Whine & Cheese

The Showgirl Must Go On

Ok, time to wrap up the Vegas trip posts (though who knows it might make a guest appearance in future post... never say never). We always try to see a show while we are in Vegas and Caesars Palace is pretty much ground zero of late.  Right now, the rotation is pretty much the gay trinity: Elton John (though his last engagement is in a few weeks), Cher, and Bette Midler.  We had already seen Elton in Vegas, so it was down to the gay Sophie's Choice decision of choosing between Cher and Bette - both who were in the house around the time we were planning on heading to Sin City.  Since Cher has an extra year on her contract, we decided to on Bette (though either would have been a "no lose" scenario).

This was our 3rd time seeing the Divine Miss M.  We saw her in the last week of 1999 and she was prepping her big Vegas arena millennium show and a few years back for the "Kiss My Brass" tour.  We figured that was probably last time since she was (or was nearing) age 60 and given the rigors of touring, but Vegas provides a wonderful opportunity for a legend to stay put and have folks come to her (or him). 

That said, this show (despite a much shallower stage the more "mature" post-Celine headliners are using) is certainly not anything less rigorous than what Bette did on the road.  She is constantly scurrying back and forth on the stage... and comically falls down once and crying out "Celine, come back all is forgiven. Elton!  Cher! Help!".... ending with perhaps my favorite line of the night "Donny and Marie cross the f&cking street!" (the Osmonds siblings headline a show at the Flamingo, which is right across the street from Caesars). 

As the show title, "The Showgirl Must Go On," suggests she really turns the show into an old-school Vegas spectacular with a gaggle of showgirls she dubs the Caesar Salad Girls.  I always forget how much humor Bette brings to her shows.  I also think this may be the biggest surprised for some audience member who just think of her as that nice woman who sings ballads like "From A Distance," "The Rose,"  and "Wind Beneath My Wings."   Bette joked that 30 years ago her audience was on drugs, now they're on medication... and for the Wednesday night performance that we attended, I don't think that was that much of a joke.  For 40-somethings, we certainly felt like whipper-snappers, particularly with the folks on either side of us (maybe they're the only ones that could afford non-comped/high roller Orchestra ticket prices!).  But Bette certainly isn't shy about dropping f-bombs or railing against right wingers like Palin and Limbaugh.  And you can tell she keeps the act current/fresh as we had material on Madoff and the Octo-Mom. 

Bette even goofed up twice.  I am still not sure if it was "part of the act" but her reactions both times seemed pretty genuine.  Once was during her Soph routine, where she muffed the start mixing up whether it was from her boyfriend Ernie or her girlfriend Clementine... and another time, when she said she messed up her "best/big note" on a song and went back and did it again.  Very funny and self-effacing both times!

So anyhow, I would highly recommend the show.  Bette is such a crowd pleaser!

Ok, now for the extra special, extra fun part!  We met Kamilah, one of Bette's Staggering Harlettes! 

It's really an instance of never knowing where life will take you or who knows who.  Funny enough, we had already seen Kamilah as she was Harlette-ing for Bette during her "Kiss My Brass" tour a few years back.  So how did this all come about?  Well, my friend Jen (who I "met" via this very blog) is friends with Kamilah.  I can't exactly remember how I found that out, but I am sure, at some point, Jen knew I would go bonkers having this kinda sorta "six degrees of separation" going with Bette Midler.  And truthfully that was good/fun enough for me!

Anyhow, fast-forward a bit... Kamilah said she would come out and say hello to us after the show!  We pretty quickly spotted each other in the throngs of folks in the casino as Kamilah joked it shouldn't be that difficult to spot a black woman looking for a pair of gay guys (though I think that latter is a tad more challenging at a Bette concert).

Kamilah (to Bette's left in that above picture - gorgeous, huh?!!) could not have been nicer, it was like meeting up with a friend and not this admittedly pretty odd online friend of a friend thing... honestly I am not sure I would have done the same if I were in her shoes.  We had a nice chat about the show and totally unprompted (!!) she had very nice things to say about her boss, which I was glad to hear... always hate to have one's fantasies of a celeb must be like in-person shattered to pieces.  

