Cyndi Lauper Shows Her True Colors

Cyndi Lauper rocks. That's the real message from the True Colors Tour. That's not to take anything away from Deborah Cox, The Cliks or the B-52s. Host Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and How to Look Good Naked was entertaining too. But Cyndi Lauper rocked!

I was pleasantly surprised because she came to fame at the same time as Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson and never achieved their sustained success, but she's a small woman who's jam-packed full of talent and energy.

Lauper was the headliner and worth sitting through an extra-long set by the B-52's.

She sang several songs from her fabulous new dance CD, Bring Ya to the Brink, including the hypnotic "Same Ol' Story" (I've already downloaded it from iTunes) and the techno-fied rave-up "Rocking Chair." Twice, she left the stage to get up close and personal with the audience and dance among the crowd.

Not surprisingly, the best songs were from her blockbuster 1983 album "She's So Unusual." 25 years later, Lauper delivers an incredible version of nearly every song on it.
"I Drove All Night" was moody and seductive.

She snuck "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," into the middle of her set and it was a true crowd pleaser. She took to the autoharp for a lovely, stripped-down rendition of "Time After Time" and wowed the crowd with a maniacal version of "Money Changes Everything." I think my favorite was the acoustic version of "She Bop."

The music delivered the message: liberation and equality. So did guest celebrity Rosie O'Donnell. The tour is on the road to promote fairness for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. It hits all the right notes.

The tour now heads to California, Washington State and Canada. If you're lucky enough to have a chance to see it, you won't want to miss out.