And finally I am getting around to my review of the Divine Miss Milenium concert that was presented by the greatest live performer of our time, The Divine Miss Bette Midler on November 6th at the United Center in Chicago. Quite frankly, she surpassed even my grand expectations. Every nuance and aspect of this show was polished and refined to an amazing and remarkable degree. Her band was wonderful, her dancers and Harlettes great, and most of all she was in peak form. She gave a lengthy and full force performance with remarkable stamina and energy as always. She gave us all the variety we could have asked for--light and comical numbers (including 1976's "Marijuana" complete with dancing joints in a surreal dance sequence, a snipet of "Fat as I Am" and a wonderful new song called "I Regret Everything"), her greatest hits ("Wind Beneath My Wings", which sounded better than ever, "The Rose"--how can she make this one so fresh each time she sings it? Another great talent of hers, because I'm sure she's sung it a thousand times--"Do You Want To Dance?", Lullabye In Blue", and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". The high points of the evening were her unbelivable entrence--I didn't think she'd be able to top the "Diva Las Vegas" decension from a pedestal, where she belongs, but she did, this time RISING from the stage on to a huge and beautiful globe all the while singing the opening strains of "From A Distance" before breaking into "I'm Beautiful, DAMMIT!" AND SHE WAS! She only gets better with age, quite frankly. She looked so totally in control and genuinelly warm and wonderful. Another high point of the show was her incredible finale, which including 5 of the greatest songs--"I Think It's Gonna Rain Today", "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler on the Roof", a new songs called "Mary" which was extraordinary, an as always astonishing and incredible rush at what is behind "The Rose" my favorite Bette song, "Star With Me". She puts so much raw emotion and honesty into this song it puts any other performers' entire show to shame, believe me. Her facial mannerisms prove she is also the greatest actress of our time (if she could do a movie with Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Kathy Bates, all would be well with the world), and she closed the show with the classic "One Foe My Baby (and one more for the road)" from her Emmy-award winning appearance as the final-ever guest on Johnny Carson's talkshow. Her show was technically more difficult than any other she's tried I suspect, with all the lights and sets--she did "Delores Delago" in an elaborate and very funny production number, "Otto Titsling" almost exactly like in "Beaches", became the height and pinacle of a huge volcano while being worshiped from below by her band and back-up singers (and thousands of audience members by this point), wearing a huge headpiece as the volacano lifted off and up higher and higher to end the first half. Her comedic timing and panter was marvelous, hysterical fun with too many bits to possibly mention. She did a few great Soph jokes and delighted the audience in an evening none of us will soon (or ever) forget. She remains the greatest live performer of our time and furthers herself even further from anyone (as she mentioned, Cher can hardly say hello without the use of a teleprompter and I suspect the same is true for Barbra). Only once in a lifetime does a genuine genious come along. I think that is Bette Midler and this show if possible furthered my respect for her. Hopefully they will commit it to video so we can all have it for posterity.