Knowing we were going to meet up, I did pay special attention to the Harlettes during the show and I have to say I didn't realize how hard they worked... not only back-up singers, but dancing (and in this show, heading dance routines w/ the showgirls while Bette rested/costume-changed) and providing a foil for Bette.  And I'm guessing Kamilah & Co. made hopping around in a mermaid tail a lot easier than it looked.  Kamilah mentioned at some points in the show they are off-stage changing costumes while providing back-up vocals!

It was a big thrill for us to meet Kamilah (check out her FB fanpage here), no surprise that folks in the performing arts have my utmost respect (envy! awe! and I hadn't even mentioned Kamilah has been in "Hairspray," "Rent," and "The Lion King"!?!) and we look forward to her upcoming "funkabilly" album... and another big shout-out/thanks for Jen for setting it all up!

(Note:  The fuzzy-ish show poster first picture is mine, the 2nd one - with Bette & Kamilah - is "borrowed" from the 'net... no cameras allowed inside the Colosseum)

Tina Turner

As noted in the last post, we did make it to the Tina Turner concert on Friday and I feel like I haven't shut up about it since... and I am sure we weren't the only concert-goers filling up their iTunes library with some of the old favorites and new discoveries. 

We had pretty good seats - only about a section and a half from the stage on the lower level of the arena - when I as getting tickets I had the option of floor tix, but have found the view is usually better from the side.  So we had a good view of the action (and a chance to look at the video screen on the side of the stage)... and even were only about 20 feet away from Tina when she swung out over the audience during the encore.  The picture to the left is from our concert, taken by our local paper... I would have linked to their review but they were not very kind at all... pretty much calling Tina fat, out of tune, and past her prime... which I didn't agree with at all... well ok, maybe a tad... but you don't diss a 68-year old legendary diva like that!

While I thought Tina was a bit bigger up top and her face was a bit rounder, her lower body was amazing.  Picture is the opening ensemble ... and had all the curves working in these skintight hot pants are the my skimpy skirts she sported through the night.  As ZZ Top would say... she's (still!) got legs and she knows how to use them!  

And while she did take her fair share of breaks during the night... when she was on stage there was no doubt she was giving it her all and not holding back.  Much like her peer Cher (or for that matter even Madonna), Tina used dancers to keep the action going while she went backstage for a bit of a breather under the guise of a costume change.  There was also a 30-minute intermission... but again, you could hardly blame her given her output.

I won't bother doing a blow-by-blow of the concert... here is the set list... not missing any of hits, her own or her many successful cover versions.  I had not realized she had recorded so many covers - of course, arguably (though not very arguably, in my opinion) her biggest hit Proud Mary is one... a surprise to me was her soulful take on The Beatles' Help... another of her big comeback hits, Let's Stay Together (which I am coming around to think is one of the great songs of all-time)... she did a couple from the Rolling Stones, Jumpin' Jack Flash and It's Only Rock n Roll... and Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love (the only slight miss of the bunch). 

But overall just a great night... and I'm guessing it is needless to say, the "moment" was experiencing Proud Mary.  In that lists of concerts from Friday, it is always great to experience that great hit first hand.  Often these moments pass before you know it, so I always try to slow down my mind just for a moment and take it in...i.e.,  I am watching Tina Turner performing Proud Mary right before my very eyes!

Outside of Tina, it was a very odd evening... with a awful lot of alcohol consumption, while you know I am no prude in that area... it was still pretty wild (even for "a mostly middle-aged" crowd) and it probably explained a lot of what we saw/experienced...

From the groups of women (and the occasional man) in the big Tina wigs... or to the "mature" woman, who I am not sure was trying to dress as Tina or not, with the mini-skirt, fishnet stockings and knee high boots.... interesting look, but I think her "private dancer" days had expired long ago.   

