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Ultimate Manilow-The Hits - Las Vegas Hilton - April 11, 2009


(View photo gallery here)

M2-B-29

When the show opened, I thought that there wasn't going to be any light on the girls again. First, the opening video didn't work - instead all we saw was "No video input". Then the girls came out in darkness. But finally, the spotlight came on. I mentioned in my last review that I wondered if the lighting had been changed. Either it has, or I've changed some setting on my camera without realizing it because all of the photos are dark and everyone has a yellowish tinge to them. If this were back in the old days, I would pull out one of my Tiffen filters to correct it!

Anyway, Barry bounced out in the bright red jacket that everyone seems to love so much. It looks so great on him. That set the tone for the entire night. It's really hard to pick outstanding parts of the show when it's all outstanding.

Tonight during the opening medley, as the music moved from Somewhere in the Night to This One's For You (the part I mentioned was throwing me off balance), Barry threw in an extra "somewhere in the night" before going into This One's For You. And I didn't feel an imbalance. So, now... Did he change the music back? Or did simply throwing in that extra line make the difference? I honestly don't know. Darn it, I needed to see one more show to figure it out! LOL It's been driving me crazy since Saturday night. (yeah, yeah - I know I'm weird)

Barry took Weekend in New England to a new level tonight. Somehow he managed to combine the soft Barry and the power Barry that I mentioned in my last review. WINE started out somewhat softly, but it finished very powerfully - very. Truly, this performance stopped me in my tracks. Barry definitely found the truth in the song tonight and he let us know he found it. You know, there's really a fine line between a great performance and an outstanding performance - it makes it difficult to convey why this one was so extra special. Barry can really work hard at a song and still not achieve what he did with this performance. I was going to say "put his body and soul into a song" - then it dawned on me that maybe that's the point I'm trying to make. Tonight he didn't just put his body into it - he put his soul into it. You can look at this photo I snapped and see it. Awesome, awesome performance. When the backups walked back out on stage, they were smiling - he must have impressed them, too.

Everyone still appears to be having fun with the decades medley - still hamming it up. Still laughing. Especially during Bandstand Boogie.

Barry really seems to enjoy the first part of the medley - especially Sing Sing Sing and the rest of the 40's part of the medley.

Okay, what happened to Melanie? How did she manage to shrink so much in the split second between these frames?? LOL

Tonight during Barry's little tap dance, I decided to take a few more photos than I normally do. He usually does his little dance, then spreads his arms as if to say "Ta-da!" And then he does the dance again. I normally put the camera down after his Ta-da moment - but tonight I decided to keep taking shots. I managed to capture a photo that tells the real story of this segment of the show. LOL I just love this one! And I swear that's the last time I'll try to catch this with my camera.

There was something different about What the World Needs Now Is Love tonight. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what. It just felt different - there was a different tone and mood. It was a "good" different, so no worries there.

Looks Like We Made It was another of the outstanding performances of the night. Nothing soft there. It was all power ballad tonight. And Barry got even MORE naughty tonight! There was a couple in the front row that hadn't seen him 15 years - they looked like they were about to fall out of their seats, between his performance and the audience reaction.

Islands in the Stream was excellent. I love that song! Barry made a comment that he needed to put some more of the 80's songs into the show. That brought a big cheer from the audience. I still haven't had the opportunity to see him perform Never Gonna Give You Up - I'll vote for that one.

Another outstanding performance - Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again/Even Now, especially Even Now. It was power ballad time again. Barry really put a lot of feeling into this medley. That long note at the end was a killer. I was holding my breath as he belted it out.

Barry seemed to still be wrapped up in the performance of that last medley as he moved into New York City Rhythm - but it didn't take long for him to slide back into his usual self for the song. I'm not sure how I would describe his usual mood as he performs NYCR - how about "jazzy" - this one seems to be all about the music. The two Ron's and Joe were all great, as usual. I have to give it to Ron P for both Friday and Saturday nights.

Nothing soft about Can't Smile Without You tonight. Also, not too powerful, not too angsty. Just fun.

Somewhere Down the Road was again my favorite song of the show. Tonight, it wasn't just the singing of the song, it was Barry's monologue before he started singing, and it was his demeanor after he finished the singing. It all got to me. Normally as he introduces the song, he talks about how well-written lyrics can mean different things - tonight as he spoke about This One's For You, he didn't just mention the song title - he followed it by very, very, very softly singing the first lines of the song - no music, just Barry singing, as if he were lost in thought and singing to himself. Even though it wasn't meant as a performance of the song, it was so beautiful - it made me catch my breath. And then the performance of Somewhere Down the Road - so gentle, and so much feeling. Barry had us all in the palm of his hand. Someone yelled out briefly toward the end - but this time it didn't ruin the song. Barry had pulled us all in - nothing was going to be able to break the mood. And then he finished the song and just sat there for a few seconds. Extremely powerful moment. I'll take that memory with me forever.

Barry continued his hold on us as he performed Ships. I think he has that song down to perfection. What he started with SDTR, he finished with Ships. I had a lump in my throat the size of Dallas. It was a very moving performance.

Oh, I did see my "wormhole" again tonight. Lighting effect or Manilow Magic? Not sure - all I know is that the magic has existed for a very long time. Barry definitely has a spark that no one else has.

Mandy/Could It Be Magic was yet another outstanding performance. Even though it's a relatively short medley, Barry put a lot of feeling into both parts tonight. Barry's goal for the night must have been to tug at our heart strings, because that's what he did song after song.

Tried to get some better photos of the new Copa jacket, but didn't have much luck. This is always a hard segment of the show to get photos of anyway, because Barry is constantly in motion. I'll have to keep trying.

Barry blew us a big kiss, then waved goodbye to us as he walked off the stage. The last show before you have to go home is always a little bittersweet - you enjoy the show, but you can't help but feel sad that you have to leave. Still, there are times when the special moments during the show outweigh the sadness - and this one was one of those times. I got to carry home a lot of special moments this time.



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