Barry's Back! Boy, is he! He looked great - and best of all, he seemed to feel great.
Maybe not 100% yet, but so much better than he did before.
There were a lot of changes in the show. It will be interesting to see how it
evolves - or maybe I should say "if" it continues to evolve. We know Barry loves
to change things. I wonder if he'll eventually get more of the 60's songs into the
show. One of the first things we noticed was that the piano was gone from the Dew
Drop side. Having seen the Chicago show, I suspected what might happen there, but
it turned out to be much more than I anticipated.
When the opening video started, I got such butterflies in my stomach - should I still
be so excited before a show, after seeing it *how many* times? I don't know, but I
definitely was and suspect will continue to be. Usually the crowd waits until Barry
starts out to walk out of the smoke before they stand up. This time they were standing
before the video even finished. The curtain went up and there was Barry's silhouette
in the smoke, standing in one of his classic poses. He had such a huge grin on his
face as he walked out.
He started the show with It's A Miracle, then the Daybreak/Somewhere in the Night/This
One's For You medley. For those who have seen the show before (months ago, before the
pain was so evident), remember how he used to jokingly imitate the dancers during
Daybreak? He was doing that again - I took that to mean he's feeling much better!
Then came the first change in the show - he did a portion of The Old Songs. It was a
prelude to his new 40's medley. I do kind of wish that he would sing the entire song
since it's one of my favorites - but I understand why he doesn't.
For the 40's medley they brought out an old upright piano, cotton candy pink and sky
blue, with a mirror above the keyboard. The backups were dressed in gorgeous 40's
garb - the girls in sparkly dresses in different colors, and Kye in a flashy zoot suit.
The entire horn section (Steve, Chris and Brandon) came down to play where the piano
used to be on the Dew Drop side. Then the backups came over to sing and dance with
them. Soon Barry walked over to sing there, too.
He started with Singing With the Big Bands, Jump Shout Boogie, then went into
Chattanooga Choo Choo. And then he sang Moonlight Serenade. He sang the first
couple of verses or so, then started walking toward the Dew Drop Side. Since he had
danced with someone during that song in Chicago, I thought that was coming next. He
seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then chose a lady who obviously worshipped him.
It's always fun to watch when it's so clear how much it means to lady who's chosen.
He told her
that she was a good dancer, but I don't think it really matters whether the lady knows
how to dance well or not - I think the main thing that any huge fan would dream about
would just be the few moments in his arms, right? :-)
After that came Can't Smile Without You. Since I'm writing this review 3 days later,
some of the details are a little fuzzy - this might be the wrong show - but Barry had
a hard time doing the whistle at the beginning of the show. He finally just said
"Close enough!" LOL (don't feel bad Barry, I can't whistle either!)
That led into the 50's medley, starting with Bandstand Boogie, then Venus, Love Is A
Many Splendored Thing, and Unchained Melody. The songs were beautiful, the skits were
hilarious - just as great as they've always been. Then he went over to the Rock
Bottom side to sing Are You Lonesome Tonight.
He came back to center stage to sing Looks Like We Made It. It's the version that
has a little groove. I really enjoyed it and the rest of the audience seemed to
enjoy it as well.
Next he walked back over to the Rock Bottom side. He put on a pink Nehru jacket - it
looked to be velvet, but I can't be sure. When I checked my photos later I could see
that it has a yellow and either blue or purple pattern throughout. Barry says it's
the ugliest Nehru jacket you've ever seen, but I think it's beautiful. He also said
that he really did wear Nehru jackets in the 60's but that he didn't have any friends
because of it. Now I loved Nehru jackets - I was too small to be able to buy them
in the store (not too young, too skinny!), so my aunt sewed one for me - and if Barry
thinks this one is ugly...
Mine was gold and maroon, and I loved it. Of course, come to think of it, I didn't
have any friends either... Oh, well! LOL
Barry did the same bit with the "funny cigarette" that he did in the Atlantic City
and Chicago shows. It's very funny, especially when he pretends to be "feeling the
effects". The spacing out part is hilarious. He has great comedic timing.
He sang a portion of Yesterday. I love his version of this song. He does a
beautiful job. I love the key change as he goes into the 2nd verse. And I love
the way it builds in emotional intensity as he goes into the 3rd verse. Would love
to hear the complete version of that song.
Then Barry walked back to center stage for his new 60's medley. Overall I like the
medley, don't love it. Can't really put my finger on it - I'm thinking it's the
talking that's interspersed throughout that's bothering me. It makes sense what's
being said, but it seems to bring the music to a dead halt.
Can't Take My Eyes Off You was very energetic and upbeat (and bouncy!). One funny
moment during the song is when Barry turns to face Kye as he sings the lyrics "Oh,
pretty baby". They both get funny looks on their faces!
The transition into Where Did Our Love Go (by the Supremes) was very smooth. It
offered the opportunity for each of the backups to be featured. The girls had more
beautiful sparkly costumes, reminiscent of the Supremes - Monica in pink, Melanie
in yellow, and Keely in a multi-colored dress with a swirly (is that a word?!)
patterns. And Kye was wearing what appeared to be a lime green (sometimes the
lighting makes the outfits appear to be different colors) Nehru jacket with
multicolored sparklies.
Then they moved into You've Lost That Loving Feeling. It wasn't the complete song,
probably about two-thirds of it. But Barry did a great job with it. The first time
I listened to the song on the CD, I wasn't really impressed by the beginning of it.
Again, I'm not a Righteous Brothers fan - and just like with Unchained Melody, I
always thought the song had a lot of potential, but I was never impressed by what
they did with it - or what any other artist did with it. But as I listened to the
CD, I changed my attitude as I heard the way Barry builds the song, and as the
emotional intensity increases. It's just my opinion, of course, but I think I hear
more emotion and more passion in that song than in any other studio recording Barry
has done. And even after I've listened to it countless times, it still gives me
chills as the angst comes out. He's holding true to that in the show - his
performance is a cross between the angst of fearing the loss of a loved one and a
defiant attitude. Of all the 60's songs he's performing now, this is probably the
best. (my opinion, of course)
He ended the song with the "gone, gone, gone", but then added one more discordant
"gone", full of teeth-gritting emotion. He actually did grit his teeth and throw
his hand across his brow.
At that point the videos of some of the more unpleasant aspects of the 60's started
displaying, and Barry started talking about those things. This is where the segment
seemed to screech to a halt for me. What he was saying made sense, and it definitely
led in to the next song - but it was either the break in the music or the depressing
nature of the commentary that kept me from loving the entire medley. And even though
What the World Needs Now Is Love was great, it wasn't enough for me to get back the
good feeling from the first part of the medley.
But the audience in general seemed to really like the new medley. (So, what do I know?)
Then Barry said it was time for the 70's. They showed the Midnight Special video,
followed by Barry doing Mandy/Could It Be Magic at the piano. After that he thanked
the audience for our loyalty and support and then went in to I Write the Songs. He
left the stage and then came back out for Copacabana. Although he didn't run, he did
still manage to make it to both side stage sections to shake hands with everyone. He
exited the stage after the song, and then reappeared wearing a bright yellow jacket -
love it!
He finished out the show with the It's A Miracle reprise and all the streamers. Great
show! I'm so glad he's back.
