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Barbra farewell tour...again

Texas cactus in Streisand's pink roses

By Judi McLeod

Saturday, October 7, 2006

President George W. Bush haunts diva Barbra Streisand--even on the opening night of her comeback tour in the City of Brotherly Love.

George W. was there somewhere in Streisand's 58-piece orchestra, conducted by Bill Ross. The cowboy was there, at least figuratively speaking, among the huge vases of pink roses, and might as well have been sitting on any of the three chairs on stage, there just in case Babs felt like taking a load off, which one entertainment scribe assured us, "wasn't often".

The american President Babs loves to hate is never far behind when this star's on display.

according to www.contactmusic.com, "Barbra Streisand peppered the opening night of her comeback tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a series of digs aimed at US President George W. Bush. The 64-year-old is a staunch Democrat and is still appalled that Bush was elected to the most powerful position in the world despite doubts over the crucial result in Florida in 2000. The concert at the Wachovia Center featured a political satire sketch where an actor playing the Republican president reeled off lines including, "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."

Streisand's comeback seems to keep coming back to Bush.

The Texan in the White House is certainly not one of Babs' "People".

"The Philadelphia Inquirer praised Streisand's "warmth, openness and elegance" even if, vocally, "the opening-night performance raised a red flag or two…the marathon of songs she laid out for herself sometimes left her voice thin and laboured." (Toronto Sun, Oct. 6, 2006). "Still the Inquirer pointed out that the 64-year-old singer had been rehearsing until 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday night."

Streisand, who shouted to the crowd, "I love Canada", will perform in Toronto for the first time ever later this month, with two sold-out shows at the air Canada Centre on Oct. 17 and 20. More tickets were just released for the first show.

Lagging ticket sales cancelled a concert at The Palace in Detroit. Because Detroit was the only city with a "lagging response", Streisand's national promoter Michael Cohl removed the Oct. 18 performance at auburn Hills from the schedule and put a second Toronto concert on sale for that day.

according to the New York Post, she'll be paid $2 million per show in a schedule that could include 20 shows, and the best tickets will go for something like $1,500 a pop.

"Tickets for the Streisand shows ranged from $100 up to a wallet-busting $750, with VIP packages topping $1000." (wwwdetnews.com).

Streisand has come out of retirement for a series of shows to raise money for a charitable foundation, which supports a number of environmental and educational causes.

The diva joins George W. Bush impersonator Steve Bridges in the second half of the show.

Not everybody who pays good money for a ticket wants a political message delivered with his or her musical entertainment.

as the Toronto Sun's Jane Stevenson wrote," I overheard one woman on the subway home saying: That was inappropriate. He's the president of the United States.

"It remains to be seen if Streisand will get "Dixie-Chicked."

Middle-aged women were said to have made short work of the souvenir booths at the concert. Streisand keepsakes included T-shirts, selling for $45 to $75 (US), keychains, baby jumpers and blankets. Looking lonely were suede jackets going for $375 each. Fans could wander over to a photo booth to get their pictures taken in front of Streisand's four-poster bed for $20.

Like her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford, Babs is a dyed in the wool Democrat, who can't get over the election and re-election of that tacky George W.

"We have a president who stole the presidency through family ties, arrogance and intimidation, employing Republican operatives to exercise the tactics of voter fraud by disenfranchising thousands of blacks, elderly Jews and other minorities," Streisand once lamented.

In June of 2004, she sang at a Los angeles fundraiser for Sen. John Kerry, raising $5 million for his campaign.

With her George W. obsession Streisand probably gives more publicity to Bush than any other entertainer.

During her comeback concert, cacti keep cropping up among her signature pink roses.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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