This show was... There's not an adjective in the English language to describe this show. It went so far beyond awesome, magnificent... I honestly think this was the best show I have ever seen. I really think my words are going to fall short of what I'm feeling this time. But I'll do my best...
Barry opened the show wearing the beautiful bright red jacket. Sometimes he kind of walks out of the smoke, sometimes he kind of bounces - I think tonight the proper word would be "bounded"! He had a huge grin on his face. The crowd was standing long before he came out - they were standing the moment the opening music started.
Barry started the show with It's a Miracle, of course. (always, please always!) When he finished the song, the cheering and applause was deafening. He was beaming - he had a grin from ear to ear. Even the backups were grinning at the audience response. At some point Barry made a comment that he had been having a hard time without us (paraphrased).
Tonight, Barry went with one of those microphones that fit on your head - well, the backups wore those, too. I remember Barry tried that before, I think it was in 2000, and it just wouldn't work for him. He did have a little trouble keeping this one in place and had to have help a couple of times. But other than that, from a spectator's point of view, it was great. Like Barry said, he could do so much more with his hands. And that added to his performance - he was able to convey the emotion even better.
He went into the opening medley of Daybreak, Somewhere in the Night, and This One's For You. Barry seemed so "up". Oh, and his voice was fantastic - just fantastic. He looked fantastic, too.
Next Barry sang Weekend in New England. It was a beautiful performance. That's where I really noticed just how good his voice sounded. At the point where people sometimes yell out, they yelled later than usual. Barry was so funny - he acted as if he were about to go full steam ahead into the song, and then was having to try to brake because of the audience reaction. And then he chuckled... A very cute moment. Barry then finished the song - a lot of emotion, great performance.
Barry inserted Can't Smile Without You into the first part of the show this time. Most of the audience stood through the entire song. This might have been where Barry made the comment about needing us.
He did mention this was the fan club convention. He said B-M-I-F-C while counting on his fingers, which was cute. He said that we were there to celebrate his personage. And he told the civilians in the audience that if they should meet any of "these lovely people" (meaning the fans), that they should just give in. He said, "You're mine now - you're in the Manilow zone."
Barry sang a snippet of The Old Songs, but instead of the decades medley, he went straight into Looks Like We Made It. It was a great performance. It was also a very sexy performance. Sometimes I refer to "naughty" moments during the song - that wouldn't be the proper word to describe tonight's performance. This wasn't the surface level sexy moves that makes so many of the women scream. This was - I don't know the word for this - Barry was sending out vibes with that song that would have made anyone take notice.
Before The Old Songs section, Barry said, "And now I'm going to do something different - I'm going to do the rest of the show in my speedo." Met with screams, of course. And a lot of laughter.
And then came the Mayflower medley - and what a medley it was - puts the old Mayflower medley to shame! It was really more than a medley - as one friend put it, it was like a Broadway production. In most cases, we got the entire song.
Oh, and Barry wore that great black leather jacket that we all love for the segment.
This is where I'm really going to have a hard time expressing myself. I've never seen anything like this - both in terms of the music, choreography and overall production, and also in terms of Barry's performance. I'm not going to try to get the songs in the proper order - I'm just going to write about them as they occur to me.
The backups are featured heavily in this segment. I don't know who came up with the concepts and choreography for each of these songs, but they deserve whatever kind of award people get for that. The performances were entertaining, funny, passionate, heartrending.
They performed Do You Know Who's Living Next Door and Come Monday. Those who saw the medley during Music and Passion will remember that Monica and Melanie were featured during the song - this time all 4 backups were featured, as well as selected band members. They had new outfits, casual, yet sultry.
Barry sang Border Train. This is where it really, really hit me. You know, Barry "performs" all of his songs - he exudes emotion and passion and he pulls us in right along with him. But his performances of these songs that are "his" - he lived these songs tonight. It didn't feel like a performance - it felt like you were really living it right along with him. To say he put his heart and soul into it really doesn't describe it. Saying he was emotional or passionate doesn't describe it. Barry was "TRUE" - it felt totally true to his music, his craft, his life. He took it all to the next level - it was deeper than performing - it was deeper than trying to do a good job for the fan club and celebrities in the audience. My interpretation is that this was Barry being totally immersed in what HE believes in, in HIS work.
During this segment of the show, I found myself being brought to tears on several occasions. But it wasn't because of a great performance of a powerful lyric that I could somehow associate to my own life - it was because I was seeing Barry truly enjoy what HE has created. I was overwhelmed by the energy that he was putting forth, and also by the pride I have for him when I get to see this side of him. To say this was a special event doesn't cover it.
When Here at the Mayflower first came out, I didn't get some of the songs. That's not unusual - I think that's pretty typical - it has happened with other CDs, too. But it has ALWAYS been the case that when I got to see Barry perform the song live, he made me understand. Border Train is one of those songs. I really didn't care for it on the CD. But I most certainly loved what I saw last night. As I said before, this is where it really hit me - Barry was living that song, he was totally immersed in it.
