More Manilow, More Magic - Atlanta Continued

There's more sleep to catch up on than I thought.

The rest of the thoughts on the concert are in no particular order. Maybe they'll come close to the actual set list if I'm lucky. That first essay was based on the few decent pictures I got.

OK, some more thoughts on the show and surrounding entertainment as they come to me....

At every concert by every major artist, there is always THAT ONE GUY/GIRL in the front who can't clap in time to save their life. At Barry's show, that was Pete. He was with me. A big "sorry" to everyone who had to deal with that. ;-)

"Somewhere In the Night" - one of my personal favorites (and Pete's too, though not for exactly the same reason ;-) ) got included in the opening medley. My condolences to everyone who was not there with a spouse or S.O. You just can't resist a good grope session to that song! Which was just a little awkward when the seats on the floor (especially in our rows) were crammed together like sardines. I wonder what Pete and I looked like from the stage! (blush)

Even though there was no "50s segment", they did bring out the costume change and choreography for "Bandstand Boogie". That was fun. Kye set the standard that the girls had to live up to for their little show around the song.

Quick comment on Kye (I'm guessing that really is his name because no one corrected me when I first posted it) - this is the only person on stage who is really a dancer. The backup girl who performs with him in the Mayflower segment on the M&P video comes close. But the other girls and Barry are definitely not. (Walking to a beat does not qualify as dancing.) But Kye organized the choreography and stage blocking so that everyone looks like they are of equal ability and training. No mean feat. The only time you really see what he is capable of is during his little "Copa" remix during Barry's/the girls' costume change and on the M&P video during "They Dance" - when he needs to be out front of everyone else. I wonder if he's done any solo performances before or otherwise outside of Barry's show. He could pull it off.

Speaking of ability - the William Tell Overture bit. All I had heard from the news groups and blogs and chat boards was that it was really good and really funny. I'll take under-exaggeration for 100, Alex!! We're not talking about 5 people just humming along with each other. Each one was singing a different orchestral part. Does anyone out there have the slightest idea how hard this is?

About 20 years ago, a Contemporary Christian group called "Glad" did a CD called The Acapella Project. It was the 5 guys in the band, in a 32-track studio doing orchestrated a capella versions of various hymns and spiritual songs. Beautiful collection of work and hailed as an innovative stunt. I don't remember if they toured in support of this disc, or if they even performed any of the songs from it in any live set.

Now here are the differences between Glad and Barry and Co:

• Glad's stuff was just studio - Barry's group did it live. Live as in, if someone fucks up their timing, even for a split-second, the entire venue will know it and there's no hiding. No retakes, either.
• A capella performance is sheer hell. If your tone is off, again, the whole world is going to catch it and you can't hide. I didn't see so much as a pitch pipe come out before the number.
• The William Tell Overture is much faster and more complicated with more counterpoint than anything Glad did. Thus keeping the precision is much more difficult and getting back into sync after a mistake may be nearly impossible. This isn't like barbershop or 50s do-wop which is much slower, with simpler arrangements, and easier for each person to adjust to.
• And choreography complementing the melody on top of it. So you have two aspects the 5 of them had to focus on at the same time. Presumably without tripping over each others' feet.

So this little novelty schtick was technically the most demanding part of the show, IMHO. Most people were laughing too hard from enjoying it to appreciate the technicality. This bit belongs on a live CD or DVD. THE PRECEDING SENTENCE WAS A NOT-SO-SUBTLE HINT!!!

So if Barry & Co need a new challenge, how about "Flight of the Bumblebee" next? ;-P

One more pause - need to get dinner on the table. More later!

Manilow Magic in Atlanta

Maybe the old songs
will bring back the old times
Maybe the old lines will sound new>
Maybe she'll lay her head on my shoulder
Maybe old feelings will come through
Maybe we'll start to cry and wonder why
We ever walked away

This show just might take a few posts to get through. When Pete and I watch a concert or video, we hash it through and try to analyze different observations. Maybe our conclusions are right, maybe not, it doesn't matter - that's just how we enjoy things.

To begin with, we were sitting in the second row, center. Just barely off of Barry's left hand. Definitely less than 15 feet from the mike stand in the center, less than 10 feet when he was standing on the hydraulic lift.

Here's a (crappy) picture, just for perspective:



I did manage to get some pictures with my point-and-pray camera. Most of them suck, although there are a few gems. If you want good pictures, someone posted a link on the BarryNet and you can get to them here. But the pictures on these posts are all mine, for whatever they're worth and will give you a feel for how we felt.

Brian Culbertson has a couple of new fans. Usually opening acts are merely tolerated but he put on a great set - he needed more than 30 minutes - and all kinds of things were impressive. Switching from keyboards to trombone. The great-looking sax player. The personality that came across in the instrumentals (NEVER seen that before). The fact that his dad was on the trumpet. The whole Earth, Wind, and Fire segment - EVERYONE around us was on their feet. Most of all, he was having a good time doing what he loved and was good at. Culbertson knew what he could do and had nothing to prove, and it showed.

Now for the main event......

The usual video opening. First time I saw this was on the M&P video shown on PBS. Much more of an impact when shown in its entirety on a big screen, and not part of a montage.

The backup singers hit the stage....

You can't see it well from here, but IMHO, they should reinstate the name "Lady Flash". Yes, even with the guy (Kye?) there. From the angle we were sitting and the way their dresses were made, nothing was left to the imagination. Nothing.

And the moment I've been waiting for since I was 5, and got delayed 2 months due to weather and the venue's judgement:


Set lists and the like are posted here and there on the BarryNet chat board. He did a bunch of favorites and for the most part, followed the bulk of the set list from the M&P show. He included a segment of cuts from this Songs of the 60s CD, and included "Brooklyn Blues".



