Several people told me after the show that I wouldn't be able to find words to describe what we saw. That's totally inaccurate. I have absolutely no trouble finding the appropriate words. And please forgive me in advance if I come across as too reserved. But...
OMG!!!!!
That was one of the most incredible shows I've seen Barry do in terms of excitement. He walked out on the stage with a look of determination - now I know why - he was determined to knock our socks off - and he did. Thankfully, for Barry's sake, all other items of clothing stayed put (as far as I know). But considering the crowd reactions a couple of times, he was probably pushing the limit...
I'll be upfront in saying that I don't have tons of photos from this show. It's easier to get great shots when you know what Barry is going to do - but when he throws in surprises constantly - and, when you're so caught up in the show itself... I really like one of the smoky shots I got tonight. I've never managed to catch it when the light is shining on him from the side - you can even see the color of the jacket before he gets into the spotlight. That's not something that I could see in person - it took the camera catching that moment in time for me to realize it.
Barry bounced out onto the stage with It's a Miracle. There was very little about tonight that was soft and gentle. Barry seemed very upbeat - almost every song was emphasized in one way or another. He doesn't always pull that off - and really, I'm not sure he would want to because by continually reinventing the songs it brings news perspectives to the show. (or should that be continuously? don't know, don't care - ain't no English major)
Barry had a huge smile on his face and seemed genuinely happy to see us. He came out in a bright blue, shiny jacket. I've seen it before - I think it was back in 2007. I always loved that jacket (not as much as the white one, but a lot!).
He must have noticed that some of us were cold - because he told us he was going to warm us up. Boy, did he! I had been complaining all afternoon that I got so cold at the Secret Garden I couldn't get warm - I didn't have that problem after the show!
The sultry facial expressions were back to their usual level in Somewhere in the Night. I think it was an interesting contrast to the previous night. I hope that isn't taken wrong - nothing boring about the previous night's performance! There were just slight changes in facial expressions and movements that changed the tone of the song - you know, what he's so great at doing! Wouldn't the full, romantic version of this song be great for the Paris? There's so much Barry can do with this song - sweet Barry, sultry Barry - whatever mood he's in.
There was tons of emphasis on This One's For You - I think it really was for us! Daybreak also had a lot of emphasis. For some reason, all the lyrics of the opening medley just seemed to have extra meaning. For instance, "I found love enough to hold you" - he certainly has! I hope we can convey love enough to hold HIM.
The first surprise of the night came after the opening medley. Usually Barry goes right into Looks Like We Made It. Not tonight - we heard a familiar rhythm pattern - some of us recognized it right away. Barry sang Why Don't We Live Together. I so love that song. Barry put a lot of emphasis in it, too. We didn't just warm up, we were melting...
Looks Like We Made It was fantastic. I think Barry got deeper into the song than even he planned - but it definitely had an effect on the audience. Barry even managed to make me react - he rocked me, made me catch my breath. The only other time I felt such a strong reaction (not emotion, but reaction) was the one time that he changed the way he performed Somewhere in the Night. He put the mic on a mic stand and reached out for the audience with a little finger wiggle as he sang "Come with me..." I almost fell out of my seat after that one. Isn't that silly that he can do that us? But it's all part of the fun.
Barry went straight from LLWMI into Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed. The crowd roared. We heard the opening notes of the music and we all went wild. Barry grabbed a mic stand from the side stage, walked back to center stage, and slammed it down - talk about setting the tone! Like I said, very little soft and gentle Barry tonight - this was hot and sexy Barry. It was an incredible performance. While Barry used the mic stand, he didn't, uhm... He didn't, er... He didn't become as well acquainted with it as he has in the past. Too soon after his surgery maybe - plus, I think he wore those hips out during LLWMI. But that's okay - just the fact that the mic stand was there was all he needed - or maybe I should say all WE needed. I said that last night's crowd was loud. They were nothing compared to what Barry heard after he finished this song. It was deafening. I know a lot of you have never been to a rock concert - but, the music is so loud that you can physically feel it as the sound waves hit your body - I saw Ted Nugent once and I swear I thought my heart was going to stop (it's no wonder he's deaf). Anyway, that's how loud the crowd was after Barry finished WBSIMB - you could physically feel their cheers. Barry looked totally surprised at the crowd reaction. After the cheers finally died down a little, Barry announced, "I'm still a sex god" - and that was met with more loud cheers and definitely a lot of agreement from the audience. I can see still the expression on Barry's face when he heard the audience reaction - I don't know what's going through his head, but he still seems genuinely surprised that he can make us react that way. After all these years, he shouldn't be surprised - but, if we ever got the idea that he truly views himself the way we do, it wouldn't be nearly as appealing.
