#oliver!

Patti mentioned that whilst “I wanna be a cowboy’s sweetheart” had been pulled out of the hat at absolutely every concert in Spain, "I could write a book" and "Ya got trouble" didn’t do so until they reached the tour’s final stop in Bilbao. The funny thing is that all three, as you can see, came out one after the other.

(This one’s especially for you, Brits.) Patti recognised Emma Clarke, who was sitting in the front row, and waved to her from the stage.

She performed “Small World” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” as a medley straight after “Some People” on her own initiative, as “they weren’t going to come out of the hat”. I believe that the “Bonus track!” she exclaimed as she switched from one song to the other will remain etched in my mind forever 😂

From that moment on, the spirit of “Songs from a Hat” took a back seat, and the top hat was put away for the rest of the concert (except for "I dreamed a dream", I think?). Patti began to choose for herself which songs she wanted to sing. From the little comments she made, I got the impression she was in the mood for ballads (which is why she sang “Moon River” or “Calling You”) and also songs from West Side Story (as she said, her favourite musical).

(This is only relevant from a personal point of view… but if I had to be trapped for the rest of my life in a five-minute period, I would choose without hesitation the time I spent at this concert watching Patti perform "Calling You". People use the cliché that something is ‘magical’ far too lightly, but I can say in all seriousness that those minutes truly were. I don’t know how or why, but those few minutes yesterday encompassed the most beautiful sounds and the most captivating atmosphere I have ever experienced... Oh, how I would love to have the power to return to that moment whenever I wished.)

After “Somewhere”, Patti asked the audience directly which songs they would like her to sing next (she thought that, as this was her last concert in the country, some people might be disappointed not to have had the chance to hear their favourite song). That led to “Meadowlark”, “Anything Goes”, “Anyone Can Whistle” and “Being Alive”.

(Brace yourselves for this one, because some of you might just die of envy… 🤭) When she got to "Anything Goes", she forgot the lyrics right at the start of the song. A girl in the front row started singing (beautifully, by the way!) to remind her how the song went. Patti had the song restarted so the young lady could sing it from the beginning and ended up inviting the girl up on stage to sing it with her. The poor girl, who (for some unknown reason 🤭) was overcome with nerves and excitement, declined… but not before insisting a couple of times that Patti definitely should have won the Tony for that role. Patti clearly enjoyed that (controversial 🤭) opinion and ended up dedicating the song to the girl and her mum.