Not sure if this is off-topic or not, but I think concerts by Bernadette Peters, etc., are sometimes discussed here, so ...
SEMINOLE PARADISE HARD ROCK CASINO, HOLLYWOOD, FL -- I'm happy to report that Saturday night the second performance (having debuted Friday night) of Bette Midler's 'Divine Intervention' tour was sensational!
Forget about her Vegas show. She was trapped in the middle of an overproduced nightmare, and it seemed to me she wasn't happy to be there.
But last night she was back on tour again, doing HER kinda show, with a rapport between she and the audience that was/is unique in today's world of entertainment. And it was amazing to watch a real old pro like her work that huge (5,500-seat) auditorium. Suddenly this 69-year-old chick became 30 again, right before my eyes. And so did I!
She was soft again, and all smiles again, and genuinely happy to be there. And she was YOUNG again, and filled with joy. And her joy spread over the room like Chanel #5.
She's in great shape and she looks terrific. And her voice is also in fine shape.
The show is both intimate and big. She's got a wonderful twelve-piece orchestra behind her, with plenty of trumpets, trombones and saxophones blazing away throughout the performance.
She's also got a new set of Harlettes that are terrific in the singing-dancing-looks departments.
And the whole show is framed with a series of various handsome projections that are suited to each song performed.
Still, let's face it. The whole thing rests on her small shoulders, no matter how attractive the production is, no matter how good the Harlettes are, no matter how great the band is.
And she delivered last night, in spades.
Maybe two-thirds of the way through this two-hour intermissionless VERY FUNNY show she came out in a red sequin gown looking stunning, and she really got down to business, alone on that stage, singing 'The Rose,' 'From a Distance,' and - to end the show - a SPECTACULAR 'Stay With Me' which I had no idea she could still sing like that. It brought the house down.
She came back for a couple of encores: 'The Wind Beneath My Wings' and, leaving the audience on a great high, 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.'
Then she came back out for several more bows and, just when everyone seemed to sense it was over and the crowd's noise began to subside, OUT she came once more, for one more solo bow and to thank us all again for coming and to tell us all to drive home safely, etc.
She did not want that performance to end. She had trouble letting us go. And it seemed to be a mutual feeling with the audience.
It was so evident that she was so thrilled to be BACK, doing her thing again. And she seemed so pleased and proud of herself, that she could still get over 5,000 people to stand up and scream for her.
I was so happy she was so happy, it made me cry.
This is the first stop on a two-month tour, which I think ends in late June at Madison Square Garden. If she's coming to a town near you, GET TICKETS NOW! They're expensive. But she's definitely worth it.
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