Barry Manilow says a fond farewell to Pittsburgh

It takes a true showman like Barry Manilow to say goodbye in style.

The soft-rock singer and songwriter has sent more than 50 songs into the Adult Alternative Top 40 since the mid-1970s — and amassed an impressive number of “Fanilows” in the process. Even if Manilow’s tunes aren’t your thing, which would be understandable, it’s impossible to resist him as a live performer. Which makes it a little bittersweet to see the 81-year-old on his Last Concerts tour, as a cheering crowd did at Friday night’s PPG Paints Arena show.

On the other hand, opening musical comedian Dennis Blair was … not so sweet. Between hacky airport jokes, the height of his “musical comedy” was doing lazy impressions of singers like Bob Dylan and Garth Brooks and changing famous lyrics into fart punchlines. Yawn.

The mood totally changed when the curtain pulled back to welcome the man of the hour to the stage. Barry Manilow, his impressive band and a row of backup singers filled the brightly lit stage, Manilow donning a midnight blue suit jacket (one of several he wore over the course of the show).

It was a good mix of upbeat dance-y tunes and the sentimental songs for which Manilow is known best. The stage exploded into color and sound for the upbeat show opener “It’s a Miracle,” and he followed it up with “I’m Your Man,” even attempting some … rudimentary dance moves. But hey, he pulled it off with a wink.

But the ballads weren’t far behind. “Somewhere in the Night” and “Looks Like We Made It,” a crowd favorite, both featured his still-pack-a-punch vocals and a sweet sincerity. For the syrupy-sweet “Can’t Smile Without You,” he even provided karaoke-style lyrics on the screen at the back of the stage so the audience could sing along, waving their handed-out glowsticks throughout the arena in wide, greenish back-and-forth arcs.

Manilow talked a lot. He told stories, but he also told jokes that were better than his opener’s, frankly.

“This is what Benson Boone is going to look like in 30 years!” he said, referencing the up-and-coming pop singer, to uproarious laughter from the crowd.

He reminisced about his history in Pittsburgh. His last show here was in 2015, but his first show was all the way back in March 1973. “We’ve known each other for 52 years! But I still look fabulous, right? So do you!”

Before “This One’s For You,” Manilow told the story of growing up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and his grandfather nurturing his nascent musical talent. He even played some snippets of a record he and his grandfather pressed together in Times Square during his childhood. Later, as his music career blossomed, he got to play a show at Carnegie Hall.

“And Grandpa was there,” he said, “and when I walked out on the stage at Carnegie Hall scared to death, Grandpa stood up and gave me a standing ovation. And because he stood up, the whole audience stood up, and that was my first standing ovation. But when they all sat down, Grandpa wouldn’t sit down. He just stood there.”

He also featured “Bandstand Boogie,” the theme he wrote for television show “American Bandstand,” giving his own band a good workout.

Then it was his backup singers’ turn, as they all stood in a line with Manilow and did an a cappella rendition of Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” that was both precise and kind of hilarious. They played a big role throughout the evening.

He paused here to talk about the Manilow Music Project, which has provided $10 million to schools to fund music programs and purchase new instruments. “I’m so happy I can do that,” he said. “Kids love their music classes. They do. And they love their music teachers.”

He proved it by honoring a local music teacher, North Hills band director Len Lavelle, who Manilow said was the recipient of more than 8,000 votes to receive recognition. The Manilow Music Project rewarded him with $5,000, which was matched by the Arena and Pittsburgh Penguins organization for another $5,000.

Lavelle got quite a few cheers when the spotlight swung his way. “We all love you,” Manilow said.

The rest of the show was a great run of songs. Manilow was tickled by how many young people had discovered him through videos on TikTok and Instagram with his song “Dancing in the Aisles.” He turned the tune into a party by bringing up backup singer Muffy Hendrix to sing a verse of “Dancing in the Street” and going into the feel-good “Let’s Hang On” as a duet with her.

After the bombastic but slower “Weekend in New England,” he brought the tempo way back up with the supercharged Donna Summer dance version of early hit “Could It Be Magic.”

The night’s designated phone flashlight song was “I Made It Through the Rain.” The sparkly, ethereal tune found the arena’s seats even brighter than the stage as white lights lit up every face.

Then, a title card appeared on the screens as a video rolled. It was a 1975 episode of “Midnight Special” where Manilow guested, performing his immortal hit “Mandy.” Younger Video-Manilow sang through the first verse and chorus (accompanied by almost every person in the crowd) before Current-Day-Live-Manilow broke in to take over. He ended the song with another few lines from “Could It Be Magic” and honestly, I could’ve gone for more “Mandy.” It felt anticlimactic.

The second-to-last song, “I Write the Songs,” arrived with much fanfare — from the band and audience. It felt like its own farewell and earned him one of several lengthy ovations from the crowd.

Last but not least was a rollicking and lengthy tropical soiree for “Copacabana.” Under a rainbow-sherbet swirl of stage lights, Manilow and his band really put on the soft-rock tune like a whole show on its own.

“Thanks for tonight,” he said as the party came to an end. “I hope I see you again.” And then the curtain literally closed on Barry Manilow.

If this is in fact his last tour, at least the legend left on a high note.