Edelman: Cyndi? She Bop-ped the Uptown

Girls just want to have fun, right?

Even at 63. That’s the message Cyndi Lauper delivered to a sold out house at the Uptown Theater last week. And KC couldn’t get enough.

Sure, there was a political message interlaced with the kookiness.

Ms L has long advocated showing your true colors, raising money and getting out the vote. But from the first twang of that pedal steel, promoting her new  rockabilly-tinged album Detours, the girl delivered to a crowd that came for bi-partisan loving.

Country gave way immediately to the hits– first “She Bop,” later on “When You Were Mine” and “Money Teaches Everything” from her iconic first LP (remember those?) She’s So Unusual.

On the way, she pulled out some American chestnuts from her newest collection, including “Misty Blue,” Ray Price‘s “Heartache By the Numbers,” and the Patsy Cline hit  “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Lauper mounted a stick pony for “I Wanna Be A Cowboy Sweetheart” and did Skeeter Davis one better, spinning on a little turntable to  “The End of the World.”

Blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite opened the show with a down and dirty set, returning to join Lauper in a tribute to Little Walter on “Just Your Fool.” Her band was terrific and the sound and vibe at the Uptown were all top of the line. Cyndi herself noted that the old movie palace was the perfect spot for her show. Amen to that.

But we were there for the hits, and Ms Lauper did not disappoint.

Fetching a dulcimer for her encore, she and the band teased us thru a country intro that blossomed into the anthemic “Girls..”, followed by a solo turn on “True Colors.”

True to form, she remind us once again to stop talking about it and vote in November.

It was a heartfelt moment from a performer who’s had her whole heart in the game for more than 30 years.

Who needs Medicare when you’re still boppin’?