I had heard about the concept of “Fanilows” – fans of singer Barry Manilow – but I didn’t really believe it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Barry Manilow. In fact, the very first concert I ever went to was a Barry show in the late ‘70s at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I practically wore out his “Live” album and I performed several of his songs in swing choir.

Yes, I’m a geek. Shut up.

But the thought that this sixty-something year old, lifelong bachelor (wink, wink) could inspire feverish, almost rabid devotion among legions of middle-aged (and other) women (and men) seemed like a bit of a joke.

Then I went to his concert at the Las Vegas Hilton.

I haven’t seen a crowd reaction like that since seeing the clips of the teenage girls watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. We’re talking screaming, shaking, crying, and standing ovations after every song. Seriously – people stood up after every single song and not just a few people. Fanilows exist and they are not to be messed with.

Not that it would’ve mattered if it had been otherwise, but Manilow is in fine form after all these years and his ongoing show at the Las Vegas Hilton is an entertaining diversion even if you don’t quite reach Fanilow levels of Barry worship. He looks and sounds great, has a friendly, self-deprecating stage presence, and knows how to work a crowd into a frenzy, although again, with this crowd he probably could’ve done that just by standing there. Let’s not even talk about the parts where he took off his jacket.

The first and last thirds of the 100-minute or so concert consisted of his greatest hits including “Mandy” (done as a virtual duet with a videotaped younger version of himself), “Daybreak,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Jump, Shout Boogie,” “This One’s For You,” “I Write The Songs,” and of course “Copacabana” as the big show closer on a platform out over the top of the audience. It was satisfying in a retro-cheese kind of way and exactly what you wanted to hear from him.

But the middle third of the show dragged a bit for me. It was made up of lesser known songs from his 2001 concept album “Here at the Mayflower” and a bunch of ‘50s era classics like “Unchained Medley” that seemed completely out of place until I heard a few days after the concert that he is planning to release an album of songs from the decade.

Although he hit all the right notes (both literally and figuratively) during this section, it left me a bit cold and longing for more of the classic Barry I was hoping to hear. Where was “Weekend in New England,” “Ready to Take a Chance Again,” “Somewhere Down the Road,” “Ships,” “One Voice,” and “Even Now”? Not in this concert unfortunately. Granted, with an artist who has had as many hits as this one it would be nearly impossible to cram them all into one show and as a performer I can understand why he would want to mix it up a little (how would you like to have to sing the same songs every night for 30 years?) but fewer covers and obscure material and more of the recognizable material would’ve made for a much more successful overall package in my opinion.

But then again, I’m not a Fanilow.