| My review is yet to come, but for now I just want to quickly post the photos I took. I was able to bring in the GOOD camera this time! (Insert ecstatic cackling here. ;-) ) See, I CAN get decent pictures when I have the right tools. LOL
Several days later - and I finally have a chance to write my report. I guess I should start off by saying that I hadn't originally planned to go to Atlantic City this time since I was doing the other shows. (What was I thinking? If I didn't have to work, I'd happily go see all the shows! LOL ) Anyway, I was given a ticket for my birthday (thank you Phil - you Bad Girl), so Friday night I found myself sitting in the 5th row with a bunch of Donna's and Bruce's family behind me. That was a good thing because - it was definitely a casino crowd and except for a few pockets of fans scattered about the room - most of the noise came from the family. I saw some other guys near the front who ... well they were like statues. I mean, I get it if you don't want to stand. I don't always stand up (like when it's 95 degrees at PNC LOL) but if I'm not standing, I'm at least clapping. These guys weren't doing anything at all until Last Dance. Amazing.
On to the set list:
Intro/Changing Of The Guard
The Queen Is Back
I Feel Love
Dim All The Lights
I'm A Fire
Sand On My Feet
On The Radio
Mr. Music
Crayons
Enough Is Enough (Duet with Mary)
MacArthur Park
Stamp Your Feet
Slide Over Backwards (as Hattie May)
Selah (Mary solo)
She Works Hard For The Money
Bad Girls
Hot Stuff
Fame (The Game)
Last Dance
As you can see from the list, I Will Go With You was dropped so as soon as I noticed that I assumed that Fame would be out too. That's the way it's gone at other venues where the show has been shortened. So it was a really nice surprise when we did get Fame. :-)
Donna's started getting silly after Slide Over Backwards. :-) She seems to have decided that Mary Gaines Bernard needs a few more names - so she she was adding them in when she brought Mary out for Selah - much to the amusement of everybody. I thought Mary herself might fall over with laughter - but somehow she composed herself in time to sing.
I think pretty much anything I can say about the rest of the songs are things I've said before in my other reports. The new songs are really working well live and on Friday in particular, Be Myself Again was really amazing. I don't know if it was something Donna did differently, or just where my head was that particular night - but something about that song was even more magical than usual. It sort of brought me back to the first time I ever heard it.
After the show, I got the chance to see the merchandise booth in action for the first time. (At all the other shows I was only there before show time.) So I stood there for awhile and looked to see what was selling. (I joked to Phil that I was counting Donna's money for her. LOL) I was very happy to see a number of people with copies of Crayons, and one person pointing out her favorite songs on the back cover to her companion. :-)
On a side note - I really like what Caesar's has done to their theater. This was my first time there since they renovated it and now the cramped little tables (with maitre d seating) have been replaced with real theater seats and assigned seats. It makes it much easier to get up and move around - and it makes it completely unnecessary to bribe someone for closer seating. ;-)
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