For a guy whose first No. 1 single was more than 50 years ago, Barry Manilow performs like he still has something to prove.
Maybe he’s relishing that he has outlasted most of the critics who derided his grandiose love songs and old-fashioned showmanship over the years. Or maybe he’s just showing the fans — his “fanilows” – just how much he appreciates them.
Whatever the reasons he continues to wear the sparkly jackets and belt out the hits at age 82, Manilow is more lovable an entertainer than he ever was. The voice is burnished with rougher edges, but that sweet sincerity shines through in every number of his “The Last Tour” tour, which brought him to the Oakland Arena for a rousing farewell to the East Bay on Friday, July 18, before taking the show to the SAP Center in San Jose on Sunday.
For about 100 minutes, Manilow gave his audience – roughly two-thirds of the arena was full – exactly what they wanted: mostly hits, a few good jokes and some nice surprises. Backed by a 10-piece band (including a three-piece horn section) and three singers, Manilow charged out with “It’s a Miracle” and then joked amid the cheering, “Not bad for a 100-year-old guy. But I still look great, don’t I?”
This was Manilow’s first Oakland appearance in 26 years, and if he’s true to his word, it will be his last. To paraphrase his next number, “Somewhere in the Night,” the music, the magic will end. Until then, he’ll play it over and over again. But that’s one of Manilow’s great skills as a performer: he never feels like he’s just going through the motions.
Because he cares about entertaining his audience, he can take prosaic pop like “Daybreak” or “Can’t Smile Without You” and turn them into middle-of-the-road charmers without breaking a sweat. He saves his bigger efforts for the songs he can turn into real barnstormers.
That’s what he does with ballads like “Looks Like We Made It,” “Even Now” “I Made It Through the Rain” and “Weekend in New England.” With each of those hits, he milks the drama like he was standing center stage on Broadway (even when he’s sitting at the piano). There’s not just a key change, but lighting change, pounding drums, dramatic pauses and an audience ready to explode when he modulates.
And explode they do. “I’m glad you still like these songs,” he told the Oakland audience. “You know, I used to love the songs that came out of the radio in the ‘70s (pause for comic effect) because most of them were mine!”
For this tour, some of the best moments are songs that have been slightly reinvented, like “This One’s for You,” which takes a love song and re-casts it as an appreciation for a relative. In this instance, it’s for Manilow’s grandfather, who helped raise him. Or “Mandy,” the song that launched Manilow’s career. We first hear the song in a 1975 clip from “Midnight Special,” and then Manilow sings the song from behind the piano and ends up duetting with his 50-years-younger self.
The most affecting number was a lesser-known ballad but a fan favorite, “All the Time,” which Manilow played at the electric keyboard and sang simply, tenderly and with no razzle-dazzle bombast. It’s a song, Manilow explained, about misfits not being misfits around other misfits.
The bright and blaring show wasn’t all ballads. Manilow and his trio of spiffy singers swung through two different boogies, “Bandstand Boogie” and “Jump Shout Boogie,” and after playing a little of the Chopin-inspired “Could It Be Magic” at the piano, Manilow turned the song into a Donna Summer-inspired dance mix.
As the show wore down, the concluding songs were inevitable. The distinctive brass fanfare kicked off “I Write the Songs” (which, ironically, Manilow did not write). That segued directly into the rousing “Copacabana (At the Copa)” (which Manilow did write). For both numbers, everyone was on their feet waving the glowsticks they’d been given on the way in. Talk about a pop music high.
Barry Manilow is not only still standing but still dancing, joking and hitting some mighty impressive notes. His longevity is outshone only by his enthusiasm, and though it wasn’t always cool to be a Manilow fan, he has proven repeatedly through the years and up ‘til now just how much he deserves the title of pop music legend.
Chad Jones has been writing about Bay Area arts since 1992; theaterdogs.net
BARRY MANILOW
The Last San Jose Concert
When: 7 p.m. July 20
Where: SAP Center, 525 W. Santa Clara, San Jose
Tickets: $34-$183; ticketmaster.com