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Paris Las Vegas - September 18, 2011(View photo gallery here)
BB-30  We've always heard that Barry feeds off the audience. But I think we feed off him, too. A prime example of symbiosis... (and you thought that word was just for biology class!) During the first ballad segment, Barry took the "what shall I do" game a step further. Tonight he actually started to play the music of Weekend in New England - and the audience cheered and applauded - then Barry stopped, shook his head, and said, "No, not that one". Then he started playing the music for Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again - more audience applause and cheers - then Barry shook his head and said, "Not that one, either". Then he finally said, "I think I'll do Even Now". Great, great performance. Barry was very expressive - lots of facial expression to emphasize lyrics, inserting pauses that also emphasized lyrics... The ending of the song was just as powerful as it's been the last couple of nights. The "reach" was even more powerful - tonight he returned to reaching toward the audience - and he REALLY reached out toward us. Love it when he does that... Barry looked a little out of breath when he finished Even Now. But he went right into Brooklyn Blues. He again commented on the groove, and stood there dancing for a few seconds before sitting down at the piano. He also commented again on the lyric. And he certainly played out those lyrics tonight during his performance. As with Even Now, he used a lot of facial expressions for emphasis; he also used a lot of hand gestures, taking his hands off the piano at times. He looked out into the audience almost the entire time. It was really as if he were telling a story. The long note at the end wasn't quite as long as it's been at times, but still very strong. For the most part I haven't been taking photos of I Am Your Child lately - I think because Barry has seemed so emotional during the song. Well... I did take a photo on Saturday night and immediately wished I hadn't. The performances have been so beautiful and feeling, though. And Nature Boy, too. Barry really wasn't silly as baby Barry sang tonight - sometimes he really is, but tonight he mostly just smiled. Before the song began, he did comment on how sophisticated the song is for a 4-year-old to sing - he always says that, but as with some other parts of the show, this time it seemed more like a conversation with the audience. When it got to that portion of the song, Barry really emphasized the range of the notes using hand gestures. The ending of the song ("love and be loved") was different tonight - a different tone. Usually it comes across as statement - almost like a lecture. But tonight there really didn't seem to be much feeling put into it at all - I'm just noting that because it was really kind of unusual in comparison to I've seen in the past.  This One's For You was still distant, although not as distant as Saturday night. Barry continued the pattern of really emphasizing lyrics with facial expressions and/or gestures. There was definitely more feeling in the song that there had been on Saturday, but it felt as if Barry were singing to someone far, far away. Sometimes the tone of the song is one that makes you feel as if Barry were singing to a friend - basically dedicating a song to someone - or maybe even singing to his audience. Sometimes the tone of the song is a little darker - that's how it felt tonight and definitely how it felt on Saturday night. I don't know if you could really describe the tone as "sad" - but the performance didn't really seem to be for the audience - nor did it even seem as if it mattered that we were there. That did change slightly when Barry walked to the front of the stage. I began to feel a little of the passion as he sang and gestured. Barry's mood still felt a little somber as he left the stage - but by the time he came back out wearing his leather jacket for New York City Rhythm he seemed to be in a completely different mood. He joked again about going on Dancing With the Stars, but this time he altered the way he said it. Came across as more of a conversation with the audience (albeit, a one way conversation). Barry's facial expressions convey mock horror at the prospect of going on Dancing With the Stars - it's really very entertaining. Normally when the the two Rons and Joe do their piano solos, what they play every night is very similar. Of course, Ron P's solo would be the same because he's playing that Gershwin piece. And Ron W. always plays basically the same thing because that's where everyone does the little It's A Miracle snippet. Joe's solo is the most likely to vary from night to night - it's always something that's improvised. Well, Barry calls it "out of control" - ha! At any rate, Joe's solo is a completely different style from what the other guys do. But tonight, the first half of his solo was very melodic, more like he was playing an actual song than just improvising. Then for the last half of his solo he moved back into the improvisation. Forgot to mention it in the last review, but for the last two nights as everyone leaves the stage after NYCR, Barry has given Muffy a huge hug. This is where they all used to dance as the curtain goes down - for a while, Barry was dancing with Muffy as the rest of the backups danced around them. But at the Saturday show, Barry reached out and gave Muffy a big hug - and then at tonight's show he gave her a bear hug! (And yes, we're still jealous...) I don't know if the lighting changed for 15 Minutes or if Barry just delayed his walk to the front of the stage tonight - but I think the lighting changed. I've been trying to catch a really good shot of him as he stands in the dark with just a hint of a spotlight shining down on him. I snapped another of those tonight, but I'm still not pleased with it. Even so, I got a chance at a different shot - this time the full spotlights shone down on Barry and he maintained that same opening pose for a couple of seconds - long enough for me to catch this shot. And I love this!  Tonight's performance of 15 Minutes was the best I've seen so far. Tons of attitude - tons of rock voice. He sang that line "just gimme my shot" with so much force, it was almost like being slapped in the face with it. Love it! Tried to get a shot of that, but guess I got in too much of a hurry (or I got too excited!) - it blurred - rats... At any rate, it was one fantastic performance. Barry played with us again after that final pose - giving a little pout and thrusting his fists out toward us.  