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Paris Las Vegas - April 8, 2011(View photo gallery here)
BB-29  I think I love the blue lighting more every time I see it during Somewhere in the Night. Of course there are several times throughout the show where the blue is emphasized, it's just that this entire song seems to have a blue theme. I noticed at one point last night (not sure which song) that the spotlights shining directly on Barry were kind of turquoise, and the surrounding lights were purple. Just beautiful! The photos just don't do it justice - I can't capture that blue. In a couple of the photos, I caught a cool looking blue, glassy ball. I guess it's a spotlight in the background. Either that, or Glenda from the Wizard of Oz is coming to visit...  Daybreak was happy, and Looks Like We Made It was great. Not a lot of sexy moves during this portion of the show tonight - it really wasn't the audience for it. And that's perfectly fine - Barry's eyes say everything that needs to be said. Even though I'm not taking as many photos as I used to take, I'm trying to take shots that I've never taken before. But some things I just keep forgetting... I did try to catch the look on Barry's face tonight after This One's For You where he turns around to look at baby Barry standing with Grandpa, and then he turns back to the audience - missed it. I NEVER remember to take a shot when Barry flashes us with his jacket lining during New York City Rhythm. But I did remember to try to catch a shot after NYCR when Barry walks back to the band and stands there dancing as the curtain goes down. It's not one of my best shots, but I'll try to do better. I'm also trying to remember to take a shot after the Bandstand segment, when the backups drag Barry to the back of the stage at the end of the song.  When Barry sat down at the piano for Weekend in New England, he made a comment that he hoped he wasn't getting bronchitis again. He said he had a very scratchy throat and that if he couldn't get the notes out for WINE we could just sing it for him. He tried to do the soft WINE - and I've noticed before that if he has a dry throat, he struggles with the soft version. But then he moved into the power ballad version - and you could hear his voice coming back. Within a couple of songs, you couldn't hear any strain at all. I've seen Barry be able to do that so many times - amazing. And, of course, with so few fans, no one yelled out during WINE. And that's okay, from my point of view - because I really enjoy hearing it straight through sometimes. For the most part, the performances tonight weren't as "connecting" as they can be at times - Barry seemed pulled more inward. But his facial expression, his eyes really gave life to the songs - I especially noticed that during WINE and Brooklyn Blues - and also This One's For You. Brooklyn Blues appears to be getting the same overall tone as New York City Rhythm. It comes across as being one of the favorites of Barry and the band. I love watching Barry play the piano during that song. There's an expression on his face that seems to be pure joy - actually throughout the entire song, not just during his "solo". It looks like Barry LOVES the lyrics of that song. Scratchy throat or not, he blew us away with his long note at the end of the song. It wasn't as long as the last time I saw it (but that time was incredible) - but it was long enough to prove there isn't anything wrong with his voice! Love the lighting during that song, too.  Barry was very cute tonight during the Nature Boy segment. He explained to the audience that they were about to hear "baby Barry" - he laughed and then said, "American Idol, watch out!" I Am Your Child was a little different tonight (my interpretation, anyway). It was "sensitive". Not overly emotional, not overly sweet, not reflective... It seemed very different. And the keyboard during this portion of the show... Someone tell me which little button Barry pushes to make it sound that way - it's driving me crazy!!! Ha! Don't know if it's changed again or if it was just that I sitting in a different location, but tonight I still heard the little "plink", but there was also a very distinct "ring" to the notes. Whatever it is, I love it. And it could be where I'm sitting - you can hear different things at different spots in the showroom. Last night Steve's trombone came through loud and clear. And I think I must have imagined this one - but it sounded like a whistle? Not like a police whistle, there's a name for this instrument that it sounded like I heard, but I can't remember it right now - closest I could find on the internet was a "comedy whistle". I probably dreamed that one up - it was probably some other combination of sounds - but it made me look around to see where it came from. Still, I seem to be aware of different sounds at every show. OMG, we got it! We got Bring On Tomorrow! After Barry finished Our Love Is Here to Stay, the band started playing something - not the Theme from Love Story. I thought I could hear the opening notes of Bring on Tomorrow in what they were playing. The curtain started going up behind Barry, so it was obvious there was going to be something different. Then we could see the piano. And Barry started talking about his new CD. You could hear squeals from the few fans in the audience - WE knew what was coming! I was trying to suppress a grin because a grin doesn't go with a ballad! Ha! Barry introduced the song by explaining that the character in the song has finally made it, and he's coming home to his love to tell her. And what was especially cute was the way Barry described it - he slipped into his Brooklyn accent a little - it was kind of cute. And I think he showed us the CD cover - if that was it, then it really is going to look like what we've been teased with as various pieces of it keep popping up. But, who cares about CD covers? The song!  It was wonderful! Definitely one of Barry's power ballads. What was the term Barry used on the Facebook message today - "big Barry ballad"? That's exactly what it was - it was REALLY big. It many ways it was like the performance on the UK TV show - Barry started the song at the piano, then walked to the front of the stage for the last part of the song. The song was definitely a power ballad while Barry was seated at the piano - but it was HUGE when he took the mic in hand and walked out in front. I love this song - and I loved Barry's performance of it tonight. I hope it stays in for the rest of the shows this week - because I can never get enough of it! And regardless of whether or not I felt all alone in a sea of civilians, there was no way I wasn't going to give Barry an ovation for that song! I noticed a couple of others standing who must have been fans, too. And then other audience members started standing up to join us. Not everyone stood, but at least some of us let Barry know what we thought about his new song. (I think I used up about 20 years worth of courage by making myself stand up when no one else around me was standing! Ha! Our love for Barry is good for us, ya know?)  