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Paris Las Vegas - August 13, 2011(View photo gallery here)
BB-30
 There were squeals from the audience when Barry started Somewhere in the Night. He paused to say "This is a good one", or something like that. And it was. The opening lines were kind of romantic, soft, and Barry had such a sweet expression on his face. But then as he sang, "I'll play you over and over again" I saw that sparkle, that mischievous twinkle come into his eyes and I thought "Uh-oh, here it comes". And it did! "Lovin' so warm, movin' so right" - oh, yeah - actually more like HOT! Ha! Barry really had the audience squealing. And normally you can never really tell if he even hears the audience, but tonight he started laughing at us screaming over him. We were all still trying to recover from Somewhere in the Night when he started Looks Like We Made It. Again, big-eyed Barry, exaggerated voice. The audience really seems to like that. Me, too! Big gestures toward the audience as he sang the new lyrics. This was a singing audience tonight. Can't Smile Without You was REALLY like a big karaoke bar. Barry seemed very pleased with the audience response to the sing-a-long. (The audience sang along just as loudly to I Write the Songs and Copacabana.) Barry got a little silly as he moved into the ballad segment. He kind of did a silly little dance step, got funny expressions on his face when he said, "I must have a ballad somewhere." When he went over to get a drink of water, he turned to the audience and said, "I really like you!" Barry did play with the audience some, too. This audience was up and down all night. They were very responsive to Barry, but it seemed as if there were constantly people getting up and going out or coming back in. Barry waved at one guy in the front row who was coming back in - then said, "If you gotta pee, you gotta pee". Barry!! Then a little later, during New York City Rhythm, someone got up and started walking up the aisle. And Barry yelled, "Come back! I'll get better!!" That cracked up the audience, and it also cracked up the backups! Too funny. Barry teased us a little with the ballads before going into Even Now. This time he started with The Old Songs (I love that song!). Same as last night, he shook his head vigorously and said, "NO!" (What if we all nodded our heads vigorously and said, "YES!"?? Hee!) Then he sang a snippet of Trying To Get the Feeling, but this time it was a different portion of the song - "I've been up, down". He didn't do a 3rd snippet this time - he just went right on in to Even Now.
 This performance of Even Now had quite a bit of expression. Barry emphasized the lyrics with facial expressions, as he does sometimes. But when he stood up from the piano, that's when you could really start to feel the passion in the song. A lot of angst. He kind of had me mesmerized again - I couldn't take photos. All I could do was sit there and watch. That look on his face just before he turns to walk to the back of the stage - ah, if you don't feel that in your heart, must be something wrong with you. That really long note was excellent - you could feel the passion and the power. The lighting seemed especially dramatic as Barry stood there with his hand reaching to the sky. But when Barry walked back to the front of the stage for that final note - wow... Barry just about blew us all out of the theater with that final closing note! Man! Talk about power! I even said "wow" out loud. That note hit with enough force to almost physically knock you back. And the strange thing is, Barry didn't seem nearly as winded after the song. He seemed pleased with the performance and the audience reaction, but he didn't seem to need any time to recover. Well, we did! As Brooklyn Blues started tonight, Barry asked the band to give him the groove. And they obliged. Barry told us, "here's my story" - but, like last night, I still didn't see that "telling of the story" to the same degree that I have in the past. This performance still seemed a little more turned inward. But Barry did have the groove and he was feeling the music. Something he did do that I've never seen before, and that was very cute - when he sang "I've sung love songs to a princess" - we got a little eyebrow wiggle. Now, that was CUTE! A very respectable long note at the end - not as long as some, but certainly longer than most. It probably would have been one of the longest except Barry seemed to look at the audience a little longer than he normally does before he started singing. Hey, that's okay - I'll give up a couple of seconds of long note for a couple of seconds of looking at Barry looking at us!
