I am typing this verbatim because it's not online (yet?) but appeared in our major daily Saturday paper - The Edmonton Journal. A review of Shania's concert Friday by Sandra Sperounes Journal Music Writer.

You've got to hand it to Shania Twain.
The Canadian pop-country diva is probably the only artist on Earth who can get an arena full of cowboys to yell "Man!, I feel like a woman!". She's also the only one who can sing about wearing short skirts and feeling sexy while sporting her casual weekend wear - baggy pants, white shin-high runners and an oversized Edmonton Eskimos Jersey.

Such was the case on Friday as Twain rocked the Rexall in front of 18,000 fathers, mothers, teens and children. For more than 90 minutes, she pumped out her upbeat, self-empowered songs - includingUP!, She's Not A Pretty Face, For Ever And For Always, Nobody's Perfect and That Don't Impress Me Much-while remaining as down-to-earth as a bed of flowers.

You don't get to see many real, heart warming moments at shows-artists usually put on their stage personas and don't let their guard down until they relax in their tour buses.

Shania, on the other hand, let her momminess shine when she picked up Pheonix. a two-year old boy clad in Harley Davidson gear, and carried him on her hip.

For a few moments, it looked like he was about to burst into tears, but once she got to the top of the stage, he started clapping with glee and blowing kisses to the crowd, a move he learned from Auntie Shania. If only he realised how lucky he was.

An older child with Twain-like flowing hair, Tenille, knew exactly what it meant to be on stage with the 38-year-old dynamo fom Timmins, Ontario. The two held hands, danced together and sang Nobody's Perfect. "This is a dream come true", Tenille dressed in a min-Twain track suit gushed. "You're my hero, you're beautiful, your voice is amazing."

Awww. How can you say anything mean after such a tender moment? You can't, which is why Twain has so many devoted fans and can sell a million copies of her latest album, UP! , in only 17 days. Her exuberance and work ethic doesn't hurt either.

From the moment her shadow was seen behind a shower curtain on stage, Twain bounced and bubbled around the oval, two-tier stage, plopped in the middle of of centre ice - often shinning brighter than the sparkly bursts of fireworks or her rag-tag crew of musicians. Their outfits, which made them look like uber-fashionale homeless people, were the only questionable marks of the night.

Scratch that, Emerson Drive, Twain's opening act , wasn't the best choice either.

The country-rockers, led by Grande Prairie's Brad Mates, were nothing more than a glorified cover band. They played their smash, I Should Be Sleeping, and what could be their next hit, Last One Standing, plus two other originals. But they also performed three covers - U2's Where The Streets Have No Name, Merle Haggard's Silver Wings and Charlie Daniels' The Devil Went To Georgia which blew away anything in the Emerson Drive catelogue. Not a smart move. Besides, with only a 30-minute set, you'd think the group would want to show off their own tunes.

Haggard, by the way, is rumoured to be playing Rexall Place May 20, a few weeks before Twain returns on June 12. Start counting the days.