Bring on Tomorrow is one of those songs that really touches my heart - or "makes me feel". Actually, I was thinking that really none of Barry's hits do that for me (except for It's A Miracle, but that's a different feeling) - I love the hits, but they don't generate this same type of feeling. I'm not talking about the performance of the song - Barry is always managing to make me feel with his performances. I think this is just about the music and the sound of Barry's voice - maybe the lyric has something to do with it, maybe the arrangement. I don't know. But there are certain songs of Barry's that just cause a sensation, almost a glow, in my heart and in my head when I hear them. Barry didn't write all of them, but it seems like most of them are his - Keep Each Other Warm, It's All Behind Us Now, Sweet Heaven, Look at Me Now, Holdin' Out For You, Who Needs to Dream, Every Single Day, Can't Help Falling in Love, Unchained Melody... And now Bring on Tomorrow. It's such a beautiful song. And I do love the lyric - it's very hopeful. As I've always said, for about 75 minutes Barry can make me believe that love exists even for someone like me - well, maybe a little longer than 75 minutes since it usually takes a while for me to come down off the high! This new CD is going to be so awesome! So, Theme from Love Story and Even Now were replaced by Bring on Tomorrow. I didn't even notice that Even Now was gone until I got back to the hotel and started thinking about writing the review. And that's saying something, since Barry has been blowing us away with that song for quite a while now. In fact, Bring on Tomorrow eclipsed almost everything in the show tonight. I've had to work to bring back the memories from the rest of the show. In fact, Our Love Is Here to Stay was fantastic - and I just realized that I hadn't said anything about it - Bring on Tomorrow messes with our mind! Ha! Our Love Is Here to Stay was beautiful - I really enjoy Barry's interpretation of that song. This one doesn't seem to vary much from show to show. It's always tender - Barry always has a sweet smile on his face. I love when he sang, "And, oh my dear"... <insert teeny-bopper, dreamy sigh here> I'm really going to have to get sneaky if I want to get any more shots of Barry goofing around during Bandstand. Ha! I managed to catch one shot tonight, though. This is still a fun segment, too. For this part of the show, I think Barry could sing any lyrics he wanted to and I wouldn't notice - because I'm just having too much fun with everything that's happening on stage. I realized as I was writing this, I'm really not paying any attention to the singing. I'm watching the backups dance, I'm watching Russ and David on the drums, and mostly I'm watching Barry's antics. There really is a song in there somewhere, right?? Couldn't prove it by me!  I'm still loving the new lighting for Mandy. Barry seemed very pulled inward for this song. But at the same time, his face conveyed a lot of emotion. You know, I heard some reactions from the audience as Mandy started - it sounded like some people were very impressed with the presentation. When Barry moved into I Write the Songs, I started thinking about this particular audience and how they were going to approach the end of the show. Were they going to stand for the end of IWTS and Copa? Now, I've said before that I don't particularly like to stand - makes me uncomfortable, makes me feel exposed - but for Copa, that's just almost a requirement, isn't it?? So, when Barry got to the point in the song where he grabs his mic and walks to the front of the stage, no one stood. Well, I could see a couple of ladies several seats down from me standing - and there were probably more behind me - but for the most part no one was standing. And since I used up 20 years worth of courage during Bring on Tomorrow (I'll probably be viewing Saturday night's show while peeking out from under my seat!) I certainly wasn't going to stand to join them! So, Barry does his IWTS big finish, walks off the stage... The entire audience does stand to give him an ovation for what they think was his final bow... And then Barry walks back out for Copa, and about half a dozen people sitting in the front row right in front of me start to sit down - and I'm thinking, "Nooooooo!!! Don't leave me out here in the open!" Ha! But everyone else remained standing for the rest of the song, so those folks stood back up, too - and all was well with the world (well, the Manilow world, anyway). You'd think I would be over feeling self-conscious like that as many shows as I've attended, but don't guess I'll ever be. I love my second row seats. To me, the only advantage of the front row is that you might get a handshake, but Barry doesn't shake my hand anymore, so that's not an incentive for me to get brave. Nope, I'm perfectly happy hiding behind a front row full of people (as long as they aren't extra tall and blocking my view of "his magnificence"!) Barry seemed pleased that everyone stayed on their feet for Copa. And he seemed very pleased at how loudly they sang along with him. This part of the show is always so HAPPY - even though it's the end of the show! And yeah, Barry's looking good in that tux. Okay, so Barry would look good if he walked out on stage wearing a t-shirt and jeans (yes, I've seen him walk out on stage wearing that, and he DID look good!). So why do we all melt with the tux? Anyone figured that out? I'm the one that always has to "think" - but in this instance I think I'll slip my brain into neutral and just enjoy melting... :-)  Even the final shot of the night brings back great memories. Smiles, goodbye waves, blown kisses... The lighting is different in those last moments - I wonder if Barry can see us smiling? Maybe that's not even lights on Barry - maybe that's just the reflection from all of the smiles that he's put on our faces...  Something I would never have the courage to do during the show, but virtually, by way of cyberspace, I'm blowing a kiss back to Barry. Thanks for a fabulous show. And for gifting us with that magnificent new song.
All photos and content Copyright ©Dana Holland 
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