I really had my doubts that there would be a show tonight since he had to cancel last night. But we did!

Barry made mention of the fact that the cold/flu had been going around and that he has it. He said that Celine had canceled her entire week of shows, but that he wasn't going to cancel (making a fist and gesture as he said it to indicate how tough he is). At first glance you really couldn't see anything wrong, but there were a few times that you could look into his eyes and see it - and he got up there and killed himself for us once again. (sending a big virtual hug!)

Barry said he hoped we would bear with him if he had a problem with any of the vocals. He made his old joke about having taken a variety of cold medicines and that he may "sound like ****, but I feel wonderful!". Ha! And since he seemed to get a little tongue-tied on a few songs, I think he may very well have felt wonderful (some good stuff!). But aside from that, I thought he sounded great - I really didn't notice any problems with his vocals at all. I could hear a little something when he was just talking, but not while he was singing.

There were a couple of times that he seemed to be a little short on breath (just a tad), but certainly not during Even Now. He hit a home run with that one, including the long note at the end.

Moonlight Serenade was beautiful - no sign of any voice problems at all during the song. For some reason the stars behind Barry seemed even more beautiful tonight. Don't remember the name of the dance lady, don't remember where she was from - she had a lot of family with her and she said she was with them, so not sure if she was a big fan or not. But I have a lot of photos of them dancing, if anyone knows her.

Some of the playfulness of the 50's segment was back - in particular, Barry hamming it up during Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. The backups were also more playful, with Keely and Melanie getting ready to pull each other's hair out over trying to get closer to Barry. Very funny!

Barry had the audience sing along with him during Yesterday. He cut You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling out of the 60's segment, but even though I love it, I can't say that I felt as if something were missing. What was left tied together perfectly.

The 70's segment is fantastic. It's abbreviated because Barry's trying to fit 4 decades into one show - but who's willing to give up any of it? Right? The set is beautiful - where the 60's had a backdrop of huge polka dots, the 70's has a backdrop of huge squares. The lighting on those squares for the most part is a lovely shade of purple. At the beginning of the segment, the screen comes down behind Barry and it displays a swirling pattern behind him that's kind of a royal purple. If I'm remembering correctly, at another point during the segment it turns royal blue. I stand by my right to be a little off on some of this since it's my first time to see the 70's bit and it was hard to take it all in at once. As usual, the amount of detail that has been put into it is incredible.

The lighting was stunning - on Barry - the lighting on the backups was almost non-existent, which was a shame since they each get their moment to shine during this segment. But, that said, the lighting was still stunning - I found myself taking my eyes off Barry long enough to just stare it (well, for a few moments, anyway ).

The costumes for the backups are very flattering - I think they're the best I've seen so far. The girls look very elegant in their sleek, black outfits. And Kye looks sharp in his 70's style suit. I like Barry's new jacket, too - a maroon, gold swirly pattern - kind of like paisley. Not too crazy about the collar on it - or something - something doesn't seem to fit him as well as his other jackets. But I still like it.

Barry has given his backups solo moments during other parts of the show. But this time it's a knock-out. This time you can truly see what talented performers they are. I can't really say what the difference is - each solo moment was brief - but there was something that really stood out this time. Their voices, their stage presence - I could see each of them being a headliner on their own. I was very impressed (and I already thought they were fantastic, so there you go...). We already knew that Monica has a strong voice, but it seemed even stronger. And Keely, and Melanie, and Kye - WOW! - they were dynamic! Just awesome - blew me away...

Ok, now Barry's part of the 70's segment... When I first heard that he was doing The Way We Were as part of the segment, I wasn't thinking happy thoughts. Have you ever heard songs that make you want to turn off the radio, or even get up and walk out of the room? That's how I felt about this song. It's not that the vocals or the music weren't beautiful on the original - it was just so depressing, mournful, sorrowful. But I forced myself to keep an open mind because Barry has managed to change my opinion on songs over and over again (and over and over and over...). And I was soooooooo wrong! His rendition of this song is more than beautiful - his voice was so soft, emotional, gorgeous. He only did a small part of the song, but I could have listened to the entire thing and been in heaven. Wow!

