Oh, wait - I guess we should take things in the proper order.
No "intense" Barry tonight. This show was on par with Wednesday night's show - heck, I think it was better. It
was one of the best I've ever seen. Thank goodness the airlines found my luggage and my blood pressure medicine!
I would have been in trouble tonight!! :-)
Barry is still doing It's a Miracle as if he really means it. And Somewhere in the Night is still sexy. A great
opening. The little snippet of The Old Songs was especially good tonight, too.
No clue on the dance girl - oh, yeah - it was Jill from Texas (I have some great photos). Aren't you impressed
that I remembered the name tonight? That took some doing, because even though I was sitting in M1, Barry still
managed to stand right in front of me to sing a portion of Moonlight Serenade. This week I noticed that
he's changed the way he sings that song. It's much softer - to me that's more effective - makes it seem more
like the love song that it is.
The opening ballad tonight was All the Time. Beautiful rendition of it. I got a couple of great shots of him
while he was singing it - he was so into it. Before Barry sang it, he asked if the audience had any requests.
Someone requested Mandy. Barry said, "Of course I'm going to do Mandy!" Then he kind of slammed his hands on
the piano and said, "No, I'm not going to do Mandy!" Everyone laughed.
He had to blow his nose a couple of times. Apparently someone in the audience asked if they could have his
Kleenex (ick! I love Barry, but eeewwwww!) - he said, "No, you can't have my Kleenex!!"
Now, back to hysteria...
OMG!!! HE SANG KEEP EACH OTHER WARM!!!! You hear those harps? That's the sound of Dana dying and going to
heaven! I didn't think I would ever hear Barry sing that again. And it was a wonderful arrangement. He started
it at the piano, then about halfway through the song he turned on the piano stool and sang without playing the
piano. And then he stood up to finish the song - when he stood, the rest of the music kicked in behind him. It
had a groove to it, more pronounced than the original song. It was a really neat arrangement. I'm still in
heaven just thinking about it.
Now, if Barry were to ever sing You're My Only Girl (Jenny), I would definitely die - just lie down right there
in the theater and pass on - with a glowstick in one hand and streamers in the other. Of course, I wouldn't take
my final breath until *after* he sang the last note. :-)
They did the William Tell Overture again - it's gets better every time. And they did the version of New York City
Rhythm that features the keyboardists (is that a word?!) - and that one also gets better every time.
Something I keep forgetting to mention... While the girls are doing the Supremes song during the 60's segment,
and Barry and Kye are singing "Where Did Our Love Go", Barry tries reaching out for the girls and Kye keeps pulling him back.
It's really cute. I don't know how long they've been doing it - I just noticed it this week.
You've Lost That Loving Feeling was met with a lot of screams tonight - a LOT! Who needs BAMS and Michael Jackson
moves? He doesn't even sing the entire song, yet he still manages to blow the audience away.
Mandy/Could It Be Magic was *again* extremely passionate. It's almost as if Barry has rediscovered the songs -
there's just extra life in them this week.
Barry was also really into I Write the Songs - as he was playing the piano at the opening of the song, he just
seemed to melt into it. It was cool to watch. This is what I was referring to in last night's review - this is
when we see the musician come out.
Have they changed the way the two portions of the stage are positioned during Copa? I don't know if it looked
different because I was in M1 (and I'm not usually there) or if they've actually changed it. I noticed it last
night, too, - and I was in M2. So I'm not sure.
The closing of the show was hilarious. Normally Barry takes a few steps back, he and the backups join hands and
take a bow. Tonight they did that, then Barry pulled them all close to the front of the stage with cute little
baby-steps, then backed them back up the same way - made them all laugh. Then when they took another step back
for the group hug, the backups just started circling Barry. He started laughing. Then they moved in for the
group hug, and it kind of looked like they were trying to tickle him (is Barry ticklish?). At any rate, it was funny.
This show really seemed to fly by. I want it to last forever!
