Twain shows Utah fans why she's a superstar

Canadian star Shania Twain, at the Delta Center on Tuesday, shows why she's the best-selling female artist of all time. (Danny Chan La/The Salt Lake)
By Dan Nailen
The Salt Lake Tribune

Shania Twain delivered all that any fan of the best-selling female artist of all time could hope for at her packed Delta Center show Tuesday.
Twain adeptly mixes pop and rock with country on her megahit albums, and did the same through two hours of the kind of pyrotechnic-fueled spectacle one would expect from a hard rock band. Through all the fireworks and confetti, though, the Canadian songstress stayed rooted in the strong songs that brought her here.
Twain first appeared not on stage, but with the crowd on the floor, singing her hit "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" as more than 16,000 fans roared. It was not the only time she would get close enough to touch her audience; she accepted gifts, signed autographs and acknowledged homemade posters -- even invited a few fans onstage.
Wearing an Andrei Kirilenko Jazz jersey and jeans, Twain hopped on the tallest platform in the middle of the arena and directed the show from there. The energy was high from the start, with "Up!," "Honey, I'm Home," "C'est la Vie" and "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" keeping most of the crowd on its feet.
"What a welcome to this city!" Twain enthused. "We were in Denver last night, and they were pretty loud, but I think Salt Lake City can give them a run for their money."
A raucous version of "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" and a steel guitar-laced "Forever and For Always" were as country as Twain got. Most songs got a rock kick from her band, an ultra-fashionable crew that delivered its music and vocal harmonies with studio-quality precision.
Precision was the rule all night: there are no rough edges on Twain's songs, even live. A little spontaneity would go a long way, but Twain is happy delivering near-perfect copies of the songs' recorded versions.
The crowd certainly had no problem with that, cheering wildly through a string of undeniable hits, including "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)," "That's Don't Impress Me Much" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"
They couldn't ask for much more from a superstar.