I was so ecstatic at that point. But I also started feeling a little guilty at the thought that Barry might be hurting himself. I would hate myself for loving this so much if I thought that he was hurting himself because he loves us so much. So, was anyone able to follow that sentence besides me? :-)
But my guilt was quickly overcome by my own selfish need to absorb everything that Barry put out there for us. What can I say? I'm human!
Weekend in New England was beautiful. Tonight's performance was a mixture of soft and power ballad - this was one of only two times that we saw a soft Barry. The beginning was very soft and emotional. But it quickly moved into power ballad territory, full of passion.
Barry sang the full version of Even Now. This performance was mostly power ballad. He was a little soft at the beginning, but that was gone before the first verse was finished. He sang the song with a lot of passion and feeling. And I still didn't catch a photo of that facial expression - but it was still there, still grabbing me. It's interesting - as Barry is changing jackets, the band is playing a little intro music - an orchestra arrangement. Barry even did a little conducting during it. Apparently I'm not the only one who's moved when he does that - I heard a few people around me react to the conducting with aah's and sighs. Barry again hit that killer note at the end of the song.
He had us sing most of Can't Smile Without You while he got a drink of water or tea or whatever it is. He put a lot of emphasis on this song, too. This was another performance where it seemed as if he were telling us that he can't smile without us. He got women on both side stage areas to sing along with him - which meant he had to literally run across the stage to get to the other side in time. After all he had already been doing! Barry! (but we love you for it) And it might be a little blurry - but I caught one shot of that adorable smile as he started the song.
There was a very cute moment as CSWY was starting. It looked like he couldn't decide whether to start the song off at the piano or just grab the mic and come out to the front of the stage to do the entire song. He stood by the piano, looking perplexed. He pointed at the piano, then he pointed at the front of the stage. He did that several times, looking at us, looking at the band, looking at the backups. Kye started laughing and pointing to the front of the stage. So Barry shrugged and waved his hand as if to say, "whatever" - and then came out to the front of the stage to do the song.
I might have songs a little out of order here - I was still rocked from the first part of the show. But Barry sang Brooklyn Blues and New York City Rhythm. No keyboard out front this time - he just went right into his dialogue about growing up in Brooklyn and getting homesick when he left. He's still feeling those songs. Can't pick a winner from the piano chase tonight - all 3 guys did something totally different from each other - it would be like comparing apples to oranges.
Kye brought the stool out - but he didn't do Somewhere Down the Road. Barry had a little dialogue where he talked about moving to the Paris - he said he was looking forward to and excited about a new show, but he was also a little melancholy. Barry also talked about how great everyone at the Hilton has been to him, from the managers to the ushers to the room service people. He thanked all of the fans, acknowledging those who have come over and over to the shows. He told us that he was going to have a couple of months off so that would give us a chance to pay off our Mastercards - and then he rolled his eyes. Ha! He has no idea how true that is! And he's worth every penny.
And then Barry sang Best Seat in the House. Again, the audience had it pegged within the first couple of notes on the piano. Oh, that was so special - Barry seemed so sincere as he sang it to us. His eyes were brimming with tears. When he got to the line about hoping that we "keep this place here", he really emphasized it, gesturing and pointing as if to say hoping that we would stay with him. (as if there were any chance we wouldn't) And another piece of lyric that he really seemed to emphasize was the part about every night trying to be the best he can be. That one really hit home at this point in the show, because it was obvious this was meant to be a very special show and that he had given a great deal of thought to what he should do - and he was currently giving even more effort and energy to accomplishing that. I know some people will say that he was just doing his job - no, it goes way beyond that. We've all known people who took "doing their job" to the next level - there's a huge difference.
