And the winner is......Starlene Boyer!!!  
Congratulations!!!
Starlene wins 2 tickets to Benny's show at 
Vernon Downs on February 11th 2012.  
Her review is below.
Thank you, everyone, for submitting your reviews
 of the show at The Palace Theater. 
All of them were great and it was very entertaining reading them all.
See you at Vernon Downs!
Merry Christmas everyone!

STARLENE'S REVIEW:
Dear Benny,
It was 1993, I was just 17 yrs old and out with a few friends for the night at the Stittville Field Days right here in Central New York when to my surprise we ran into my parents.  My parents rarely went anywhere, so it was quite the surprise, when I asked them what they were doing, my dad said his boss had given him tickets to see Benny Mardones.  As soon as you started playing, I joined my parents, my friends left and my love for you and your music began.
My dad worked as a truck driver for a company called Herkimer Wholesale, which was owned by Jim Button.  I never knew him, but my dad was a hard worker and he knew we had it rough, he always helped us out with tickets if he could.  My dad sold alot of Glacier Ridge for him!  We started as a family, my parents and myself with my two sisters going to every Christmas Show at the Landmark Theater, and then when I was old enough, I went to all your summer shows at Pfohl's or wherever you happened to be playing.  I have so many memories from all of these shows, countless memories....things you may have said, or done, or something unique or special about that show in particular.
I think you said it best on the interview you did in Syracuse right before the Palace Theater show.  You said "There are songwriters, and there are composers.  Songwriters write songs, and composers write stories.  I am a composer.  If you want to know what is going on in Benny Mardones' life, just listen to my music."  Your music has always told a story, no matter what the context the song was about, love, loss, death, lessons learned...  I think that's why people relate so well to your music, we all have experienced in some way the stories that you tell.  They find a place in our heart and touch upon something in our life that meant a great deal.
So thru all these years and shows, I've listened to you into each song with a small snippet of information about the song.  Some shows you have said less, some shows you have said more.  Sometimes you have performed a new song live and I've been able to hear a new story, but always I've been able to relate to what you were feeling when you wrote that song because of how you introduced it.  That made it very personal to me. 
When all the advertising was going on for Songs and Stories, Dec 3rd at the Palace, I heard or read something that said something to the effect of .... and for the first time Benny will tell you the true story behind his songs.  When you came on stage and began the show you said something similiar that you werent going to hold back, you were going to tell the truth.  I have to be honest, those statements filled me with fear almost.  I felt like, wait a minute, I've believed for almost 20 years in everything he has said and it may not be the truth?
So for my review of your show, the absolute most enjoyment and biggest smile I received was listening to each and every story from start to finish and knowing that thru all the years you have always told the exact truth, you just now were able to take the time to tell the whole story start to finish and even added a few extras that were just incredible.  You are able to convey every sense of the human spirit and emotion, and tell the story like you are talking to me, not an audience.  I'll always remember "Benny Mardones, Into the Night, Pass that Joint..."
Musically, you sounded incredible as always!  I am most happy to see you happy though.  To hear you talk about marriage and your love for Jane.  To hear you share words of wisdom from a lifetime of experience.  Lastly, I felt it was such an honorary thing for you to say to the audience "Don't ever feel bad for Benny Mardones' career, I made the decisions I made."  It takes a strong person to own up to making mistakes, but a wise person to learn from them and share that knowledge.  My dad to this day can never understand why you weren't a bigger star.  I wish he was at that show to hear those stories and understand.
I love you Benny.