after we spent a lot of time getting ready – amy was in a flurry of fixing our hair and putting false eyelashes on us – we got in a cab for the short ride over to the Park Theater at the  Monte Carlo for the cher concert.  it may be her final farewell tour, but i’m pretty sure this is the 3rd farewell i’ve seen.

we stopped at the buffet at the monte carlo and had to panic a little because there was a big line.  but it moved lickety split and we had oodles of time for the many delights of the buffet.

even though the buffet included pretty much all the food in the world, i didn’t overindulge too badly…except for the desserts.  which i ate all of.

i like this photo because you can see the sparkles amy sprayed into my hair.  you gotta have sparkle when seeing cher.

of course i went a little bonkers taking too many pictures, but i did whittle it waaaay down – i think i took about  a hundred, and pared it down to less than 20.

i also shot some video and i’ll try to post it although youtube will probably shut that down right away.

we were pretty darn close to the stage, so that was great.

The park theater is pretty enormous and just about sold out as far as i could tell.  online it says that seating in the theater is anywhere from 5,200 to 6,400.  either way, that’s a whole lotta people.

and of course cher made a spectacularly grand entrance from up high.

 

i mean, just think how heavy that wig must be…

there were, of course, huge screens so we could see her really close up.

she chatted a bit here and there, and one of the first things she said was “I’m 71, what’s your granny doing tonight?”

i’m writing this post on my birthday, and i’ve had a few moments of feeling old, but cher is totally inspiring.  not that i’ve ever been able to parade around in so few clothes, and i certainly won’t be doing that when i’m 71, but boy does she look good!

here’s a snippet of the opening number, until youtube takes it down.

all the costumes and sets and dancers and everything were fabulous.

here’s a little of  “gypsies tramps & thieves” – note the guy on such tall stilts!

“The Beat Goes On” – as i’m uploading these videos i already got an automated warning from youtube – but it says that i can keep my videos up if there’s an ad on them.  so if you want to watch the videos you’ll probably have to watch an ad.

she also sang a very touching “i got you babe” with the video of sonny.  touching.

i just kept thinking about how heavy all that stuff must be, but i guess that since she’s been wearing so many wigs and costumes and headdresses for so much of her life, her neck muscles, as well as the rest of her, must be very strong.

i wasn’t going to include this picture, but i realized that she’s riding in on a boat!  a barge like you’d float down a canal in Venice on.

i don’t have any good photos from this number, but the video turned out pretty nice.

this is near the end, wearing that iconic sexy little black outfit.

here’s her final number…

here she is, touching peoples’ hands after it was over.  randy says he doesn’t recall her doing that so much at any other concert of hers that he’s been to.  maybe she’s getting a little more touchy-feeling with age?

so inspiring.  she’s certainly testament to the fact that you have to keep moving, and she’s just so fabulous.  i’ll see her next farewell tour when she’s 80, and when she’s 90 –  if she keeps doing it, i’ll keep going to see her!

ok then,

mrs. one year older hughes.