BY ROB HUBBARD
Pioneer Press
If one moment could best capture the mood of Shania Twain's return to St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center on Friday night, it would be the country-pop chanteuse trying to lead 19,918 listeners in a sing-along on her 1997 hit, "You're Still the One," and finding precious few takers, save for the young man she pulled from the audience to accompany her.
But perhaps the crowd's apathy was earned. Maybe Twain isn't still the one for them. The vast majority of the throng sat passively as the made-for-MTV diva did little to get them excited, spending almost as much time on patter and pandering as she did music. A show that was slick and energetic when it played to a record crowd at Xcel in October was interminably dreary this time, drained of appeal by a performer who clearly overestimates the entertainment value of her stage banter.
Of Twain's 100 minutes on the large oval, multitiered stage in the center of the Xcel floor, about a fourth of it was spent chatting with audience members, bringing them up on stage for pictures, autographs and, in one instance, granting requests in a cappella fashion.
Perhaps the hoarseness in Twain's voice could offer some explanation, for — after preceding her set by piping in Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" in its entirety — she sounded more and more like Stevie Nicks as the evening wore on.
Her vocal troubles were never clearer than when she toned it down for an acoustic version of "The Woman in Me." And perhaps they're the prime reason that a show that contained 24 songs in October had only 16 this time and concluded much earlier, despite a warm-up set by the more energetic "Emerson Drive."
There's much that Twain could have done to inject some adrenaline, but she never let the show establish any flow. Lengthy band introductions after the fifth song were only the beginning. Soon, she was engaging in dialogues with the stage-rushing faithful, leaving most of the crowd to sink into their chairs or hit the concession stand.
That said, while October's show may have been a tad too slick and polished for its own good, there was a becoming roughness about some arrangements this time around. Her eight-piece band has cast off some of the classic country stylings (and wardrobe) of early in the tour, looking more like the early-'80s Clash and giving things some rock 'n' roll crunch.
But it all fell by the wayside when Twain started chatting about her visit to Marshall Field's or interviewing audience members, leaving one to wonder if she's as excited about making music as she was seven months ago.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at
rhubbard@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5247
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twinc...cal/8844309.htm