Music and Passion

Knock it off! Stop the laughing, the jokes, and the snickering. Next Monday, we're going to see Barry at the Rose Garden. It's one of only two performances that he's doing this year outside of his full schedule at the Las Vegas Hilton. My first time to see him was in 1982 at Boise State University. We slept all night on the hood of my buddy's Camaro so that we could be one of the first in line for tickets. Two things I remember: My friend screaming "I love you, Barry" over and over and then "I'm not gay" Manilow himself riding out...perched, really....on the top of a gigantic pineapple to open the second half with Copacabana. He wore gray slacks and a red sweater. I went the next day and bought both in remembrance. (Again, stop laughing.) As I write this, S is ushering me into the next level of heaven with a collection of Barry's tunes on our grand piano. S is an amazing pianist...but he's a Barry virgin. Never seen him. And boy is he excited too....along with our good friend A who is coming along also. My second trip to see him was in 1986 at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas with my long-lost friend Rosemary. Her sister was singing backup with a choir for him on the song Weekend in New England. We sat in the theater, all dressed up for the dinner show, and then Barry crooned for us.....all night.....Wow. Nothing like an old style Vegas showroom. The thing I remember about that night was seeing Telly Savalas (anybody old enough to remember Kojak??) standing in front of the hotel. I marched right on over, put my hand out, and said hi. He was horribly polite as he shook my hand. And now next Monday. We're ecstatic. The dude is 60 or so and still an amazing showman. If you haven't seen his Vegas show yet (or at least the DVD) it's awesome. Tons of energy, dance, and music. It's so not old style Barry Manilow. It's Manilow on steroids. I'm guessing that we'll fit in well with the stylishly-dressed collection of gay men and 40-something couples with bangs and bleach-blonde hair that will be there. We're thinking that we need to have some sort of retro shirts or jackets for the big hoo-haa. Something tight, flashy, slinky, and sexy. Oh, maybe some velour too. So, laugh and cackle if you must. But we're stoked. From my first introduction to Barry (while driving along in the front seat of our 1967 blue Chevy station wagon listening to Mandy) in 1974 to now I've loved his music. The songs are so sappy, lovey-dovey and all of that. But they make you feel good, happy, and crazy in love by the end of the evening. And I'm all about feeling good....especially in this day and age.