 This is almost getting to be like "what's she gonna hear tonight" - but I heard something different in the music. Ha! This time I could very clearly hear David playing the conga drums (I think that's what they are). It was so clear, it made me take my attention off Barry to see where it was coming from. And it was David playing. Amazing how I keep hearing things that I've never noticed before. I Am Your Child is still beautiful - it's consistently beautiful. Barry really seems to be feeling this song. And Nature Boy, too. I think Nature Boy was emphasized tonight even more at this show than last night. You get the feeling that the closing lines of that song are very important to Barry. Might just be performance, but it certainly FEELS that way. And he certainly makes me FEEL them. This One's For You was kind of unbelievable. There was certainly a lot of feeling put into the entire song. The beginning was like a typical performance. It felt genuine, felt as if Barry were really singing to someone. But then he stood up from the piano - and this time he stood up early - he stood up at the beginning of the second verse. And the emotion just came pouring out of him. I think Barry had everyone in the theater believing he was singing that song just to them. The emotion was unreal. It wasn't just facial expressions or mannerisms. His voice was quivering, his hands were shaking. It was like he had been storing up feelings for a lifetime, and they were all being released at that moment. I just thought I wanted to give him a hug last night - it's a good thing I'm such an introvert - I don't think I could have contained myself tonight, otherwise! Man! That song shook me - no, that song pierced me. You know those lyrics so many writers like to use "shot through the heart" - yeah, that was kind of it. I've never quite seen that much almost uncontrolled emotion put into this song. Really incredible. Even as Barry left the stage, he still seemed to be completely immersed in the song. New York City Rhythm was just as lively as ever. Barry is so cute when he asks if he should go on Dancing With the Stars. And so cute when he yells, "NO!! Stick to the piano, Manilow!" And the audience loves it, too. At almost every show I hear at least one person talking about that moment. Tonight during the chase around the piano, Joey threw in some extra stuff, some extra playing on the piano. Everyone turned to look at him - you could almost hear them thinking, "Show off!"
 Have I mentioned that the last two nights, Barry has worn both of my most recent favorite jackets. He opens in the fuchsia jacket, and then changes to the blue one. For a while now, while the intro to the Greatest Love Songs segment is playing (French music, french paintings being displayed), Barry walks out into an unlighted portion of the stage and watches the paintings with us before moving into his monologue and next song. He was a little late tonight, and had to hurry to get to his mark before they turned the lights up. It was kind of cute, actually. Yeah, I know - I'm supposed to be watching the paintings. I'd rather watch Barry. Love Is Here To Stay was VERY romantic tonight. Barry just had a romantic tone to his voice. His eyes and his mannerisms oozed romance. Oooh, felt nice... The entire song just had that feeling. When Barry strolled across the stage, you could just imagine him taking someone into his arms and dancing with them. This was probably one of the most romantic performances I've seen of the song. 15 Minutes is so awesome! And the audience reaction was fantastic. Really, before the show, I didn't think there were many fans in the audience. But these folks certainly knew about that CD - they were very responsive, very appreciative. There were tons of cheers before Barry even got started singing. The expression on Barry's face was priceless. It makes me so proud of him when I witness things like that. It's one thing to read that he's received this award or that award, or that the CD has placed well on the charts - but to be there in person, hear and see the accolades and watch his face as it's happening - now THAT'S priceless. Barry's performance of 15 Minutes gets better every time he does it. The song really rocks and so does Barry's performance. (Mike's guitar playing is awesome, too!) I've noticed that Barry's emphasis will change from night to night. In other words, the attitude isn't always the same. Sometimes Barry's performance just comes across as confident, sometimes as defiant. Sometimes he combines the two. Tonight was kind of a combination. I love Barry's ending pose - at the last note of the song, he strikes a pose, fists clenched. My photo is a little fuzzy (darn it), but not so bad that you can't see what he's doing. Tonight after Barry struck the pose, he kind of stood there playing with us - thrusting his fists out toward us, like a fighter. It was so cute. I know some people who saw the recent Tweet by an organization who says they have Barry booked for Celebrity Fight Night next year - they were all saying, "Barry's going to fight?!" Ha! (That's the name of the fundraiser - not an actual fight.) At any rate, when I saw Barry playing with us, I remember that. I started thinking, Barry wouldn't have to fight. He would win by default just because he's cuter than everyone else!
