The glow never faded during Barry Manilow's show Thursday night at American Airlines Center.
While the complimentary glow sticks may have had something to do with that, the songs should shoulder most of the credit. Every song, from opener "It's a Miracle" to a remix of "It's a Miracle" to close the show, was a reminder of Manilow's dominance of his genre. It's the stuff movie montage dreams are made of.
It's too bad this show was branded "One Last Time." A live show is essential to completely understanding Manilow's enduring appeal.
Manilow gives the people what they want, which is easily accessible music, putting his stamp on almost every genre.
That aforementioned medley was satisfying, with enough of each song to give the full experience. It started with an a capella "One Voice," went to rousing versions of "New York City Rhythm" and "Read 'Em and Weep," and ended with "I Write the Songs." He didn't write that really, and at this concert, he didn't have to sing it either. The audience became a sea of undulating glow sticks. Talk about teaching the world to sing: One would never guess he had come out of surgery less than a week ago. (Cough, Adele, cough.)
The expected encore was "Copacabana (At the Copa)." And then, the unexpected: Manilow took it to church on "It's a Miracle," performed this time with Dallas' own Arts District Chorale dressed in scarlet robes holding their hands to the sky.
All the Manilow trademarks were intact: the crescendo to close out the songs, especially on his expressive, bombastic performance of "Even Now"; the refrains that beg to be sung by anyone listening; the uplifting, hopeful, self-affirming lyrics; and the almost, but not quite, amusement at the whole thing. His congenial stage manner made it seem as if this was just a lark. But it was much more: This tour is supposedly the last of this scale.
At one point, Manilow said, "We've been friends a long time, haven't we?"
Well, one outfit change, a little over an hour and all the hits later, his Dallas congregation was left basking in the afterglow of a comfortable and triumphant "One Last Time" with their BFF.
Flip through photos of the Barry Manilow concert in Dallas:
