[November 28, 2005 ]
Long Island Press - Music & Passion at Las Vegas Hilton
Long Island Press -November 28, 2005, 03:47 PM

If you’re looking for a miracle, Barry Manilow’s show, Music and Passion at the Las Vegas Hilton is where you’ll find it!

This internationally renowned superstar creates a supernatural experience for his audience. The ninety minutes of showmanship is aflame with the artistry of Manilow’s prolific creative career. It is panoply for rich staging, catchy hooks, sizzling sounds, sultry lyrics, and big finishes. The stage spectacular is both intimate and highly theatrical. The night I was there he delivered a performance of a lifetime. He opened the show wearing a blazing red coat exclaiming, “You wouldn’t believe where I’ve been!”

For the rest of the evening, I couldn’t believe where his miraculous performance took me. Opening with the song, “It’s A Miracle,” the musical highs of his unique rhythms and sounds were divinely inspired. “Baby It’s You” gave me the warm fuzzy feeling of falling in love for the very first time, cheesy but true. “Somewhere In The Night” wove a mystical memory that made me a believer once again in things you can’t see but know to be true. “Oh Mandy” taunted my musical imagination. I remembered a simpler time when all it took was a song to make things right in my world.

A miracle changes your perception of the world and your life. “Looks Like We Made It” was that miracle for me. Hearing those lyrics sung out loud made me feel that all my heart felt battles were worth the fight. Funny how a song can change the way you see your life. There’s no need to hide from the pain when someone is singing straight to your heart. Slash your wrist songs written and performed by Manilow, POOF……. instant elixirs that heal broken dreams with a simple melody.

This hybrid multi-faceted production moved me from the lows to the highs of every emotion I could possibly feel. It was hot blooded passion. It was passion that went beyond the music, the 14 piece band, the back up singers and dancers, beyond the contemporary high tech music, and sets. It’s the passion found when the chemistry of the star, the sound crew, the light technicians, the musicians, and the sounds of a live performance connect the audience to something far greater than themselves.

Yeats said, “A passion-driven exultant man sings out sentences that he has never thought….” Manilow is the passionate poet of our time. He tells stories with his music that find a purpose for our loneliness and an expression for our joy. This passion ignited my body and spirit into a fiery cathartic explosion!

His music proposes an appreciation for every experience there is. He sings the tribute “Here’s to Las Vegas”, with warmth and gratitude. He’s found a new home on the Hilton stage in Las Vegas. Like the classic legends of Sinatra, Presley, Davis and Martin, Manilow creates nostalgia for the past with his own unique star power. It’s why Las Vegas is the Entertainment Capital of the World. The couple sitting next to me, Shirley and Gregg Green traveled 2600 miles from Buffalo, New York just for this one evening… to see Barry. They were thrilled they did!

It was in Brooklyn, New York that his grandfather encouraged the young boy to sing, play the piano, compose, and perform. The piano bar was his practice studio. Nightly, he told his stories by touching the black and white keys in a language that spoke to any who needed to listen. Tonight he walks across the stage to an intimate set with a piano and a neon lit sign that reads “Dew Drop Inn." He tells me the story about the “Brooklyn Blues”, “The Mayflower and how “I Can’t Smile Without You.” I believe him.

Manilow is known the world as the “man who writes the songs.” He’s received a Grammy, an Emmy and a Tony Award. Barry says, “I am a musician.

My passion for music has obliterated everything in its path for my entire life. Whenever there was a choice between music and anything else, music won hands down every time. No one person or material thing could ever come close to the feeling I get when the music is right. I am totally committed to my music and my fans.” Tonight I saw why this is true.

The 14-piece band is exceptional. The horn section of the sax, trumpet, and trombone master the rhythm and blues of his jazz compositions. The backup dancers and singers perform acappella the WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE. The band stands up and applauds. The audience of 1700 stand up and applaud. It is the dramatic break in the performance that made me realize it is all about the Music and Passion.

Barry Manilow is the showman of our generation. He lives for production values. His closing song Copacabana is the big finish that left me wondering how could ninety minutes feel like five? I’m told his show changes nightly and there’s always a new surprise for every audience. So when my life is short on miracles, I know where I can go. Thanks Barry…

“It’s a miracle and baby it’s you.”

- Feature by Janice Wilson, Las Vegas Jetsetters Magazine correspondent.