# Barry Manilow is in concert!..wait...Barry Manilow is in concert? Wha...? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 5, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696 "2004-10-05T18:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/1 "2004-10-05T18:33:16Z")
The Great Snoz is going to be at the Palace of Auburn Hills, (MI) October 23rd. I nearly drove off the highway seeing his mug on the digital marquee thingie. Barry Manilow still has a fan base big enough to fill The Palace (at 23k seats or so)?!!? Who are these people? Are they left overs from the Michael Jackson Fan Club and all their demented freakazoid The Gloved Molestor? I’m not saying Manilow is a pedophile at all. Frankly, all I know about him is Copa…copacabana… It’s just…he’s more of a Vegas Act, right? Is he on a come back thing like every other 70’s hit? Is this the end of the world? Is there anyone left who _hasn’t_ staged a comeback? Thank you for reading my reasoned and measured brain fart. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/2 "2004-10-05T18:42:19Z")
Phone call overheard at my office: “Yes, he was. You’re wrong, he was so. Yes he was! Don’t be an idiot! I know he was! Hold on, let me check with someone. Hey tdn, Barry Manilow was a member of Jethro Tull, right?” And there was much mirth. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/3 "2004-10-05T18:46:02Z")
People often confuse Manilow with Zappa. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/4 "2004-10-05T18:46:14Z")
Manilow doesn’t need a come-back. He never left. He has been a steady touring act for nigh-on forever. The crowds are there, and they bring their kids, so he is getting a new generation of fans. PS. I personally can’t stand the man, but my brewing partner is a total fan, and she has converted her husband and daughter. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/5 "2004-10-05T18:50:22Z")
No, that’s not the true sign. I got the “true sign” some time ago when a co-worker emailed the group asking if anyone was interested in her concert tickets. the act? Vicki Lawrence. As in - "sidekick to Carol Burnett, actress most famous (bleh) for “Mama” of _Mama’s Family_, singer of _the night the lights went out in Georgia_. Don’t know if she got any takers. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/6 "2004-10-05T18:53:55Z")
Oh Shirley, you came and you gave without taking. Or is it Mandy? 😃 Barry Manilow just enjoyed a brief stint on American Idol. That’s where the blame should squarely lie for his resurgence… then again, wasn’t he just on Will and Grace too? EEP! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/7 "2004-10-05T18:57:20Z")
My aunt and uncle took my grandma to a Manilow show not long ago. There wasn’t an empty seat in the place. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/8 "2004-10-05T19:03:35Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > People often confuse Manilow with Zappa. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/9 "2004-10-05T19:13:22Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > My aunt and uncle took my grandma to a Manilow show not long ago. There wasn’t an empty seat in the place. Considering Barry’s stint as a bathhouse entertainer (sharing venues with Bette Midler), that last sentence could be taken SO many ways… ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/10 "2004-10-05T19:28:57Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Barry Manilow still has a fan base big enough to fill The Palace (at 23k seats or so)?!!? Looks like he made it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/11 "2004-10-05T19:36:29Z")
I love him. I have always loved him. I am 34 years old. So there! ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/12 "2004-10-05T19:43:26Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Oh Shirley, you came and you gave without taking. Or is it Mandy? 😃 Errr…I was named after that song. :eek: I blame the epidural my mother had. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/13 "2004-10-05T19:54:59Z")
I love Barry Manilow and I am only 31. I even have him on my sacred mix CD that I listen to every day. That reminds me of the time about a year ago when someone heard me playing Dancing Queen by Abba and said “Why are you listening to Abba? Nobody likes them or listens to them anymore”. Yeah right. The musical Momma Mia based on Abba’s music is a runaway smash hit and Abba got offered ONE BILLION dollars to get back together and tour a few years ago. They turned it down. You can’t judge other people’s muscial tastes from your own perspective. Plus nostalgia is a huge draw for many people. BTW, I would go. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/14 "2004-10-05T20:55:27Z")