Next, we had a mother/son combo in front of us (+/-10 years, guessing late 20s son/early 50s mom??)... before the show, she did not budge from her seat... and simply put up the biggest struggle when she had to put all of her effort into pulling in her knees a few inches to put up with the annoying people who needed to pass by her and into her aisle to get to the seats.  So it was quite comical, that when Tina came out - she popped out her seat like a jack-in-the-box and pretty much macarena'd and wiggled her ass through most of the front part of the show.   But then, she seemed to get a little woozy... grabbed the seat in front of her... and then her son grabbed her... and she moved to the aisle and then fell down the stairs and pretty much face-planted at the landing.  It was pretty awful, she needed to be carried back to her seat and ended up leaving at intermission (they were apparently staying at one of the hotels around the arena)... we tried to eavesdrop on the son when he returned, but could only make out that she was okay (but it had to hurt!!) and that she had had some wine earlier in the evening.  

Then in our aisle, there was a woman at intermission who decided to do some polling on the Presidential race during intermission.  While I thought it was an odd discussion to start at a concert, I honestly didn't care sharing... there were McCain "votes" and then she asked us at the end of the row which was myself and Todd and a very neatly attired young man by himself but who bought a Tina program who we were voting for... I must have given them a "Are you kidding me look?" but she was still shocked by our Obama support... I mentioned wasn't it obvious by "our demographic" and they pleaded ignorance... obviously thinking all the pairs or groups of men all over the place, were hunting buddies or who only referred to "tight ends" while watching or talking about football.   She drunkenly (yes, shocking!) and quite genuinely pondered how McCain could be so behind in the polls despite so many in her "polling" supporting the AZ senator.  I decided it best not to remind her that she was in Arizona or how that whole crazy electoral college thing works... 

So a very interesting night all around!   But beyond all this crazy side-show stuff, I am so glad that we got to see Tina... she was awesome!

In Concert

Have a pretty active weekend scheduled... we're headed down to Tucson to celebrate Todd's Mom's birthday (which was yesterday) and tonight we are off to go see a concert!   

Concert-going is pretty rare activity these days, not sure if it's the increasing age issue or just that there aren't that many acts that are seriously pulling us in... or it could be a laziness... as it seems as if a lot of the arena concerts have shifted from downtown Phoenix (semi-convenient) to Glendale (which is way the heck out there).  Granted there has been a lot of growth since, but a few years back we went to see Bette Midler (shocking I know!) at the Glendale arena, the Divine Miss M joked that on her way to the venue they passed a cows that were asking "Where are we?"

But honestly, I think mostly it's that second reason I mentioned above... there's just not anyone left out there that I have a strong desire to see that I haven't seen before.  Well, perhaps there was one more person on that "still to be seen" or "bucket" list... and that is being taken care of tonight.. as we are off to see... Tina Turner!   

Way back in 2000, I kind of regretted not getting tickets to see Tina, especially since it was billed as her "last" tour... but, as you know, you can't keep a good diva down (we saw Cher's "farewell" tour twice - and at least a year apart - and now, years later, are trying to figure out when to see her in Vegas)... so who knows if this will in fact be Tina's last tour...but at age 68, I'm not taking any chances this time that she'll be headed through Phoenix again.

Awhile back I tried to put together a list of concerts I have attended, but never got around to sharing it.  For it to be truly complete, I should have broken out my ticket stub bag... but instead I just went through our iTunes library, which should be a pretty accurate. 

So here's the list (in alpha order.. and warts and all!)... I am sure some of your favorites are missing, but again for me, this list is pretty complete:

Andrea Bocelli
Garth Brooks

Mary Chapin Carpenter
Cher (3)
Eric Clapton

Celine Dion
Dixie Chicks

Melissa Etheridge (3)

Radney Foster

Peter Gabriel

Hall & Oates
Hootie & The Blowfish

INXS

Billy Joel
Elton John (2)

BB King
Gladys Knight

Cyndi Lauper
Annie Lennox

Madonna
Barry Manilow
Reba McEntire
John Mellencamp (2)
Bette Midler (2)
The Monkees

Dolly Parton

Bruce Springsteen (3)
Barbra Streisand

Shania Twain
Sting

Tears for Fears
Travis Tritt

U2

Tricia Yearwood

Old Men On The Corner?

