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Paris Las Vegas - June 10, 2011(View photo gallery here)
BB-31  Barry made the comment that he has a birthday coming up soon. The audience started applauding. Barry pretended to be pushing us away, and made a comment about "those two numbers". Hey, we'll still be here when Barry hits 3 numbers (and some of us won't be that far behind him)! Has anyone listened to the lyrics of Trainwreck? "Maybe I was their hero, that don't last." Oh, yes... In this case it's going to last FOREVER. Even Now was excellent. Before he started the song, Barry made a comment about his hoarse voice - and he said that he would do his best. I guess you could hear that his voice was a little raspy, but honestly, it didn't take anything away from the song. Barry was very expressive with his performance tonight. He used facial expressions and sometimes even gestures to convey the meaning of the lyrics. I was very impressed - I haven't seen him do that with Even Now in a long time - or maybe ever, come to think of it. I've seen Barry pull back into himself and seen facial expressions that would go along with that. But this was different - this time Barry was playing to the audience - as if he were telling us the story instead of just singing it to himself. It was a different type of performance. The ending of the song was incredibly passionate - this was the first of several times during the night when Barry was really connecting. Sometimes the "connection" is left up to the audience - it's subtle on Barry's part and left up to the individual to go that extra step to make it happen. But not tonight. Tonight he forced the connections several times - he took control - you could literally "feel" it coming from him. I Am Your Child was again tender and emotional. Barry sold the song well. He always sings the first part of the song so softly - well, he's been singing in that way for quite a while, actually. Sometimes it seems that he has to reach a little for this song because the notes are higher (or seem higher - I don't think I've ever seen the sheet music, so I'm not sure) - but he didn't have to reach for anything tonight. It was perfect. Then for the last part, Barry sang it out loud and strong. Listening to the audience react to Nature Boy will never get old. Watching Barry's facial expressions and smiles as baby Barry is singing will never get old, either. So cute... I loved the expression on Barry's face tonight as baby Barry sang the part about about "love and be loved in return". He looked so reflective during that part. And when adult Barry took over, walking to center stage to sing those lines again, he seemed so serious - or maybe the better word is genuine. This Ones For You was also a different performance. It was kind of like two different types of performances. For the first part, while Barry was still seated at the piano, Barry seemed far, far away. His eyes were far away. Sometimes you can look into his eyes when he's performing a song and you can see that he's in that special place that he creates to sell the song. That's not what I saw tonight - or, if it was, then he found a new special place - because this was a different look. Usually Barry performs this song as if he were performing it for someone - it can take on different tones, but it always seems that it's directed at a person. For the first part of the performance, Barry appeared to be completely inside himself - his eyes appeared to look off into the distance - he really didn't seem to be "with us". He was still telling the story - it was just different from anything I've seen before. And then for the second part of the song, Barry really poured it on. It was very strong, very much seemed to be directed at someone again. Barry stood up from the piano early - he walked to the front of the stage earlier in the song than he normally does - almost an entire verse earlier. It was a passionate performance. The vocals were forceful as he emphasized certain lyrics. The gestures were strong. He seriously demanded your attention - and got it! He seemed to be living the lyrics. New York City Rhythm is still one of my favorite parts of the show. I love the energy and I love the choreography. And I love Barry's antics. Is this pout cute or what?  Besides being full of fantastic performances, the show was just plain fun tonight. There were several little mistakes that made it not only fun, but funny. The first was during New York City Rhythm. Ron P. had finished his solo and Barry turned to introduce Joe - but Joe wasn't there! Finally we could see the piano starting to emerge from behind the curtains. Joe's solo was almost finished by the time the piano got to where it was supposed to be! Everyone was fighting back the giggles for the rest of the song. And one of these days I'm going to get a shot of Barry flashing us with his jacket lining without closed eyes or funny faces! Or maybe not... But I'm going to keep trying!  There was something slightly different about the ending of New York City Rhythm tonight. After the song is finished, Barry always walks back to the band and then stands there dancing as the curtain goes down. Tonight the backups joined him. In the past they've always stood off to the side as Barry danced - but this time they surrounded him and they were dancing, too. Love Is Here To Stay was very nice tonight - I think the title of the song says it all. Romance isn't the right word to describe tonight's performance. It was something more comfortable. Barry's tone of voice, the look in his eyes came across as comfortable and happy and secure. When Barry performs Forever and a Day, we always feel like it's just for us - there's this feeling of mutual affection, love flowing both ways between Barry and the audience. That's kind of the feeling that Our Love Is Here to Stay had tonight.  