Barbra in Fort Lauderdale

28 October 2006 -- Night One

Bank Atlantic Center

These shows are being recorded for a TV Special on Showtime and also a DVD release.

Local Press:

Rare Streisand concert worth once-in-a-lifetime price tag

By Charles Passy

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, October 29, 2006

SUNRISE — If love had a price, it was an easy four figures at the BankAtlantic Center on Saturday night.

The occasion? None other than Barbra Streisand's first South Florida performance in more than four decades, part of a coast-to-coast tour the celebrated diva launched earlier this season.

Do the math: The top tickets cost $750. A program went for $40. Even a parking spot ran 30 bucks.

Oh, and don't forget that souvenir tour jacket - for $300.

But for the faithful - and some 10,000-plus of them filled the hockey arena to capacity on Saturday night (and are expected to do the same at Monday's repeat performance) - you can't put a price on the artist whose rich essence has been likened to, yes, two big sticks of buttah.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," longtime Streisand fan Edie Rogat of Palm Beach Gardens said as she waited in a line of hundreds of patrons to enter the theater.

Once the faithful made their way inside, they were rewarded with an evening of song that found Streisand at her near-best, bringing equal parts Broadway showmanship and pop soulfulness to a catalog of tunes that have aged like the "misty water-colored memories" that she sings about in The Way We Were.

Sure enough, that song, from the soundtrack to the 1974 movie in which Streisand starred, was on the set list of the two-hour-plus performance. And so was Starting Here, Starting Now, the song from Streisand's landmark Color Me Barbra album. And so was a medley from Funny Girl, the 1964 musical-turned-movie that truly launched the Brooklyn native's career.

But the evening was not just about the music. It was about Babs in all her many forms: the woman of a certain age, the chatty soulmate, the fiery liberal activist. (In one of her New York dates on the tour, Streisand sparred with a concertgoer who heckled her during a political bit. She responded with a four-letter word.)

In many ways, Streisand emphasized this larger aspect of her persona as much as her music throughout the evening.

She told stories of stopping in that day at Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach for a nosh. She spoke of using the considerable proceeds of the concert "for the causes I believe in." She joked about needing her glasses when she made her way to the piano to plunk out a tune.

In short, the 64-year-old Streisand seemed to be having the time of her life in this all-too-rare return to the concert stage. (The last time she toured was in the early '90s.)

"I haven't performed here since 1963, when I was the opening act for Sergio Franchi," she said of her South Florida engagement, speaking soon after she arrived on stage in a simple black outfit.

There were hoots and hollers aplenty in response to the songs and the between-the-song patter.

Even the less-than-impressive operatic quartet Il Divo that joined Streisand for the tour was able to bask in some spillover affection.

Was the concert worth the considerable cost? Just ask Lynn Engelkey, a Streisand fan from Wichita, Kan., who is following the diva from city to city throughout the tour. Her devotion knows no bounds, she says, adding that Streisand is her "mentor."

And how much is she spending on the tour? "It's better left uncalculated," Engelkey said.

Streisand show simply sensational
BY HOWARD COHEN
hcohen@MiamiHerald.com

Barbra Streisand paid tribute to the '60s in every conceivable way on her first arena tour in 12 years, and her first ever in front of a wildly appreciative South Florida.

The songs were primarily pulled from her 1960s catalog of show tunes and standards, and were especially heavy on the Funny Girl material. The star is 64 and, gazing around at a packed BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, many of her fans -- including bold-face names in attendance like University of Miami president Donna Shalala (''[Barbra's] a friend of mine, she said I had to come'') and Miami Heat coach Pat Riley -- appear to have hit the sexagenarian point, too.

The most recent hit during this 180-minute extravaganza would be the Carter-era extract Evergreen, the Oscar-winning theme from her 1976 movie A Star Is Born. But The Tour, as Streisand has dubbed this 20-date event, isn't geared toward young listeners who may have discovered this funny lady in the recent Ben Stiller comedy, Meet the Fockers.
No doubt, this ballads-dominated, cabaret-styled set list was selected with a keen eye toward catering to seniors with life savings who could afford Streisand's inflated ticket prices -- $102.75 to $752.75.

For the few who cared to ogle hunky young flesh, she offered up as a support act Simon Cowell's grating creation Il Divo, a multicultural pop opera boy band who figure if they all sing at once at top volume someone will confuse it for art.