These days we seem to be edging away from going to concerts, but I am still on the e-mail list that notifies me who is coming to town.

While I heard rumblings of the reunion of this band, this still has me scratching my head on several counts...

As alluded to in the post title, the band's name has become a bit of a stretch... as they are neither "new" or "kids" ("Discuss!").  A quick bio check shows most of the band's members are pushing 40... which I am pretty sure makes the collectively older than even Backstreet Boys.  Let this be a gentle warning for musical acts who have intentions for any kind of longevity to perhaps avoid references to being youthful.

Next, up that header tells us "Wait No More!"... in the immortal words of SNL's Seth & Amy... Really!?!?  I am guessing the "Kids" fan-base is right around my age and I can't quite imagine that folks, I am guessing mostly moms w/ kids in high school (or... gasp!... college) have been pining away for the last decade or so waiting for the band to roll thru town again.

Finally, there's the venue... if there is this unbeknownst demand for this act, I still can not imagine it is enough to fill up an arena.  There are plenty of smaller, theater-ish venues in town that I would seem more than adequate for a group that last notched a song on the pop charts more than a decade and a half ago.

Hey Paula (Poundstone)!

On Saturday night, we went to see one of our favorite stand-up comedians... Paula Poundstone.

We had seen her several years ago and while we're not huge comedy club go-ers we still remember it fondly as vowed to see her again the next time she came to town.

But, as you may know, Paula had a run-in with the law... a 2001 drunk driving charge that took a few nastier twists (detailed, where else, but in her Wikipedia entry) which threatened to be a career-ender... but ended up being a pretty sizable speed bump, since I am really not sure if she has done a Phoenix gig since her "real person"/no special treatment 180-day stint in rehab.

Likewise, it was nice to see her pack in a near sell-out crowd at one of the jewels of Phoenix, the Orpheum Theater (more on that later).  Couldn't quite get a good pulse on the crowd... definitely seemed to skewed older than us (Poundstone is 47 years old), a notable but not large gay presence (never been any personal disclosures from Poundstone, who comically self-describes herself as asexual), and no surprise... politically left-leaning.

Paula is comic genius.  While her act had some of her old favorites (i.e. heard it before on comedy specials), what I am most impressed with is the "on the fly" part of her show.  She she always asks a handful of audience members "What do you do for a living?" ... but I am always surprised how quickly and how much humor she is spontaneously able to squeeze out.  Also, she apparently does her research coming into town... spending a good deal of time talking about life in Phoenix.  It's safe to say, it's never the same act twice!

There was one part of the show that had me nearly at tears (ok, at tears).  The style of stand-up that Paula does is my favorite... just very observational and not an excessive amount of "bad language."  So when she let the occasional f-bomb fly it made it even more funny.  She starts this stint on those pharmaceutical / "ask your doctor about" TV commercials that often feature a long list of possible side-effects -- usually read quickly and with mumble... and she let's out this one-liner...

"What the f&ck could you have that is so bad that you are willing to risk anal leakage!?!"

And while it was clear that no one, including Paula, thought that particular condition was funny... but the mere mention of that particular phrase just sent the crowd into further convulsions.   All in all, and as expected, a great night of comedy and I certainly would highly recommend getting a ticket to see Paula should she make a stop in your town.

As promised, a quick word on the Orpheum Theater.  We have only been there a handful of times, but I always look forward to going to it... truly one of the gems in Phoenix.  Completed in 1929, and outside anything Native American, that's pretty much as historical as it gets in Phoenix.  (Again thanks to Wikipedia) Costing what had to be a whopping $750k at the time, it underwent a 12-year, $14 million restoration and re-opened in 1997.   While certainly not having all the conveniences (i.e. sizable bathrooms) of newly-built theaters... it more than makes up for it in character and charm... you find yourself meandering around and trying to soak all the amazing architectural details  -- they don't build them like this anymore!   Oh heck, it's easier to just show you...

