Song List
ACT 1
Funny Girl Broadway (overture)
Starting Here, Starting Now
Down With Love
The Way We Were
Ma Premiere Chanson
Evergreen (with Il Divo)
IL DIVO
SET
(a) Unchained Melody
(b) Unbreak My Heart
(c) My Way
Barbra
Returns
Come Rain Or
Come Shine
Funny Girl
The Music That Makes Me Dance
My Man
People
People BOWS
ACT 2
Music Of The Night
Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen
Unusual Way
What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
Q+A Ask Barbra +Happy Birthday to audience member
George Bush
Sketch
Side By Side (We ain't got a barrel of money)
Woman In The Moon
Have I Stayed Too Long At The Fair?
A Cockeyed Optimist
Somewhere (with Il Divo)
My Shining Hour
My Shining Hour Bows
Encores:
Don't Rain On My Parade (Broadway version reprise)
People Bows
Happy Days
Are Here Again
One word:
INCREDIBLE! More words: Woman in the Moon. She put WITM back in tonite. I
hope she leaves it in for the rest of the tour. It was just an amazing
experience that I will never forget. I am exhausted and my mind is
reeling, so I will try to add more tomorrow.
hey all -
jim from boston here. just got in from the san jose show. in a word this
show was AMAZING. barbra was incredibly happy, relaxed and it showed in
her singing. the second act was especially rewarding. rich easy singing -
creating and sustaining lovely lines and a million moods. i was critical
of the boston show i admit - but MAN did she deliver the goods tonight.
everything had something great to reccomend it - but in ALL 10 shows ive
never seen her so COMMANDING of a stage. - anyway - late night -
discuss...
Barbra sang
Happy Birthday to one of the "Ask Barbra" questions, which she prefaced by
saying she sounds kind of funny singing that song -- not as good as
normal, but she sang it to "Dan/Danny". She was asked about working with
Judy Davis, who helped Barbra back when she was singing at the Hungry I.
Barbra said she lost her voice back then. She said it was all a
psychological thing. That she never took singing lessons and when someone
asked her how she could hold her notes so long, she said, "because I
wanted to..." LOL.. But apparently after that she started to think too
much and was having trouble holding the notes. So she went to work with
Judy Davis, who didn't give her a lesson, but who told her she was doing
everything right. Barbra said Judy explained how everything worked
vocally, and that she (Barbra) got it and once she understood it, she
never thought about it again.
As far as the "Taste of San Jose" Barbra was on her way to see the Mission
of Santa Clara, and being Jewish, she didn't know much about Missions. But
of course, she had to stop and have a bite to eat at Original Joe's, I
think she said she had a delicious burger there. She mentioned a few other
places (which I forgot) and then of course she had to get back to have
dinner before the show so she never got to the Mission....but she did get
a "Taste of San Jose"
They did the new, post election version of the Bush skit, which is funnier
than the prior version. A "first" is that Barbra did a duet of "Side By
Side" with the Bush impersonator. The words were a parody of the
Barbra/George pairing. It was cute. Then she talked about the elections
and sang "Woman In The Moon" which was awesome and totally fitting.
She got lots of laughs with the skit. No hecklers. Tons of support. She
saved Happy Days Are Here Again for one of the encores (I think...I am so
tired....) and included the intro, which she said she didn't start singing
until it was true because of the elections. The Don't Rain On My Parade
reprise was also one of the encores.
I'll write more later, as I too am exhausted.
In closing for now: In the John Steinbeck novel, "My Travels With Charley"
a woman he met on the road described the indescribable autumns in New
Hampshire: "It is so beautiful that it cannot be remembered so that every
time you see it again, it is a surprise."
And that it is The Way It Is with Barbra in concert. It is so wonderful,
so beautiful, it cannot be remembered, and each time she sings, it is a
blissful surprise.
After seeing
Barbra once in Boston, I didn't think it was possible to be more in awe of
her talents as a singer, a vocalist, and an actress. But I was wrong! The
San Jose show was ten times better than Boston for so many reasons. She
sang the heck out of so many songs. Her voice was ethereal...absolutely
stunning in every note. She never sings a song the same way twice--always
equally brilliantly, but never identically--and it was such a pleasure to
hear "new takes" on older material.
