Streisand: The Tour
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| Streisand: The Tour | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tour by Barbra Streisand | ||
| Dates | October 4, 2006 - November 20, 2006 | |
| Legs | 1 | |
| Shows | 20 | |
Streisand: The Tour is the unofficial name to Barbra Streisand's Fall 2006 North American concert tour. Comprising 20 shows, it is Streisand's first United States tour since 1994 and her first live concert events since her supposed farewell concerts that took place in Las Vegas in December 1999. The 2006 tour also marks the singer's first time playing in Canadian markets.
Contents |
[edit] Tour Announced
The tour was officially announced on June 12, 2006 after months of speculation. It would kick off on October 4 in Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center. The tour would be presented by promoter Michael Cohl for Concert Productions International and The Next Adventure (A Live Nation Company). Ticket prices for some venues will be as much as US$750, and VIP tickets are anticipated to cost well into the thousands. [1]
The operatic pop group Il Divo will be her special guest.
The concert tour is one of the most anticipated tours of the year. Ticket sales have been very strong with the Toronto show selling out in 30-minutes and 12,000 seats at the Montreal show selling out in the first day on sale. [2]
Sources close to the tour say that it looks like Streisand's concert show will be turned into a TV Special. Plans to film it are being developed; most likely it will be the Vegas show in November that is preserved for posterity.
On September 22, the October 18 Detroit concert was cancelled because of slow ticket sales. [3]
[edit] Ticket fraud
On August 30, 2006 it was announced that more than 1,000 tickets to various dates of Barbra Streisand's national tour were invalidated because they were purchased with stolen credit card information and then put up for sale on various ticket resale sites.[4]
[edit] Tour schedule
1. October 4, 2006 ~ Wachovia Center ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2. October 6, 2006 ~ Schottenstein Center ~ Columbus, Ohio
3. October 9, 2006 ~ Madison Square Garden ~ New York, New York
4. October 11, 2006 ~ Madison Square Garden ~ New York, New York
5. October 13, 2006 ~ Verizon Center ~ Wasington D.C.
6. October 15, 2006 ~ Bell Centre ~ Montreal, Quebec
7. October 17, 2006 ~ Air Canada Centre ~ Toronto, Ontario
8. October 20, 2006 ~ Air Canada Centre ~ Toronto, Ontario
9. October 22, 2006 ~ TD Banknorth Garden ~ Boston, Massachusetts
10. October 24, 2006 ~ Xcel Energy Center ~ St. Paul, Minnesota
11. October 28, 2006 ~ BankAtlantic Center ~ Sunrise, Florida
12. October 30, 2006 ~ BankAtlantic Center ~ Sunrise, Florida
13. November 2, 2006 ~ Philips Arena ~ Atlanta, Georgia
14. November 4, 2006 ~ Boardwalk Hall ~ Atlantic City, New Jersey
15. November 7, 2006 ~ United Center ~ Chicago, Illinois
16. November 9, 2006 ~ United Center ~ Chicago, Illinois
17. November 13, 2006 ~ HP Pavilion ~ San Jose, California
18. November 16, 2006 ~ US Airways Center ~ Phoenix, Arizona
19. November 18, 2006 ~ MGM Grand ~ Las Vegas, Nevada
20. November 20, 2006 ~ Staples Center ~ Los Angeles, California
[edit] The Show
The show is heavy on standards, one of the highlights being a Funny Girl medley. Il Divo performed three songs between acts, as well as songs with Barbra.
The stage is an open platform with four stations of flowers and tea. Streisand enters from the center, rising platform. She wears a black sequin outfit with a slit skirt for the first half of the show and a black gown and shawl with gold trim after the interval. However, beginning at the first New York concert, the second half of the show now features Barbra wearing a black pant suit. She sits at a tall swivel chair at the front of the stage and at different times during the two and a half hour show she moves upstage on a series of walkways through the orchestra.
The tour's opening concert at the Wachovia Center was the highest single event gross in the 10-year history of the arena. The concert gorssed $5.2 million dollars from 16,510 paid attendance. [5]
The Columbus Dispatch said of the set up: "The arena had a retro look — configured like a giant nightclub, with long, tiered, lighted runways extending well out into the hall and surrounding a full symphony orchestra. A small table with a vase of flowers was placed front and center, and after Streisand came onstage — lifted via a small elevator smack into the middle of a spotlight — she worked this part of the stage, closest to her adoring audience." [6]
Streisand also holds a Q&A session with the audience during the second act.