That song opened the 70's segment perfectly - it set the tone for the "memories". After that he launched into Looks Like We Made It, the upbeat version - and even though he was sick, it was still sexy.

Then the backups joined him for It Never Rains in Southern California. They all danced behind/to the side him as he sang at center stage. It was very lively, bouncy and fun.

And then Barry went to the piano for You've Got a Friend. He did a fantastic job on this one, as well. His vocals and interpretation were wondeful.

This is where my memory fails me. I know that each of the backups got solo moments, and I'm thinking that it was during at least 2 of the songs during the 70's segment. I *believe* that the first time was during INRISC, because I recall them dancing on either side of Barry, and I also recall it being very upbeat. This is where it really hit me just how talented they are. I also remember them all being around the piano during You've Got a Friend. But I could be a little off on all this - my poor old brain can only absorb so much at one time, you know!

He closed out the show with the usual songs, Mandy/CIBM, IWTS, Copa. Mandy/CIBM continues to be very passionate - more so than at any other time during his career. There was something poignant about IWTS tonight, as well.

At the end of the show Barry thanked us for seeing him through - he told us that we were what made him able to get up there and perform even when he didn't feel well.

During the group hug at the end, everyone scrunched up and made kissy faces. And then Kye reached over and started stroking Barry's hair! Hilarious! I did manage to catch one shot of that, but then started laughing and had to put the camera down.

If Barry was still sick tonight, he hid it well. He looked great and sounded great. There were a lot of little playful dance steps, a lot of energy.

In my last review I said that they were hamming it up during Love Is A Many Splendored Thing almost as much as they used to - well, Barry was full of it tonight. We got the swagger and the "I'm fantastic" facial expressions - it was priceless. He even stopped at one point to fix his hair!

During the ballad segment, the first song Barry sang was I Am Your Child. It was a beautiful rendition of it, too.

Weekend in New England was outstanding! Barry put an enormous amount of emotion and passion into it. I actually had to say "wow"... He got a well-deserved standing ovation for that one.

During I Am Your Child there was an interesting light effect. The lights made it appear that there was something swirling above his head - almost like the spirit of music was watching over him as he sang. Ah, well - just another example of how magical the show is.

They did the version of New York City Rhythm where each of the keyboardists came down, played a little and ran around the piano. I've always enjoyed that part of the show. I enjoy hearing them improvise - I've never understood how people can do that. I can just read the notes - anything beyond that and I'm totally lost - sometimes I'm totally lost when I'm trying to read the notes! Ha! It's also fun because they all seem to be enjoying themselves - they seem to be having fun with it.

When Barry made his age joke about being only 43, the audience laughed - really laughed. He turned around and looked at us with an expression on his face that seemed to say, "Gee, you don't have to laugh so hard about it." That moment was funnier than the joke!

I'm really loving this 70's segment. I even caught myself singing The Way We Were the next day. What's up with that? 24 hours earlier I hated the song, now I walk around singing it all of the time! I guess I really *have* been Manilowed!

I think he chose some perfect songs for the 70's medley, too. As Barry was singing You've Got a Friend, it occurred to me that one of the opening lines fit so well - "...close your eyes and think of me, and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest night." - isn't that what his music does for us? When we're feeling down, can't we close our eyes and remember and feel better?

I failed to mention in my last review that with his new 70's jacket he's wearing an Elvis scarf - that's what I'm calling it, anyway. It's a long black scarf that hangs down on each side.

Mandy/CIBM are consistently full of passion - Barry must really be feeling those songs lately.

As Barry was finishing up the last line of Copa tonight, he almost slipped and said "Don't fall in love" instead of "We fell in love". He corrected himself and almost started giggling. How many times do we have to tell you, Barry? There's no sense in telling us not to fall in love, you took care of that about 30 years ago!

Good to be back and seeing the show again (isn't that the name of a song?!).

The first year Barry was in Vegas I frequently sat in section M3, but I haven't done that in quite a while. I had forgotten how cool it is to be able to watch his hands as he's playing the piano. Makes me want to back and start practicing on my own piano ago. Enjoyed getting the see the other keyboardists from that angle during New York City Rhythm, too.

