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Paris Las Vegas - June 12, 2011(View photo gallery here)
BB-30  Even Now may not have topped last night's performance, but it surely tied it. Someone asked me after the show which one I thought was better - I couldn't make up my mind. Both were extremely expressive, both had tons of emotion, both had killer long notes. I just can't choose one over the other. This was another of the songs where it seems like Barry put his hand to his heart. At tonight's performance, Barry again reached for the audience during that first long note. But this time he didn't stop there - he stretched his arm out toward us - it had the same feeling as last night, where it felt like he was reaching inside you. And then he looked straight out at the audience and started walking toward us with his arm still outstretched. Wow... Another one of those images that gets permanently etched into your mind. And then Barry hit that second long note - and it was just as powerful as last night. Barry and gang seemed to be having a blast with Brooklyn Blues tonight. And that's what Barry calls the backups - he says they're his "gang". That ending note was so long tonight, I'm surprised Barry had any breath left for the rest of the show! If this wasn't the longest he's ever held the note, it must be a close tie. Incredible! Before he started it, he took a long look at the audience - as if he were looking to us for inspiration to hit the note. I remember those blue eyes and the smile on his face. I hope that memory never fades! I Am Your Child was so beautiful tonight. Exquisite! It still had the same gentle, emotional quality that has been consistent through the last several shows. But there was something about Barry's voice tonight that made it even more beautiful - almost physically beautiful. That probably sounds strange, but I kind of "see" music. In my mind's eye, I "see" attributes in the music that I can assign physical qualities, too. For instance, in Linkin Park's "From the Inside", I see circles - I see smaller circles of music inside larger circles of music inside even larger circles of music. So, when I say I Am Your Child was physically beautiful, I was "seeing" a beauty in the performance of the song that went beyond the actual music and performance. Crazy, right?  Nature Boy had a different quality. Not so much beauty, but a lot of emotion. Barry played around with the baby Barry portion of the song, as usual - the audience thoroughly enjoyed it - I think they may have laughed more tonight than they did last night. But when it came time for adult Barry to take over the singing of the song, there was more emotion in it than there had been at the previous show - especially the last few lines. And This One's For You had the same quality. The connection with the audience was subtle - Barry wasn't overly expressive - he didn't really appear to be trying to sell the song. Sometimes Barry is forceful with this song, but he wasn't tonight. It was more subdued. I think the two most memorable moments of the song for me were times when Barry wasn't singing. There were two times when he had finished the chorus or verse, when he briefly looked out into the audience. The look in his eyes was almost haunting - it was one of those "wow" moments. The meaning of the entire song seemed to be rolled into those two glances - they probably didn't last more than two seconds each. And yet, that's what I remember most about the performance. Again, it seems like Barry might have put his hand over his heart toward the end of this song (during the part where he's standing at the front of the stage). He was very emotional - it didn't come across as a performance, it came across as genuine emotion. Brandon's sax solo preceding New York City Rhythm sounded a little different tonight. He seemed to be playing the first half of the solo slower than he usually does. I know that's not the proper musical term for it - can't for the life of me remember what that term is. I'm sure my former piano teacher is looking down on me right now saying, "Didn't you learn anything??" At any rate, the music Brandon was playing sounded soulful - that's the best word I can come up with to describe it. The second half of the solo was played the way he normally does it. Finally! Finally I got the shot of Barry flashing us with his jacket lining! So maybe that doesn't sound like something I should be excited about - but it had become a challenge! However, I still missed the shot of him conducting during Love Is Here To Stay! Oh, well...  Here's a shot of Barry and his gang all dancing as the curtain goes down. I even got Mike and Russ in this shot. I made this one a little bigger so you can see it since the spotlights have been turned off at that point.  