MOVE: TRUE COLORS Concert Tour

MUSIC It seemed like an unusual spot to hold a concert to support human rights issues, but last night at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, NJ, the True Colors tour shone brightly with a five-act line-up that rivaled the spectrum of the rainbow. For the unfamiliar, the True Colors concert tour is a 16 city nationwide tour supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality and is presented by the Human Rights Campaign and queer TV station Logo.
Margaret Cho was the divine diva who introduced the acts and appealed to the enthusiastic crowd when using her spicy humor for fun as well as to rip into classic homophobes like the (thankfully) recently deceased Jerry Falwell. Margaret is very observant not only when pointing out inequalities but also when telling the mostly gay crowd how they love their digital cameras. Cue flashes. And she looked fabulous in a multi-colored dress, not only accenting the theme of the show but also showing off a beautiful arm-length tattoo.
First up was The Gossip, featuring the lovely and large Beth Ditto with a voice to match and more energy than anyone at the local gym. If you aren’t familiar with this band, keep them on your radar as they are wicked when mixing feminist and gay issues with hard rock. Mesmerizing alt-punk duo The Dresden Dolls (singer/pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione) added visual flavor to their eclectic sounding set that included my favorites "Coin-Operated Boy" and "Shores of California." What I’d like to know is whoever knew mime makeup could be sexy? Check out their impressive videos for these songs at YouTube.
Stage presence doesn’t come much stronger than Deborah Harry, who is quite commanding while gliding through songs from her upcoming album while still pulling off wearing a short skirt. Erasure kicked up the atmosphere with their synth-pop sound playing a solid mix of new hits and old favorites. Songs like "Sunday Girl" and "I Could Fall in Love with You" from their recent CD Light at the End of the World easily mixed with standards like "Blue Savannah," "Sometimes" and "Oh L’Amour." But the true headliner was Cyndi Lauper, who totally rocked. Her sincerity comes through either when speaking about wearing Erase Hate wristbands or singing songs like "She Bop," " Drove All Night," or Prince’s "When You Were Mine." With few interstitial videos keeping with the equal rights theme of the evening, Lauper punctuated their message by telling the crowd to contact their congressmen, stressing the importance of passing the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Bill.
The big encore number of course is Lauper’s song "True Colors" bringing mostly everyone back on stage and Erasure’s Andy Bell sharing the lead vocals. With powerhouse performances and its heart in the right place, the evening embodied how your true colors are beautiful like a rainbow…