Time Out Chicago - Barry at the Rosemont
Scooter
Time Out Chicago / Issue 251.252
Dec 17�30, 2009
Barry Manilow
Rosemont Theatre; Thu 17�Sat 19
By Joshua Klein
In 2004, Barry Manilow concluded his �One Night Live! One Last Time!� tour.
But anyone convinced it marked the end of Manilow�s affair with the spotlight
just didn�t know Barry. After all, who�d trust a guy who didn�t even write
his signature song, �I Write the Songs�? Fortunately for the 66-year-old
(with a six-year-old face), there�s a bushel more of those signature songs,
which helped launch Manilow from bawdy roots playing New York bathhouses with
Bette Midler to the schmaltzy superstar he remains today.
Manilow�s been propped up over the past couple of decades by ample nostalgia
and a considerable kitsch factor. Unlike fellow shameless �70s entertainer
Neil Diamond�who now crafts somber, august reflections with Rick Rubin�the
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, native has avoided hip reinvention. Yet he�s such a
charming, consummate performer (false humility and all), that the aged-cheese
smell wafting up to the cheap seats is more endearing than off-putting. His
long-overdue Vegas residency begins in March. [Note: Oops. Make that "2nd
residency."]
So, no, he doesn�t write the songs, but he�s lived with them long enough that
they�re his now. From �Mandy� to �Can�t Smile Without You,� it�s hard to
imagine anyone else but the old showman singing them, or making such hoary
hackwork worth sitting through for the umpteenth time.
..............
--
Scooter
Diane
I'm not quite sure what this writer, Joshua Klein, is trying to say.
Is it worth it to go and see Barry. Or is it a waste of money? Is he
just some schmaltzy performer or is he a superstar?
Has Neil Diamond been recreated and reinvented, while Barry hasn't?
(The obvious plastic surgery jokes can be inserted here).
What is "Time Out Chicago"? (Yes, I am familiar with Google
search...I'll figure out "Time Our Chicago" later).
Joshua didn't share any interesting or thoughtful information with
us. And I think he was a little bit mean.
I just don't know where he was going with it. It's like he started to
write, realized he didn't have a plan, babbled a bit, and then
stopped.
All that said, thank you for sharing this, Scooter.
In it's own way, the article was amusing.
Diane
Scooter
:
> On Dec 17, 2:29�pm, Scooter <em...@invalid.com> wrote:
>> http://tinyurl.com/y8hxupy
>>
>> Time Out Chicago / Issue 251.252
>> Dec 17�30, 2009
>>
>> Barry Manilow
>> Rosemont Theatre; Thu 17�Sat 19
[snip]
>
> I'm not quite sure what this writer, Joshua Klein, is trying to say.
> Is it worth it to go and see Barry. Or is it a waste of money? Is he
> just some schmaltzy performer or is he a superstar?
> Has Neil Diamond been recreated and reinvented, while Barry hasn't?
> (The obvious plastic surgery jokes can be inserted here).
>
> What is "Time Out Chicago"? (Yes, I am familiar with Google
> search...I'll figure out "Time Our Chicago" later).
>
> Joshua didn't share any interesting or thoughtful information with
> us. And I think he was a little bit mean.
> I just don't know where he was going with it. It's like he started to
> write, realized he didn't have a plan, babbled a bit, and then
> stopped.
> All that said, thank you for sharing this, Scooter.
> In it's own way, the article was amusing.
> Diane
I always find it interesting to read all sorts of articles on Barry --
good, bad, and ugly -- not just the "he's fabulous" ones. :-)
--
Scooter