It was so great for Barry to come home again (my home, not his). And Dallas loved him. We've always loved him -
wish he would come back more often.
I enjoy Brian Culbertson as the opening act. It's not the type of music I would normally listen to, but it's
growing on me. He and his band are very talented.
I was somewhat distracted in LA, but was determined to thoroughly enjoy this show. And I did. My cousin who
was supposed to attend the show with me is extremely ill and couldn't attend. So I gave her ticket to my
pastor, who met me at the arena. He had never seen Barry perform before, and wasn't very familiar with Barry's
catalog.
Most of the songs were the same as in the Los Angeles show. Instead of I Am Your Child, Barry sang All the
Time. There was something about it this time that seemed special, that really got to me. Can't put my finger
on it. I've seen him perform it often enough that I think I had become somewhat desensitized to it - it
hasn't been affecting me as strongly as it did years ago. But for some reason tonight it really did.
I Made It Through the Rain was as touching as in LA. I'm wondering if it doesn't have something to do with
it being an arena show. It always seems more meaningful in that setting.
Weekend in New England was beautiful - especially his vocals. There seems to be a slight difference in the
way he's playing it now. There was a huge difference in LA - ooh, I wish I had the musical knowledge to
explain what he was doing. You know how some people have the knack for using the tone of their voice and
strategic pauses to really bring a story to life? Well, Barry was doing that with the music. What he was
playing was telling the story as much as the lyrics of the song. Does that make sense? And he must have
really been feeling the song, because when he finished, he stood up and ripped his tie off and threw it on
the piano - it slid off onto the floor. He looked very emotional.
Barry sang all of Bandstand Boogie again, same as in LA. This time they all waved at imaginary cameras from
the center of the stage. In LA, they did it from the side. Because Barry had thrown his tie off early, I
missed the opportunity to take a photo of Keely being excited when she got his tie. She did run back behind
the piano, pick his tie up, and then wave it at him as she ran off stage. LOL
Barry and gang did the William Tell Overture. That one always seems to please the audience. Well, one time
I remember an audience that didn't seem to "get it" - but I can't remember what city it was in.
They performed Brooklyn Blues and New York City Rhythm. Brian Culbertson and the saxophone player from his
band (Michael L.) came out to do solos during Brooklyn Blues.
The full version of Could It Be Magic was beautiful. The orchestra was beautiful, as well. In fact, Barry
made several comments during the course of the show about how talented the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is.
For the 60's segment, Barry had a new apartment set. The lava lamp is HUGE. He made a comment about it - he
said that he remembered back in the 60's when girls used to come to his apartment to see his big...lava lamp.
LOL And he has a big, orange, swivel chair. It would be perfect for curling up in to watch TV. He made the
comment again about "eat your heart out, Van Halen". Don't worry, Barry - they haven't outdone you. So what
if they have a big remote-control blimp that flies out over the audience during intermission? It was only
cool the first 4 or 5 times it passed by - you're cool all the time!
After the funny cigarette skit, Barry skipped Yesterday and headed back to the main stage. As he did that,
the 4 backups came rising up in smoke from under the stage - the lighting gave the smoke a violet tint. It
was really beautiful. And I, of course, missed taking a photo of it at both the LA and Dallas shows!
New jacket! He had a new jacket for Mandy/CIBM/IWTS. That is now my favorite jacket of all that he's ever
worn. It was white, with a pattern - couldn't quite tell what the pattern was - it appeared to be 3-D,
meaning that if you ran your hand over the material you would be able to feel the pattern. I couldn't even
tell what kind of material the jacket was made out of. But it's gorgeous. Good thing he doesn't do the
jacket girl segment anymore - he might not get the jacket back!
The Mandy/CIBM medley also seemed extra special tonight. Not only the way Barry sang it, but also the
expression on his face when he stood up after he finished - as if he were really into that song, as well.
And that one also put another lump in my throat.
When Barry asked the audience to sing along during I Write the Songs, they *really* sang along! Barry
seemed pleased.
After the It's a Miracle reprise, when Barry and the gang were leaving the stage (before they come back
for Copacabana), Barry balked when leaving. The backups had him by one arm and were trying to pull him
backstage while he kept pulling to come back to us. It was as if he were saying, "NO! They love me! I
don't want to leave!" LOL In fact, at one point in the show he said he didn't want to go home.
Barry came back out for his encore of Old Friend and Forever and a Day. The audience sang along with him
during Old Friend - even more loudly than they did on I Write the Songs. Forever and a Day was touching,
as always.
Then Barry came back out one last time for another round of bows. He seemed both touched and surprised by
the audience reaction - maybe he didn't expect Dallas to love him as much. How could we not! The very
last thing he did was walk over to our side of the stage and blow kisses in our direction.
And my pastor? I think he was a little taken aback by the screaming fans - especially the one that was
sitting right behind him screaming in his ear all night! But he said that the show was "excellent", that
Barry is a "master showman", and that he was sorry he hadn't been more familiar with Barry's music in the
past. Yea! A new fan!
