| The Paris Music & Passion Ultimate Manilow From Boston to Denver... Backups/Band Platinums Back Home |
|
Paris Las Vegas - October 15, 2011(View photo gallery here)
BB-37  Barry was fun during Can't Smile Without You. He did play around a little with speaking the lyrics very quickly. But after that, even though he didn't flip the switch up to 78rpm (and if you're too young to know what that's a reference to, you kind of make me sick), he spoke the words in a very non-typical and entertaining way. Actually, it was more like he went the opposite direction from 78rpm - he slowed it down and spoke...each...word...individually. The ballad of the night was Even Now. Barry was kind of funny during the intro. He didn't really ask the audience what he should do. Instead he just walked to the piano and said, "We did that other song last night" - and then, more as if he were addressing the band, he said, "I think we'll so that OTHER one tonight". It was really a very touching performance of Even Now. It was one of those performances that got to me throughout the entire song. Even while Barry was still at the piano, I could feel the emotion - there was a sadness. When he stood up from the piano and sang, "When I never hear your name" - ah, man... The feeling in that line, and the look in his eyes as he sang it... Just rip our hearts out, Barry! The "reach" at the end was fantastic.  I don't think I even mentioned Brooklyn Blues last night. Lots of grooving. I love the look in Barry's eyes as he performs that song. (one of the reasons I like being up close - there's a completely different aspect to these performaces if you're close enough to see his eyes - it takes the show to another level) He looks so "at home" when he's singing that song. There's some of that in his New York City Rhythm performances, too - but not as much as with this song. It looks like he totally believes the lyrics - and he's totally wrapped up in the music. He nailed that long note at the end - tonight's note went on forever. I also failed to mention the entire Grandpa Joe segment in my last review. I Am Your Child is making me sad - I don't know why it's making me sad - it just is. Barry's performances of the song this weekend have been really beautiful. There's just an overall feeling of sadness that's coming from somewhere. And Nature Boy was a little more serious. Barry didn't act quite as silly while baby Barry was singing - especially at the "love and be loved" part of the song. He wasn't silly at all this time - instead he had a look on his face as if he were contemplating the lyrics. Then when adult Barry took over singing the song, and especially when he stood up from the piano, there was a feeling of emotion coming from him that I don't normally see during this song. The performance usually comes across as a lesson, maybe. It really never has the feeling that it's emotionally personal to him the way a lot of his ballad performances do - but this time it did have more a personal feel.  And that carried over into This One's For You. That one really seemed personal tonight. I was sitting a little to the side, so that gave me a different perspective. I could see this expression in his eyes that really looked kind of sad. I know that's in contrast to what I said earlier about it appearing that Barry was in a great mood. He did seem to be in a great mood - but at the same time, some of the performances had a very sad feel to them. Barry's eyes were kind of far away - when you're sitting in his line of sight, sometimes it's hard to tell if he's looking at the audience or just gazing out into space. But from the side, it appeared that he wasn't focusing on anything - that he was very much drawn inward for that song. I got a really funny pic of Barry sticking his tongue out as he flashed us with his jacket lining during New York City Rhythm. But no, I'm not going to post it - not going to do that to him. (not going to risk being thrown out of the theater tonight! ha!) Barry also played air piano again tonight. As all of the guys were up at the piano to play that last little bit before Barry ends the song, Ron P. pushed Barry's hands right off the piano - so Barry played air piano for a second, and then laughed and kind of slapped at Ron's hands. Joe went crazy during his piano solo - they may end up having to tie him down to his piano bench! Barry was cute when he walked out on stage for Love Is Here to Stay. If you've been to the Paris in the last few months, you know that after New York City Rhythm ends, the video screen displays French paintings while the rest of the stage is dark. And then Barry walks out into the darkness and stands there watching the videos with us until they turn the spotlight on him. Well, tonight he walked out as normal - and of course, all of us are watching the dark side stage for a glimpse of him rather than watching the video screen - they could flash the words "Free Manilow tickets for life" up there and we'd all miss it because we're so busy watching for him to walk back out on stage! At any rate, tonight, he walked out, then as they turned the spotlight on him and he turned to face the audience, he pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh, hi!" Love Is Here to Stay was back to being romantic tonight. It's fun the way the tone changes from performance to performance. Tonight had that romantic feel. Barry had this sweet smile on his face throughout the song. Somehow 15 Minutes just keeps getting better and better. The vocals are awesome - they match the lyrics of the song. I just love it when he sings "Just gimme my shot..." - that one line has so much attitude - and Barry sang it with such force tonight. Okay, so there are very few Manilow fans that listen to rock - that's just not where they go. They may appreciate the "appearance" of the performance - the facial expressions, the fire in Barry's eyes (and boy, there was FIRE in tonight's performance) - and they may enjoy the strength of the vocals... But I can tell from some of the blank stares that they really don't get what I'm saying when I mention the "rock" vocals. Best I can do is give an example of a defiant/forceful performance that drips with attitude - and then say that Barry has actually managed to get darn close to that raw, passionate, uncontrolled, even angry outburst. The example I'm talking about is "The Threat" by Skid Row - in the first verse there's a line, "I've been a target for the cheap shots of authority" - Sebastian Bach literally spits that line out at you. I know that sounds kind of disgusting, but it's the best word I could come up with that illustrates the force that line is sung with. And Barry has actually come close to singing lines from 15 Minutes with that degree of force. To me, that's awesome. Remember when Barry had the Sinatra album out and he used to say that Frank sang with anger, but that he (Barry) didn't have that kind of anger in him? Well, I think he's found it.  