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Paris Las Vegas - October 14, 2011(View photo gallery here)
AA-31
I sat on the front row. I've only done that a time or two at the Paris - it normally scares the living daylights out of me. But tonight I wasn't nervous at all. I loved the different perspective and angles and even sounds. The sound really is different from the front row. Front row isn't always best for photography, but there can be exceptions to that. Somewhere in the Night got a big audience reaction tonight. Barry didn't do anything special to bring it on - he just sang beautifully. In fact, when the woo-hoo's started, he kind of looked surprised for a minute - kind of like he was thinking, "What did I do to cause this?" Ha! It's just you, Barry - sometimes it's just you... The audience was also quite loud during Can't Smile Without You. Barry played around with the lyrics again at first. I almost forgot to sing along. I was wanting to catch a good shot of the smiley face in the background - have you ever noticed that it dances around? And then I realized I was supposed to be singing at just about the same time that Barry started playing with the lyrics - made me laugh and so I still couldn't sing. That's okay - no one wants to hear my croaking voice anyway. After the song was over, Barry got a little silly and started doing a funny dancing, skipping, running something across the stage to where he's supposed to be for the ballad segment. That was so cute! And ooh... He changed things up for the ballad segment. He asked what he should do - and of course the audience yelled out twenty millions different song titles all at the same time... And then Barry sat down at the piano and said, "What should I do?" - just like he's been doing for the last several shows. He started playing Weekend in New England, also just like he's been doing for the last several shows. But then he said, "I think I'll do this one." We were all so surprised - and pleasantly surprised. I was so engrossed in the song that I completely forgot about how people tend to yell out during the part where Barry sings "When can I touch you?" How the heck could I forget that? I don't know, but I did - so it caught me off guard. Barry was adorable as always. For a moment I didn't think that he was going to stop singing to acknowledge the audience - from the expression on his face, it seemed that he was considering just moving ahead with the song. But then he did go ahead and give us one of his "I'm fabulous" expressions and say, "Still got it!". The rest of the song was superb. The break or the bridge or whatever you call it (ok, I'm not to that chapter in my music class yet, so I don't have to know what it's called - Barry doesn't give tests after the show!) - that was special. And the ending of the song gave me chills. New York City Rhythm really isn't one of the songs that varies a lot from night to night. Barry really doesn't change his vocals. Obviously, the choreography can't change - it's way too complex. But it never ceases to be lively and fun. Everyone on the stage ALWAYS seems like they're having a blast. Everything from Barry's dancing at the beginning to the piano solos and the group "It's A Miracle" moment is fun.  Tonight as they did the chase around the piano, Joe decided to embellish his part just a little. And then he turned and grinned at the audience. Ha! Being on the front row may not always be so great for taking photos. But other times, it can be - like the angle for this shot.  Love Is Here To Stay was very nice tonight. Not the most romantic or the most sweet. But there was just something about it that felt so good - so comfortable. Barry did his standing joke about the french fries and french kissing. And we got a couple more of the "I'm fabulous" expressions. Hee! Barry changed his ending pose for 15 Minutes. Instead of the "fighter" pose with fists thrust toward the audience, he raised his right fist into the air - it looked more like a symbol of triumph. And if you think about it, it fits the song perfectly. There wasn't as much defiance in the song tonight - still a lot of attitude, but that also seemed to have a more triumphant air to it. I love the way this song rocks. I love Barry's vocals and his entire performance.  There was a slight technical glitch at the beginning of Bring On Tomorrow - but master showman that Barry is, he handled it beautifully. The piano didn't move forward like it was supposed to. Barry was doing the intro to the song, turning to his right as he directed his comments toward the audience on his left, and then I realized the piano wasn't there. When he says that "everything is gonna be alright", the piano is supposed to be there so he can step up on the platform. But it wasn't there for him. So, Barry went ahead and completed his turn as he normally would - but the piano still wasn't moving. Barry addressed Ron W by saying, "Play it for me, Ron" The piano finally started moving forward slowly - Barry made a comment about the piano not being where it should be, and then he crossed his legs and pretended to whistle, like someone impatiently waiting for something. Barry again said, "Go ahead and play it for me, Ron". The piano finally came to a stop literally a couple of beats away from where Barry should start singing. He quickly said, "I'll go ahead and take it, Ron", slid into his place on the piano bench, and sang "Sleep, baby, sleep" at exactly the right moment. Ha! There must be some kind of award he can get for that! Barry performed the song so flawlessly from that point forward, I totally forgot there had been a glitch. And I'll bet everyone else forgot, too. I so love this song and what he's doing with it. There were a couple of moments toward the end where I literally had to just take a deep breath and drink it all in - the sound, the lights, Barry's performance. Somehow it felt as if by taking a deep breath, I could somehow pull it on inside - somehow become "one" with it - and it felt like it worked! It's an incredible song - the music is so lovely, the lyrics are so hopeful, and Barry performance is outstanding night after night. Everyone, prepare to just fall over now... Wow...  