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There are some shows that are just destined to be special - and this was one of them. From the moment Barry walked out on the stage (in my favorite jacket, no less!) until his last encore (yes, multiples!) it was one special moment after another.

This show was totally different from both the Vegas shows and the arena shows. Everything had a different feel to it. It goes without saying that the set would be different because there was a 60 piece orchestra up there! I knew that having the orchestra playing along would be special - and it was. Another difference was the runway that extended out into the audience at center stage. That was a surprise, and a very pleasant one.

And the lighting was different, as well. It was beautiful - not as colorful as the arena shows, and not that kind of pastel feel of the Vegas shows. I thought I might have trouble with photos because somehow the lighting didn't seem as bright - but I actually wound up with some of the best photos I've ever taken. At one point in the show, Barry thanked Seth for the beautiful lighting.


The performance also had a different feel to it. To say it was magical would be an understatement - but it also wouldn't totally describe what was in the air. Barry's vocals were different - if I had to put words to it (not even pretending to know what he was feeling, of course), I would say it was primarily gratitude - and also reflective. It was very emotional. At times Barry appeared to be just a little short of being overwhelmed - sometimes it seemed it was the orchestra and sometimes it seemed it was the audience that did it to him. It's not unusual for Barry to cause me to have a lump in my throat because of his performance of a certain song. But this time, it had nothing to do with his performance - this time it was just watching him that did it to me. I've read some comments about the show where people have mentioned how proud they were of Barry during this show. And that goes without saying. But even more than that, I felt as if I were watching Barry achieve one of his dreams. I've always loved watching other people be affected by Barry's music and his performances. But to be able to witness Barry being the one affected - that was incredible.


A lot of people have asked me how Barry looked. He looked great. He looked happy - more than happy. He seemed full of energy - really full of energy. Several times he was literally bouncing on stage.


I have to insert the usual disclaimer - I make no promises that the order of this review is the order the songs occurred in the show. As those who have sat beside me can verify - I don't take notes.

A very classy moment was at the very beginning. The orchestra members all took their places. I watched the harp player take her seat and remembered how many times over the years I've heard Barry talk about how classy the harp sounds. After everyone was seated, Ron W. walked out to lead the orchestra. From my point of view, anyway, this was his "moment" - and he had another moment at the end of the show when he was recognized loudly by the audience.

The backups came out from the right side stage area. Ron W. started the orchestra with the notes we're all so familiar with - and Barry came out from the left side stage, quickly moving to center stage with that cute walk we all think is so adorable. Someone sitting beside me had actually commented before the show about how cute he is when he's walking across the stage like that - and it turns out he actually did it to open the show.

In a change from his normal routine, Barry opened the show with Ready to Take A Chance Again. Now, I can't tell you if he actually performed the entire song or not. I had a little "overwhelmed" thing going on myself - the fact that it's been a while since I've seen Barry, what we all know is coming up, still some uncertainty about the future in the air, and then that orchestra... So you'll have to forgive me for just experiencing the moment rather than trying to document it in my mind. No matter how much of the song he actually sang, it was beautiful. Barry's voice was in excellent form. The music was breathtaking. That opening segment was "magical" as so many other people have said.


Without there really being a break in the music, the orchestra moved into It's A Miracle, with the orchestra playing the intro to the song rather than what we're used to hearing. Very nice... During this song was the first time that Barry made use of the runway - he got a little silly and hesitantly stepped forward with a look on his face that seemed to say, "ooh, can I do this without falling off?" He made his way all the way out to the end - that took him all the way out to the garden boxes.


Barry continued with the rest of the medley - Somewhere in the Night, Daybreak, This One's For You. Every note seemed to be full of emotion.

Looks Like We Made It moved back in time a little - most of the Vegas element was missing. Instead, Barry seemed to rely on the lyrics of the song. The orchestra just added to it. And when Barry strolled over to the right side of the stage, with his hand in his pocket the way he does, with that look on his face that he gets as he sings the second verse - it seemed to me that we were seeing the essence of that song. Very memorable.


Bandstand Boogie was included, complete with Barry's cute expressions. And the cute antics of the backups!


At one point early in the show, Barry thanked the audience for being there. And then he said, "I wasn't sure anyone would show up!" Oh, please! Like we were going to miss a magical night like this! Like we were going to miss an opportunity to show him how much we really do care about him... I've been with him since I was 16 - I'm not going anywhere.

