Scandalous Streisand

OK I traveled back to Philly Wednesday night to catch the opening of Barbra Streisand's first "Last tour" in 12 years. She started promptly at 8PM!! If you like Barbra's old stuff (Down With Love), I mean stuff she hasn't sung in 40 years, then this is the $350 ticket for you. She sang the 3 songs that caused her to have stage fright back in the Sixties, but has now embraced them. She said the fright occurred during A Happening in Central Park Concert 1967. Yes they frightened her because she forgot the words to the songs, the audience didn't and continued singing, but she couldn't and was mortified. Now teleprompters have been invented, and life is so much better. There were a few gems she sang tonight, but you know if she's going to sing The Way We Were as the 3rd song, well it is all down hill for awhile until IL Divo comes out and duets with Babs on Love Soft as an Easy Chair except it's in Italian and there are no teleprompters for us. Lucky for me she did sing one of my favorites, twice, "Don't Rain on My Parade", once during the show, and another time as an encore because the Philadelphia fans can be loud and boisterous until they get an encore. (hear that Madonna, some people still do encores) I must say that she is one good storyteller, in the mix of the concert she mentioned all the places she went to eat today, including Pat's Steaks, the Reading Terminal Market, Tony Lukes for a pork sandwich,the original Budukan and finally a drive by Independence Hall. Did you know she filmed a clip from her Color Me Barbra show on the Art Museum Steps, the same steps that Rocky would make famous years later. Hmm I wounder if the powers to be would consider putting a statue of Barbra near the steps too? 40 years ago, she tells us, she tried out the Broadway bound play, "I Can Get It Wholesale", here in Philly before it moved on to the Great White Way. Also I was impressed how Barbara was interested in all that people yelled at her, like "I love You", I love you too; "You're Gorgeous", babs said, "but the press says I'm fat, !!" she yelled back. Sometimes she would ask the yellers to repeat themselves, or talk one at a time. It was interesting to see how she was interested in hearing it, where Madonna a few months back just told them to shut the fuck up and "stop throwing shit on my stage", but for me I would have like to hear a song or two during these sometimes long interuptions. The scandal part, and you read it here first because its gonna be bigger than the Crucifixion with Madonna. Well at one point she brings out George W Bush, well ok an exact look a like. They banter for awhile, and although it was not pretty, it was pretty funny. He then wants to do a duet with her, she says how about "Guilty" or "What Kind A Fool Am I" He settles for the Democratic themed song "Happy Days are Here Again" But the bit is a bit too long, and I think not at an apporpriate political time. I think Sen Foley and his foibles were enough to carry the democrats into office in a few weeks. This might just make the pendulum swing the other way. Rosie O'Donnell was in the front row leading every standing ovation, for which Barbra deserved because even if I didn't like her song choices, she is a legend, she hates Bush and her voice is pretty darn good for a 64 year old broad in a moo moo Donna Karan, and that's a lot better than say Whitney Houston or Jessica Simpson is any day of the week. All in all, I am a Barbra fan, and it was an experience I was glad I was able to afford this time around. I would like to have heard more familar songs, but my mother-in-law was on cloud 9 to hear Barbra live and that was what was priceless about the experience.