Bandstand was a lot of fun, too. Everyone acted out tonight. Lots of silliness from the backups as well as Barry. Kye looked down Keely's dress again - she put her hand up to block his eyes. I'm surprised I was even able to catch a sharp shot of it, I was laughing so hard. Barry goofed around during the silly dances. Kye got some hilarious facial expressions when he pretended to be surfing. Melanie had a completely shocked expression on her face during that final group pose. Muffy tried to be the dignified one throughout it all. Keely seemed to slide through Barry's legs without incident - but then she threw her head back and looked at him upside down before she jumped up and ran to her mark for the next part of the choreography - and she laughed so loud I could hear her.  I did have the presence of mind to try to catch a shot of Barry and gang as they were leaving the stage from Bandstand. Keely always grabs Barry's arm and drags him to the back of the stage, and he turns to look at us as if he doesn't want to leave. I almost forgot to try to take a photo - remembered at the last moment and caught this. I'll try again for a better shot. It's really cute - I want to document it.  Okay, I'll admit I totally missed Mandy. I was there, physically - but my mind just wasn't there. There's been a lot going on the past couple of weeks. Well, we all know what's been going on the Manilow world - I swear, if too many more "slit your wrists" songs are played on Radio Manilow, I think some folks may succumb! And then I've been worried about something that actually turned out to be more fantastic that I could have ever imagined. And I've lost pets in the last week. And I've had close friends who were extremely ill - I've had flare ups of some of my own health issues. I've been debating retirement - a major life changing event. And then, besides everything piling up, somewhere around this date, is when I was first "introduced" to Barry, a very long time ago. When the Mandy video started playing, my mind just went somewhere else. Even when the video screen disappeared and Barry himself was singing, I was seeing him, but my mind wasn't on the performance. I was just somewhere out there in space. I did finally come back to my senses toward the end of the song. And I think what did it was that Barry slightly changed one of his mannerisms during the song. There's a point where he will throw his head back slightly and stretch his arms out to the sides as he holds a long note. Tonight he did that, but then he continued to raise his arms higher in the air. I didn't take a shot, so I'll have to try to describe it. His arms were outstetched, but then he gradually raised them higher and higher - not so high as to be straight up over his head. Instead, imagine that he were reaching toward the heavens as if he were asking to receive something. That's the best description I can come up with. And it seemed that he held that long note forever. It was one of those moments when times seems to stand still. Glad I came to my senses and didn't miss that! Barry slightly changed his performance of I Write the Songs, too. For one thing, this was one of the more heartfelt performances - there was just something about the way that he did it, the way he looked at the audience. Even the way he interacted with the backups was different. Normally he turns to them during the song - sometimes he mouths, "I love you" - sometimes he blows them a kiss - sometimes both - that's not new - he's been doing that since the Hilton. But tonight even that seemed more sincere - it came across as a very genuine "thank you". And then Barry also slightly changed his vocals - changed the way he sang certain parts of the song. Barry was a lot of fun during Copacabana. I really need to concentrate on getting some good shots of him playing around during this song. His facial expressions are so cute as he tells the story. We always seem to concentrate on the "tux" part of the song - but the first part is loads of fun. Barry plays around, the backups play around. You can't help but have fun with it. I love the way he acts out the lyrics. I really, really need to compose myself and try to catch some good shots. We know Barry will never stop performing Copa, but it's always been different at every venue. So, I won't get many more chances at THIS version of the song. This shot is different. And it's not that it's a great shot. It's that it displays something I saw tonight that I've never seen before. As Barry backed up to the "the shirt on acid", my eyes saw a flash of light. It could be something I've missed in the past because I'm always taking photos at this point. But this time, I saw a flash of light that appeared around the jacket just as Barry turned back toward the audience. That got my attention, but what REALLY got my attention was when I saw this photo. The photo actually kind of shows what I saw with one exception. My eyes saw a flash of green, not the pink that's shown in the photo. That really has nothing to do with the review - it's just something I wanted to document for my own purposes, especially since I had this unusual photo.  "The End" sign always seems to be much lower than what I saw tonight - I guess being on the front row might have something to do with it. But it really does seem that it's usually much lower on the stage as Barry sings that final note of Copacabana. But it occurred to me that I really need a good shot of that before the run at the Paris comes to an end.
Last night would have been a good night to take streamers home with me, but none fell on me. A few of them did reach the front row to either side of me, but none within reach. That's okay - I have plenty of fantastic memories even without streamers. The post-show depression didn't hit me last night, although I'm sure it will hit harder and harder as we get closer to that last Paris show. This can't be over - maybe over at the Paris - but not over as far as Barry being with us - and I mean frequently with us - not just once in a while. They always say that God doesn't give us something we can't handle - well, we obviously couldn't handle it if Barry went away - so, therefore, it can't happen, right? You like my logic?
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