shaniasupersite.com
shaniasupersite.com
Shania Twain proves to Winnipeg she’s still the one
Metro News
By Elisha Dacey
June 16, 2015
Shania Twain – Rock This Country! Tour
MTS Centre, Monday, June 15, 2015
3.5 stars out of five
Vegas rubbed off on Shania Twain. A lot.
A sold-out, mostly female crowd cheered and sang their way through the Canadian country songstress’ litany of hits at MTS Centre Monday night.
More pyrotechnics than a Nickelback concert and a seriously blazing (and at times seizure-inducing) light show brought the crowd repeatedly to its feet, but it was Shania who kept them there.
The superstar started her first set of her Rock This Country tour like any solid rock star – rising out of the stage on a platform to tower over the crowd, dressed in a pink sparkly… dress? Long shirt? Whatever – and thigh-high boots, pink aviators and a whole lot of Joan Jett attitude. The stage was a bombardment of video screens and risers and lights, making up, perhaps, for the lack of any kind of choreography.
But who cares? The crowd wasn’t there to see her dance. And lord, Shania knows how to own a stage. She could teach a number of young starlets about presence.
Unfortunately, her normally unstoppable alto wasn’t quite there for the first third of the set, and we can blame the lousy sound engineering. The mic cut out and gave feedback at least twice that I noticed, and her voice was often drowned out by the music (four guitars, two fiddlers, piano, drums…) throughout the entire show. Someone fire the sound guy.
Shania relied heavily on her litany of hits, of course, as she doesn’t have the back catalogue other superstars have. The show was divided into three parts to accommodate costume changes, although they were all in the same theme – sparkles, thigh boots, off the shoulder tops (including a sparkly men’s shirt and short skirt – ha! I get it, girl.)
The weirdest part of the show came for Up – straddling what at first I thought was a mechanical bull, instead it was simply a saddle on a horizontal crane that slowly lifted her and spun her in a slow circle. Oh… kay.
As is with most singers who can actually sing, it was the three-song acoustic set in the middle, followed by From This Moment, that proved the true highlight of the show. This is the Shania we remember, and she is still the one.
Sadly, Shania loses half a star for the fake encore. She also loses half a star for her lack of any kind of witty banter. She repeated herself numerous times – “I’m so glad to be here, I’m so glad to be in Winnipeg, I’m so glad to be in Canada, I’m so glad I’m back.” We get it. You’re glad. So are we. Please keep singing!
She saved the song that made her a mega-star for the encore – Man, I Feel Like a Woman, and you know when the drunk guys behind you scream that part of the song out, you’ve got ‘em good.
Set list:
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