We got the Hot Stuff (with Signed, Sealed, Delivered) medley. They changed it up a little. Keely isn't on the piano, she's off to the right side of the stage. We also got They Dance, changed up just slightly - complete with BAMs.
We got Not What You See - always one of my favorites. This is the one that so totally knocked me off my feet in New Orleans in 2002. Barry made the joke about having to turn into an old man for the song - and how that wasn't hard to do these days. Before he put on the hat, he groaned and said, "My hair!!!!" Made everyone laugh. He was on the far side of the stage, so I didn't get as many good photos as I would like (hope he does it again tonight). It was a fantastic performance - I really think the best I've seen of that song. He performed that one on the main stage, but off to the right side. It was also really neat the way he started the song as the old man, and then jumps back to today's Barry as he leaps from the keyboard in the middle of the song - and then just as abruptly, turns back into the old man and shuffles back to the keyboard. I also thought it was very interesting and kind of poignant how when he was shuffling back and singing "I'm not what you see" he was pointing at himself. Yeah, we know Barry - you're so much more...
They did The Night That Tito Played again. This is another one I didn't care much for until I saw it live - and now I love it. The "set" for this was really cool. Kye is sitting off to the side, playing on a "drum". Monica and Melanie are kind of lounging with drinks in their hand. On a side note, one of the great parts of this Mayflower segment is all of the backdrops - apartment buildings, windows hanging from the ceiling, "scenes" displayed on the screen behind them - really very effective.
Freddie Said was priceless - as far as putting together a concept with choreography, this was the best. It was entertaining, and it was hilarious. Kye was Freddie - and throughout the song he would sneak across the stage, taking notes secretly. His costume was fantastic - is that what you call a zoot suit? It was white with dark, vertical stripes. Might have been the same one that he wore when they were performing Dancing Fool. The girls costumes were very similar, if not the same to what they wore in the old 40's segment (Music and Passion). At the point in the song where Freddie sees a shadow in the alley, something is thrown from off stage, and Kye jumps up and runs in the other direction. And at the bada-boom part of the song, Kye falls out dead on the stage, holding up a RIP sign. The girls are dancing and reacting throughout all of this. Tons of fun!
On the right side of the stage (side stage area), they set up a keyboard and Barry and Keely came out. I couldn't believe what I was hearing - he sang Sandra. You could hear the gasps from the fans in the audience - most of us have never heard that sung live. The way they performed it, Barry was the narrator - he sang the parts telling the story of Sandra. But when it came to the part in the song where Sandra is speaking, Keely took over and sang that part. She was fantastic. She put so much feeling into the lyrics of the song. It was really breathtaking and I'm sure it brought tears to a lot of people's eyes - I know it did mine.
Then Barry came to the left side of the stage to do Talk to Me. It started out with Kye and Monica at center stage arguing, fighting, yelling at each other. They pace back and forth across the stage, shouting (we can't hear what they're saying, you can just tell). And in the meantime, Barry had come to the left side stage area. And he yelled, "STOP!" It really got your attention - it was so forceful - it made me catch my breath for a moment. And Kye and Monica stop and just stare at him, then they silently walk off stage as Barry sits down at a coffee table there. The emotion in the air was incredible. He didn't stay there for the full song, he walked to center stage after the first verse. He really acted the song out and made it very believable. It was also a fantastic performance - this one put out an incredible amount of feeling.
We also got Turn the Radio Up. Everyone was on their feet for this one, fans and civilians included. I noticed that a lot of fans started out singing the song along with Barry - we used to do that during the 2002 tour.
Barry closed out the segment with Welcome Home. At first, it was just Barry alone, with the curtain down behind him. Then the backups come out to the side stage area - Keely and Kye on the left, and Monica and Melanie on the right - with suitcases in hand, as if they were "coming home". As the song ended, they were all hugging each other. That one brought tears to my eyes, too.
I can't believe that the civilians wouldn't embrace the Mayflower segment in the show. I know this isn't the "hits" - but it rivals any Broadway type performance on the strip. I did love the decades medley - but this was so, so much better. I hope at least some of this segment stays in the show after the convention weekend is over.
After Welcome Home, Barry and the backups met at center stage for bows. Then the curtain came down and we got the baby Barry video of Mandy.
Barry came out in my favorite white jacket (of course!) to sing Mandy/Could It Be Magic - and then they went straight into Copacabana.
At the top of the stairs, Barry was doing funny dances for us again. I'm not sure what was going on up on the platform, but there was a lot of laughing going on.
This was one of those shows where you couldn't be sad when it was over. It was extra long. And Barry and crew put so much into it - you left on a high. It was a very special night. And if Barry felt from the crowd what I did, he should very pleased.
|
|
