Name: Cyndi Lauper en vivo
Genre: Music
Duration: 1 h 28 min
Cast: Cyndi Lauper, Sue Hadjopoulos, Kevin Jenkins

Cyndi goes South and Chile hits back with a lion's roar

This concert film was recorded for television during the South American leg of Cyndi Lauper's 'A Night to Remember' world tour. It was the first time she had played in this continent. From what I have seen South American audiences are the best in the world and seeing them in action here has only cemented my view of this further, since they are literally bouncing from start to finish. It should be pointed out that Lauper's third album 'A Night to Remember' had been a disappointment, Cyndi herself describing it 'a night to forget' some time later. Where her first two long players were effervescent combinations of pop, rock and balladry with personality to spare, this third release went down an ill-advised adult contemporary route. The songs were oddly lifeless and there was a distinct lack of, wellfun really. It seemed the public agreed and except for the one standout track, 'I Drove All Night', there were no other hits and Lauper's career hit a bit of a downward trajectory. With this in mind, it does sometimes feel during this concert that she isn't having as much of a good time as she was in earlier recorded gigs, such as the blistering performance in Paris that ended the 'True Colors' tour. But none of this was any concern to the fans in the Estadio Nacional that night in November 1989. Make no mistake this was an absolutely huge crowd Cyndi was playing to and they were making the most of the fact that she was performing there and are seriously lively throughout.

The show is opened in dramatic style by two moody classics, 'I Drove All Night' and 'Change of Heart', both of which are very well delivered. One of the highlights of this show ironically are the live versions of the 'A Night to Remember' tracks, given how rarely they were played since. All are given more life here than on the record, with tracks like 'Primitive' and 'Dancing with a Stranger' in particular being standouts with both having extended workouts, the former rhythmic, the latter guitar-driven. It was also nice to see the B-side 'Unabbreviated Love' being played in the encore, it is certainly a song good enough to have made the album proper. The other non-album track from the era is 'Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)', a song much better than the film it came from, the previous year's Vibes which was also Cyndi's acting debut. The song is a high energy, infectious pop-rocker. One unfortunate disappointment though is with 'Boy Blue', which is one of my favourite of Cyndi's tracks and which was the highlight of the superb 'Live in Paris' concert film from two years earlier. Sadly, here it is a performance beset with problems. Early on, Cyndi calls side stage in the middle of a verse for her jacket and then only half-wears it for a good portion of the song, this is followed by microphone problems and the final emotional meltdown section is even slightly screechy. The beautiful pop ballad 'All Through the Night' gets things back on track immediately afterwards though. We see the crowd go crazy for classic energetic numbers from the seminal 'She's So Unusual' album such as 'She Bop', the live centrepiece 'Money Changes Everything' and the ever-relevant and ever-joyful 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' which is given a reggae extension that mixes in lyrics from 'He's a Rebel' by the 60's girl group The Crystals. The show is closed with the folk tune 'Kindred Spirit' played solo with dulcimer, followed immediately by the emotional classic 'True Colors' replete with crowd sing-along.

The sound recording is quite raw in places but it always feels very true to the live performance which you can't complain about. Visually, it could have been better in some ways. There are lots of cameras but there is not much focus beyond Lauper herself and the rest of the group seem quite marginalised. The band themselves acquit themselves well though with returning figures such as bassist Kevin Jenkins and Sue Hadjopoulos on percussion always a very welcome sight. It was also a nice touch to see John Turi on saxophone, he was a member of Lauper's pre-fame band Blue Angel and this link with her past was good. Overall, while this concert is a little rough around the edges in places, it still is professionally made and benefits from multiple cameras etc. The crowd of course are fantastic too. It also serves as a valuable time-capsule concert for Cyndi Lauper fans in that we get to see live versions of a bunch of songs not heard so often after this tour. All-in-all, this is another live performance well worth seeking out if you are a fan of this glorious New Yorker.

The music genre features stories showcasing musical performances, music-related documentaries and recordings of live concerts and music festivals.

Prince and Apollonia Kotero in Purple Rain (1984)

Cyndi Lauper live at the Estadio Nacional stadium, Santiago, Chile on November 10th, 1989 as part of her 'A Night to Remember' world tour.

Universidad Católica de Chile Televisión

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Cyndi Lauper en vivo

Photos

Top Cast7

User reviews1

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed