ENTERTAINMENT: Midler going Garth on us?

  It sounds like somebody — preferably with the last name Wynn — just needs to pick up the phone.
  A Tuesday interview with Bette Midler will run in the Neon section Jan. 8. But that’s more than a week away, and Midler is already in town, so here’s a sneak peek that lets you connect some dots to a possible conclusion. If someone has Steve Wynn’s e-mail, feel free to click on the “e-mail this” icon.
  Midler, down to the homestretch in a Colosseum at Caesars Palace run that wraps Jan. 31, says, “Of course, I’d love to come back to Las Vegas. I love Las Vegas.”
  She also says her next professional endeavor will strip it down to the basics, without all the showgirls in wheelchairs. “I’d just like to sing some nice songs seriously, and have a decent band and not have to worry about all the other stuff.”
  And finally, as an audience member at one of Garth Brooks’ solo performances at Wynn, she says Brooks is “one of the most charming performers alive. ... He can do a show and mesmerize people for an hour and a half. ... What he does for an hour and a half is not just entertaining, but winning and charming.
  “I’m not sure that everybody can do that. For the people who can do it there’s nothing wrong with it. I would love to do it. If I could play ukulele as well as he plays guitar, I’d be there.”
  Even if you disregard the latter quip, Midler says not to expect anything to happen too quickly; her first priority is a long rest. More on the 8th.