One of the most talked about parts of the show is a skit where comedic impressionist Steve Bridges playing President George W. Bush utters such lines as, "I'm concerned about the national debt, so I'm selling Canada," and "If I cared about the polls I would have run for President of Poland." The two end the skit by harmonizing on the "Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again"" duet that Streisand and Judy Garland once did together. [7]
At the October 9 New York show, this skit drew some jeers from the audience, who appeared to be impatient with the political satire. Streisand shot back, "Why don't you shut the fuck up. If you can't take a joke, why don't you leave and get your money back." The assertive response, which she later apologized for by saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost it," got the audience back on her side.[8] Bridges did not appear at the November 7, 2006 show at Chicago's United Center due to a previously scheduled Election Night engagement.
[edit] Broadcasts and recordings
On October 20, Billboard.com announced that a double-disc live album of the tour's opening night concert in Philadelphia would be released on December 5 via Columbia. Full track listing for the yet-untitled album is not yet available. [9]
Also, Barbra informed the crowd at the October 28 Sunrise, Florida show that the concert was being taped for a Showtime TV special and a future DVD release.
[edit] Set Lists
Throuhgout the tour so far, the set list has usually changed from night to night. Usually it is just a small change with the addition or removal of a song. The premise of the show however remains the same, it is separated into two acts, with two sections in the first act, then one section in the second act plus an encore.
The follwoing set list is the set list that was used on the opening night of the tour in Philadelphia on October 4.
ACT ONE
Funny Girl (Broadway Overture)
1. Starting Here, Starting Now
2. Down with Love
3. The Way We Were
4. Come Rain or Shine
5. Ma Premiere Chanson
6. Evergreen (with Il Divo)
Streisand leaves the stage, Il Divo performs
1. Unchained Melody
2. Unbreak My Heart
3. My Way (dedication to Barbra)
Funny Girl Section
7. Don't Rain On My Parade
8. Funny Girl
9. The Music That Makes Me Dance
10. My Man
11. People
-Intermission-
ACT TWO
Il Divo opens second act with the song "Passera"
12. Music of the Night (with Il Divo)
13. When The Sun Comes Out
14. Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen
15. Unusual Way
16. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
-George Bush Skit-
17. Happy Days Are Here Again
18. Woman in the Moon
19. Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?
20. A Cock-Eyed Optimist (from South Pacific)
21. Somewhere (with Il Divo)
22. My Shining Hour
Encore:
23. Don't Rain On My Parade (Broadway reprise lyrics)
The following are various set list changes that have been made throughout the tour.
- At the tours second stop in Columbus, "Woman in the Moon" was dropped and the song "Smile" was added as a second encore.
- After the incident at the New York Concert, beginning at the October 11 NYC show, Barbra added a Q&A section after the song "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?" and also beginning at this show, the "George Bush" skit was edited and the impersonator, Steve Bridges, no longer accompanies her on the song "Happy Days Are Here Again."
- Starting at the October 13 D.C. concert, Il Divo no longer begins the second act with "Passera."
- At the October 17 Toronto show, "Music of the Night" replaced "Don't Rain On My Parade" in the Funny Girl section. Also, the song "Where or When" was added to begin the second act and the song "Stoney End" was played during the Q&A session. Those two songs only lasted the one show as they were not presnet as the second Toronto show three nights later.
- At the October 22 Boston show, "Smile" was dropped from the set list and the show ended with the Broadway Reprise of "Don't Rain On My Parade."
- At the October 24 Minneapolis show, "Happy Days Are Here Again" was played as the second encore and closed the show.
- The October 28 Sunrise show had a few more changes than usual. This is probably due to the fact that the show was taped for a Showtime television special and future DVD release. Here is the set list for the October 28 show.
Funny Girl (Broadway Overture)
1. Starting Here, Starting Now
2. Down With Love
3. The Way We Were
4. Ma Premiere Chanson
5. Evergreen (with Il Divo)
6. Come Rain Or Come Shine
Il Divo performs their three song set
Funny Girl Suite
7. Funny Girl
8. The Music That Makes Me Dance
9. My Man
10. People
-Intermission-
11. Music of the Night (with Il Divo)
12. Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen
13. Unusual Way
14. What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?
15. Stoney End (once through)
-George Bush Skit-
16. Happy Days Are Here Again
17. Have I Stayed To Long At The Fair?
18. A Cock-Eyed Optimist
19. Somwhere (with Il Divo)
20. My Shining Hour
Encore 1:
21. Don't Rain On My Parade (Broadway Reprise)
Encore 2:
22. Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me
23. When The Sun Comes Out
- At the October 30 Sunrise show, "Smile" was once again added to the set list as the final encore.
- At the Chicago November 7th show, the Bush skit was removed and she did Stoney End as well. She finished with Smile and did not do When the Sun Comes Out or Nobody's Heart.
- Additional set list info and changes will be added as the tour continues.
