Liza At The Borgata!

On Saturday night, March 24, Andrew took me to see Liza at the Borgata in Atlantic City! As usual, the entire evening was absolutely perfect! Liza was in amazing voice and she looks as fabulous as ever! She opened the show with "Alexander's Ragtime Band", which she sang at Carnegie Hall in the late 80's. I've always loved that arrangement and I'm so glad she did it! She apologized after the song for not "dancing around" as much as she usually does because she recently broke her leg. Even with pins in her ankle, she was incredible!

Since she released "Confessions" a couple of years ago (my favorite by far of all her studio albums), she's been touring with a nightclub act. Instead of her usual huge orchestra, she had a band consisting of six guys, including, of course, Billy Stritch on piano and instead of the usual two act show, it was one act that ran about an hour and a half.

The second song of the evening sent me right in my bag for a tissue, "Liza With A Z". It brought me right back to hearing her sing it the first time I saw her live when I was about six and ironically, in Atlantic City. There's nothing like seeing her live and hearing that voice and seeing that great showmanship in person! Entertainers just don't do what she does anymore. The intimacy she manages to create as if she's talking directly to you is incredible. That's something that Judy had and what makes both of them so special and allows them to touch people the way they've touched me over the years. At one point, someone yelled out, "You're just like Mama!" and Liza said, "Oh no. And you know why? My Mama taught me never to be second best!"... You go, Girl!

The highest point of the evening for me, naturally, was when she sang "He's Funny that Way" which is the song I always sing to Andrew. She sang it when we saw her at the Palace in 2009 and it's really our song. I couldn't let go of his hand throughout most of the evening. Being able to share the experience with him made it so much more meaningful and wonderful than it would have been otherwise. The amount of love in that room was just indescribable. I'm so grateful I had him to share it with.

There were so many highlights in the evening. She did an adorable duet with Billy of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", ending with the two of them holding hands over the piano. She also sang EVERY ONE of my favorite songs from "Confessions" (Confession, You Fascinate Me So, On Such A Night As This, and He's a Tramp). As usual, she brought the house down with "Cabaret", leading into it by saying "I have a new song that I've never done before, let me know what you think". Oh, Liza May...

She also sang "What Makes a Man a Man" and then she told the story about how she stood in for Gwen Verdon in "Chicago" and launched into a stunning rendition of "My Own Best Friend", another one we saw her do at The Palace. At the end of the show, of course, she did "New York, New York" and she sort of faltered on the last note. Even though we were all on our feet screaming with admiration, she said "Hang on, guys. Sit down. I can do this better!" She then took a sip of water, and started the last verse again. The applause and shouting were THUNDEROUS! She knocked that note over the moon! She did two encores: "Every Time We Say Goodbye", a marvelous Cole Porter song which is on the "Sex & The City 2" album (she sang it at the wrap party for the cast), and then she showed everyone why she's a show business legend... she did an acapella version of "I'll Be Seeing You".

Liza never fails to deliver and she works harder than most performers today to please the audience. Never have I seen her just coast through a performance. She's truly one of the last great ladies we have. To be able to spend the night watching one of my heros with the one person who's always there for me, loving me just as much as I love him, made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world. And I'll never forget it as long as I live.

Oh, I almost forgot! There was one more thing that really hit close to home at the show. Sitting right behind me was a little girl. She had to be about seven or eight. She was so excited to be there! She was singing along with every song and saying little things to her mother about Liza and how much she loved and idolized her. It was like staring at my own past. Even Andrew pointed out that she reminded him of me. I was just like that at her age and I can remember seeing Liza for the first time when I was just a bit younger than her and being completely blown away and ecstatic! It was really a full circle moment for me and it was nice to see a new generation touched the same way I was.

Here's a video from a recent performance in Reno, just to give you an idea of what the show was like: