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Paris Las Vegas - April 11, 2010(View photo gallery here)
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This shot is from I Want To Be Somebody's Baby. Does he get into it, or what? Love it! On to more pleasant things - like the show! Like I said before, the energy was fantastic tonight - but not like it is when there's a big fan audience. A fan audience is very predictable - they're going to stand for at least half the show, going to give an ovation for every song. This was a civilian audience, but a very appreciative one. Not a lot of standing, not an ovation for every song - but they were very receptive and very genuine in their praise of Barry's performance. I like that. I like when you can tell that the audience truly loved the performance - not just that they love Barry. A fine line there, I know. At times I've felt as if everything the audience did was just automatic - and there have also been times when I went home wondering if we had truly let Barry know we loved his performance. I guess it's hard to achieve that balance. But this show achieved it, I think. I almost laughed during the opening of Could It Be Magic because it was kind of like what I described in my previous review. Everyone jumped up when Barry appeared in the lights - then everyone sat down quickly when he started to sing - then everyone jumped back up as soon as the uptempo part of the song started. It really WAS like being in church! By the way, someone indicated that I said I didn't like CIBM as an opening - I never said that! I love it as the opening song! It's the painting thing at the very beginning that I'm not crazy about - and last night I was too busy trying to get my stupid camera to work to even notice it. A lot of Barry's performances tonight seemed to have a little something extra - it started with CIBM and ended with Copa (wow! Copa! more on that later) The slow part of CIBM is where I really noticed something - Barry was more expressive than usual - especially when he got to the part about "heaven sent you, angels of my lifetime". I love the way he's changed the lyrics there. I just love those lines. Everything's Gonna Be Alright also had a lot emphasis and energy. It was as if Barry was determined to make us believe him. I believe! I believe! Seriously, I *did* believe by the time he was done with the song. Fantastic job! Unfortunately, the belief only lasts about 48 hours, until I have to go back to the real world and have all that hope snatched away. Then I need another dose to make me believe again. And the doses are too few and far between lately. Weekend in New England again had subtle differences. The performance tonight wasn't quite as soft and introspective, but just as emotional. The last part of the song was very strong and passionate. Barry gave me chills with his performance. This song is always different - it's amazing to watch Barry as he takes the same lyrics night after night and turns them into something different with every performance. The words may be the same, but the feeling certainly isn't.
The photos show the intensity and emotion Barry had as he sang. And, this last one also shows just how deeply into the song he was. That faraway look in his eyes is incredible. It's no wonder he can take us with him - there's no way we could do anything other than be carried away.
I didn't think it was possible, but I Want To Be Somebody's Baby was even better than last night. It's kind of hard to find words to describe it after I said in the last review about how it rocked. Well, tonight it REALLY rocked - Barry put his all into it. (and I thought he put his all into it last night - so he apparently was still hiding a little!) Especially the ending - he made us believe he was angry and defiant. Heck, he was making me feel angry and defiant - made me want to stand up and tell someone to kiss my... Uh... Never mind... Anyway, AWESOME performance! Can't Smile Without You had a different feel tonight. The audience wasn't as loud as they were last night, but the energy level was higher. Barry asked everyone to stand, and as far as I could see, everyone jumped up immediately - even the ones who wouldn't stand for other songs. Barry held the mic down for a guy to sing a few lines of CSWY - that was a change! I forgot to mention the commercial segment - he put a mini commercial segment in the show. He sang the Band-Aid song and the State Farm song. The love songs segment was fantastic again. Both songs were standouts, but like last night, different in the way they were performed. I think Love Is Here To Stay was my favorite of the two - there was something special about that one. There was a smile on Barry's face like he believed it himself. Even Now was incredible. Last night's performance was extremely strong, but tonight was even more so. It was emotional AND passionate. And, at least for me, Barry reached right out from that stage and grabbed my heart. Again, I believed... Barry may have to ask Criss Angel if he can use the show title - "Barry Manilow - BELIEVE!"
Barry *did* tell Ron Pedley to play Gershwin during the New York City Rhythm segment. In fact, Gershwin came up multiple times during the show - I guess I'm going to have to become a Gershwin expert after all! Tonight Barry referred to Joe Melotti as a mad man, rather than a wild man - can't be sure what he actually said at the Saturday show - too many details for this feeble brain. The Grandpa Joe segment was great again. I had civilians on either side of me - Barry got to them with that one. Nature Boy was again a mix of adorable and breathtaking. This One's For You was a very powerful performance - another moment of "belief". Interesting lighting during I Am Your Child. There was a spotlight that was shining down into the audience. At one point, between verses, Barry stopped and really looked at us. I don't know about anyone else, but it feels very special when he does that.
The sock hop segment and the dueling drummers was great. Keely and Kye had another mishap with the slide through the legs bit - this time Kye went through Barry's legs. (note to self: that did NOT sound right - must get photos posted!) I didn't see everything that happened because I was kind of in "photographer" mode - this was the first time I had been in a good position to take photos of Keely as she slides through. So, I had my camera up and was focusing on snapping those shots - which I guess is a good thing because I would have missed it all if I hadn't been! I was told that Kye kept trying to grab Keely's feet and never managed to do it. It looks in the photos like he may have lost his balance, too. At any rate, he's the one that came sliding through - head first! (By the way, the funny faces Barry makes for us are hilarious!)
The look on Barry's face was priceless. Everyone trying to finish the segment while laughing about the mishap was also priceless - even the band was laughing.
And I still think it's cute when Barry plays with the ruffles on Melanie's skirt as she twirls around.
Mandy and I Write the Songs both had a different feel tonight - more poignant. Something interesting about the lighting during Mandy... Before it has always seemed to be blue, kind of an eery glow. But at this show, a much warmer color stood out, kind of an amber color. Then for I Write the Songs, it was back to the blue glow - in fact, it was so pronounced during IWTS that I simply couldn't get any decent photos. I checked my photos from the night before - Mandy started out with that amber glow, but then it turned bluish when the video screen came down and the video of baby Barry started. So, not quite sure why the amber glow seemed to stay in my mind tonight, where in the past the blue seemed dominant. Maybe something to do with where I was sitting? Anyway, leaving the photography out of it, the lighting actually changed the mood of Mandy - warmer lighting gave it a warmer mood - no, I think I should say it gave the song a more personal mood. The song was still poignant, still filled with longing, but somehow the amber color made you feel closer to Barry, therefore, feeling the pain more. When I get to come back again, I'm going to have to remember to really pay attention to all of that to see if I experience the same thing.
Copacabana was totally different tonight while being the same. There was something different about the energy level, the audience, and even Barry. I think what I was seeing was Barry's ability to pick up on the audience vibes and run with it. He didn't really do things much differently from the night before - just tiny little things that played on what the audience was projecting up to him - it gave the song an incredible amount of energy. The performance of the song tonight brought everyone up as far as any other song Barry has ever put at the end of his show - we left on a high. And I've never heard an audience sing along as loudly to Copacabana as they did at this show.
I love this shot that I got - you could never plan to get a shot like this! I can't decide if it looks like he's wearing the old Copa jacket again, or if it looks like he's sprouted a pair of angel's wings! (He's our angel, anyway!)
And Barry's goodbye to us as the curtain came down was something I'll never forget. Never thought I could feel that much emotion coming from him when he was standing so far away. Makes you wonder if he can feel it from us...
So back to the real world, and non-belief. But when I really need it, all I have to do is pull up one of these photos and it will remind me.
All photos and content Copyright ©Dana Holland 
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