Barry is ready for the fans this week. He put so much into tonight's show. You could feel a difference in the energy levels - although the audience didn't give a lot of ovations, was slow to stand during the Mayflower segment and I Write The songs, you could still feel something in the air.

A big ticket mix-up - not sure how it happened, but there were quite a few seats double-booked. I bought a front row from the Hilton, but turns out the fan club had already sold that seat. Same thing happened to quite a few people. But the Hilton took care of me, and while I lost my front row seat, the replacement was excellent. So I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I have to admit to not being "into" the show tonight. I was very distracted. A friend and fellow Barry fan had passed away just a couple of hours earlier. Her last words to me were "Next time you see Barry, have twice as much fun for me." It was a difficult promise to honor.

Outstanding song for the night would be a tie between I Made It Through the Rain and All the Time. (He sang All the Time on the Dew Drop side.) He was really into IMITTR - he put a LOT of feeling into that song. He did the same for All the Time.

I've been trying to think of how to describe Barry during this show. It felt like a convention show before the convention. It felt as if he were aware the audience was full of fans this time.

The backups do have new costumes during Copa - lot's of feathers. Well, the ladies have new costumes - not Kye. Hey, Kye - why aren't you wearing feathers??! :-) There was a funny moment up on the platform when Keely's feathers brushed across Barry's face and he pretended to sneeze.

The song list was typical. He didn't throw in any changes as far as the format of the show, but as I said before, the energy level was different. I wish I could describe it better (and maybe I'll be able to as the week goes on). Barry always puts a lot of energy into his shows - but this was just *different*.

A funny moment during Copa - at the point he was supposed to walk toward the backups and sing the part about blood and gunshots, something distracted him and he missed part of the lyrics. He tried to move forward and then just laughed and said, "What the h*ll am I singing?"

Afraid that's all I have for this show - maybe I'll have my head together by Thursday night.

Ooooh, if tonight's show was an indication of things to come, this is going to be a crazy weekend. I just *thought* Barry had a lot of energy last night - when I think he's put all he's got into a show, he digs down and finds more.

The audience was full of fans already here for the convention. A lot of energy from the audience, a lot from Barry and his crew. A lot of standing ovations, but I felt they were all deserved.

He performed Even Now, which is still bringing me down for some reason - but he put an incredible amount of feeling into it and I enjoyed it. And then he gave us an extra - he sang an emotional rendition of If Tomorrow Never Comes. It was wonderful.

On the Dew Drop side he chose Lay Me Down because he said it went well with a raspy voice. He did start out with a raspy voice, but he wasn't the only one. I noticed Kye having some problems once or twice, too.

He hammed it up a little more than usual during the 50's segment - very cute. I snapped what should have been the perfect picture of Keely holding on to Barry's leg - he was looking right at the camera and grinning - and it came out too blurry to use. Darn it!

During Love Is A Many Splendored Thing his voice made a miraculous comeback - and he told the crowd that we had brought his voice back. This is another song that he put a lot of feeling into.

He did It's Not For Me to Say. Then he sang Unchained Melody. There was a lot of emotion and passion in the closing of that song. No sign of any voice strain, either - he hit that high note perfectly.

After the Mayflower segment, he gave us another extra - he sang That's Life. It seemed to be very well received by the audience - oh, heck - everything he did last night was well received by the audience! But it was deserved - no free rides - the rewards were earned.

I didn't pay as much attention to the band, but I think the backups were feeding off the audience energy as much as Barry was. They all seemed to be enjoying it. Barry really got with it during Somewhere in the Night, which brought tons of squeals and screams from the audience - and the backups seemed to really enjoy that.

He seems to be staying with the soft, tender rendition of Are You Lonesome Tonight. And I think that works best - the audience is (almost) always very hushed during the song.

I've heard people speculating as to whether he'll do anything from the 60's album this weekend. I don't know, but after seeing the track list, I'm excited. There are some wonderful songs on there that I think he'll do a great job on.

What an incredible night! I had completely forgotten how it felt to be in an audience filled with fans. The energy level was unbelievable. At times the crowd was so loud it hurt my ears. I can only imagine what it felt like to Barry and crew.

And what a show Barry put on for us! It was definitely for *us*. I don't remember the past fan club shows being like this. For those who attended the convention a couple of years ago, remember how magical Midnight with Manilow felt? That's how this evening felt - it was magical.