Anyway, Barry put lots of attitude into the song tonight - LOTS! The performance moved from triumphant back to defiant - maybe that's not even the right word. Maybe "determined" would be a better word - or a combination of the two. He (the character) is determined that he's going to make it and somewhat defiant toward those who tell him he can't. Barry ended the song with the fists in the "fight" stance again. I liked the triumphant fist in the air, but I still think I like the fists better. I can't relate to the triumph as much as I can the struggle. After the song was over, Barry continued to hold the pose a little longer, and then with a pout, really thrust his fists out toward us. I really, really heard Mike's guitar during 15 Minutes tonight. He played a super rockin' riff that actually pulled my attention away from Barry for a moment - and that ain't easy! Awesome! Bring On Tomorrow was interesting tonight. It was beautiful, as always. Sometimes the song is very romantic, and even happy. While it was beautiful tonight, the tone was a little different. Some of that attitude from 15 Minutes carried over to the end of this song. Not anger, but still a little attitude as Barry sang, "They told us we're crazy, they promised I'd lose." If you think about those lines, they could be spoken in two ways. One way would be to speak them with a totally positive tone, brushing off the negatitivy that generated those feelings in the first place - you know, "Ah, it doesn't matter what they say." The other way would be to go ahead and let it be seen that the words hurt or anger you - and to speak them with (again) an air of defiance. That's how they were performed tonight. The song had a different feel to it - still wonderful - I thoroughly enjoyed Barry's performance - nothing was lost, it was just different. Probably more closely matched what I'm feeling right now - not wanting to Bring On Tomorrow - just trying to Hold On To Today...  The Bandstand performance continues to be fun to watch. Barry wasn't as silly as he can be sometimes - he was a little more serious. The backups weren't, though. Again, Kye was trying to look down Keely's dress while she was trying to block his eyes - his facial expressions were hilarious. Russ and David are still changing up their drum solos a little - I noticed it more at the Friday night show than I did tonight. It's interesting the listen to, though. Tried again for a shot at the end where Keely grabs Barry's arm to drag him off the stage - still not what I'm looking for, so I'll have to keep trying.  I was fully present during Mandy tonight - beautiful performance. Hand gestures weren't as dramatic as last night, but the long note was fantastic. Barry put a lot of feeling into the song. It was kind of bittersweet tonight. There was some sadness - it's coming to the end of the show - and Barry's vocals accentuated that feeling. But really, that's what Mandy is about - it's not a happy song, for goodness sake!  I'm having a hard time describing Barry's performance of I Write the Songs. I've spent the entire morning sifting through past reviews to see if I could find a word that matched what I was seeing. Nothing really seems to fit. I think what I was seeing was introspection - well, that's what was being conveyed - don't really know what Barry was pulling from for this particular performance. Now that I think about it, I think I was seeing the same thing during This One's For You and Nature Boy and even Mandy. Barry did act out Copacabana again and I managed to catch a few shots of the facial expressions. He got silly during the "acid shirt" portion - funny faces and mannerisms. I was totally missed by the streamers again during It's A Miracle. Why don't the streamers like me anymore? (pouting) I need more of these little colored pieces paper so I can fill up boxes and boxes with them - and then some day when someone has to do an estate sale of my stuff, they can find the boxes and say, "What the ....!"  Post-Manilow depression shouldn't be setting in this quickly, but it certainly has. The show just flew by. I seriously wish we could figure out some way to make time slow down for these next few weeks. If the end of tonight's show was any indication, Dec 11th isn't going to be pretty. It's already hitting people that this is coming to an end. I felt it myself. It's just going to get worse. Granted, we don't need to be wasting these last shows feeling this way. We don't even know what's going to happen next. It's going to be awesome - it has to be - Barry is involved - he's not capable of anything less. Needless to say, we all support Barry in whatever he does next - we all want what's best for him and his crew, regardless of what that is. But it's kind of like the parent who is devastated because their child is going off to college or getting married - the parent wants nothing more than to see their child become a huge success and have a happy life. But that doesn't remove the empty spot in their heart. So, it's okay if we feel sad that something is ending - even when we know that something else is coming. We just need to stop feeling sad now. We need to wait until December 11th - then we'll flood the place! On the plus side, I'm sure profits for Kleenex will skyrocket over the next few weeks. Great for the economy... Maybe we should buy stock...  There was a funny, non-Barry moment after the show. As I walked past the shops outside the theater, some 20-something guy stopped me and said, "Ma'am - let me show you something that will make you look years younger - I can make you look 21 again." Excuse me? He insults me and then thinks he's actually going to sell me something?? That child needs to revisit Sales 101. Sheesh! I was nice - I just politely said "no, thank you" - had to say it about 4 times before I could get away from him - but I remained nice throughout the entire encounter. But let him make the mistake of doing that to me on December 11th!
|