A Night of Music . . .

Last night my Mom and I went to the Barry Manilow concert at the Rose Garden for "An Evening of Music and Passion". Okay, that sounds a little creepy, but that's what it says on the ticket. Nevertheless, just to get my feelings about the concert out of the way before I give a slight play-by-play, it was awesome! This was quite possibly the best concert I have ever attended and I don't consider myself a huge fan of the Manilow. That isn't to say I don't like his music, but I wouldn't go looking for his CD or anything, until now.

Before arriving at the Rose Garden, Mom and I both contemplated pricing for programs. Now a program is supposed to be something that will tell you who is performing, maybe some information about their career and a slew of advertisements. Going in, Mom and I thought $8 was going to be the program's price after nixing the $5 price point we originally thought. I walk into the building and look across at a souvenir stand where you would pick up a program and see a handwritten sign that says $20. I'm floored, I tell my Mom who is also shocked at the price. The man scans our ticket and we walk in and I notice he is selling other souvenirs and there were other handwritten signs with dollar amounts on them. Phew, there was no way the program costs $20, that would be ridiculous. We get closer to the stand and I look at all the prices, and as it turns out, the program is indeed $20. I'm thinking, only a complete fool would by a program for that much, and by the looks of things, there were a lot of fools.

We continue our walk around to our entrance looking for a restroom my Mom can stop into to freshen up. The first ladies room we passed had a herd of gentlemen standing around waiting for their wives or girlfriends to emerge. The scene was funny, because there were a lot of gentlemen standing around more than average. And from the hourly reports my Mom gave me about the ladies room, they were full.

Barry Manilow has a very established fan base. Most of the fans are ones he's had since he began his career 35 years ago. Naturally, the average age of the attendees had to be 42. Everywhere you looked, there were older women, and the men they dragged to the event standing, sitting and conversing with those around them. Some of them came in packs, they all were chattering on as women, and especially older women do.

Now, with the advent of the cell phone, one could conceivably get into contact with practically anyone at anytime, a concert is no exception. While Mom and I were seated in our seats before the concert began, looking around we noticed a bunch of people standing up, talking on their phones with friends who are also in attendance, waving maniacally in a general direction. I suppose it is only natural to think that the possibility of someone you know must be among the thousands in attendance. I did.

A few minutes passed and a local DJ came onto the stage holding a child living with Cystic Fibrosis, thanking us for contributing to the cause. The little girl was cute and slurred into the microphone hoping we enjoy the show. The crowd "awwwwwwed" in unison and within a couple of minutes the concert began.

Barry comes out and the crowd goes wild. You have to understand that a concert with Barry Manilow is going to be different from one say with, Justin Timberlake. There isn't going to be pyrotechnics, beat boxing, and a posse of 100 synchronized dancers. You are going to have a man with some back-up singers, a band and an orchestra. That difference speaks volumes and differentiates someone who has been performing for 35 years from someone who has been doing it for barely 10. The younger generation of musicians, focus on creating a spectacle. Barry Manilow focuses on creating a show.

The first half of the concert had him singing a few of his classics and then singing songs from his compilation CD's of 40's and 50's music. My mom and I were afraid he would do that, but it was great because he did it in a way that was entertaining and the fact that Barry was singing it made it okay. At one point, he sang "Moonlight Serenade" and brought a member of the audience up to the stage to sing and dance with her. It was funny to see her face as she hugged and danced with the Barry Manilow.

During intermission, they began handing out glow sticks to everyone. It was so long since Mom and I ever held a glow stick that we weren't exactly sure how to operate it. I guess this says a lot about our ages since the people behind us also didn't know how to make it glow. I seemed to remember that you have to break it, but the idea seemed so counter-intuitive that I thought that I would literally break it and fluid will spill all over me. I finally just bit the bullet and cracked it and it began to glow. Mom soon followed suit.

Music played in the background during the intermission, and moving the glow sticks back and forth to the music took the place of the wave. Probably a good idea because I'm not sure how many hips would have been able to handle the up and down motion required to perform a wave. So, we all sat their, glow sticks in hand singing along to the music. Then the lights dimmed and the intermission was over.

It was amazing seeing all these thousands of glow sticks glowing the dark, waving back and forth while Barry sang songs from the 60's and 70's. Before beginning his 60's throwback, he sat in a chair, reminisced about the 60's, took one of those "funny cigarettes" between his index and thumb, and took a drag. It was not one of those "funny cigarettes". Or was it? He did act a little strange for a couple of moments.

If you haven't already guessed, concerts are a magnificent place to people watch. You have thousands of people crammed into a small space, excited about where the evening will go. If you add a little alcohol into the mix, memories are made, as was the case of an older gentleman who got excited over some of the songs. He stood up dancing as only the old can, arms out and without rhythm. I laughed hysterically bringing me almost to tears. What made it better was he had two glow sticks in his hands making this closest to a rave he was ever going to be. Moreover, because he was standing in the aisle the attendant for our section came running down and tried unsuccessfully to get the man to move back into the row. I could see that she too was laughing along with the rest of the section.

For me there were a couple of songs that he had to sing to make me happy, Mandy and Copacabana. To my delight, he sang both making this the best concert I have ever been to, not just because he sang those songs, or sang any songs for that matter. If he stood up on stage and sang the phone book it would have still been the best concert, because he doesn't just perform music he intimately connects with his audience unlike anyone other performer I have seen. That is what makes a legend.