From an article in the Oct. 1 Boston Globe (reprinted on a BM [fansite](http://www.barrynet.com/articlesandreviews.html)): > [@](#): > > […] Manilow – derided by critics, abused by comics, and roundly considered to be the schmaltziest songwriter to have graced the most forgettable era in pop music – has in the last couple of years found himself smack in the center of popular culture. The rally began when “Ultimate Manilow,” the singer’s 2002 greatest hits collection and his 42d album, debuted at an astonishing No. 3 on the Billboard charts – the highest chart entry of Manilow’s career. His subsequent nine-month string of concert dates was one of the top-grossing tours of the year, according to Pollstar, bringing in more than $23 million. Last year, Manilow reunited with Bette Midler after 30 years for the Grammy-nominated “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.” Television came calling – first A&E, asking Manilow to host a Christmas special. Then Fox and NBC rang him up with the news that two of the season’s hottest television shows – “American Idol” and “Will & Grace”-- were planning to devote entire episodes to the man, his music, and an iconography that continues, against all odds, to grow. […] > > “Mandy” was the first in a stream of hits for Manilow in the '70s: “It’s a Miracle,” “I Write the Songs,” “Weekend in New England,” “Looks Like We Made It,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” and the list goes on. Manilow and his lush, romantic ballads were the scourge of music journalists from the start, and his reputation was so entrenched that the media hardly noticed that most of them were beautifully constructed pop songs. “It’s easier for them to embrace an angry rock ‘n’ roller,” Manilow muses, “than a guy with his heart on his sleeve.” > > It’s still profoundly uncool to like Manilow, let alone respect him. His music has no edge, his words offer no unique insights, and his flagrant fondness for swelling choruses, massive orchestrations, and old-school showmanship is just plain unfashionable. Truly, “I Write the Songs” is a bloated middle-of-the-road horror.But Manilow followed that song with “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling,” as lovely and sophisticated – with a sublimely complicated melody and countless key changes – as the former was pedestrian and bombastic. Manilow’s searching, delicate arrangement on “Could It Be Magic,” a reworking of material from Chopin’s “Prelude in C Minor,” is a model of craftsmanship. And love it or hate it, campy “Copacabana” accomplishes the admirable task of telling a full-length, sleaze-packed story in the space of three faux-Latin, disco-fied minutes. > > “I couldn’t be prouder of that song,” Manilow says. “I may have been raked over the coals, but it never stopped me from doing the best I could. And actually, those really negative reviews stopped about 10 years ago.” Critics are indeed easing up. Rolling Stone recently pronounced him the showman of our generation. And the fans – who make up a far more diverse and devoted cross-section than one might suspect – are coming out of the closet. Manilow-loathers can take heart, however: > [@](#): > > Manilow vows that this tour will be the last big one of his career. At 57, he prefers to spend more time at home and in the comparatively civilized confines of the recording studio. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/15 "2004-10-05T21:02:30Z")
A very interesting article, Kim. He seems like a pretty good guy — taking all that criticism and not being at all bitter about it. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/16 "2004-10-05T21:09:01Z")
I would never go hear, or understand anyone who did, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, David Cassidy… but if it was Donny Osmond…well that’s different!!! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/17 "2004-10-05T21:13:29Z")
I prefer the “Star Wars Cantina” version of “Copacabana.” ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/18 "2004-10-05T21:19:50Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I love Barry Manilow and I am only 31. I even have him on my sacred mix CD that I listen to every day. > > That reminds me of the time about a year ago when someone heard me playing Dancing Queen by Abba and said “Why are you listening to Abba? Nobody likes them or listens to them anymore”. > > Yeah right. The musical Momma Mia based on Abba’s music is a runaway smash hit and Abba got offered ONE BILLION dollars to get back together and tour a few years ago. They turned it down. > > You can’t judge other people’s muscial tastes from your own perspective. Plus nostalgia is a huge draw for many people. > > BTW, I would go. What a minute, Shagnasty are you a girl? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/19 "2004-10-05T21:25:03Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Is there anyone left who _hasn’t_ staged a comeback? [After today, no.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=279288) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696/20 "2004-10-05T21:41:33Z")
**Liberal:** _He seems like a pretty good guy — taking all that criticism and not being at all bitter about it._ I agree. I’ve never been a fan of Manilow’s music, but I’ve never heard anyone say anything against him as a trouper or as a co-worker. He seems to have a strong sense of responsibility to his fans and to other musicians, and little or no “star ego”. Maybe all the scorn has helped keep him humble! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wait-barry-manilow-is-in-concert-wha/267696.md?page=2)