Barry opened with the upbeat version of Could It Be Magic. He came from the smoke to the front of the stage - the crowd's roar was deafening. Barry just stood there taking it all in with a huge grin on his face. He tried several times to start the song and had to stop because of the crowd. He finally was able to move forward with the rewritten lyrics the are just for his fans - "Heaven sent you, angels of my lifetime." He was wearing that bright purple satin jacket with the teal satin shirt.

He recognized the BMIFC members in the audience by telling the non-fans that his fan club members are "smart, compassionate, and kind" and then said something to the effect that they (the non-fans) would be very pleased to get to know any of us.

Barry then went into the Daybreak/Somewhere in the Night/This One's For You medley. More sqeals during SITN. And then he sang Why Don't We Live Together - another of my favorites! He sang the version with the slightly changed lyrics, the same one that he did on the 2004 tour. He missed part of the second verse, then realized what he did. He started laughing and said, "I've only been singing this song for 30 years!"

Next came Mandy/Could It Be Magic, following by Tryin' to Get the Feeling. It was an excellent rendition of the latter song, a lot of feeling put into it.

On the Dew Drop side someone requested One of These Days, so he did that one. Then he did Can't Smile Without You.

Most of the songs received standing ovations. Several times throughout the night they turned the houselights up. Maybe Barry wanted to be able to see us all dressed in white!

Barry then went into Bandstand Boogie, followed by the 50's segment. He hammed it up during Venus again - very funny. And I *still* missed the photo of Keely holding onto his leg! I think the problem is I'm laughing so hard I can't hold the camera still!

Love Is A Many Splendored Thing was again very passionate. He started Not For Me To Say and a lady on the Rock Bottom side jumped up and started saying "I love you, I love you, I love you!" She was very animated. Barry selected her for the dance - she was obviously in heaven (who wouldn't be??). After he finished the song, he said "Thank you for the dance" and started to walk away, then stopped and said, "And thank you for loving me." As he turned to leave, the woman let out a scream and Barry just laughed. When he got back to center stage he said, "A live wire!"

Then he sang Unchained Melody. It was another beautiful rendition of it. I was sitting in the 5th row of M3, so it was a perfect vantage point for the song. I just love looking into his eyes while he's singing that song - you can see all of the emotion. LOL If I'm this way during UM, what am I going to be like if he ever does Can't Help Falling in Love during the show? They'll have to carry me out on a stretcher! LOL

Next came the Mayflower medley. He started with They Dance. That "clicked" in my head, because when he does that he usually is going to do an extra song. But I decided that he had already done extra things in the show, so I forgot about it. As he finished the last song of the Mayflower medley, he yelled "Don't stop me now!" and they went into Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed. The crowd went into a frenzy and stayed in one throughout the entire song. I don't know why Barry keeps saying he's not good at this rock and roll stuff - he was awesome!

After everyone calmed down (well, ok - "calm" didn't exist last night!) he moved to the Rock Bottom side and sang one of the most tender versions of Are You Lonesome Tonight that I've ever heard him do. This was one of the very few (if not only) time that the audience was quiet. The ending was very emotional, you could feel the pain as he sang it.

He moved back to center stage and started I Write the Songs. This time, we got the extra medley - we need a name for that - the IWTS medley? As he sings "And I wrote some rock and roll" they slip into the medley. He starts with Some Kind of Friend, a really rocking version of it. Then comes Looks Like We Made It, the more traditional version rather than the version that he did on the 2004 tour. And then a strong rendition of Ships, followed by Ready to Take a Chance Again, and then back into IWTS.

Barry left the stage, then came back out for Copa. Then the reprise of It's a Miracle and they closed the show.

No way he can outdo himself tonight - there's just no way! And watch him prove me wrong!

Have been holding off on writing the reviews until the press release about Barry's surgery came out. I had the presence of mind to run upstairs between the shows on Saturday to write down the set list from the first show, but didn't write it down after the second show, so we'll see how my memory has held up to this weekend.

The convention shows this year were very special. I remember last year's convention shows as having an excited crowd, and special songs - but I don't remember them being like this. I don't know if it was the crowd, or Barry, or something else but I believe these shows will go down as one of the fandom experiences that won't be forgotten.

The early show was just as magical as the Friday night show. The crowd was extremely up, although not quite as much as Friday night - probably because they were tired!

