Thread: Denver concert
View Single Post
  #1  
Old 12-02-2003, 03:03 AM
Jud's Avatar
Jud Jud is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Posts: 13,998
Denver concert

REVIEW: Middle-of-the-road Twain appeals
By Matt Sebastian, Camera Music Writer
December 2, 2003

DENVER — Shania Twain's music is so universally interchangeable that the Canadian superstar released her last album, 2002's Up!, in three different mixes: pop, country and the catch-all "international."

And that's her secret: Neither true country nor outright pop, Twain's middle-of-the-road approach — with an emphasis on mild, self-empowering platitudes — has made her a crossover sensation that appeals to fans of both genres.

Appearing at the packed Pepsi Center on Monday, Twain carefully straddled that line, delivering a solid but unspectacular two-hour set that focused on last year's record and its predecessor, the smash Come On Over.

Backed by a nine-piece band that was outfitted — and embarassingly choreographed — like the Backstreet Boys, Twain belted out faithful renditions of her biggest pop hits ("You're Still the One," "Any Man of Mine," "That Don't Impress Me Much") while also treating fans to some of her more twangy material, like "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" and "C'est La Vie," a fiddle-driven rewrite of "Dancing Queen."

Yet Twain doesn't have the strongest singing voice — it's good, but not great — and on a few numbers, including the opener, "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," and the power ballad "From This Moment On," she appeared to struggle with her upper register; perhaps it was the altitude.

For most part, though, Twain and her bandmates kept the family-heavy crowd engaged by prowling the enormous, oval-shaped stage at the center of the arena, giving fans on all sides a taste of the pyrotechnic-fueled action.

Sporting a Denver Broncos jersey, Twain, in fact, seemed to devote as much time to fawning over her audience as she did singing: between and during songs, she kissed babies, scribbled countless front-row autographs, dragged children and teens onstage and twice waded into the crowd.

By the night's end, Twain's family-friendly act felt a little too much like a G-rated version of a Britney Spears concert: heavy on the gimmicks and far too light on sincerity and feeling. And perhaps that's not too surprising, given the made-to-order nature of Twain's brand of bland pop music, expertly assembled by her producer/co-writer/husband, hitmaker Mutt Lange.

The evening began with an equally slick performance by Emerson Drive, a contemporary country outfit that spent half its meager, 20-minute set as a cover band, running through Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" and U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" before offering a rousing cover of Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down To Georgia," complete with instrumental nods to Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."

Contact Matt Sebastian at (303) 473-1498 or sebastianm@dailycamera.com.
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/conc...2471475,00.html
__________________
DOWN WITH BASHVILLE!!!
Reply With Quote