My seats will be all over the place this week since I bought these tickets from another fan who couldn't come this week - and I found out I was coming at the last minute. I noticed that the lighting effects look different from where I sat last night as opposed to being in the center seats. I also noticed the sound being different. This is the first time I've ever picked up on that, even though I've heard other people making comments about that before. I'm not saying either was better or worse - just different.

Barry and the gang were still having a good time with Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. Got a great shot of Melanie reaching for Barry - and Barry with a horrified look on his face. Keely and Barry are still fighing over who can get closest - too funny!

Audience was very reserved tonight. I had a feeling they would be - as I glanced around before the show, most of the audience consisted of older couples. I don't like standing throughout the entire show, but the gang did deserve more accolades than they got.

During the ballad section tonight Barry sang I Am Your Child, followed by I Made It Through the Rain (Grandpa Joe version). Both beautiful. But for some reason, my favorite of the night was Can't Smile Without You.

No new 70's songs tonight. Barry just went straight into Mandy/CIBM. It's still coming across as very emotional. He finally got a standing ovation for this one, but only after a handful of us decided to go ahead and stand regardless - that got most folks up finally.

Tonight I have stage seats (on the 40's side). Haven't sat there in a while - it should be fun to see the 40's segment from that angle.

Had a right stage seat tonight. It's been a long time since I've been there - not since they started doing part of the 40's segment over there.

It was pretty cool to have them all right there in front of me. Even more so to have Barry standing right there just inches away. Wow! When I'm watching it from the other side of the theater it seems to last a long time - but when I was right in the middle of it, the time seemed to just fly by.

Barry mentioned that he was getting over a cold and had taken Contact, Robitussin and who knows what else. A little later in the show he got tongue-tied and then said, "I'm not taking any more of that $%#@!" LOL

It was also cool when he came over to choose the dance girl. I got a brief moment of eye contact - talk about butterflies!

For the life of me I can't remember what the ballad was. Was it I Made It Through the Rain? I really can't remember for some reason. Sorry.

Like being on the other side, it's a different perspective for the show. The lights appear different. The change in angles of viewing the different parts of the show changes everything about it. I find it interesting, and I'm glad I've done it a few times. I'll probably never sit there again, but I'm glad I went for the experience. If you're going to get to see several shows, I really recommend giving it a try just to see what it's like.

I'm afraid this isn't going to be a very detailed review. I've just lost most of the details. Maybe my brain is full from all the other shows. LOL

What an awesome show this was!

It's difficult to choose a favorite song of the night for a variety of reasons. But using my own criteria, my favorite song of the night was Daybreak - it was magical. Second favorite song (although a very close race with number one) was Copacabana - also magical.

As for sheer beauty, it was Weekend in New England. Last night's rendition was exquisite. Of all the ballads that he normally does in this portion of the show, this is my favorite. Last night Barry asked for requests - this was the song he finally settled on. Someone in the audience asked him if he could do it acapella - he paused,laughed, and said, "No..." But you know when he sings the first chorus, where he sometimes holds the notes out longer? Oh, what he did last night! Exquisite - there's no other word for it. After he completed the chorus, he added, "that was kind of acapella!"

For the ballad, Kye brought out a jacket that's either new, or I just haven't noticed it before. It's brown, but it's not plain. Almost looks kind of shiny. Really nice. But my favorite was the one he put on for Copacabana. That's one of the most gorgeous jackets I've ever seen him wear. If it's not knew, then there was something about my angle last night that was allowing me to see it in a different way. The blues in it are so beautiful.

The 70's segment is probably going to be one of my favorites of all the "decade bits" that he does. Part of it is because this is turning out to be one of my favorite CDs. And part of it is simply the way the segment has been put together. It's upbeat, happy, hopeful, caring - it leaves you with a good feeling.

There was a funny moment last night, I'm not sure which song - I *think* it was during Can't Smile - but Barry turned to walk back to the piano and they had started pulling the piano back. He pretended to be trying to judge the distance as if he were going to have to make a run to catch up with it and hop on the platform. Hilarious moment.

