Phases and Stages

Cyndi Lauper

La Zona Rosa, April 26 The problem with being a nostalgia act is that no matter how hard you try to keep your material fresh, people expect to see the same act they loved in 1985. Such was the case this fine Monday night when squeaky Eighties icon Cyndi Lauper made a rare Austin appearance in support of her latest album, At Last (Sony). Ms. Lauper opened her set with the titular song, which was made famous by the incomparable Etta James, and the 50-year-old Brooklyn native could do no wrong in the eyes of the adoring crowd. As she descended a makeshift staircase into the seated, sold-out house, every step brought a thrilled cheer from the throng. The first half-hour of the show was populated with cuts from At Last, including "Stay," made famous by the Four Seasons, Burt Bacharach's "Walk on By," and an impassioned, dramatic rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." But it was on her own material that Lauper truly shone, and which garnered the most enthusiastic audience response. "All Through the Night"; a slow, French-themed "She Bop"; and a sock-rocking "Sisters of Avalon" provided the evening's high points. Toward the end of the two-hour performance, a wrenching version of the anthemic "True Colors," written for a friend who succumbed to AIDS before it had a name, saw the diva revealing a glimmer of humanity after spending a large portion of the evening barking at the sound engineer, light technician, and a hapless roadie. As evidenced by the ecstatic reaction to the show's closing tune, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," it was clear that trying out new material as a pop icon is kind of like trying on couture: It's uncomfortable and ill-fitting, which makes those worn pajamas that much more comfy when you finally put them back on.