Like Buttah: Barbra Streisand At The Village Vanguard

Photograph by Kevin Mazur, courtesy Columbia Records

Barbra Steisand made a rare club appearance—her last one was in 1961 (!)— in front of a tiny crowd at the Village Vanguard last night. While most of the attendees were selected by lottery on Streisand's website, we have a feeling that former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman didn't get their tickets through the lottery.

Streisand joked, "This is hysterical. Are we a box of sardines here or what?" before singing, "Here’s To Life”, “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning”, “Gentle Rain”, “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most”, “If You Go Away”, “Where Do You Start”, “Make Someone Happy”, “My Funny Valentine”, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, “Evergreen”, “Some Other Time” and “The Way We Were”. Video of the performance will be on AOL.com today and on BarbraStreisand.com on Tuesday (timed with her new album Love is the Answer). The Daily News' Jim Farber said of her performance, "Streisand's tone sounded as bell-like as ever, and her range skipped the scales with a balletic ease. She inhabited the songs with complete authority, something she never could have mustered in her youth."

And in an interview with the NY Times about her vocal technique, Streisand said, "I remember when I was 5 living on Pulaski Street in Brooklyn, the hallway of our building had a brass banister and a great sound, a great echo system. I used to sing in the hallway. I was known as the girl on the street with the good voice. No father, good voice. That was my identity."