I think her voice became even more amazing during the second act. There
were so many of those atmospheric high notes that she and she alone can
do. "Somewhere" sent shivers down my spine. But "Happy Days"! Talk about a
show-stopper! It was the final song/encore of the evening, and boy did she
make it count.
Personally, my favorite song was "An Unusual Way". It was my favorite in
Boson, too. Why? Because it is such a showcase for everything phenomenal
about Barbra. It has all those gorgeous high notes, but also the more
gentle, really expressive ones. It shows off Barbra's gifts as an actress,
and the meaning of the song is so layered. It's an absolute gem showing
that Barbra is not just a voice but a singer! A brilliant singer.
I also thought her sense of humor was roll on the floor funny tonight. Her
jokes about food are hilarious and leave no doubt that she's still a comic
genius. Her timing was just perfect and adorable, too. During the Il Divo
intermission, she said she had a pizza waiting backstage for her and she
proceeded to describe all its various ingredients. I can't express how
warm and generous she was. She's the greatest star, not just because she's
the greatest voice, but because she has that amazing rapport with her
audience.
I just wanted to get down a few thoughts for everyone. And "Woman In The
Moon" is back. When the opening keys started playing, I about went through
the roof. Her voice was inspiring as it has ever been. LA, you're in for a
treat! Enjoy!
Marlon
Well, we got
home from San Jose late last nite. I grew up in San Mateo (near San Jose)
so Tuesday we spent time finding (and not!) "memories" then headed for
home in Oregon. We took our time driving home, and its a long drive
anyway! I just wanted to savor all the time that I could. Everytime Vicki
saw me with a big grin on my face, she knew I was thinking of the concert
again
Thanks foxy56 for your excellent review of the concert. For some reason my
laptop would not let me post to the forum. It kept throwing my reply out,
so I just gave up. You were very thorough, and I was soooo glad, because I
can't remember alot of what went on! I was just so overwhelmed with
emotions.
I only had one person that was "rowdy" around me. He was calling out to
Barbra fairly often, and once in awhile she would respond to him.
Otherwise I thought people were very respectful. I was on Floor 2, row 11,
dead center to the stage. It was worth the cost of all 3 tickets it cost
me to get there
The only "problem" with my seat was that when she sang from farther up on
the stairs, the microphone stand was in the way of seeing her completely,
but that was not really a "problem" at all. And the times I used my
binoculars, she was sitting in my lap!
All in all the concert was worth EVERY penny it cost me to get there.
I enjoyed listening to Il Divo, but they were WAYYYYYY too loud,
especially when all four were singing together. Then I couldn't understand
anything they were singing. And they did tend to overpower Barbra, but I
was so focused on her, that it was ok. In fact I was so focused on her I
forgot to check out what celebrities might be attending!
I am now anxiously awaiting the DVD to come out, so that I can relive this
experience over and over whenever I want!
Everyone attending the remaining concerts, enjoy them and the experience,
and let's hope for another concert tour in the future!!!
Press Reviews:
By Karen
D'Souza
Mercury News
The Funny Girl had the last laugh Monday night at HP Pavilion.
Barbra Streisand has been bashing Bush big time throughout her 20 city
concert tour, which stopped in San Jose Monday night. In the wake of the
Republican drubbing in the recent mid-term election, the lefty diva was in
Seventh Heaven, saying, "We're in control now.''
But she also struck a more conciliatory note than before, though she still
ribbed Dubya (played as a smirking oaf by Bush impersonator Steve
Bridges).
She even offered to sing a duet of "Guilty'' with him. Then she suggested
he had better change his stance on the environment and the economy now
that the Dems are in charge. In the end, she joined him in a rendition of
"Side by Side,'' singing "the country has come to its senses, time to mend
some fences.''
The singer also dedicated the song "The Woman in the Moon,'' to Nancy
Pelosi, who is set to become the first female speaker of the house.
Although the lampoon was tame by Jon Stewart standards, Streisand has
taken some heat from concertgoers because of the spoof, but the
64-year-old icon, an outspoken liberal form way back, has stood her ground
throughout her first tour in 12 years.