It's probably a good thing they turn down the house lights when the show starts... pretty amazing!

Getting off the D-List?

What do Paula Abdul, Barbara Walters, Paris Hilton and Larry King have in common?

They were all major targets of Kathy Griffin's stand-up act on Saturday night... and I'm thinking she might have to re-think the whole D-list thing! 

When you are performing in a theater that require video screens on both sides of the stages so everyone can see you... you are starting to move up the alphabetic status list.  The last time we saw Kathy in Arizona (almost two years ago), she played a tiny intimate theater in Tucson... and now even Kathy (and her people) seemed genuinely impressed that she sold out Phoenix's Dodge Theater... it's a flexible seating venues, but I am guessing a crowd of nearly 3,000.  And while her beloved "gays" were certainly out in force, it didn't have quite the "is this a comedy show or a gay bar?" feel of that previous show.  I would almost say the crowd was primarily women ("girls night out" sort of thing), the gays, and quite a good ratio of hetero couples.

We did have this quite darling young 20-something gay couple (ah, youth!) a couple of rows ahead of us.  A concert/show is pretty much a gadget event... cell phones, digital cameras, and various combinations of the two keep everyone quite entertained with themselves before a show these days.  These two guys attracted quite a bit of that media attention with their "Team Kathy" shirts.... with one have "Kathy's Whore" and "Kathy's Bitch" emblazoned across their backs... ah, times they are a changin'!

There's no sense trying to go into her nearly 2-hour routine... she had the audience rolling... only losing the audience for a mere millisecond during an American Idol backstage story, when she said she missed seeing Sanjaya walk by because he was eclipsed by our home-town girl Jordin Sparks and her flowy dress. Oh, she did more than suggest (allegedly!) that a certain beat-boxing contestant may be a part of a segment of her core audience... hmmm?!   

Kathy also briefly mentioned the death of her father ... which will be addressed in this week's episode of My Life on the D-List.  She mentioned her thanks for all the kind words that have been left on her website and that she has received in person.  Certainly the break-out stars of this reality show, the crowd gave father John a well-deserved ovation.

She ended her night of comedy with some backstage dish on The View... the morning ABC gal gabfest that she has recently been guest hosting (pre- and post- Rosie, who she had nothing but nice words for).  I think Kathy may actually be gunning for a permanent spot, she was just a wee bit more careful with the Barbara Walters, who she admits she loves to tease (and she does if you have seen her on the show), than some of her other focal points.  Nevertheless, even if she does land the job, Kathy predicts a tenure of about three weeks.

... and a gig on The View would start edging her off the D-List as well... plus she's becoming a Larry King favorite too (Programming note: she will be on again later this week!  Thursday?)!   Kathy called Larry, the oldest person she's ever met... who spends his time yelling and firing people during commercial breaks and, even after two appearances on the show, she's not quite sure Larry knows who she is.

"A-List" Charges & Fees

Like a dutiful gay man, this morning I purchased tickets for Kathy Griffin's June show here in Phoenix.

I was pleasantly surprised the tickets were only $30 or $40 a piece.  We have been known to pay some astronomical prices to see our favorite gay-cons... so even Kathy would agree that her ticket prices are pretty D-list (heck anything under 3-digits seems to qualify as that these day)!

I am on TicketMaster and put in my "best available, somewhat centered" seat preference request... only $30 seats popped up... but not too bad (rear orchestra)... so what they heck, it's comedy show and not something that needs to be appreciated close-up (no offense Kath!).   

I go through the check-out process, but still a bit shocked by the final figure... call me silly, but for some reason I think it's going to be approximately $60... but then there's a...

facility charge fee + convenience fee + order processing fee...