But it seemed that everyone was happy, so why kvetch?
Promoters are crowing that Saturday night's concert set a house box office record, and both South Florida dates are being taped for an upcoming cable special and DVD.

Streisand's fans paid her back with a plethora of standing ovations and even Streisand seemed to be enjoying herself -- no mean feat for an artist who has largely eschewed live performances throughout her 46-year career.
''I haven't performed here since 1963, I was the opening act for Sergio Franchi at the Eden Roc,'' Streisand teased before launching into an exquisite jazz stroll, Down With Love.

She followed with a cheerful laundry list of the South Florida restaurants she had visited earlier in the day -- Johnny V's and Joe's Stone Crab. (``Did you know they have the best fried chicken?'')

And why shouldn't she be in good spirits? Streisand remains pop's preeminent vocalist and crowned the list of the 20th century's greatest entertainers. If this tour is any indicator, she's making a run at the 21st century's hit list, too.
On a spartan stage with ample room for a full orchestra, the star's swivel chair, tea and four flower vases, Streisand was refreshingly conversant, amusing, compelling, even approachable.

One segment featured an audience Q & A with handwritten questions gathered outside the venue before the concert. Streisand, a bit uncertain, sang a couple verses from her '70s pop/rock number Stoney End, a song not on the set list, but offered up because a fan requested it. ''I hope I can get the note,'' she joked. She did.

If her voice has lost some of its top range and if she avoids the grand gesturing showstoppers of the past, her instrument has gained warmth, elegance and richness in the midrange. The few rough spots added humanity to a performer who could be too technically perfect in the past.

For instance, My Man, from 1964's Funny Girl, gained in nuance and resonance to become the evening's vocal standout. Starting Here, Starting Now, a rouser she once performed at a political rally for 1972 presidential hopeful George McGovern, was used as her opening number Saturday and it was beautiful.

''Some of you cringe when I talk about politics,'' Streisand warned before launching into this tour's most controversial segment -- a slightly overlong but sporadically funny skit with a buffoonish George Bush impersonator.
''I love the truth,'' Streisand said in prefacing the routine, noting how she has long been a victim of ''crazy'' media stories. ''People said I walked into a room and fired all the musicians on the left. Anyone who knows me knows I would have fired everyone on the right,'' she cracked.

Unlike the unpleasant moment in New York earlier this month when a heckler upset the star, her first South Florida tour date went smoothly. ''And this is a Red State, I have to be careful,'' she quipped.
When Streisand simply sang, all concerns vanished. Even Il Divo's unwanted intrusion into her soaring rendition of Somewhere wasn't enough to ruin it.

When Streisand asked, in a very old song, Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair? the only suitable reply could be: Stay as long as you wish, Barbra.

Evergreen star shows she's still got it

By Sean Piccoli
Pop Music Writer
Posted October 29 2006

 Steven Housman:

I LOVED Barbra tonight. I LOVED Barbra's song set. I LOVED that she performed a song that she hasn't sung since the early 60's and has never been officially recorded. I'm speaking of the wonderfully obscure "Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me." She pulled out all the stops and sang every song as if her career depended on it. I was disappointed that "Don't Rain On My Parade" was cut in the first act as well as "Smile" in the encore, but she more than made up for it with her inclusions of "When The Sun Comes Out" and the aforementioned "Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me."

Christy:

I just got back from the show and I am on cloud nine!!! She was amazing, thrilling, spectacular- and of course those are all puny little adjectives. I have to say I can't remember all the songs or the order she sang them in, but she did not sing Woman in the Moon, which I was looking forward to.

After she did Don't Rain on My Parade, she waited for the piano to lift back onstage and she said she was going to sing three more songs since they were filiming for the dvd and asked if we would mind! She did When the Sun Comes out, Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me and another song- can't remember now I'm blanking, but here are some random notes of things that I remember and want to comment on:

- My seats were great, worth every penny! However there were some women behind me that were talking from time to time- I tuned them out as best I could and didn't let it bother me. And people got up and left after she did Shining Hour, couldn't believe it! They didn't hear her do Parade or the three extra songs.

- There was a heckler during the Bush skit- someone from the opposite end of the stage, back of the arena in the 100's section. I was the last section on the floor, so I could hear them screaming but I couldn't understand what she was saying, so I'm not even sure if Barbra actually heard the person, she may not have. But people around the person kept telling her to shut up! LOL Then I look up and to the left of where I'm sitting and some woman was making a scene pointing to Barbra's direction talking to a security person and walked out. The heckler stopped once the skit was over thank god! I thought the skit was funny personally.