 Bring On Tomorrow started off a little more sedate than usual. Barry didn't emphasize the intro as much as he usually does. And the first verse was also less expressive. But after Barry stood up from the piano, the song became much more emotional, even passionate. And it really picked up at the lyrics, "Without you it's nothing, why else would I climb" - he looked straight out into the audience for that. If you were anywherre near his gaze, you melted. And that last chorus was a killer. Remember how I've described the way Barry sometimes ends Even Now by reaching for the audience? Well, he reached out and grabbed us tonight from this song.
 The lighting still continues to amaze me. It's so beautiful, not just the colors, but also the way that the colors seem to wrap around Barry. It's very impressive. The final lighting, as Barry is taking his bow, seems to change every night. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be anything special about the lighting at all. Sometimes Barry seems to be wrapped in a bubble of light. Tonight I really didn't see anything spectacular about the lighting - but I did catch this shot. It's no wonder I keep thinking about hugs when I manage to capture photos like this! Talk about "come into my arms"!
 Mandy was very nice tonight. It kind of waivered back and forth between being very emotional one moment and less emotional but more "connecting" the next moment. There were moments toward the beginning of the song when Barry gazed straight out into the audience. The ending of the song is had more emotion and passion and just plain power. Copacabana was very cute tonight. Barry forgot to give Kye his hat. It's not just a big deal because Barry can't have those props in his hands when he starts singing again. The timing is also important because the backups who take the cane and the hat are going through their choreography and they're only in the right place for a few seconds. So when Barry forgot to hand the hat off to Kye, he came dangerously close to being stuck with it. It was funny. And Barry just stood there for a second, shaking his head in disbelief. But everyone recovered quickly and Barry was just as cute and adorable standing in front of that "shirt on acid", grinning at us the entire time.
 And then something different happened. Instead of the backups coming forward so everyone could take their final bow, they all left the stage. And Barry started walking off the stage. Of course, as I watched him walking away I was thinking "is there something wrong?". But that other little voice in my head (well, okay, one of the many voices in my head - hee!) was saying, "No, he's going to do something different for us." Call it experience. And also a big dose of denial because I wasn't willing to accept that the show might really be over! Ha! Anyway, just as Barry reached the curtains on the side, he stopped - then took a step back toward us - then took a step back toward the curtains. He did that a couple of times - then I saw him motion to the band to start playing. Within two notes, I knew what he was going to do (I can name that song in two notes!) I was so excited, I started jumping up and down. Yes, introverted me was actually jumping up and down - fist in the air, and the whole thing! He did It's A Miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My all-time, favorite-est Manilow song! There were a lot of cheers from the audience - and I don't think it was just because he came back to do another song. I heard too many comments after the show from people being happy to see that one performed. I wonder if Barry could feel our energy. He had a twinkle in his eye as he opened the song. He sang, "It's a miracle... That's right!" Basically this was the same version of It's A Miracle that Barry closed the Hilton shows with. He even gave us a tiny bit of his little dance. All the backups were dancing around in the background. No streamers, but who needs 'em?! Barry and the backups also came forward and did handshakes with the front row, same way they did at the Hilton. Barry ended the show with a big emphasis on "BABY, it's YOU!" Uh-uh... I've said it before and I'll say it again - Barry, YOU'RE the miracle - you're our miracle. If you only knew...
 What a way to end the show! I'm still bouncing this morning. It was a fantastic show. Usually I'm already starting to feel that ache by the end of Saturday night, knowing that there's only one more show to go. But not this time. I'm still smiling this morning.
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