Ok, convenience fee is fine... kids these days will never appreciate what we used to have to go through to get tickets to a live event.  I definitely don't miss the days of actually having to leave the house to go to a ticket booth or stay at home and hit re-dial and listen to buzzy signals for hours on end... or worse yet, be "tricked" into thinking I got through but instead receiving that "all lines are busy, try your call again later" operator message. Granted this likely would not have been an issue today (sorry again Kath!), but when everything was tallied up...

Those three items tacked 45% onto the face value of the ticket (actually 45.9%!)!  Now, it's not like we can't afford it or that I wouldn't have bought the tickets at the ultimate price... but it still struck me as slightly outrageous.

I guess the fees have no correlation to the ticket price ... it's just that when we're paying hundreds of dollars for tickets the additional charges seem like the proverbial drop in the bucket.

Buttah? Barbra!

Well, well, well... what a night!   

I have suggested that I could "die happy" by crossing off Barbra Streisand off my "must-see" concert list... but c'mon, hopefully I have at least a few more decades left in me... so let's not take that literally folks!  But last night's concert was everything I could have asked for... and considering I was only familiar with about half of the songs Streisand sang last night that's really saying something.  Heck, if she sang The Way We Were, People, Evergreen and closed the show out with the proverbial read of the telephone book and I would have been thrilled! 

As you would expect, everything was meticulous.  A huge stage of bridges/walkways with a split full-orchestra pit... bouquets of roses set on tables along the way.  Streisand rose from a lift at center stage (I called it the "el-diva-ator") to, of course, thunderous applause and cheers.  I thought the 64-year old Streisand look great (dare I say, "gorgeous"!)... in her trademark Donna Karan ensembles (a total of 3 wardrobe changes in all).  I didn't get too verklempt... just a little stunned that she was finally just a few hundred feet away.

She sounded wonderful... perhaps a bit more huskier/raspier than she used to... but when she hit those signature notes it was goose-bump city... over and over again!

Ok... so it was fantastic... but let's move on to some fun and snarkiness.

If you wanted to get a grasp on the demographics of last evening's concert-goers you need only to look at our row and the row in front of us.

In front of us, were slightly beyond middle aged women.  One in particular captured our attention for most of the evening... she was pretty loopy from the get-go, but another helping of white wine sent her over the edge.  She would cat-call Barbra, try to high-five people around her, and simply dissolved in a puddle of tears during Somewhere.  It was kind of cute at first, but it got pretty embarrassing (for her) as the evening wore on, with her friends trying to shush her down.

Now, our row was a quartet of guys on one side of us and a highly-suspected lesbian couple on the other side.  One eavesdropped conversation from the guys included references to Rosie O'Donnell, The View, Celine Dion and Cher... they also took turns looking at a purchased copy of the 2007 Il Divo wall calendar.   So there you have it... older women, gay folk and older couples as well.  Overall, I suspect we were on the low end of the age curve (which I don't know is a good thing or not).

Okay... Il Divo.  To tell you the truth, they were better than we thought they would be... though they were pretty much relegated to be mere accessories to La Diva.  Despite their inherent cheesiness (singing pop music not in English in the language of love), you can not deny that they are very impressive vocally (and three-quarters of them are pretty easy on the eyes).  Now I would have preferred them not to have joined in on Evergreen... but the duets on The Music of The Night and Somewhere were two of the many highlights of the evening.  I agree with Rosie O'Donnell... striking me as rejects from The Bachelor... but that is better than what the AZ Republic called them "(an) oily 'popera' group, who sing capably, but very anonymously.  Imagine four better-looking Josh Grobans for an idea of what they do."   Ouch!  (And leave Josh out of it while your at it!).

