Tina in Real Life

If you were important enough to have a movie written about your life, we doubt the script would include verbal gems such as “Eat the cake, Anna Mae.” Maybe “Swallow the biscuit, Jimmy Lee” or “Pick up those shoes, Kate.” But to have a line that culminates with the forcing of cake down someone’s throat, well, it’s an indication there’s plenty more ish about to go down. And that’s just what happened when Laurence Fishburne’s Ike Turner hurled those words at Angela Bassett’s Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It. Just like that, a scene that should earn disgust upon recollection was instead cemented into our personal file cabinet of pop culture. But even those five words can’t overshadow the legacy of the woman to whom they were uttered. The Queen of Rock and Roll — a.k.a. Tina Turner — is revered for her trailblazing career, everlasting energy, and killer legs. And even 35 years after releasing her first studio album, she is still as fierce as she has always been.

The moves, the voice, the sequined dresses — all there. Thursday night at 7:30, you be the judge and tell us whether “Proud Mary” is still rolling on the river like she used to. The American Airlines Arena is the place, and tickets start at $56.75.
Thu., Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., 2008