Toyota Center
November 19, 2004
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A Bluebird In A Red State From the moment the music started and the curtains parted to allow the Divine Miss M’s entrance atop her prancing, flying horse, Bette Midler had the Houston audience right where she wanted them – wrapped tightly around her finger. And they stayed wound up until the last note was sung, captured for two and a half hours in the radiance that only a performer of Miss Midler’s unique talent can exude. As she herself has acknowledged, her unique ability to connect with her audience so that everyone watching her feels as if she is singing directly to them, is a talent not often seen with any performers. And she, along with her entire entourage, had everyone feeling that special connection in her performance in Houston on Friday night. Even the River Oaks crowd down front, not usually known for their boisterous support of someone from UP NORTH, let alone a LIBERAL DEMOCRAT NEW YORK Yankee, clapped and yelled and sang along with the irrepressible Miss M and seemed to embrace her as one of their own. And this was quite a feat for someone who told a couple of jokes deep in the heart of Bush country about Texas’ ex-governor that even she said took some balls to repeat. But (almost) everyone loved them and even if they didn’t, they still seemed to love and adore Miss Midler. The show was superb and flawless, like all of her shows, but I had the very distinct impression that at the beginning of the show, she herself was a little unsure of what her reception would be down here in the South. I had seen the show twice on the first leg, in New York City and New Jersey, and here in Texas it was as if she wasn’t sure exactly who her fans would be, so she was a tiny bit apprehensive at first. But it did not take long for her to realize that the fans in Houston are just as enamored, if not more so, than her fans in the north or on either coast. She seemed to be surprised at the adoration coming her way, and several times during the show she would say “Houston, this is wonderful, you are great “ and she appeared to enjoy and accept the adulation more and more, as the evening went on. It made the whole experience even better because the audience, whether aware of it or not, interacted with Miss Midler in the way that made her performance even more special than it may have been somewhere other than in Texas. The connection seemed to flow in both directions, between audience and performer and the results were spectacular. Song after song, joke after joke, the show just got better and better until before we knew it, it was time for the last song. After singing “Yellow Rose of Texas”, which the Texans in the crowd loved, she asked the audience to sing “The Rose”. After a few moments with everyone realizing just how bad it sounded, and Miss M’s grimace, she used the infamous phrase “Houston, we have a problem”, then backed up the audience in the song for her last moments on stage. When she waved and said “see you next year”, I’ve no doubt many people in the audience were ready to head for the box office for tickets to the next Houston appearance of the Divine Miss M. Let’s hope that Houston will always be a ‘must stop” on her future tours. Deep in the Heart of Texas! BetteHeads, I've always enjoyed Bette Midler's work and have found her to be an amazing talent. I have many of her albums and have seen all of her movies and they are all excellent to be sure, but NOTHING compares to seeing a Midler show live and in living color. After seeing "Diva Las Vegas" a few years ago on cable I really wanted to catch one of her shows. I finally got that opportunity Friday night in Houston at the Toyota Center. To be totally honest with all of you, when tickets went on sale here I was not sure if I was going to go. I have always had a self-imposed rule that the most I would spend on any one event or show is $100 a ticket. There's no special reason for this other than that is all I can afford. So when I saw that tickets were $150 a ticket for the great seats I argued with myself as to whether or not I should spend that kind of cash. Finally, I said "SCREW IT!! I'm going for it! You only live once!" LOL I'm THRILLED I made that decision. I got everything I paid for and so much more. So I made my way to Toyota Center and arrived there about half an hour before showtime. From there I was escorted by a policeman to my front row seats. Talk about feeling important! :) I was actually concerned that I might be TOO close and would miss some of the stuff going on at the back of the stage, but I could see everything perfectly. One thing I was impressed with in Act One is how Bette connects to the audience and becomes one of us. The Houstonians, I think, felt special and like we were important to her. It was almost as if the tour didn't exist and it was just us and Bette. This was OUR time and she really worked hard to make us feel that way. I hope that makes sense. The jokes about Houston really helped to build that