Weekend in New England was one of the songs that I was really looking forward to with the orchestra. I wasn't disappointed. This was the first time that I could truly see how the orchestra was making Barry feel. There were certain songs where Barry appeared to be totally lost in the sound of the orchestra during an instrumental portion. He would close his eyes, and just seem to drift into the music - it looked as though he were lost in paradise. I didn't manage to capture a single photo of that - but that's alright. With some things, you don't need help to have a memory etched into your mind forever.

In the last few months, Barry has sung WINE in a variety of ways - softly, passionately, emotionally - none of those match this performance. Barry's vocals, his performance, and the music of the orchestra all blended together so well that you can't single out an element. It was more than beautiful.

Someone did yell out during WINE - Barry looked a little surprised. He didn't seem to expect it at this show. But he laughed - we all did. He never lost track of where he was in the song - it didn't cause a break in the song at all - but the smile on his face was priceless.


Barry performed the Trying To Get The Feeling/Even Now medley as he does in Vegas. This time Barry's vocals stood out, even though the orchestra was playing beautifully behind him. And during the transition between the two songs, you could see how he was feeling the orchestra. Barry really nailed the long note at the end of Even Now. And when he said the line "God, I wish you knew" - WOW! What passion!


We got a song I haven't heard live in a while - Barry sang When October Goes. Again, the orchestra backing made it exquisite. Barry was exceptionally emotional during this performance. You could see tears in his eyes more than once. He gestured, he sighed, you could see him bite the inside of his right cheek - long time fans will know what I'm talking about - we've seen Barry do it over and over through the years when he really starts feeling the moment. Before the song he commented that he would probably not be able to hit the high note at the end - well, his voice cracked just briefly (and I think it was from the emotion), but then he held it strong and true. When he moved to the piano for the next song he said, "I knew it, I just knew it." One little split second caused by the emotion of the song isn't a problem - in fact, I think it added to the performance.



Can't Smile Without You was a huge group sing-a-long. Barry smiled frequently during the song. I think there was some genuine affection flowing both ways - he can't smile without us, and we definitely can't smile without him.


At one point Barry brought out someone from the school district to present the check from the funds raised for the benefit. Barry seemed genuinely moved as the man talked. And then Barry went to the piano to sing I Am Your Child. It was one of the strongest vocal performances of the song that I've heard in a while - and again, that orchestra...

You haven't heard Barry perform Memory until you've heard it with a full orchestra behind him. I've mentioned before that was never one of my favorite songs (it depresses me), but I always enjoy hearing Barry perform it live. This performance was poignant - Barry seemed to be living the lyrics. In Vegas we've frequently seen Barry conducting this song - but tonight Ron W. was conducting.



For one of the upbeat songs, we got Brooklyn Blues, with Dave Koz as the special guest. The orchestra again played a prominent part in the song. At the end of the song, Barry snatched one of those long notes out of the air and held on to it as Dave held one on the sax. Dave even got a look of amazement on his face as Barry just kept holding on. It was a pretty cool moment.


We also got New York City Rhythm, complete with the keyboardists coming down to play. Tonight I didn't worry about a winner - everyone on that stage and out in the audience was a winner from the very start!



It's been a long time since I heard the full, ballad version of Could It Be Magic. And with an orchestra, no less. The opening chords of the prelude that Barry played on the piano were extremely powerful. The sound just seemed to reach inside me. Barry didn't change the lyrics this time - he left them as in the original version of the song. You could see that Barry was visibly moved by the music.


We got the full version of Mandy. Like WINE, there was no single element about the performance - it was a total package, perfectly blended.


As always, I Write the Songs was a little sad because you know the show is getting close to the end. It was another orchestra moment, though. There was a lot of audience participation - they sang loudly. Barry commented that he could hear us. Barry walked from side to side on the stage, the orchestra playing powerfully behind him - the feeling was intense. Barry's closing note on the song was also intense - very powerful.


Copacabana was minus the brightly colored jacket, minus the headdresses, minus the "grab". It was just Barry performing the song (but still with his silly expressions). And we didn't need anything else. Barry seemed to emphasize "we fell in love" - well, we did...


None of us wanted to see Barry walk off the stage. He came back out to do the It's A Miracle reprise. He walked to the end of the runway, shouted, "One, two three, go!" And then the streamers and confetti shot into the sky. I wish I had photos of all of that swirling in the sky above us - but I was caught up in the moment, too - and there was no way I walking away from the show without some streamers to put in my memory box. I have a box full of streamers from "special shows" through out the years - this show was one of the most special.


I turned to look at Barry as he was about even with me on the runway - and he was laughing - a genuine, hearty laugh - he looked so totally happy at that moment. Again, one of those moments that you don't need a photo to remember.