Bring On Tomorrow was magnificent. Has the band always moved up close to the piano during the song, or is that something new? I thought it looked great. The lighting was fantastic during the song - it seemed to compliment Barry's vocals perfectly. During the first chorus, the fog was swirling around in the purple/fuchsia lighting and it all seemed to wrap itself around Barry. It seriously looked like the fog had taken on a life of it's own - it circled and then enveloped him as he sang. Speaking of vocals, Barry's performance was back to sounding like a love song at this show. It still told the story of the song - you could hear the happiness and excitement of the guy because he got the job. But this time, the girl seemed to matter. The tone of the performance was such that the guy really felt like he was going to make it - not just professionally, but also personally. Barry wrapped it all together beautifully. If it's possible for the ending of the song to be even bigger than before, I think it did. Wow! Barry's always been so good at building to a huge ending with his songs. But this isn't just musical or even performance-wise - there's a visible aspect to it. I think the lighting has something to do with it - I don't really know how changing the lighting can make you "feel" a sensation of everything getting bigger, but it does. The fuchsia tone fades to more of a lavender, the lights are all moving around, and at the same time there are golden spotlights that are beginning to shine down - and all of that makes you feel as if the entire showroom is being swallowed up into the production - it makes you feel as if you're part of it rather than just viewing it. If you saw the show at the Hilton, you remember how during Ships there was a sensation of Barry being suspended in the darkness, a single figure standing in the universe? There's a similar sensation that has been created with the lighting at the end of Bring On Tomorrow. Instead of Barry being suspended in darkness, though, he's suspended in a sea of color. It's a fantastic effect. And Barry was great on those final notes of Bring On Tomorrow. I'll never forget the expression on his face after he finished the song - never forget that smile - and an even bigger smile as the audience exploded into applause and cheers in appreciation for his performance. It was one of those moments to remember. Barry's final bow, after he walked to back of the stage, was also breathtaking - the way he was looking at us. I totally botched that shot - not surprising because while I wanted the shot to remember, I didn't want to take my eyes off Barry. I don't think I'll have any trouble remembering this one, though... Barry bounced out to the Bandstand segment. It looked like he was still on a high after his Bring On Tomorrow performance. He had a huge smile on his face. And his energy reached out into the audience. The Keely sliding through Barry's legs choreography during Bandstand was a total FAIL tonight! Ha! Keely got about half way through, and then just stopped! She was left lying there, looking up, with Barry looking down and laughing. I like the way they've really started playing around with the last part of the Bandstand segment, where they pretend to drag Barry to the back of the stage. Tonight Keely grabbed Barry's arm and Barry pretended to be resisting - he kept looking at the audience as if he didn't want to go.  Mandy was incredible tonight. Barry has really been nailing that song lately. There's tons of emotion in it - it really seems that it means a great deal to him right now. I so love that I can take photos of Barry during this portion of the show now. I haven't been successful in capturing the feeling that's coming from the song, though.  Barry got the usual standing ovation for his performance - but I think this was one of the loudest I've heard. Barry acted surprised at the response. He also seemed to be touched by it. That same tone carried over into I Write the Songs. Barry's performance gave you the impression that he was touched by the audience reaction. Barry was very expressive with Copacabana tonight - or maybe I should say he was having a good time playing around with the song. He emphasized the lyrics with gestures and facial expressions. For instance, the "ah, love... ah, romance..." part... Tonight he stretched those out a little, and then he just sighed, "Ahhhhhhh..." with big eyes turned skyward. So cute. And then when he got to the part about "who the hell shot who", each line was punctuated with eyes, hand gestures, and "OMG" expressions! Too fun! And "she lost her love" - Kye was back there crying his eyes out! He's going to need more than one hanky if this keeps up!  There were several things I've never noticed before during the portion of Copa where the backups all get to dance while Barry is becoming magnificent for us. :-) You know how each of the backups dances in front of those colored screens? Well, I realized tonight that after all the backups have finished their solo moments, each of those colored screens is illuminated briefly with the backup standing in front of it (Kye goes back to his screen, too). It has a flashing effect, kind of like strobe light. It looks cool. I've never seen it before - not sure if it's new or if I've just been so focused on waiting for Barry to come up through the trap door that I haven't seen it. The only reason I saw it tonight is because the flashing colors caught my attention.  The other thing I noticed is the music. I heard music I've never heard before. Last time I think I mentioned hearing a keyboard. This time I heard different things - in fact, two musical things - different instruments, different notes. The first one was a deep sound - I couldn't decide if I was hearing a synthesizer or guitar or maybe something else. Barry was beyond adorable when he reappeared wearing his tux. I snapped a shot as he came up through the trap door, but after that I was helpless - ha! All I could do was stand there and look at him - he seemed to pose forever with his arms spread wide and a look on his face that seemed to say "How do I look? Fabulous?" And all I could do was stand there and grin like an idiot, taking it all in. To heck with the camera! Ha!  Barry wore a huge grin himself as he finished out the show. I never want him to leave the stage, but I'm almost always on a high during those final moments. I wish the curtain didn't come down quite so quickly - I love watching Barry stand back there against the stars - especially when he's smiling at the audience and taking in all of the adoration being sent his way. That said, a thought just popped into my head... Is it just the performance that has us leaving on a high? Or is it also an overwhelming sense of pride and joy for Barry as we see him looking so happy that the audience loved everything that he and his crew had just done for us? I'll never get tired of this. Barry gives me an energy I don't get anywhere else. I could do this forever.
All photos and content Copyright ©Dana Holland 
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