- Her highlights for me were: Evergreen, The Way We Were, of course all the Funny Girl songs (that was the best part of the show for me!) and her funny dialogue with the audience.
-She mentioned a couple of Miami restaurants; Joe's Stone Crabs among one of them and she mentioned how she loved the fried chicken there! Very cute!
- I cried during In an Unusual Way- what a performance!
- I personally preferred this show even better than Timeless.

HowardBannister:

As for the concert, it was just GREAT. I loved every song she sang but one of my favorite moments was when she sang "Stoney End" although it wasn't the entire song. The surprise extra encore songs for the DVD were great also. When she sang "Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me" it was like she was singing back at the Bon Soir in an intimate nightclub.
I also found the Bush skit was funnier than I thought it was going to be.

She also mentioned that she was staying at Rosie O' Donnell's house and as for local restaurants she enjoyed the blue corn crusted calamari at Johnny V's restaurant, and the mustard sauce that go with the crab claws at Joe's Stone Crab restaurant.

Another high point was "Somewhere" especially when she hit that last note. Barbra has not lost a thing. She hit that note better than I ever heard. I found the sound to be fine from where I sat minus a few problems with what sounded like a few microphone "thump" sounds but all in all the whole concert was absolutely the best. I loved every song. She is the ultimate singer and entertainer and she does it all with what seems like such ease.

I'm still on a Barbra "high". For those that have seen her, you know what I mean!

BabsJim:

First.....I must say Barbra is as professional as they come when delivering something to her audience.....from the entire production down to every note. She's a true artist which takes a lot more than just being able to sing....and boy can she sing.

After everyone finally got in and the lights went down the music began with the Funny Girl overture.
The orchestra finished with Don't Rain On My Parade and then Barbra comes up in the middle of the stage. I think that's when it gets blury for most fans because it hits you and you can't believe you are there.

She begins with Starting Here Starting Now and works her way down to the front of the stage. If you closed your eyes, you would think you were listening to her TV special from 1964. Well now she's 64 and her voice is still just as clear and pure. Her phrasing and timing is what makes her special and does it in such a way as if to say....."relax kid.....I know what I'm doing".

This is when she may have mentioned they were taping this for a TV show, said hello to Linda Richman and a few other things. Oh yes, she said this was so different because she was use to seeing only darkness and not peoples faces. The audience was very lit up but it didn't seem to bother her. There were big cameras moving around the sides and front of the stage but I don't believe it was a problem for anyone's view. When she was starting her next song she did say "don't these lights ever go down?....I like to get into my own world (or something like that)".

Her next song was Down With Love which was the song I was waiting for the most. Again her phrasing and timing with the orchestra had me dancing in my seat....and that's what Barbra does...she doesn't just sing with her voice....she dances with it.

Next she did her local skit and mentioned she was the opening act for someone in 1963 at the Eden Rock Hotel and had relatives in Miami. She joked..."who doesn't have a relative in Miami?" and mentioned her cousin Harvey who lives there. This is when she got all the food stops in while on her way to visit Harvey but somehow never made it. The only place I recognized was Joes Stone Crabs. She mentioned their fried chicken and took the rest to go, had some famous chocolate somewhere else and then had to rush back so she could have dinner before the show.

Then she eased into The Way We Were. Needless to say....it was perfection.

Before starting her next little skit playing the piano she mentioned she and Jim had no where to stay and were staying at Rosie's house. Then said "maybe I shouldn't have said that" which makes me think even more she really isn't but maybe Il Divo is...wouldn't that be a hoot.

She starts playing the piano and finishes singing Ma Premiere Chanson.....beautiful.

She talks more about her song writing and how many she's written which leads into Evergreen. I noticed some sound troubles (not her) during her intro but then they fixed it. I also thought another song was dropped but couldn't remember what it was. It comes later. Anyway Il Divo joins her and Barbra joins each one in a different language. They joke with her about how young they were when they first heard her or how their parents are great fans. They cut out the part about one of them having a crush on her which I think made it go just a bit to long. Nice improvement.

Barbra takes a break and Il Divo sings a few songs. I will say they have great voices but compared to Barbra, they are not singers. Again, it's all in the dancing with the music not just the singing.

