Music legend Barry Manilow is currently on what he is calling “The Last, Last Tour.” Manilow is now 83 and has battled some significant health troubles as of late. A lung cancer diagnosis put the tour on a pause. The 1st leg of this current tour including the one originally scheduled in Buffalo on April 22nd was rescheduled. That show was eventually moved to June 30th. The pop star hasn’t performed in Buffalo since 2002, and from what it looks like, this probably will be his final time in the Queen City.
Taking the stage at about 7:55pm, Manilow gave and continued to give the audience one hell of a show over the next 90 minutes. At his age is there a need to still do it? His desire and passion to do it since a very young age was explained by Manilow before he and his band went into “This One’s for You.” His grandfather got him to sing “Happy Birthday” at a very young age. They played an audio recording of it while showing a photo of him and his grandfather on the video screen behind them. That set the stage for what the rest of his life would be. That would be to entertain people. They turned the “William Tell Overture” into a doo wop medley with the rest of his band joining in. After this song, Manilow talked about the Manilow Music Project and how they were awarding local teacher Trevor Prutsman from JFK Middle School with a $10,000-grant award. If anyone wondered if Manilow still any range due to age and health concerns had than all they had to do was watch him perform “Can’t Take my Eyes Off You.” He nailed the high note at the and held that note for a while. He received standing ovation for his efforts. He talked about how Donna Summer turned his song “Could It be Magic” into a number 1 song. He then turned the song into his own dance routine and joked at the end and stated, “I’m still sex god!” The joke drew a lot of laughs along when he also followed with, “ok, the sex god needs to sit down.” He then proceeded to say “let’s order a pizza. We are all here for the same reason, to love me.” It was that tongue and cheek humor that Manilow was able to give to the audience throughout the show. That came off as very endearing. Then proceeding “Once Before I Go,” he talked about his admiration for record mogul Clive Davis (who recently passed away). That Davis believed in him before anyone else did and couldn’t thank him enough. He dedicated the song to his memory. Mandy started with an old clip of him from when he appeared on the Midnight Special back in 1975. Then after the first verse, he joined in live. A very cool effect. Everyone used their glow sticks that were handed out beforehand to sway along with the song “I Write the Songs.” Everyone danced the night away with the final song of the evening in “Copacabana.”
It was very remarkable how Manilow sounded and how active he was during the show. All of this considering his age and the health issues he recently has faced. He and his band sounded terrific, and the near capacity crowd all went home with smiles on their faces. Again, if this is truly the last time he will perform in Buffalo, he can say that he went out on a high note!
Setlist:
It’s a Miracle
I’m Your Man
Somewhere in the Night
Daybreak
Looks Like We Made It
Can’t Smile Without You
This One’s for You
Sweet Heaven (I’m in Love Again)
William Tell Overture (Gioachino Rossini cover)
Can’t Take my Eyes Off You (Frankie Valli cover)
A Weekend in New England (Randy Edelman cover)
Could it Be Magic
Once Before I Go (Peter Allen cover)
Mandy/Could It be Magic (Reprise)
I Write the Songs (Bruce Johnston cover)
Copacabana (at the Copa)/It’s a Miracle
We would like to thank Taylor Perry for the photo pass for the show.