Oh, my! We got it again! Not only did I get all 3 wishes granted, I got a bonus! He did
Who's Been Sleeping again on Saturday night. And this version was even better - didn't
think that would be possible, but he managed it.
The outstanding song of the night (other than Who's Been Sleeping) was Memory. Not one of
my favorite songs, but Barry did a fantastic job on it. And his piano playing at the
beginning of the song was beautiful. Everyone in the audience was hushed as he finished
the song. There was so much passion in the song. I realize I use that term frequently to
describe what I see, but that's the only word that fits. It's as if he completely becomes
the character in the song - you can feel the pain (or the joy or whatever emotion the song
conveys). He got a well-deserved standing ovation for that one.
On the Dew Drop side he said that he was going to do an album cut that he rarely did. He
said it was from his first album, and even the people who had been with him for 30 years
probably wouldn't know it. (Wrong!) He only played a few notes before the longtime fans
in the audience started applauding. He sort of smiled and said "Yeah?" He did a shortened
version of One of These Days, but we loved it. I wonder what other songs he may eventually pull into that
section. Wouldn't One More time fit in well?
I'll probably never tire of the 50's segment. I still enjoy the antics of the backups, and
love the new thing that has been thrown in with Keely sliding across the floor to grab Barry's
leg. On the first night, I couldn't remember what Keely said as she grabbed his leg. But
I made a point to remember it this time - she says "I love you!". And then Barry says
"Help!" and Kye grabs Keely by the leg and starts dragging her away. It's very funny!
After Kye gets Keely back to the piano, she tries to run back to Barry and Kye has to catch
her. Now, how many of you would actually do something like that??? (don't answer that
question!!) Keely has to drag Melanie back as Barry performs LIAMST - and Monica looks
like she'll faint during Venus. I sometimes feel guilty that my attention strays away
from Barry to watch what the backups are during that segment - but they're so funny!
They performed the entire Mayflower medley segment - and that's why Who's Been Sleeping
caught me by surprise. In the first place, I never thought I would see it twice in a week -
but I certainly didn't believe I would see it *after* the 50's segment and the full Mayflower
segment.
Oh! Something I almost forgot about during Brooklyn Blues - when the horn section comes out
to play, they had a different dance step. I can't figure out how to describe it, but it was
great.
I could hear the synthesizer again tonight, but it wasn't nearly as loud - it fit in really
well. I also noticed some very nice guitar playing by Mike during one of the songs.
At the end of the show, Barry said he wanted to thank his band and crew before they took a
break for the rest of the month. He said, "I'll miss you" - but it wasn't clear if that was
directed to the his backups or to the audience. And then he said, "But we'll be back, so
come see us."
I have tickets for July - health permitting, I'll be there. While riding in the Star Trek
themed monorail after the shows, it suddenly occurred to me that those of us who have
attended a lot of shows must have been assimilated into the Manilow collective. And
resistance is most definitely futile! (We are Borgilow? Nah!)
