The following appeared on the December 6th blog of
www.Bootlegbetty.com fyi...enjoy!
Mark M.
December 6, 2008
Do You Wanna Know A Secret? (Thanks Mark M.)
Don, I dunno, I have to let you and your readers in on the best
secret of this year, so ….. Here we go, folks.

I am astounded at the 2008 shows of Bette Midler's I have
attended….The seasonal variant (didn't realize that was the correct
way to mention the show I saw on 12.02.08) was superb…and I attended
concerts of hers which were indescribably and memorably great way
back in the seventies….so maybe I would have some background with
which to know the difference!

The show 12.02.08 went by without a word about her Dec. 1 birthday,
but that's okay, sometimes I don't mention my own b-day as well! So,
it's December 2 at the Colloseum and I'm all jacked up to see this
show, and it was nothing like the 08.08.08 Hammond Venue opening
night performance I saw (that was like a high school reunion show) Go
figure out what that means! I think it means it's like having a great
entertainer appear in a gymnasium after knowing the big buck staging
which is available but not utilized for time or money's sake…but
08.08.08 was GREAT, a good memorable show, nonetheless, and having
not seen TSMGO at that time I had nothing from the past year or two
to compare The Venue show to…)

Last Tuesday night, Bette sang COOL YULE, which was awesome, all that
dancing a la Rockettes style and such high kicking from her dance
troupe including a costumed Santa Claus. And when the song FROM A
DISTANCE emblazoned itself at the beginning strains of music onstage,
well, it looked like Midler herself had festooned a green mosquito
army surplus netting outfit (green concept fully understood, Miss M!)
decked with humongous red BALLS all over the shoulder like a scarf
(what was she THINKING???) and yes, I have listened to the whole COOL
YULE CD, and yes the song appears with special lyrics for the
holidays so yes, it made sense that the holiday theme was in full
force or enforced in full for TSMGO.

I would have thought the two songs alone made nice holiday bookends
in a show so full of energy that if all she decided to do after that
was simply sit down under the piano cross legged, and read out loud
the phone book, it would have been just fine with me! (She used to
take her heels off and sit at Barry Manilow's feet way back when he
was her show accompanist, hey, its not so far fetched!)
(Maybe I was just in Vegas just a day too many by this time? I
wonder…)
Songs which evoke strong personal memories from the vaults were also
performed such as "HELLO IN THERE" , which, admittedly, dammit, I
bawled my eyes out, maybe a bit too much, so it was catharsis at its
epic Greek Colloseum saga finest, (but when in Rome…) contrasted with
the bawdy Soph jokes which were an experience in contrasts one must
live through at least once in your life….right?!…all the way to the
closing encore of "I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS" in Las Vegas
NV, instead of Beverly Hills EL LAY….well, not even the Tony Bennett
show last Saturday I witnessed at the Hilton could match the height
and depth and breadth of a showgirl of such proportions as Miss M, a
truly living, breathing, artistic musical phenomenon DIVINE 'EM
talent that just keeps amazing me, myself and I ( and the few close
personal friends/fans of Miss M's who I share) all the way up and
down from the depths of my toes to the top of my high hatted head….
Well, if I was alive to have seen the great live performances of say
Billie Holiday or Judy Garland, just maybe I could compare and
contrast even more, but after several standing ovations for Bette,
and memorable song and show choices, I have nothing to complain about
except that I don't work for the Midler entourage. Just to have the
chance to see this performer go through the arc of such an amazing
show, whereas the singers of today have to learn how to breathe and
dress and talk and walk in such a way which Bette Midler makes look
like is as simple as breathing and walking and talking itself!
Long live the Divine Miss M! GO SEE THIS SHOW IN VEGAS!
-Mister D @ 12:05 pm, Catgegory: General «»