Friday, Friday, December 05, 2003 - 12:00 AM
Doug Fox THE DAILY HERALD
Traditionally, country and pop music audiences have mixed about as well as blue jeans and leather pants, cowboy boots and Nikes, or tins of Skoals and Altoids.
But if Tuesday's crowd at the Delta Center is any indication, it's safe to say that now the Twain have met.
Canadian crossover sensation Shania Twain succeeded in bringing the two camps together -- if only for a night -- in a near sellout performance that saw the Stetson-and-big-belt-buckle crowd hootin' and hollerin' right alongside their wildly cheering backward-ballcap-wearing aislemates.
And that does impress me much.
Twain has been steadily edging away from her country roots with her past two albums -- 1997's monster smash "Come On Over" and the current "Up!" -- and the results have been undeniably stunning. "Come On Over" spawned six hit singles and sold over 34 million copies worldwide while "Up!" has moved 7 million units and counting in the year since its release, the combination of which has made Twain the biggest-selling female solo artist of all time.
In Tuesday's concert, Twain's music was largely weighted toward her more current pop influences, although there were certainly hints of her country background, no doubt sending everyone home happy and humming.
Twain is a definite crowd-pleaser -- a fact born out time and time again during her 1-hour, 50-minute performance. From the in-the-round stage configuration geared to improve intimacy in large arenas to her perpetual autograph signing throughout the show, Twain seemed to connect with her audience on a level most bands never experience.
A case or two in point: On two separate occasions, Twain personally pulled fans up on stage simply because she had noticed their sheer exuberance. The invites were no patronizing "let's-get-this-over-with-as-soon-as-possible" encounters either.
Twain literally spent close to 10 minutes combined during these two informal chats -- which certainly had the potential of being maudlin, fan-gushing affairs and sure momentum killers in the course of a well-paced set.
That was not the case, however, as both conversations were engaging and entertaining, and added spontaneous color to the evening. Even if Twain budgets time into her performances each night for such visits, and there's nothing to suggest she does, they give the illusion of pure spontaneity -- a definite plus for audience members who all secretly want to believe their show is somehow different than every other routine stop in a world tour.
From beginning to end, Twain succeeded in granting that wish.
Twain, sporting an Andrei Kirilenko Jazz jersey and blue jeans, and band ran separately through the audience to open the show with "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" setting the stage for an evening of hits. Not surprisingly, the set list was dominated by material from Twain's past two albums, including nine songs from "Come on Over" and another seven from "Up!"
In-the-round setups present a few tricky obstacles for performers -- starting with the fact that you can only face one portion of the audience at a time -- but can work wonders when handled well.
Twain's band of nine, certainly helped keep things entertaining when Shania was working one side of the stage or another. The talented group, with individual members trading off between multiple instruments, augmented the proceedings with their good-natured interplay with each other and the audience in a controlled-chaos sort of way.
The raised middle section of the stage featured a trap door of sorts, where Twain and various band members would drop through for breaks and costume changes. After one such breather, Twain, accompanied by Mark Muller on acoustic guitar, reappeared in the middle of the audience where they sat among the fans for a cool rendition of "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)." It was another one of those fan-friendly moves that helped set Twain's show apart.
"That Don't Impress Me Much" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good" were definite highlights and Twain closed her main set with "(If You're Not in it For Love) I'm Outta Here!" which featured the additional complement of a bevy of local drummers from area marching bands pounding out the backbeat all around the stage.
Twain opened her three-song encore with "You're Still the One." A raucous rendition of "Rock This Country!" proved to be the perfect closer to Twain's show in a way that recognizes and pays tribute to her crossover appeal. The back and forth tradeoffs between electric guitars and violins in the chorus accurately portray Twain's allure for both country and pop audiences.
Even if they still dress differently.
♦ Doug Fox can be reached at 344-2546 or
dfox@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B2.
http://www.harktheherald.com/module...rticle&sid=8060