Nobody rains on her parade.
Streisand
shows S.J. the way she is
By Jim Harrington - Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/14/2006 08:13:55 AM PST
With all the well-documented distractions that have arisen during her
latest tour, it's easy to overlook why Barbra Streisand is such a big deal
in the first place.
On Monday night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, she made us remember.
She made us remember with her voice -- what fans would call "The Voice" --
as she sang rich, elegant versions of such all-time classics as
"Evergreen" and "The Way We Were." She made us remember with the way she
worked the crowd, delivering a combination of class and sass that harkened
back to legends like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. She made us
remember by putting on a show that was so utterly professional, superbly
paced and wonderfully executed that it came across like a meticulously
edited prime-time TV special.
Babs also made us forget.
She made us forget the sky-high ticket prices, the guys outside the venue
who were using bullhorns to try to save our souls and all the controversy
that has followed this tour. She made us forget about the man who heckled
her in New York and the barbarian who tossed a drink at her in Florida,
both of which occurred following Streisand's mid-concert skit poking fun
at President George W. Bush. She even made us forget that it was raining
outside.
All that mattered to these fans was that Babs was in the house, making her
first public concert appearance in Northern California in more than 10
years.
The multi-award winner, who boasts an impressive mix of Oscar, Tony, Emmy
and Grammy trophies on her shelves, didn't make the fans wait for the good
stuff. Following an overture of "Funny Girl" material from the enormous
50-plus-piece orchestra, Streisand made her dramatic entrance on a riser
through the stage floor and then proceeded to knock out a grand version of
"Starting Here, Starting Now." She switched paths with the next song,
"Down With Love," as the orchestra worked a distinctly jazzy beatnik vibe
that gave Streisand plenty of room to showcase her nightclub chops. The
zig to that zag came with a pristine take on the highly nostalgic "The Way
We Were," which accomplished the seemingly impossible in making a hockey
arena feel like a symphony hall.
One of the most impressive things about Streisand is her ability to come
across as both the greatest superstar in the world and the girl next door.
She does that better than anybody. The first half of that equation is the
easy part -- all she needs to do is open her mouth and sing. The latter is
more difficult, given that most people don't live next door to a
multi-millionaire who has scored 50 gold records.
She accomplishes that feat by doing what comes naturally for a diva --
talking about oneself. For instance, she spoke of her first performance in
the Bay Area, which occurred back in 1963 at the hungry i in San
Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. The effect of that fond remembrance
was that we were made to feel special, like the Bay Area holds an
important place in Babs' heart -- whether or not that's true doesn't
really matter.
Streisand was later joined on the hit "Evergreen" by the pop-opera
boy-band Il Divo, which then performed a few of its own numbers while the
diva went off to change and do whatever else divas do backstage. The
quartet, a creation of Simon Cowell, did a fine job in what was really a
monumental task _ stalling for time for Barbra Streisand.
The crowd rejoiced when its heroine returned with an uplifting version of
"Come Rain or Come Shine" that led directly into "Funny Girl" material,
including "My Man" and the fan-favorite "People."
Il Divo was back to help kick off the second set with Babs on "The Phantom
of the Opera" track "Music of the Night," an inspired choice of material
that worked resoundingly well for the five vocalists.
After a moody, romantic take on "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your
Life," Streisand put a halt to the tunes and began answering questions
that had been submitted from the crowd. This led directly into the
controversial skit as a Bush impersonator (Steve Bridges) joined the vocal
Democrat on the stage. It was a funny segment, as Streisand tossed some
moderately sharp barbs in Bush's direction -- certainly not anything worth
slinging a drink at the star.
In all, however, the skit was a bad idea because it took up time that
could've been used to perform more songs. Streisand was on stage roughly
two hours, but with the Il Divo segments, the Bush skit and all the
between-song chatting fans probably only got 90 minutes of Babs' voice.
What does that break down per minute for a $750 ticket? A little over $8
per minute?
Well, in that case, I'd say fans still got their money's worth on this
night.
Write music critic Jim Harrington at jharrington@angnewspapers.com. Read
Harrington's blog at www.insidebayarea.com/music.
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