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Stewart could be seen doing a dodgy boo-ga-loo in the wings,
stage left.
This
year the Spring Benefit decor reflected the Women Who Rock
theme. There was an unmistakable "Nancy Sinatra/These
Boots Are Made For Walkin'" late sixties look to the
faux day-glo lounges set here and there on the main floor.
To further embellish the Laugh-In/Goldie Hawn vibe, go-go-girls
and go-go-guys shimmied behind micro-beaded curtains, in white-framed
dance cages placed on stilts above the bars and lavish buffet
tables.
Back
to the concert fundraiser: After Wanda Jackson left the stage
to thunderous applause, Terry Stewart brought out the only
two male lead singers to perform that night: former Tears
for Fears front man, Curt Smith, and 60s soul stalwart, Chuck
Jackson. Both gentlemen performed their respective three song
sets admirably, with Smith's "Everybody Wants To Change
The World" and Jackson's "Any Day Now" stirring
spirited sing-a-longs from the VIP attendees on the main floor.
But,
let's face it: it was ladies night, in every way that counted.
When Mavis Staples, another Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member
(with her father and siblings, The Staple Singers), strode
next into the spotlight, even Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson
rushed to the front of the stage. The raspy voiced legend
charmed with her down home style, opening with her generous
anthem, "Wrote A Song For Everyone." Mavis then
leaned into her cover version of The Band's "The Weight."
Everyone in Public Hall- - -VIP attendees, balcony sitters
and even wait staff- - -cheered with delight when, mid-song,
Mavis invited Cyndi Lauper to join her onstage to help her
out. Mavis wrapped her set up with The Staple Singers classic
"I'll Take You There." Lauper remained onstage and
cajoled Darlene Love, a Class of 2011 Rock Hall Inductee,
into singing background vocals .
Cyndi Lauper
helps Mavis Staples carry "The Weight"
The
whole point of the Spring Benefit is to raise money for Cleveland
public school children's music programs. Stewart and company
once again did an outstanding job, raising over $300,000 in
addition to what had already been collected, with his mid-concert
auction of items ranging from a Mercedes Benz to Wanda Jackson's
signed guitar to backstage VIP passes to U2s upcoming summer
concert.
The
most powerful voice of the evening belonged to Darlene Love.
She just killed with soaring renditions of her girl group
classics "Da Doo Run Run" and "He's A Rebel."
Regarding her now-imprisoned former Svengali, Phil Spector,
Love quipped that he had gotten his-come-uppance. "He
may have cheated me out of my money. But, here I am- - -and
where is he?" "Jail!!"' the audience jeered.
The
evening closed with the manic Cyndi Lauper, vocal chords warmed
up from all of her impromptu back up singing with Staples
and Love, sprinting onstage to a menacing "She-Bop."
That night Lauper appropriated Peter Wolf's shuga-buga lateral
stage prancing and made it her own. She's quite the dancer.
In introducing her band, mostly ex-Stax studio session heavyweights,
Cyndi confessed she had Pentecostal church-envy. In recounting
her childhood church memories, she sounded as if she was raised
Episcopalian. But, what she wanted to be was a member of a
testifying holiness congregation. Lauper then brought out
Mavis Staples, Darlene Love and surprise guest star (she wasn't
on the bill), Ronnie Spector- - -another Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame Member (Class of 2007). After harmonizing on a gospel-drenched
introduction to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," Cyndi
then led the female Rock Hall of Famers on a towering, triumphant
version of the song. Priceless. Women who rock? No doubt.
Staples,
Love, Spector & Lauper having "Fun" onstage
Hopefully,
in March of next year, when Cleveland once again hosts the
actual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies, Cyndi
will be back in Ohio's largest North Coast city - - -as
a member of the Class of 2012.
Written
by: Jack Marchbanks
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