There's something else that seems to have changed about 15 Minutes. My first inclination is to say lighting, but I'm not sure about that. The "set" seems bigger than it did before. I've described before how "big" Bring On Tomorrow seems. I got the same kind of feeling with 15 Minutes tonight (and Saturday night, too). The set is much darker than Bring On Tomorrow. Other than the amber spotlights shining on Kye, Mike and Stan, and the neon displays, the stage appears pitch black. You can see the girls in the background, but it's pretty dark. When you're looking at photos later, it doesn't seem black - there's just something about what you're seeing with your own eyes that makes it seem like everything is black. Anyway... For some reason at the past two shows, though, everything seemed bigger - especially toward the end, beginning with "just gimme my shot". The song has the "BIG" feel to it - it pulls you into another little world. I think I determined that while lighting had something to do with that sensation for Bring On Tomorrow, it's really Barry that is giving the song that huge feeling - it's what he's putting into the performance. And this may be the same thing happening with 15 Minutes. As I said before, Barry has got the performance of 15 Minutes down - he owns that song now. What I'm seeing/feeling may just be a matter of Barry pulling us into the Manilow Zone. I think the lighting may have changed for Bring On Tomorrow, too. It was much brighter - no more pink hair on Barry while he's sitting at the piano. I've been trying to decide which I like better (lighting, not the pink hair part!). I like being able to see Barry more clearly. But then the previous lighting kind of set the tone for the song. But, if Barry is performing the song with a very upbeat mood (as he does sometimes), then the brighter lighting fits perfectly. And why I'm debating it all in my mind when my opinion makes absolutely no difference at all is beyond me... Actually, even the lighting toward the end of Bring On Tomorrow seemed brighter, especially starting at the next to last chorus. I remember thinking that the colors seemed washed out - what used to be a warm pink/magenta/fuchsia glow on the stage actually had more of a white/yellow tone with just a hint of pink. I could say that it might have had something to do with where I was sitting - but I've been in that particular spot many times and never noticed that. The colors have always seemed so brilliant before. Regardless, the sound was wonderful - and Barry's performance was wonderful. I think the ending of the song, from "without you it's nothing" through to the very end was the best part of the performance. Barry put a lot of feeling into it. It came across as a very happy statement - no, it was a declaration - an affirmation that tomorrow would be better and everything would be alright. (just like what Barry says when he introduces the song) Nice performance. David and Russ were definitely doing something different with their Bandstand drum solos tonight. I'm sure they're never completely the same - but this is something that's different enough for me to notice it. Keely and Kye were both especially funny during the Bandstand segment tonight. As Barry introduced the dance, Keely started dancing around in circles - not something she usually does. Kye always has this goofy look on his face - but tonight he pretended to be looking down Keely's dress. Well, wait... How can you "pretend" to do that?? Ok, so Kye was looking down Keely's dress... (ha!) And she pushed him away. And then Kye looked at the audience with an expression on his face that seemed to say, "Oh, well - I tried".  Something happened as Keely slid through Barry's legs tonight. I'm not sure if she hit her head, or if Kye might have stepped on her hair as he pushed her through - but she came through holding her head. She didn't bounce up as quickly as she normally does. Everyone was laughing, but at the same time you could see they were a little concerned. She seemed to be okay, though - she never missed a beat with the rest of the number. Barry was back to his silly self during the dances. I especially like the way he's been referring to The Swim as "The Nose" - tonight he did that and said, "What IS that?" I also hadn't mentioned it in my earlier reviews, but he's begun making comments when Keely slides through his legs about "watch out for the family jewels." Mandy was very, very passionate tonight. Barry put everything he had into it. This was one of the best performances of that song I've seen at the Paris. I think what I especially liked was that Barry managed to combine different methods that he's used to perform the song in the past. Sometimes Barry sings the song very passionately - the vocals are extremely strong - and while emotion is being projected out into the audience, you don't really "feel" as much. (note: all this is my perception, doesn't mean anyone else sees it this way) And sometimes Barry sings more softly and seems very, very far away - and at other times he seems to look out into the audience a lot. Both of those methods make me "feel" a little more. Tonight's performance combined a little of all of those methods. The vocals were strong. Barry didn't seem as much distant as just reaching out to the universe. Not with his hands, of course - they were playing the piano! He gazed up as he sang. To me, that generated a lot of feeling. Barry did look out at the audience during I Write the Songs. I think he covered almost the entire showroom with his eyes during the course of the song. I really would love to have a few shots from that song in my scrapbook. I think I need to do some studying in regard to the settings on my camera to see if I can adjust it somehow to catch a few photos before Barry's run at the Paris is over. Speaking of that, I overheard a big discussion before the show about what Barry did or didn't say in the previous shows regarding the end of the Paris show. He was very specific tonight. He said, "We'll be here until mid-December." Can't be much clearer than that. Kye was so funny during Copa tonight. All the backups have pretended to be shocked or upset or whatever when Barry sings the line "she lost her love" - they've been doing that for a long time now. But some nights they play it up more than others. Kye went all out tonight - he pulled the handkerchief out and he wasn't just crying, he was wailing - it was hilarious. I forgot to mention it, but either Friday or Saturday he wrapped the handkerchief around his head like a scarf. That made Barry laugh.  Again, Barry played up the lyrics to Copa, complete with the occasional accent thrown in. ("Rico called her ovah..." Hee!) There was no doubt where Lola's dress was cut down to, either! I finally caught it - I finally caught the big-eyed look that Barry has been giving us after he reappears in his tux. I defy anyone to not laugh out loud when he does this.  And in spite of that expression, he's still the most handsome thing I've ever seen in a tux! Doesn't matter what he does - he's going to be adorable.  Barry bounced when he came back out to do It's A Miracle. Lots of streamers. On Saturday night I didn't get hit by a single one, but tonight I was covered - took another big handful of them home for my memory box.
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