You know, I have to disagree with Barry about his having the best seat in the house. It may be incredible from his point of view - but from our vantage point, knowing that he's singing that song just for us, especially when we can see such emotion in his face and hear it in his voice... Especially when we know that he's killing himself on that stage for us. No comparison - we definitely have the best seat. We would still love him if he only did a fraction of what he does.
Barry followed with Ships - another great performance of the song, acting out the different characters. I saw my wormhole light effect again - except this time, there were 3 of them swirling around up above Barry's head. Even after all this time, I'm still just taken by the lighting effects during Ships. Barry suspended in that black nothingness - just so cool.
Mandy/Could It Be Magic was a passionate performance - very strong. But it came way too soon - I wasn't ready for the show to be that close to being over. I tried to catch a few shots of Barry with baby Barry in the background - had a little success.
Barry skipped I Write the Songs - don't know if it was for time purposes, or because he had been singing so hard for us that his voice was starting to sound a little strained. He just went straight into Copacabana. It was a very cute performance. He's very cute! What can we say? And stop telling us to not fall in love! It's too late!!
For Copacabana, Barry came out doing a funny little dance - kind of silly - definitely cute. I think I forgot to mention that he's back in the original bright yellow Copa jacket. I love that jacket - loved the other one, too. Love all of them! LOL Okay, well - there was one jacket I absolutely hated - but I won't tell you which one.
I forgot to mention that at the last show Barry seemed to be having a hard time remembering his choreography with Kye during Copacabana - you know, where they alternate the fist punching the air thingy they do... Barry had the cutest expression on his face while he was trying to do that. Well, tonight - he had it down - still with the cutest facial expression. But he had a gleem in his eye - I had a feeling I knew what was coming. Sure enough, he turned around and did the grab with Kye this time. And then he said (off mic, so I don't think many people heard it), "Kye made me do it!" LOL
It occurred to me that we have seen two extremes this week - one night was a very soft and sweet Barry - the other was a very hot and sexy Barry. Neither is better than the other - I love them both, and I think I'm speaking for most fans when I say that. I also think it's interesting that I tend to have a little feeling of guilt after the wild shows, even though Barry purposely does it to generate our reactions. I guess it's because when he does a softer show, the audience is a little softer (in general - they weren't on Monday night!). I've always said that yelling and screaming isn't indicative of how much the audience enjoys the show - it's just an indicator of the mood that the audience is in that particular night - and the personality of the audience, as well. Me, I'm a very reserved, shy, and even old-fashioned person. Scream? Yell out during WINE? Ain't gonna happen, folks. The most you're going to get out of me is a huge smile, a glowing review, and if you're watching close enough you might see me catch my breath when he does something that touches me - and that could be a look in Barry's eye or the tone of his voice just as easily as how much he's wiggling his hips. I try to convey the atmosphere of the night to give everyone a "feel" for the show - just because I say "OMG" after a show like this, doesn't mean I wasn't thinking the same about the night before - it just doesn't fit in as well with the sweet Barry. Ya know, one type of show brings vision of rose petals gently floating to the floor as you look into his beautiful blue eyes and listen to his soothing voice. The other type of show brings visions of B-strings! Kind of hard to write in the same tone for both of those mental images!
I guess I feel the guilt occasionally because I sometimes wonder if Barry understands that it doesn't matter which "BARRY" we see on stage - we just love Barry.
Anyway, finishing up...
Barry came back out for the It's A Miracle reprise. The streamers were in attack mode again last night - I have a small bruise beside my eye where one hit me! And Barry was dodging them, too!
Barry told us that if he didn't see us tomorrow night, we should come to see him at the Paris. No way we would miss the last night. No way... AND we'll go see him at the Paris. And we would go to the ends of the earth to see him as long as there's room on that Mastercard! LOL
I heard a couple of people say that they didn't see how Barry could possibly top this show when he performs on Wednesday. He doesn't need to try to "top" anything. We've seen all facets of Barry this week. At this last show, all I care about is just seeing Barry one more time - whatever he wants to do will be perfect - just like it always has been.
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