Okay... the teleprompters.  It's no secret that Streisand suffers from stage-fright after forgetting lyrics when she performed to a huge Central Park crowd back in the 60s.  She only returned to live performing with the advent of the teleprompter.  We were side stage... so we saw them all... and there were literally dozens of them -- including a gargantuan one hanging from the back of the arena.  This was a constant distraction for us.  Not only were the lyrics there... but the "spontaneous" chit-chat with the audience.  So while not totally detracting from my Streisand awe... it was still and unwelcome look behind the wizard's curtain.  Streisand did fess up to her use of teleprompters during an audience Q&A, "pull questions out of a jar" segment... which I assume was "real" since there was nothing on the prompters at the time.  Despite their presence,  I don't think Streisand was using them all that much... likely just knowing they are there if needed is probably enough to ease her insecurity.  Though do you really need "Mmmmmm.  Mmmmmm.  Mmmmmm." to be on a prompter to open Evergreen?  BTW, Il Divo, when singing solo, did not have lyrics on the prompter... only on their duets and audience chatter.

The chit-chat often was customized to us... she read spoke of visiting different local restaurants and landmarks earlier in the day... though she did flub one exit line... saying she needed to take a break because there was a tostada waiting for her from the "Old Factory" (a glance at the prompter showed she should have said the full (actual) name of the restaurant, The Old Town Tortilla Factory).   Before closing the night out with Happy Days are Here Again, she commended us for not "writing bigotry into our state constitution" with the failure of the "gay marriage" proposition.

Oh, the George Bush impersonator was there.  This segment has gotten Babs in some trouble in other cities... heckled in one city (where she told the person to "shut the f&ck up") and a beverage thrown elsewhere.  So I wasn't necessarily looking forward to it... but it was just fine.  But I am guessing the tone of the routine is much different now, thanks to the results of the midterm elections... and as mentioned, it made her closing song all the more apropos and a hit with Barbra lovin' partisan crowd:   

So long sad times
Go long bad times
We are rid of you at last  (big cheers!)

Howdy gay times  (big gay cheers!)
Cloudy gray times
You are now a thing of the past

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

If you made it this far... congratulations and thank you!   I knew this was going to be a big 'ole ramble and I certainly didn't let myself down.  For another ("professional") take on last night's show here's a link to the AZ Republic's review (Streisand Simply Sensational).

UPDATE (like I need to say more!): Two celebrity sitings worth noting.  Music industry big-wig (and I am assuming FoB, Friend of Barbra) David Foster was front row center.  She shouted out "Oh, David you're here" early in the show and once I scanned the front row it was pretty easy to figure out who the David was (hey, watching American Idol and Celebrity Duets comes in handy!).

As I mentioned yesterday, the last time Streisand was in town it was for the filming of A Star Is Born.  Coincidentally enough, her co-star Kris Kristofferson was also performing last night (at a theater that holds about 13,000 less people).  She mentioned that maybe if he finished early he would stop by... and sure enough between who two encore songs, she dragged out Kristofferson to some of the loudest cheers of the evening.   Pretty neat.

And for my own sake (and rapidly failing memory), the set list is "after the jump":

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Diva Edition

Back in September 2005, I created this W&C banner:

In the spirit of the blog, it seemed to make sense to have a "diva" banner.  I wanted to include divas I had seen live in concert... so Cher, Bette, and Celine were no-brainers.  Gladys Knight and Dolly Parton were the next additions, though I didn't think they quite fit the "diva" mold... well at least the temperamental and demanding wing of diva-hood... okay, maybe this is more a "gay-con" banner... that makes Dolly fit in...I was still unsure about Gladys... but how could I have a banner without two of the biggest divas out there... Barbra Streisand & Madonna? 

So even though I had never seen them in concert... and figured I never would... I did away with the silly "restrictions" and just put in a handful of ladies that I would be happy to see pop up randomly on W&C.

But you just never know what life will throw at you... and what a difference a year (+ two months) makes?!!

Making her first appearance in the Phoenix area since the 1980s, I knocked Madonna off the list when her Confessions Tour hit town back in May.

And tonight, what I thought would never, never (never, never, ever, ever!) happen ... Barbra Streisand. 

Though hopefully I haven't been rooked... my "print out your own" tickets say Barbara (vs. the more particular Barbra).

