Enterprise-Record – Chico,CA,USA
Bette Midler performs at Caesar’s Palace
By PATRICIA FELDHAUS – The Buzz
Posted: 01/29/2009 12:00:00 AM PST
LAS VEGAS — Bette Midler, 63, still has the pizzazz to hold an audience of 2,000 people in the palm of her hand.
Ushered in by a staged tornado, the “People’s Diva” enthralled her fans — some even flying in from Great Britain just to see her at Caesar’s Palace Coliseum in Las Vegas.
With her amazing voice and spectacular outfits she started with “I’m Alive” and “In the Mood” and closed the show by accompanying herself on her ukulele with “The Story of Love.” Her encore was “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” with a large screen background of Midler portraying three different persons singing in harmony.
The “Divine Miss M.” was accompanied on stage by a 17-piece band, a dancing trio, “The Starlight Harlettes” more than 20 high-kicking Caesar’s Salad Showgirls “with a little dressing,” which proved that “A Showgirl Must Go On.”
As Delores del Lago, a mermaid with a tale, Midler entered in a motorized wheelchair with her mermaid retinue and started hopping around the stage in a dance routine which was hilarious. She also featured cameo appearances on the big screen of the three judges of “American Idol” whose faces were distorted by the computer in bizarre ways appraising her performance plus Elvis Presley singing “Now or Never.”
Crowd pleasers were “Viva Las Vegas” and “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.”
In one musical presentation Midler and the showgirls twirled little round white balls like Maori performers. “From a Distance” featured beaded trees that descended from above against a changing forest scene. For in “The Rose,” Midler encouraged fans to wave their lighted cell phones over their heads in the second verse — creating a candlelight atmosphere — and to sing along on the third verse. These last two pieces were touching and this writer thinks there were few dry eyes in the house.
Some of Midler’s jokes reminded this writer of old time vaudeville while many of the dance routines skirted around burlesque shows with large pink plumed fans tastefully covering certain areas of the bodies. Midler alluded to her age by saying, “When I was performing 30 to 40 years ago, my audience was on drugs. Now they’re on medications.”
Bette Midler is truly an icon for all ages.
