Colors.”
In the end, True Colors 2008 was a fine time. But knowing that dates in other cities will include Tegan & Sara, Joan Armatrading, Wanda Sykes, Puppini Sisters, Margaret Cho, Erasure’s Andy Bell, Indigo Girls and Joan Jett makes it seem like Boston might’ve gotten shortchanged.