A non-telephoto shot during "It's A Miracle"
Miracle - my sentiments exactly! Barry must think the ATL is cursed for him after a major snow and ice storm killed his first show. (I hope the VP of bookings got an earful of four-letter aria personally from the main man - the yutz had it coming.) Then a couple of weeks ago, a tornado totalled a few chunks of downtown within blocks of Philips Arena. Then thunderstorms rolled through north Georgia on Saturday afternoon. Vegas must look pretty good compared to that.


Yeah, I know it's blurry. I went to telephoto because I seriously wanted some close shots.

First impressions: If I am in half as good a shape, have half the energy, half the skill/talent, and half the looks that Barry does when I'm looking up close at 65, I will be One Happy Lady. Yes, I know, stage makeup, lighting, yadda yadda yadda. He didn't look a day over 50. And he performed like a man much younger than that even. So cut out the age jokes already, dude, you're not fooling anyone! ;-)

My favorite shot - I might need to print this, frame it, and hang it on the wall of my office. The only thing that would make it better is an inscription/autograph on it:


Somebody's having a good time! And so was I!

IMHO, the measure of professionalism is how well they hold themselves together WHEN something doesn't go exactly right. Not "if" something goes off, but WHEN. Barry spotted a few things that were off - only a couple were noticable to the audience.

Early on, he asked to turn down the echo on his mic. That wasn't the mic, bubeleh, that was the venue. You were playing in a cave designed for basketball and hockey, not concerts per se, and the acoustics show it. The echo delay back to the stage was almost a full second. Just like the old Summit and Rosemont Horizon. But eventually the sound guy got around it.
Every time I've seen someone flub a line (everyone does) they totally lose it. Someone flubbed a couple of lines in "Looks Like We Made It" and kept smiling, kept his composure and kept going. It sounds like Performance 101 - hold it together when you lose concentration, but no one does. Except Barry last night.

Now for the fun parts - the intro to the 60s segment with special herbal enhancement. I couldn't tell if the joint was real or a prop - you couldnt' smell anything and we were trying. No one who has read Sweet Life is suprised that he inhaled like a pro.

There was a dangerous combination here: I was getting frustrated that I couldn't get a really good shot (or so I thought) and I'm a four-star smartass. When Barry planted it in the chair of the set for the 60s intro, you can't imagine what it took for me to NOT yell at the top of my lungs, "BARRY, SIT STILL FOR A GODDAMN SECOND, WILLYA????" Or at least switch to decaf or something!

Oh, look! Someone brought a special treat. Do you have enough for the rest of the class? (Or at least the first couple of rows?)

"Someone is going to get a raise."

"Ah, tohellwithit."

"Have I...been here....like, a really long time?"

Then he goes through some 60s/early 70s record jackets ("How did The Brady Bunch get in there?")

"Now there's a real desperate housewife."

All of Barry's moves (or any major act for that matter) are scripted word for word. Lots of people have seen M&P in Vegas many times. And some of the same bits have been standards in concert videos for years. (Like the "Sing It" piece and story about Grandpa Joe Manilow) You can't do this kind of banter without scripting and rehearsal - ad libbing would sound awkward. It would be easy to mail it in after so many times but Barry delivered all of these stories and bits like it was the first time.

I'll finish this up tomorrow. There's lots more. It's 2:30 AM after a Very. Long. Weekend. and I finally need some sleep sometime.

Starglow

What a night.
The first live music I have truly enjoyed in years.
Barry - thank you. Your show was just what I needed at just the right time. Not because you planned it that way, but because you do whatever you plan to do and let the positive karma fall where it may. My only regret is that I have no way to return the favor.

It's still a busy weekend so I'll post the in-depth thoughts and memories later with the few good pictures I was able to get. ;-)

It's good to feel good again.

A moment of peace

Catching the last breather I will get until the drive home.
My job here is as a PA to the head honcho (Honchess? Honchette? Whatever...The Boss!) to this conference so there is a lot of work to do.

If there were a global nuclear holocaust tomorrow the survivors would be:

• Cockroaches
• Keith Richards
• Old-fashioned Southern belles over the age of 60, who pretend that they're not strong, capable women (visualize Scarlet O'Hara saying "fiddle dee dee") but will move heaven and earth to get what they want if they have half a mind to do it.

That is my life for the next couple of days.

I packed up some Barry CDs and old tapes I finally found for the hour-long drive. Barry Manilow from 1989 got its usual playing (one of my current favorites). Then I got to rediscover If I Should Love Again. I can't believe this one didn't do as well as many of his previous records. The title track got rewound a dozen times. Anyone else reminded of "Could it Be Magic" on that intro? I'd forgotten how intense it was and it made a long, dull ride much more enjoyable. If a certain someone wanted to put that song in his live act, this fan would not complain. ;-) How's that for a subtle hint?

27.5 hours til I can walk the hell out of here and head home! I tell people around here that I have to leave early to see Barry and no one holds it against me! Even the jealous ones. 8^D
At least the one time I see the guy it will be right up close. I'll get off now before I start to ramble too much.

Crunch Time

I'm headed out of town for my convention tomorrow morning so I took one last look at my Barry stuff before I'm deprived for a couple of days. I may not be able to check my mail or blog so I'm getting one last post in while I can.

Snack for thought: I wonder what the teens in the audiences of Barry's TV specials think when they see themselves years later on the DVDs. Especially the three who begged for a kiss on TV, and the one who practically bit his shoulder during "Why Don't We Try a Slow Dance".

This is no longer a joke, I need to finish this presentation.

Have a great rest of the week, folks. If I don't find time to post between now and then, the next thing you'll see is my gushing about Atlanta this Saturday. If you've read this blog from the beginning (all the background is in February) you know that Pete and I really need this show.

Barry, don't let us down, buddy!