Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Will the "real" Barry Manilow please stand up...


Year's ago there used to be a TV show called "What's My Line"...I know this is dating me. Anyway, the show would have three guests who claimed to be specific professions: astrounauts, actors, politicians, circus clowns, etc. The panel would have to guess which of the three guests seemed to answer the questions and be knowledgeable enough to be who they claimed to be. After they made their guesses, the host would say, "will the real ..... please stand up."

A few weeks ago I was in Vegas at a week of shows. I have to say, I saw two completely different people walk out on that stage. I've been pondering it for weeks and I can't get it out of my mind. What happened between the Friday night show and the Saturday night show that brought a different person out on that stage? Where was the Barry we all saw at Philadelphia and Boston and at the shows earlier in the week? Where had he gone? And why did he feel the need to leave and come out as BARRY MANILOW and not just Barry?

I have to say...I missed him. Don't get me wrong. The show on Saturday was flawless. The performance was amazing. The songs were on pitch and the numbers flowed seamlessly. He was the consummate performer. But I just felt the connection gone. The openess and the vulnerability that we saw in the previous shows over the last few months was not there. It was like the "shadowman" came back again and "Barry" disappeared.

Of course, I will never know what happened. But I'm interested to see if Barry comes back. I kind of liked the guy. He was just a guy. Out there...sharing his music, being real and connecting with those of us that cared to "listen".

Missing that connection,
Texas Fanilow

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