And then there was the moment when Barry couldn't seem to get his 70's jacket on - no matter what Kye did to adjust the way he held it, Barry couldn't get it on. I'm sure that wasn't one of Barry's favorite moments of the night, but from a fan point of view, seeing how he deals with things like that is one of the reasons we love him so much.

Barry made it a very magical night, a very special night that will live in my memory forever. It almost seems trite to say "thanks" - we say it so much. But it's all we can do to express our gratitude for what he's given to us and given up of himself over all these years.

Another wonderful show and wonderful night. Poor Barry was having some voice problems - a little raspy at the start - but hardly noticeable at the end.

At one point Barry brought up the fact that his voice was raspy and said something to the effect of "isn't this the most horrible thing you've heard". The audience audibly disagreed with him. Come on Barry - we love you no matter what - besides, you sounded fantastic.

The ballad tonight was Even Now. Barry asked for requests again - I don't know how he can pick out what people are saying - it all sounds like gibberish to me. He said he could do that (Even Now), but when he got to the final note the audience would have to finish it for him. But we didn't. He hit that final note. Never ceases to amaze me how he can do that.

Barry did have us sing about half of Can't Smile while he got something to drink for his throat. I don't think we did too badly. Ok, I thought everyone else did a good job - for some of us (ME!), there's no hope. The other night (stage seats) when Barry asked us to sing Yesterday with him, I suddenly realized I was actually singing audibly. I was mortified and praying that he didn't hear me. Since he didn't run screeching off the stage, maybe that means I'm safe this time.

During Jump Shout Boogie, when Barry gets up to shake his "yes, yes, yes", there was a very funny moment. I don't have photos of it - I no longer even pick my camera up during that part of the show - not since I accidentally caught a series of "shakes" on film. My camera has a burst mode, so I shot several frames without realizing what I was getting. Remember the flip book? Well, same thing! And NO, I won't share them! LOL Anyway, this time when he got up to shake it, he didn't just give us a quick little shake - he basically mooned us! And for some reason, there were an awful lot of camera flashes going off at the moment. It was hilarious.

Barry managed to get into his 70's jacket tonight without incident - but there seemed to be little smiles on his and Kye's faces - wonder if they were remembering the night before.

To clarify from my last review, Barry still has the yellow Copa jacket. The blue one that I was referring to is one that he puts on for Mandy/CIBM, and then is still wearing it for IWTS and the beginning of Copa. And I do believe it's new. It's really one of the most beautiful jackets he's ever worn.

They are still hamming it up during the 50's medley. It's fun to see what they're going to do everynight. It's never quite the same.

I still really like the new 70's medley. I like the choice of songs - they're feel-good songs. I don't guess The Way We Were is really a feel-good song, but there's something about Barry's arrangement that's poignant. When he sings the part about "would we do it all again", it's really tugs at your heart. It makes you want to say out loud, "Of course we would!"

I also like the solo parts by each of the backups. I don't believe I can adequately describe how good it is and how good they are. It really surpasses anything that has been done before in the show. And that's saying a lot, because I've loved all of his other medley's.

It would be cool if some of the really romantic songs from the CD were included, but I realize there's only so much that can be fit in. And honestly, this medley couldn't be improved upon. It's perfect just like it is.

I got some nice shots of the backups this week. Have they turned the lighting up on them? I don't know, but I don't believe my photographic skills have improved any.

Since this was my last show, I wasn't ready for IWTS - didn't stop it from happening, though.

My favorite spot of the night was the It's A Miracle reprise at the end. Daybreak and Can't Take My Eyes Off You were also favorites.

As they closed the show, the backups were hugging Barry by hugging each other - I couldn't decide if they were tickling him or just squishing him - whatever, it was a funny moment. Don't you wish you could join in on that hug when you see it? Oh, my - I just had a mental picture of the entire audience in a group hug with Barry in the middle - poor Barry! I got dibs on being next to Barry! We'll be squished together! LOL (I told you I needed sleep!)

Wish I could have stayed for tonight's show. I really hate having to go home before all of the shows are over. Oh, who am I kidding - I never want the shows to be over at all! Can't wait to go back again. What will we do when the days at the Hilton are over? Just shoot me!