Il Divo leaves and the music starts again and I didn't recognize what it was. I'm thinking OMG, she's doing DROMP but instead comes the missing song Come Rain Or Come Shine which was a nice mix up surprise.

She starts talking about Funnygirl on broadway and the movie and sings Funnygirl....again if you closed your eyes you would think you were listening to the movie soundtrack. She then talks about songs being added or cut in broadway to movie musicals and gives us a little of The Music That Makes Me Dance and finishes with the movie version of My Man. Stop reading and just imagine that for a while.

I think she caught some off guard by starting People the way she did in Funnygirl and knocked us out when she finished it.

Il Divo starts the second act and Barbra joins them with Music Of The Night. I thought it was done very well and I didn't notice any sound problem as Steve mentioned but maybe it depends on where you were sitting or maybe I was in a cloud.

She dedicated the next song to her son Jason which was Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen.

Then she sang what she said was a new song for her.........Unusual Way. I thought it was beautiful and want to look up the words. It's a powerful song about love and can be interpreted in several different ways.

Next came a flawless What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life. OK I'm cheating now looking at the archive for the song set but I do remember it.

Now comes the Q/A part which was mixed up with new questions and ones from other shows. She does her left/right joke and even though I knew it was coming up, this is where Barbra is such a great artist. It was like I was hearing it for the first time.

Then came what I thought was the biggest surprise for me. The question came up if she would sing Stony End. She said she rehearsed it but doesn't understand why people want to hear it and admitted she doesn't understand the song. I think most people, like me, want to hear it because it is different for her to sing and shows how she can sing anything. Anyway, she pretends to let the crowd talk her into it and the music starts playing...she gets distracted with a sign from a fan sitting in the front row and misses the beginning and starts over....really cool though....no big deal. The highlight for me was "I was raised on the good book Jesus.....OY"....that was so funny.

Next came the Bush skit and like someone else said, it was funnier than I thought it would be and I loved it. But that's what a Barbra concert is all about, you're not just getting a singer, your getting an artist.

Thank God she did Happy Days solo...and boy did she do it.

As if there wasn't anymore emotion and feeling this woman could give us....next comes Have I Stayed To Long At The Fair. I'll bet the house we'll see that take in the TV special and DVD.

Next was @#%$-Eyed Optimist (cheating again) and it was a roller coaster ride for me.

I don't remember everything she said during these last songs but she threw in that Florida was a red state and how we should all be arrogant, selfish and hate one another.......NOT.....LOL......just seeing if you're still with me.

OK now comes Somewhere and Il Divo joins her again. She hit it with this one and brought everyone up on their feet.

The official last song of the second act was My Shining Hour and it was like BUTTAH.

She had also taken her shoes off a while back and I was worried she would trip on this gown meant to be worn with high heels. She was actually running around the entire stage saying her good byes.

Well....it ain't over yet folks. She comes back with DROMP and you would swear it was the closing night of Funnygirl. She's running and kicking in this gown with no shoes on.

Now she comes back again and I'm thinking we'll get to hear Smile. But something was different and she was asking the crew to bring the piano back. Then she asks since this is being taped
for TV would we mind hearing a few more songs. I thought OMG this it....Woman In The Moon... but not last night.

She may have had a few songs up her sleeve because she announced the song before she sang it I think to make sure the orchestra knew which one to play.

She sang Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me. I swear I almost typed My Heart Belongs To Me. We'll have to analyze My Heart a little more. Funny how that just popped into my head. Anyway, she mentioned she hadn't sang that since her days at The Bon Soir.

Next she announces the next song will be When The Sun Comes Out. I almost died. Anyway here is another example of her dancing with the orchestra. It was going so well but unfortunately she missed on a note, the only one for the whole show, but just kept going and closed it with a bang.

Let me say this about that last song and Barbra's voice. Through out the show if there were any moments I thought she was at all the least bit shaky, (I say that from a very very critical and picky view point only because I want her to sound good for her and everyone else, not me) I realized it's because she may be playing it a little to safe.....and then you know what happens?.....she feels it also, goes for broke and blows you away.

She really does know what she is doing. I'm so glad I went and want to thank John again for that extra ticket. I'm sorry I didn't make it to the brunch but I got so wrapped up in this I just couldn't stop.

My hat is off to those that do this professionally.

Most of all.....

Thank you Barbra.
 

Craig Hall -- www.barbranews.com -- 2006