Love Is Here To Stay was very nice again tonight - and again different. I can see the performance in my head and I can pull up the feelings I had as I watched it - but I'm really struggling with the words to describe it. Ok, it was playfully romantic - how about that? It was romantic, but not roses and champagne in front of the fireplace romantic. More like just the roses! Ha! Okay, I have it - maybe not so much romantic as affectionate. There was a feeling of familiarity with the audience. In a way, it reminded me of the feelings I get when I watch Barry perform Forever and a Day, except this wasn't as emotional - it was comfortable. When Barry is performing Love Is Here To Stay, he almost always half walks, half dances across the stage - but even that was different tonight. He strolled across the stage - and yeah, that's got to be very hard to picture unless you saw it - he gracefully glided across the stage. If it's possible, the way he walked conveyed the tone of the song as much as the way he sang it. Of all the performances of this song I've seen, this was the one that seemed most genuine - more like Barry was stating a truth rather than giving a performance. Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. Bring on Tomorrow was a killer performance again. Just beautiful - just perfect. In my last review I described seeing defiance in Barry's interpretation of the lyrics ("they told us we're crazy") - I really saw it tonight. What a performance! What attitude! I loved it! The entire song was perfection - perfect blend of excitement, defiance, determination and love. Can't get any better than that. I did take a photo during the foot-stomping part of the song, but that's just not something that you can really capture. That's one of the memories that has to stay in your head. Barry looked so happy for the last chorus of the song. Was it interpretation of the lyrics? Or was it happiness about the song and the audience reaction to it? Or both? I don't know - but it made for a fantastic performance of that last chorus. And the ending notes were fantastic again. It's such a beautiful ballad - and Barry's live performance makes it even more beautiful.  And the golden aura... Hmm... I didn't see it tonight... Yes, the way Barry ends the song has changed. He does stay at the front of the stage. The lights do fade to black, until there's only a spotlight on Barry. But no golden aura this time... Everyone told me after the show, "Yes, we saw it last night!" Yeah, right... That's just what you say to crazy people, I know! Oh, well - I decided to Google "golden aura", just to see if I could find something to make me feel a little less crazy. It said: "The color of enlightenment and divine protection." Ok, I can handle that - I like the idea that Barry is being divinely protected. But I'm not being crazy when I say that new ending is a nice touch. Especially tonight. After all the lights faded except that spotlight, and Barry stood there smiling, with his head cocked to the side... Oh, my... If I imagined that, then bring on the crazy!!! I could have melted. No photos of it - I would have to be awfully quick to catch that. And besides, who wants to take their eyes away from that wonderful image! Nooooo! Barry was being cute during Bandstand again. He wasn't cutting up as much as he did the night before, but he was still being very funny. His antics make that entire segment - the audience has no choice but to go along with him. And everyone seems to love it - I don't think I've ever seen anyone in the audience without a big smile on their face during that part of the show.  Both Mandy and I Write the Songs were excellent performances. There was a lot of emotion in both songs, although I think Mandy had the most. Barry did more gazing out at the audience during Mandy than he normally does. When he does that, it changes the tone of the song slightly. I just think that's interesting. The way he normally performs the song makes it seem as if he's drawn into himself, talking to himself. But when he looks out at the audience as he sings, there's a feeling of his putting the message "out there", searching for Mandy, hoping she'll hear him sing. Both methods are great. Barry had a brief moment of being hoarse again during I Write the Songs. But he showed his quick wit by inserting the word "hoarse" into the lyrics! "I write the songs that make the whole world hoarse!" Ha! The audience finished the chorus for him and he said, "You sound better than I do!" But that was the only time he had a problem - his voice was beautiful after that. Everyone needs to see the live show - especially casual fans and interested spectators who wouldn't even call themselves a fan. So many people have this preconceived notion of who and what Barry Manilow is - but just listening to a single recording of one of his songs or even attending a single show doesn't tell the story. The feeling that you pick up from a song on a studio album may or may not be the same as what you'll see in the show. And if you go to a second show, you may see yet another interpretation. And if you go to a third, there may be even another... It's very obvious to me that Barry puts a lot of effort into creating something that can speak to each of us - that we can feel in a way that's unique to each of us. He's one of a kind. And again, the show flew by - it really does get faster every time. But, I'll leave you with a tux photo to last until next time. Not as good as the real thing, but still a lot of fun to look at. 
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