When Barbra Streisand, 64, announced that she would be touring again, many of her fans felt deceived and manipulated into believing that her 'farewell' tour had already taken place. Not even the reason that she offered to fans (that she was trying to raise money for charity) was enough to calm down the spirits, with thousands of people yelling 'boycott'.

Last night, more than 16,000 filled the Wachovia Center to its full capacity and almost all of them got out happy that they paid up to $750 to see their idol. The concert started with Babs singing tracks that made her famous, like 'Funny Girl', 'Come Rain or Come Shine', 'Love Soft as an Easy Chair' and 'Somewhere'.

At one point, Barbra, the liberal activist, started up a conversation with (wannabe) President Bush. By all the rules of a faux spontaneity, the singer asked him about the issues that are the very ones for which she is trying to raise money. Laughter ensued as Bush said that, because of the high national debt, he is thinking of selling Canada because 'They don't use half of it!'.

Right before intermission, Barbra and Bush sang a duet, after which the performer retired for a short break and an outfit change. All in all, contrary to what people were saying a couple of weeks ago, Barbra's concert will definitely turn out to be a huge hit. Estimates show that she will certainly make the $10 million she wants to donate to charity, and another $90 million on the side, only from ticket sales.