rapport I'm talking about. The material was SPOT ON and she had a priceless barb about how bad the lightrail system in H-town is. "The rail system had a good day today... the train only smashed into two cars!" That got some big laughs because collisions really have been a colossal problem with the lightrails here. The Bush jokes went over fine. I wasn't sure how the crowd would react but they were hugely supportive. Song-wise the high points for me in the first stanza were "When a Man Loves a Woman", "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" and "Shiver Me Timbers" "When a Man...", as everyone before me has said, is just incredible. I thought Miss M. was very Joplinesque in how the pure emotion comes out in her during that song. She makes it her own and you can hear the passion in her voice. It is hard to describe. The latter two songs are just beautiful and they seem to really come to life live. Act two was just as good. I got a serious kick out of Delores in the wheelchair. I'm disabled myself and I can tell you driving those things is NOT easy. Miss M was doing that and singing and dancing at the same time. She really can do anything! :) The Phantom of the Opera bit was pee-your-pants funny. I also liked "All That Shad." Brilliant dance choreography. My mother is from upstate New York and I have been to many Broadway plays also and loved them so that whole segment really hit home for us. What fun! "From a Distance", "Wind Beneath My Wings", and "The Rose" were all beautiful. We absolutely SUCKED at singing "The Rose" and I'm being kind. People, it was flat PITIFUL! LOL Bette grimaced horribly and stated "Houston, WE have a problem!" and pretty much did the song on her own. She finished with encores of "Yellow Rose of Texas" and "Friends." The show just flew by! There was not one dull moment or dead spot. We were being hypnotized with beautiful music, being told very funny jokes, watching clever videos, or being blown away with spectacular dance numbers. It was constant movement and action and it was all good. To be honest, I was upset when it was over. I just did not want to go home. As I mentioned earlier, I'm handicapped. After "WBMW" Bette shook hands with people in the first row. My mother got me out of my chair, walked me as close to the stage as we could get and Bette saw us struggling. She smiled, climbed over some speakers and other crew stuff so she could shake my hand and thank me for coming. The lady was basically dangling off the stage so I could reach her. I was very touched by the effort she made for me and I'll always remember that. It was a small thing, but small things matter. We all know she's Divine, but she's also an incredibly nice lady. Mr D, I did thank her but please pass along how much her act of kidness meant to me. It was appreciated. At the end of the show Bette screamed, "See you next year!" I really hope that is true. Whether it is another round of KMB dates or Bette taking a stool out on stage and just singing her songs I really don't care. I will be there. She's an amazing talent and a better person. Don't miss her. Kiss My Brass II The Houston show was amazing, but then again, could
it be anything else? The crowd was very antsy at first because she
didn't start on time and they were clapping and cheering and screaming
"Bette"! That could also be the fact that the Toyota Center
lets people drink during the concert. ;). The venue was very intimate,even
from row 17, which was where I was, you could walk 20 feet and be
at the stage. Anywho, when the lights dimmed everyone cheered and
we waited for the Harlettes to come out. They came out and you could
feel everyone have a surge of excitement flow through them. Then,
after much anticipation, there she was, on her lovely horse in all
of her divinty and wonder. She came shimmying and slideing up and
down on the pole (looked like a lot of fun ;) The number The second Act began and people, of course, were
late coming back to their seats. Delores couldn't have been better.
What a unique and amazing act. Wow! She didn't have trouble with
the Poi Balls and when she let go of them none flew into the audience.
Delores was definitly a peak in the entire show. "From A Distance" absolutly broke my heart.
My brother is currently serving in Afghanistan and all the thoughts
of him flooded back to me. But enough about me, back to Bette...
I don't quite remember where "Wind Beneath My wings" fell
in but it was absolutely jaw dropping. She intoduced Bette Sussman
after everyone else and then walked to center downstage and sits
down and she says "Well I tried to be more graceful but honey
my ass is pooped." Bette Sussman starts playing the beginning
to "The Rose" and Bette says, "No, no, I got something
better" and she busts out singing "The Yellow Rose of
Texas", now seeing has how I don't even know all the words
to that song and I have lived in Texas my whole life I was impressed
and I think everyone else was too because everyone was on thier
feet.
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