Barry may have been sick earlier this week, but he wasn't showing many signs of it tonight.
He was bouncy again. He looked great, and he sounded fabulous. The only real sign that he
was sick is that he was having trouble holding the really long notes.
Someone has a cruel sense of humor. The pre-show music built up to the point that the fans
all recognize - and then we heard an announcer. Everyone thought they were going to announce
that the show was being canceled - and when the announcer said, "We apologize..." - oh, gee.
And then he finished "... the show will be longer than usual tonight." LOL That was mean!
And to whoever thought that was funny, I'll bet Santa leaves coal in your stocking! (ok, it
really was funny)
Barry was having monitor/ear plug problems tonight. I'm sure being the perfectionist that he
is (or that we believe he is,anyway) it's driving him crazy that all happened during the show.
But for the fans, it was priceless. They aren't mistakes to us - they're totally unscripted
Barry moments where we get a glimpse of the real him. At one point he sat down on the stage
and spoke to a woman in the front row while they tried to get one of the ear pieces out of his
ear. Like I said, priceless.
Barry finally gave up and said he had to leave the stage to fix the problem because he would have
to get undressed to do it (I'm not going there!). While he was off stage, the band played Brooklyn
Blues. It was great - it gave them a chance to show us how talented they are. And then Kye did an
impromptu dance for us during the song - it was also great and showed off his talents.
Anyway, Barry said that he was going to sing a lot of songs that he didn't know. And we did get
some special songs later in the show.
For Moonlight Serenade they brought out one of the old-time microphones that they use during
Chattanooga Choo Choo. Barry sang the beginning of the song at the mic - it was a really nice
touch. I think it added to the performance. He picked someone from Fort Worth, Texas as the
dance girl. Somehow he manages to select Texas girls when I'm in the audience. Maybe there are
a lot of us - just proves that Texans have good taste.
The 50's segment was a hoot! Especially Barry! He really hammed it up - more so than he has
in a long time. It was hilarious.
The first special song was He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. It was a great performance. It
sounded just as good as it does on the CD. Barry put a lot of feeling into it - he approached
it from the perfect angle.
And the next special song is the one that I said I would love to hear again - Barry sang Keep
Each Other Warm. Awesome! He forgot a few words - but who cares?!? I was thrilled to hear
him sing it. He asked us to sing along with him.
Barry followed that one up with another of my favorites - Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed. Ok,
at this point he could have ended the show and it wouldn't have mattered because he had already
made my night perfect. And that song is proof that he can sing his new rock and roll CD!
When Barry finished Who's Been Sleeping, he said "I'm STILL a sex god!" The audience was on
their feet (they were on their feet a lot!).
The next song was Even Now. It was one of his better performances of the song. The ending was
especially powerful and emotional. He didn't quite manage to hold the long note, but that's
okay - we understand why.
Barry sang Can't Smile Without You next. The audience stood for a good portion of the song.
We got a mini-Mayflower medley. They performed They Dance, Hot Stuff, and Signed, Sealed,
Delivered. It was nice to see that again. That one also got the audience to their feet.
The 60's segment was next. The funny cigarette skit has started to lose its appeal for me for
several reasons - but that's just me. And it's still funny - Barry plays it perfectly. He
really could do comedy. I love hearing him sing Yesterday. And Can't Take My Eyes Off You.
The audience stood again for the 70's segment. I just can't get over how much I like those
songs and that part of the show. This time I felt a little guilty because the people behind
me never stood for any of the songs. I stayed seated through a portion of it.
Then it was time to start closing out the show. That's the only bad thing about hearing
Mandy/CIBM and I Write the Songs - you know that it's almost at the end.
No Christmas songs. Kind of a disappointment - well, not really, because we got all those
extra/special songs. But still thought there might have been a couple since it was rumored
that he might be performing some in his arena shows. If so, I won't see them since I'm not
seeing any of those shows until February. But no complaints! This was an awesome show!
Went to the BMIFC party - it was really nice. The room was beautiful. A lot of the staff
went around to the tables to visit with us. Even Garry K. stopped by to wish us happy
holidays - I think that's the first time I've ever actually spoken to him. Oh, wait - I
didn't speak - he did, LOL! Anyway, it was a very nice event.
Was totally shocked to see Barry in the casino afterwards. I just looked up and there he
was, walking past, surrounded by his people. I didn't try to say anything to him, I would
never do that - I know my place and it's just one of many people out in the audience. It
was kind of interesting though - it was a different Barry, a different presence about him.
At any rate, it turned into one of those evenings that I'll reflect on in years to come. Those
who have been fans for a while usually have "Magic Manilow Moments" that they can look back on -
this was one of those.
So, Saturday night is my official 100th M&P show (not counting cancellations or the M&P shows
I've seen in other cities). Probably proof that I'm crazy - but we didn't need much proof for that!
