Breakfast Club to Bristol to Barry Manilow

It's hard to believe that it's been 30 years since the release of one of greatest movies, like, EVER, in cinematic history….

I am of COURSE referring to "The Breakfast Club."

Sigh.

What an awesome movie.


Having seen said movie approximately 525,600 times - on any given day - it's understandable that I pretty much have the entire movie memorized, and can pretty much, at the drop of a hat, insert a cool quote from said movie into any given conversation.

Because there's only like 525,600 cool quotes to choose from…the movie is just one quote to the next…but a particular favorite of mine is when Bender says, "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"

Which segues into what the topic of this blog entry is all about, which actually, is NOT about "The Breakfast Club" (I know…try not to be too disappointed) - but about Barry Manilow.

Hubby and I went to see Barry Manilow ONE LAST TIME last night here in Kansas City - and I emphasize the ONE LAST TIME because that is the name of this particular tour. NOOOOOO - say it ain't so, Barry!!! One last time?? To see the idol of my 12-year old eye? Whose romantic ballads would croon me to sleep on my cheap little record player in my poster-laden room?

EEP.


Prior to the concert, though, Hubby and I headed to our favorite restaurant, Bristol Seafood Grille, located in Kansas City's Power and Light Entertainment District in the revitalized downtown area of KC. Normally, one doesn't associate "seafood" with "Kansas City," as we are known as the Beef Capital of the World…but Bristol manages to produce some seafood creations that can compete with any decent restaurant on the coast. They also have a terrific Gluten-Free menu, which makes ordering extremely helpful. Kudos to restaurants who are "jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon" (gah!) and making it easier on us poor folks who have food allergies or intolerances.

Anyway.

I began by ordering a delicious chocolate martini, which never fails to disappoint:


Pretty…yes??


I took one sip, and HOLY SMOKES, was this strong!!!! I'm pretty sure it was 99.9% alcohol, as it left a trail of fire down my throat. But oh, oh so delicious. We were off to a good start.



The gluten-free appetizers are pretty limited, so we stuck with what we know, and ordered our usual shrimp cocktail:



Presented on a 12" tray of ice, the shrimp are HUGE. And icy-cold. And tasty.

Nom. Nom. Nom.


For my entree, I went with the grilled salmon, with sides of roasted cauliflower with bacon, and whipped potatoes:



I normally sorta' freak out when I have two vegetables of the same color on my plate (yes, because I'm mature like that), but I love, love, love potatoes - and I was curious about the cauliflower, so I chose it instead of the usual green beans. The verdict on the cauliflower? Meh. It was okay. The "roasted" seemed to translate to a slight taste of "burnt" in my mouth, so I wasn't thrilled.

But the flakiness and seasoning of the salmon more than made up for that. It was divine - a true plate of Fish Nirvana.


Dinner was nearing an end, and we still had about 45 minutes before our date with Barry, (which was literally like, right across the street), so I was delighted to receive a text from one of my best girlfriends, Suzie, who was ALSO going to see Barry and was in a bar a few doors down.

It was a no-brainer to join Suzie and her friend, Rick, for a pre-concert drink. Suzie and I went to high school together and are now neighbors, and she can always make me laugh…especially after I've guzzled a strong martini:


I'm feeling no pain in this picture from that delicious martini…



Pretty soon, it was time to walk across the street and enter the Sprint Center, where we were all given green glow sticks:




Full disclosure. When I've had a martini, pretty much ANYTHING can make me happy. But a FREE green glow stick???!!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.


Making our way down to our seats, I noticed the concert demographics: predominantly middle-aged women (like me - go figure) with a few husbands who were there because they were good sports. It looked like a very happy and laid-back crowd, especially since everyone had their green glow sticks flying high.

Of course, before the concert started, I had to take the obligatory selfie:



Terrible photo…but hey. We were having fun.

Soon, the show started…but not until the TWO MOST ANNOYING EVER women sat down beside me. One of the women had seen Barry five times, which she stated to anyone - and everyone - who would listen to her, at least 100 times before the show started. The other woman had never seen Barry before, and had been "dragged" to the concert by her friend…which would prove to be a NIGHTMARE for those of us around her.

I'm stepping up on my soapbox for this…but seriously. If you have NO INTEREST in the performer…that's fine. But DO NOT SPEND THE NEXT TWO HOURS TALKING TO THE LADY NEXT TO YOU ABOUT YOUR MUNDANE LIFE, BITCHING ABOUT WORK, YOUR NEIGHBORS, AND YOUR DIET. The rest of us are not there to HEAR YOU BITCH in your loudest voice possible. We are there to hear the music. NOT YOU.

Gah.

Rude, much??!!

Stepping off my soapbox.

I swear, I could see steam coming from the ears of the people sitting in front us - so I know I was not alone in fuming about their rudeness.


But. Back to Barry.

He was fun. He was entertaining. He was energetic, especially for a 71-year old. He was enthusiastic, and he played to the crowd. He went through his extensive repertoire, with sometimes resorting to medleys, which was fine.



It was everything you'd expect from Barry and ONE LAST TIME.

Our local paper wrote up a review today, and from the tone of it, our reviewer enjoyed it as much as I did. Here's the link if anyone's interested:

Barry Manilow takes a Sprint Center crowd through a final arena extravaganza

All in all, a great night…with a great date…and great food…and great fun.

Peace.