But Barry was up. He again put his all into the show. And I think knowing what he was going through as he performed made it even sweeter for those who knew. Barry is the ultimate example of a professional. He could have done less and easily gotten away with it. Instead he chose to give more.

He opened with the upbeat version of Could It Be Magic, followed by the Daybreak medley. We got the entire version of Mandy, followed by a very passionate Even Now. In between the two he included that haunting "I need you" that he did occasionally on the 2002 tour. It's the perfect transition between the songs, and just makes them both more emotional.

On the Dew Drop side he did Studio Musician, follwed by CSWY. Monica and Kye didn't sit at the piano this time, I'm guessing in the interest of time since there were going to be a lot of extras in the show.

We got Bandstand Boogie, Venus, and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. Then he introduced a Japanese singer to do a duet of Sincerely with him. She was very good, it sounded beautiful. I was also pleased to have been able to hear him sing that song in person.

There were some non-fans sitting behind me. It was fun listening to their comments throughout the show. They were genuinely enjoying themselves. They often expressed surprise - I'm sure they thought they would see him sitting behind a piano playing ballads all night. I heard a lot of nice compliments both on the show itself and on Barry's voice.

Instead of the Mayflower medley, he went back to a slightly different version of the New York City Rhythm medley that he did earlier in the year. It included New York City Rhythm complete with the keyboardists running around the piano. Then they moved into the Avenue C/Jumping at the Woodside medley. This seemed to be an exceptional performance of that - I don't remember it being this lively before. And it was complete with Kye picking Barry up and walking backwards with him. The medley closed with a return to New York City Rhythm.

And then we got Sweet Heaven! I think it was one of the best performances of it that I've seen done live. His voice was so strong! It was the same choreography that he's done the last couple of times I've seen the song performed - he strolls across the stage with each girl, then they leave him and he turns to us. He got 2 resounding "I love you Barry Manilow!" choruses from the audience.

On the Rock Bottom side, he sang The Best of Me. I've only heard him do that one once since M&P started - maybe twice. It was beautiful and it sounded completely sincere.

He finished out with I Write the Songs, Copacabana, and It's a Miracle.

He came back out for an encore, and sang Forever and a Day for us. It was also beautiful. It seemed to me that highest level of energy from the audience came out during that song.

And by the way, he *did* manage to prove me wrong and go beyond what he gave us on Friday night.

The late show was more the standard set list. He opened with It's a Miracle followed by the Daybreak medley. Then the Mandy/Could It Be Magic medley. The next song was Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again and it was a very strong performance. Actually, every time I've seen him perform that one in the last several months, it's been super strong - that must be one of his favorites right now.

On the Dew Drop side he asked if anyone had requuests - several people yelled out See the Show Again very clearly. But he acted as if he couldn't hear them and then someone else said All the Time. I think he wanted to perform that one anyway. This one was also a very emotional performance. And it was very emotional the last time I saw him do it, as well.

This time Monica and Kye were back at the piano for the CSWY segment.

Bandstand Boogie was next, along with the standard 50's set. Love Is A Many Splendid Thing was again very passionate, as was Unchained Melody.

We got the abbreviated Mayflower medley. Barry seemed to be having extra fun during They Dance and Hot Stuff. As they finished the medley, he yelled "Don't stop me now" and we knew what was coming. Another rocking rendition of Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed. Part of me was ecstatic - another part of me was thinking "Don't do this and hurt yourself worse, Barry!" But I loved it - and so did the rest of the audience. I just hope he didn't aggravate his condition, because we would understand if he didn't do all of those signature moves over the next couple of weeks. We would still love him if the show were a little tamer! The non-fans in the audience don't know about them, and the rest of us care more about him than about the mechanics of the show.

He did change the song on the Rock Bottom side - he sang Best Seat in the House for us. It made for another special moment during the convention.

He closed with I Write the Songs, Copacabana, and It's a Miracle. When Barry was introducing the band toward the end, he somehow skipped Ian. When he realized it, he started dancing across the stage singing "Ian on bass" over and over to the tune of Copa.

As I said, there was something special in the air this year, starting on Friday night. I just don't remember it feeling this way last year. The convention shows were outstanding last year, and I remember a lot of energy from the fans. But not like this. I've never seen so much support being directed toward Barry - and this started *before* the press release was read to us. It wasn't just huge fans having a wild and fun time - it was support and appreciation, and it seemed to flow both ways - not only from us to Barry, but from him to us as well. I hope he can carry that memory with him through his surgery and recovery period.