But, if you thought Madonna had been avoiding Phoenix... well, the last time Babs performed here was when she was filming A Star Is Born in the 1970s!  Apparently during some concert with a other musical acts at Sun Devil Stadium, she popped out to sing a few songs for the movie.  All for $3.50... which, as you can probably guess, is less than the "convenience fee" for tonight's concert.

If you need an indication of what a big deal this is for me... that is, beyond the base fact of being a gay man of a certain age... well, there's a picture or myself and Barbra up on our refrigerator... okay, technically it's me and the wax figure of Barbra from Madam Tussauds.

So I am still pretty much in denial that it's actually going to happen, let alone tonight... it will probably not until we leave for the show... and have to deal with the mess around the arena (apparently there are metal detectors + no beverages allowed in the arena... guess that's what happens when someone throws a drink at her!).

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow (time/energy/"real" work permitting)... oh, and there's Il Divo too... now there's another act that I never thought I would see live... but not for the same reasons.

For now I'll enjoy my own little version of Field of Dreams... if you post it (or put it on your fridge), she will come.

Gay Card: Lifetime Renewal

For my heterosexual readers, let me explain the phrase "gay card"...

It is the hypothetical "membership club card" for us gay folk.

The phrase "gay card" is most often invoked when we something NOT gay... at that point, it is threatened to be taken away.

For example:
"You don't like Cher, Bette Midler, or Madonna?  Give me your gay card!"
"You watch the Super Bowl for the football and not the commercials?"  Hand it over..."

Based on recent/future concert attendance, I now believe my "gay card" is safe for a lifetime.

Exhibit 1:

Madonna's Confessions Tour back in May.  My gay card was in question. I had never seen the Material Girl in concert.  But c'mon, she never toured within 300 miles of anywhere I lived.  So when she decided to grace the Valley with an appearance this time around, the only way to keep my gay card out of jeopardy was to get tix.

Exhibit 2:

Last month, we had Melissa Etheridge.  An actual gay person!  Now this one gets a bit more complicated.  As a gay male, my attendance was not required... but encouraged... for lesbians, non-attendance would be an automatic gay card surrender.  I am happy to report that did not occur... as every lesbian from Arizona (and surrounding states) were at the show.

Okay... so Madge and Melissa ... a decent gay card renewal rate... maybe a year or two ... but certainly not enough to get me to my retirement years!

So next we move on to two, and until now undisclosed, upcoming concerts...

Exhibit 3:  

As you may know, we're (surprise, surprise... not!) going to Vegas for my birthday.  Once we figured out the actual dates, I looked around for entertainment options.  As luck would have it, we'll be there when Elton John is "filling in" for Celine Dion at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace (we've already seen Celine's show, check!).  We are going on my birthday... which will be a very nice treat... and since it is on a Wednesday (vs. Friday or Saturday night) we got pretty decent seats, too!

Ok... Madonna, Melissa, Elton... the gay card points are piling up... but now we send it into the stratosphere...

I'll give you a hint... "The Prince of Tides" was neither about princes nor tides... discuss!

Exhibit 4:

Oh my frickin' goodness... we are going to see Barbra Streisand on November 16th!

This is just beyond my comprehension.  We've seen a lot of people in concert... and honestly there aren't many (if any!) artists left on my "die happy" concert list.  The one hold-out was Barbra. 

I had pretty much given up that it would ever happen.  Like Madonna, in her many "farewell" appearances she never stopped in Phoenix (reports have it that the last time she performed in Arizona was in the 1970s).  She has done Vegas a couple times in the last decade... but they were usually (always?!)  for New Year's, which is the one time I wouldn't want to be anywhere near Sin City (plus paying $600+/night, minimum 2-3 nights for a hotel room... believe me, I checked).

I am thrilled... I just hope I can keep it together... I might get a little verklempt!

(For that classic SNL Coffee Talk/Linda Richman skit featuring Madonna & Rosanne Barr plus a surprise appearance from Babs herself... it's on You Tube (of course!)... click here).

So I think my gay card is officially safe for the forseeable future...

Now I just have to get over that the cost of all these concerts tickets likely exceeds the GNP for some third-world countries!