The Oakland Tribune
Frosene On The Scene: Brassy Bette
Frosene Phillips
Friday, February 13, 2004 – “I’m a Bette head,” Rich Blumberg of the S.F. Business Times told me this week. Blumberg isn’t just a casual fan, he confessed to seeing her over forty times. This could explain his landing a seat in the front row center at Bette Midler’s concert last Tuesday night at the Oakland Arena. Anyone that was lucky enough to attend the performance saw Blumberg too. Or, at the very least, you saw his hand. He graciously reached up and handed Miss M a beautiful bouquet of roses during her magnificent rendition of The Rose.
It seemed so perfectly timed that one might think it was a plant, but Blumberg was quick to defend his maneuver. “She just caught my eye,” he shared, and so he made his move. Yours truly was also in attendance and, once again, I marveled at Midler’s ability to sing as she danced, drove motorized props, rolled around on the floor, changed costumes, made a wheelchair soar and performed with videos – all the while making it appear so effortless.
Following her smashing opening number and name of the tour, “Kiss My Brass” , Midler delivered line after line of local humor, catching her audience by surprise. “Ah, Oakland, home of the Raiders, the A’s, and Jerry Brown…the oldest living straight SINGLE male mayor in America,” she said. “You know, he’s not here tonight. I think he’s a little pissed that I got 10,000 people downtown before he did.”
The audience loved it. “And it’s so great to be in the same arena where the Warriors lose…I mean play,” she quipped. “Well that’s what happens when you get your whole team on craigslist. ” Ouch…more laughter. She was easily forgiven. After all, it was the Divine Miss M who was in the house.
She welcomed her “peeps” from Blackhawk, her Jewish ladies from Walnut Creek, and the boys from the Castro. But when she called out for all San Franciscans, the loudest roar erupted. “I love your new mayor Gavin Getty,” she said. “He wanted to be here tonight but since he took that cut in salary, it just wasn’t possible. Sorry Gavin, but around here we say Cash not Care. ”
In the program book, Midler’s title is Fearless Leader and Major Conceptualist. She has assembled quite a team. Writers Eric Kornfeld and Bruce Vilanch are brilliant. They wrote and conceived the show with her. In fact, I was lucky enough to track Kornfeld down and learned firsthand that he crafts these local gems with Midler for each city – a touch that is appreciated. The former stand-up comic also wrote for Rosie O’Donnell at one time. He has nothing but praise and respect for Midler, Vilanch and company. “She works on her act with every single person,” he said. The effort shows, this is a tight group.
Midler has the remarkable quality of creating such intimacy with her audience that, once the big production numbers are over, the purity of her spirit and joy in the moment are there for the taking. Following her coaxing, even the audience joined in singing The Rose.
On a personal note, I decided to share the Bette Midler experience with my daughter Alexis. Not only to expose her to a magnificent talent, but for her to feel Midler’s The Rose live. You see, when Alexis was just two-years-old, she used to sing The Rose in her highchair at the top of her lungs. At that time, her father had died, stricken by cancer, and the song became somewhat of a family theme song as we remembered him. Quite simply put, it became forever connected to his living spirit, offering the courage to go on. Throughout Alexis’ 25 years, the song, as sung by Miss Midler, has miraculously been heard during times of significance and challenge. On the car radio leaving her high school graduation, in the elevator as she approached a doctor’s appointment, even when she was getting her hair and make-up done for her wedding day, the song came on the radio.
So there we were, along with the rest of the audience, singing in tears and embracing the moment…and that wasn’t a joke. It was the culmination of a life inspired by the Divine Miss M and her rose.