Barry then gave us One Voice as an encore. He performed almost the entire song at the end of the runway, so I don't have any photos of it - I could just see his back. But for the last portion of the song, the orchestra became very evident - frankly, it gave me chills to hear it - and then Barry walked back to center stage conducting. I did snap a couple of shots of that, but they don't even come close to conveying what it was like.


Barry left the stage, and we thought that was it. The orchestra was still on stage, and the lights hadn't come up. But no one expected anything more. I was a little lost in my thoughts at the moment. I thought back on my early years of seeing Barry perform in person - I only saw him when he came to Dallas - and even if he performed multiple nights, I was never able to attend all of them. When Barry would leave the stage at those shows, I always felt a sense of loss. Back in those days, I never knew when I would see him again. But it occurred to me, in the past 5 years, we've become spoiled because we always felt that he would be there when we were ready to come back - it was just a matter of when we could plan another trip - I think maybe Barry has been taken for granted a little. But now, things are a little more uncertain... And I was feeling it. None of the arguments that have gone on in the fan world, none of the emotional responses, none of that mattered - all I could think of was when will we know if there's a tomorrow. All of that was running through my mind as I stood there waiting to see if he would come back out.


And he did. No one expected it, but Barry came out to do another encore for us. He was putting his ear monitors back in as he walked across the stage. When he got to center stage he said, "Aren't you tired?", which was met with resounding "No's!". The he said, "I had already taken my monitors out and everything." That brought a laugh from the audience. The he said, "We haven't rehearsed any more songs, so this is it," and then he went into the introduction of Forever and A Day.

Barry said that he knew some of us have been with him from the very beginning - and he said, "Through the ups and downs." He repeatedly said "I will never forget this night". This had to be the most touching, emotional, overwhelming performance of the song that I've ever witnessed. The orchestra was magnificent. And Barry never seemed more sincere as he sang the song. I had to fight back tears more than once. He performed the song about halfway down the runway, directly even with me - that put him only about 6 feet from me as he sang. There are no words to describe the feeling in the Bowl, no way to convey how much love was flowing between Barry and the audience. I know some will criticize that comment, but you know what - I'll bet those critics weren't there to experience it. I saw civilians (meaning non-long time fans) pulled in to the moment. I saw former fans feel the "feeling" again. It was as if 35 years of emotion had been rolled into a couple of minutes - the most magical moment of the entire night.


Barry blew kisses to the audience, then started to walk off the stage. But he stopped to look at us - he was beaming - and he appeared to be trying to permanently engrave the site into his memory. A lot of us were trying to take photos of that moment - and then Barry raised his hands and pretended to take a couple of shots himself with an invisible camera. At first I thought he was goofing with us, because of all the cameras and flashes. But when I got home and could clearly see the expression on his face - I don't think that was it. I think he was taking his own mental snapshot of that site, of that moment in time, to take with him forever. Then he smiled that beautiful smile and walked off the stage.


From where I stood, I could see the backups reach for Barry as he left the stage - they were all giving him hugs - I can only imagine the emotion backstage at that moment. I hope they managed to somehow include our virtual hugs along with their own physical embraces.

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Caroline Comment by Caroline 4 hours ago
Hello Dana,

again a beautiful review. You're so good at it! Tanks for sharing it with us.

Manilove Caroline
Chrissy Comment by Chrissy on October 27, 2009 at 9:03pm
Dear Dana,
What can l say, a wonderful review and super photos, l feel like l was there with you.
Sounds like you had a fab time, you always give us a brillant review, it looked an amazing venue.
Thanks once again
Manilove
Chrissy
janet hudson Comment by janet hudson on October 27, 2009 at 1:33am
Fantastic reveiw Dana and gorgeous photos,thank you for sharing this special night with us all WOW !!

Best wishes to you

Janet UK xx
Margaret Umbers Comment by Margaret Umbers on October 26, 2009 at 10:19pm
Thanks Dana for posting your review here - great pics !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has made me feel as if I was there.
Maggie xxx
Sharon Johnson Comment by Sharon Johnson on October 26, 2009 at 9:47am
Dear Dana,
thank you so much for the brilliant review. I look forward to your photos. Only wish I could have been there. It looks like a fantastic venue for a gig. I bet the atmosphere was something else. Thanks for giving us such a good sense of the occasion.
Best wishes
Sharon Johnson
Millie Comment by Millie on October 26, 2009 at 9:35am
Dana --- you are a star

another amazing blog

thank you so much

you dont know how much I look forward to your reviews, the detail etc, how do you do it

the love you have for him bounces off the page

he is such an amazing man, how does he do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he's still got It in spades

maniluv millie
x

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