Lesbiatopia: True Colors Tour 2008 Kicks Off in Boston and Really Shines

I was lucky to attend the opener to the True Colors Tour kick-off in Boston, MA on Saturday, May 31, 2008. It was at the beautiful Bank of America Pavilion in the historial waterfront section of Boston. Although the weather that day was rainy, the gods were on our side because the skies cleared up just in time for the 6pm start time. Read on for my full review and photo diary of the awesome event.

The show kicked off with Kat Deluna, although I was not personally familiar with her music, this bilingual pop diva gave a dazzling showcase for her unique talents, most notably her opera-trained voice, which bends and snaps with ease amid shiny club beats and tropical rhythms. You can sure bet that I was shakin' what my Momma gave me in the most bootilicious way possible. Teen pop-heads, Latin soulsters, anyone with a weakness for deliciously flirtatious beats will be sure to love this up-and-coming star.

After Kat, came The Cliks. I have recently become a Cliks fan, due in part to Lesbiatopia's own Sinnerviewer's intervew with Cliks drummer Morgan Doctor, which you can read here.

And what's not to love about Lucas Silveira? I love how there's just a touch of punked-out Elvis in Lucas, the trans female-to-male front man of this rockin' Toronto-based rock band. Silveira wears a studded belt, slung low on his hips—hips that glide along to the heavy-hitting guitar riffs and throbbing bass lines that The Cliks have become known for. You can see it (along with a smattering of Billy Idol) in Silveira's facial contortions when he sings. On stage, vulnerabilities are exposed through contagious chant-along choruses and bleeding verses that just make all the girls (and boys) go ga-ga for the edgy meets sexy rock group. They were both a pleasant and rockalicious experience for True Colors, continuing to prove that the line-up this year was fan-fucking-tastic.

Next to grace the stage, and one of my personal favorite female vocalists, was the indie singer/songwriter, Regina Spektor, who has an incredibly unique and whimsical vocal style that puts her in a class of her own. I was quite excited to see Regina perform live for the first time, and fully admit to swooning over this "sexy-ugly" talented Russian-American vocalist. There's a fearless, uninhibited confidence to Spektor's voice, and she delivered some of my favorites including Fidelity and Hotel Song from her latest album, Begin to Hope. She is sure to give artists like Tori Amos and Fiona Apple a run for their money.

Cyndi came out to introduce Rosie's stand-up act, with some inspirational words of her own about how the GLBT community needs to get out and VOTE! It is really, truly awesome to have someone like Cyndi Lauper in such strong support of gay, lesbians, transgendered and of basic human rights, in general. The of course there's Rosie, being, well Rosie. In all seriousness, she was fantastic; comedic, dramatic, and serious all at the same time. I just love the way Rosie tells a story, she may be out-spoken and over-the-top at times, but she is a really incredible person and a great performer and I am proud to have her batting for the all-girls team.

Then came Carson Kressley, the host and MC for the True Colors Tour. You probably remember Carson as the overly effiminate and hilarious famous diva from Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and who currently hosts Lifetime's newest makeover show, How to Look Good Naked. Caron did a bit of stand-up, which was actually really hilarious, to my surprise. He was so interactive with the audience, reaching down into the front row to shake some woman's hand, and even pulling a badly dressed guy out of his seat and onto the stage so he could give him a quick makeover/wardrobe change. It was all pretty entertaining and a great way to pass the time between set-changes for the bands.

The second to last band to grace the stage was the B-52's, which I was psyched to see perform live and if you have a chance to get out to the True Colors Tour, make this one of your #1 reasons. The B-52's sure are a party band that knows how to party. If you grew up loving "Roam" and "Love Shack", dancing your ass off and all that comes with glorified wild youth, than you would love to see these guys live. The feminine harmonies of Wilson and Pierson, could not compliment the sprechgesang male vocal counterpoint of Fred Schneider any better. You can't help but feel the wacky euphoria when those crazy B-52's step on stage and you know in a matter of seconds, you'll be shakin' your groove thing with the rest of the audience.

The final performer was Cyndi Lauper, herself, and boy did she shine. Being a child of the 80's, I have always had a great appreciation for 80's artists that can still

rock your socks off, and did Cyndi ever! Her setlist included the following:

Change Of Heart
Good Enough
Rocking Chair (with Rosie)
Set Your Heart
When You Were Mine
She Bop
Into The Nightlife
I Drove All Night
Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Rosie on drums)
Same Ol' Story (acapella)
Time After Time
Money Changes Everything (with Lucas Silveira from the Clicks)
Everyday People (entire cast)
True Colors (entire cast)

and to top that off, Cyndi even jumped out into the crowd during Set Your Heart and Into The Nightlife to rock out with the audience. Cyndi Lauper is an incredible performer, she has so much energy and exuberance that you can't help but love her, and damn, after almost 30 years she's STILL putting out kickass albums and rockin' the mic like no other. You go girl!!!

All in all, it was an incredible concert experience, which I was able to attend with one of my best friends (who I don't get to see nearly enough because I live in LA now). I had incredible seats and was able to access some great photos right at the front of the stage which I am very excited to share with you. Here is a collection of my favorite photos from the show, I hope you enjoy them, and if you get the chance to go to the True Colors Tour in your town, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

My True Colors Tour Photo Blog