Concert Review: True Colors Tour

Last night I attended the True Colors Concert in Dallas, a benefit concert put on by HRC, Logo, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Cyndi Lauper was the creator of the tour, inspired after a conversation with Judy Shepard at the HRC Dinner a year ago. The goal was to raise awareness for the Hate Crimes Bill that is currently going through the legislature. It was certainly inspiring. I was moved by the performances by all of the artists, and the reactions of the audience. Having experienced this, I am pretty sure that I will only seek to attend concerts that are for a good cause. For one, I like my money going towards good things, but also I think that it creates a different environment when people come together to do something great.

I was fortunate enough to have front row seats. If I had felt like daring security, I could have easily touched the artists. That's how close I was. I did take a lot of pictures, but I realized that it is time to get a new camera. For casual use, it is a fantastic piece of equipment, but shows always leave me wanting more. Knowing that I was close enough to catch every subtle facial expression, but not having most of my pictures exhibit this was frustrating.

Technically, I went by myself, but strangely I found that I was constantly running into friends of mine. I really wasn't aware of how many people I knew in Dallas. It was especially great to see so many of my HRC friends, since really we only get to hang out while we are working ourselves ragged at the DC trainings and events.

All of the performers got a chance to say their piece about discrimination, and hate crimes, which was completely heartfelt and a great addition to the show. Among the entertainers, Rosie O'Donnell and Margaret Cho provided comedy relief, and they were both in top form. I really enjoyed them both, and thought that they added a lot to the show. Rosie was funnier than I have ever seen her, and followed that up with singing backup vocals and playing the drums for Cyndi, which I thought was neat. I was especially happy that in the end, all the entertainers came back on stage for the final two numbers.

All in all, I had a great time, felt moved by what was there, and was really happy that something like that was so well embraced by the community.
I did manage to catch some video. The first has poor sound, but the dancing was fun, and the second was just such a great way to end the show.