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Paris Las Vegas - June 5, 2010(View photo gallery here)
BB-31
The opening song, Could It Be Magic, has the background of stars that I've mentioned before when talking about the closing of the show. But they aren't as noticeable because the spotlight on Barry is so bright. If you look away from him (and who wants to do that?!?), you can see a beautiful starry "sky". Barry really seemed to be into the lyrics of Everything's Gonna Be Alright. The lyrics are upbeat - and Barry was making it a very upbeat performance. He put a lot of emphasis into the lyrics, and he put a lot of smiles in there, too. That's another song with a really beautiful color scheme. I'm really enjoying hearing all of Somewhere in the Night - and I'm enjoying the classy performance that Barry is doing now. His voice sounds fantastic on the song - it's kind of soothing, kind of romantic. The color scheme is gorgeous - it ranges from purple to a midnight blue. The spotlights on Barry at the end of the song, coming down from every direction, is also gorgeous. I like the way this show uses visual effects to enhance the mood of the songs, in some instances. Before anyone says, "Barry doesn't need any help!" - no, he doesn't. And that's demonstrated by songs like Weekend in New England, where visual effects may compliment the song, but they don't really add anything to the performance. I guess what I'm saying is that some songs already have a "feel" associated with them - Somewhere in the Night is one of them. And the color scheme that has been chosen for the song fits in perfectly with it. Barry is still working his magic on us during the song - but when he's surround by color that fits in so well, it makes you feel as if you're enveloped in the song - not just watching it being performed. Barry always has the ability to take us away to his world when he's performing - but this is a different sensation - it's almost a physical sensation of being wrapped into a cocoon with Barry right in the middle of it strumming your heart strings. I've felt that sensation during several of the songs that are currently in the set list - but this is the one where it seems strongest.
Weekend in New England was again very beautiful. I think Barry put even more emotion into the song - I really "felt" the song. People did yell out again - and Barry obliged with cute facial expressions and his "I still got it" comment. But I also had a feeling that he would have preferred to just sing the song through, especially since he was in such an emotional mode with it. That's just me, though - I don't pretend to have any idea what he's thinking or wanting to do. Could just be me - we all interpret his performances differently. At any rate, he definitely was cute with the facial expressions. And everyone agreed that he's still got it. Barry's voice sounded very rich during this performance - especially at the beginning and toward the end. Not sure if it was at this show, but something cute happened at one of these 3 shows when Kye walks out on stage with a change of jackets for Barry. There's a cute dialogue exchange between the two of them - this one ended up with Kye telling Barry that they're homies (because they're both from New York). Paraphrased, Barry said, "Homies? Homies! We're homies!" Then Barry rolled his eyes as he walked back across the stage and said, "I am so square." The Theme From Love Story was performed a little differently - a subtle difference - but something I noticed, nevertheless. Basically, Barry was a little more creative with his vocals - he seemed to deviate from the notes as they're written. I thought it sounded awesome - I really liked what he did.
I was too far away to really take photos during the Grandpa Joe segment. I did notice that there's a starry background for these songs, as well. Barry has been doing a great job with I Am Your Child. I like the way he's doing that at a keyboard toward the front of the stage, surround in black (except for a few stars in the background). There's a lone spotlight that kind of casts a golden glow on him for that part of the segment. In contast, the lighting is more of a purple during Nature Boy. But what I really find striking is that in both cases, the lighting makes it appear as if Barry is glowing. Barry's performance of This One's For You was again excellent - the song really seems to convey much more emotion than it used to. At the ending, the visual effect of the photo of Grandpa and baby Barry that hangs over "live" Barry who is striking one of his classic "ending of the song" poses, along with spotlights shining down from different directions to illuminate is stunning. Best song of the night was I Want To Be Somebody's Baby - and I think Barry worked harder on that song than any of them. He put everything he had into that song. It was fantastic. And I think it caught a few audience members totally by surprise - I caught an older couple looking at each other as if to say, "What the ****?!" I love it! Barry isn't just ballads!
More cute dancing during the sock hop segment. Well, more cute making-fun-of-the-dancing during the sock hop segment - because Barry is making fun of it through the segment. The backups are up there doing a great job performing their choreographed routine, but you find yourself just having to look back at Barry to see what cute thing he's doing next! If you allow your attention to wander, you're going to miss a lot! Not just from Barry, but from everyone - the backups stick pretty close to the choreographed routine, but if you're paying attention, you'll see little things they throw in. Not to mention you never know what's going to happen when Keely goes sliding through Barry's legs! I think this is new (don't remember seeing it in April), but after Kye's solo dance, he and Barry strike a pose similar to the infamous John Travolta disco pose.
Even Now was also great - a slightly difference performance from the night before. On one hand, not as emotional - but then again, emotional in a different way. The first performance was more of a longing - the second more frustration. I guess I see way too much detail in what's going on. But there's a lot of detail to see. Barry covers a lot more distance on the stage with this version of the song - side to side, front to back. It's very dramatic. Even the closing of the song, as Barry backs up step-by-step, further and further away from us. Everything is totally black around him. You've heard of the horse of many colors - well, we have the piano of many colors. This show was the first time that I caught it - and now I completely understand my confusion about the color of the lighting during Mandy. (this is also another example of just how much detail goes into this show) The piano and bench are white (or light colored). As the song begins, the spotlight shining down on Barry gives everything a golden hue. But then the lighting changes, and the white piano and bench turn purple - but only in places - you'll have to check out the photos to see what I'm talking about. When the photos first caught my eye, I thought that was an interesting paint scheme on the piano - then I realized that it's the lighting that does it. I'm including one extra photo here that I'm not putting up in the photo gallery on my personal site just so I can demonstrate what I'm talking about - see how the bench legs start out purple and then go all white? As Barry closes the song, everything is all white again. And as Barry moves into I Write the Songs, the piano and bench take on a violet color. What I'm finding so fascinating is that they can be that precise with the lights - I mean, I guess that's how it's being done - I really don't know. It's just something that intrigues me - and I would have never noticed it if it hadn't been for the photos.
There are a few moments between I Write the Songs and Copacabana where Barry leaves the stage - during those moments, you can see another example of the beautiful lighting. The band and backups are clearly visible, bathed in a blue light. The lighting is such that you can really see each member of the band. It's gorgeous! I still get the impression that Barry really loves the closing of his show - he always has such a huge smile on his face. The audience, though, has a lot to do with the energy level of this part of the show. This particular audience sang along loudly. They did the night before, as well. Barry even made a comment on one of the nights about the audience knowing all of the words. He seemed to feed off the audience - and we fed off him. There was a circle of joy, for lack of a better way to describe it. Everyone left on a high.
All photos and content Copyright ©Dana Holland 
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