http://www.canada.com/vancouver/the...40-EC9874E8B70F
Shania fans Up! for show
17,000 watch Twain put her exclamation mark on Vancouver
Shania fans Up! for show
17,000 watch Twain put her exclamation mark on Vancouver
John P. McLaughlin
The Province
Monday, December 08, 2003
We'd like to tell you Shania's a Canucks fan but she wore a Flames jersey while in Calgary.
CREDIT: Jason Payne, The Province
Shania's band was rockin'.
CREDIT: Jason Payne, The Province
Shania Twain has always had a thing for the exclamation mark.
On her latest Up! album, about half the songs seemingly exclaim themselves. "Thank You Baby!," "What a Way to Wanna Be!," "Waiter! Bring Me Water!"-- the back cover reads like an over-caffeinated teenager's diary.
So it's no huge surprise Twain's show last night at the Pacific Coliseum Was! One! Big! Exclamation!
From the opening "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" with her nine-piece band fanning out over the big oval stage and fireworks blasting off like it was another night in Baghdad, Timmins, Ont.'s favourite daughter definitely got everyone's attention.
With in-the-round shows like this one, the problem is always how the artisst will make their entrance. In this case Twain's band came in from one end of the Coliseum and, while the spotlight was on them, Twain snuck in from another end. Very tricky.
And the capacity, record-breaking crowd of 17,000 was ready for their Shania. Dressed in a Canucks jersey, blue jeans and red sparkly shoes worthy of a Dorothy, she roamed the risers and numerous stairs of the elaborate stage like it was her own yellow brick road, pulling out hit after hit from "Up!" and "Honey I'm Home" to "Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good."
When she hit "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" with the triple fiddles and the rest of the band nailing the difficult harmonies, the entire crowd was on its feet clapping and singing along. Twain is nothing if not the master of the pop hook and the audience, in fact, was clapping, stomping and singing along to everything she did.
It's quite an experience to hear 17,000 people singing "If You're Not in it For Love I'm Outta Here" at the top of their collective lungs. My ears are still ringing.
Canadians Emerson Drive were a solid opening act drawing from original material and covers like "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings eliciting an amazingly big response from the crowd. These guys are going places.
jpmac@gmx.net
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Yeah it is quite an experience to hear so many people singing with Shania. Like at Chicago, it was wild.
-Chris