Tina Turner live!

Tina Turner
United Center, Chicago
Friday, October 3, 2008

Tina Turner must have forgotten she vowed 2000’s tour would be her very last (though it’s certainly not the first time a diva’s done one or the other). Apparently the decision was motivated by her show-stopping duet with Beyoncé at the 2008 Grammy Awards, but without a new album this decade (other than superfluous collections) the tour’s announcement has been met with skepticism from both critics and the diehards who shelled out for the last “final” hurrah.

As for the fans, all’s apparently been forgiven because Turner not only packed the United Center Friday night, but she returned to the same venue Saturday and then scooted out to the suburbs on Monday at the Allstate Arena. And after witnessing the first night’s two-hour/two-act spread, the spy 68-year-old was so convincing with her stage presence, vocal range, and all-around spectacle that it’s a shame it took her this long to ditch retirement.

Soulfulness and sensuality remains Turner’s forte, as demonstrated in the opening suite of “Steamy Windows” and “Typical Male,” surrounded by eight dancers (split evenly between genders), a seven-piece band, and two accompanying vocalists (including longtime Rolling Stones/Luther Vandross backer Lisa Fischer). Taking a card out of Cher’s playbook (aside from the “farewell” stunt), many of the costumes were designed by Bob Mackie, while the choreography came from “Mickey’s” main squeeze Toni Basil.

Even though the surroundings were as over the top as Madonna and Janet Jackson, Turner trumped both in the sense that she didn’t really need the extras to overcompensate for marginal talent. Her rugged swagger boomed during “River Deep, Mountain High” and the naughty “Private Dancer” was sultry enough to bring bedroom-like intimacy to even the gargantuan sports arena.

All the while, the singer strutted about the stage in ultra high heels, and yes, those legs still rival women a quarter of her age. But there was also plenty of substance beyond a well-preserved exterior, including a set of pipes as capable of nailing Al Green’s easygoing “Let’s Stay Together” as Robert Palmer’s roughneck “Addicted To Love.”

The evening’s sole source of docking came from the occasional interlude when Turner wasn’t on stage, which was often filled by her stocky male dancers (dubbed the “Ninjas”) doing all sorts of flips normally reserved for a campy nightclub act. Thankfully, those fluffy distractions were easily forgotten once the superstar reemerged for the sassy James Bond smash “Goldeneye” and, later, her comeback anthem “The Best.”

The encore was especially exciting, not just because of a brazen take on “Nutbush City Limits,” but because Turner levitated on a gigantic thrust that projected out over the audience (Oprah Winfrey and all), a move usually reserved for only Michael Jackson. Comebacks aren’t easy to launch (just ask the fallen King Of Pop), and while no one knows if Turner can compete on today’s charts, she’s once again taking control of the concert climate.

— Andy Argyrakis

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly