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RE: 2015 "Rock This Country" tour

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VIDEO: Anchor Shares Moment with Shania Twain

By Lane Zyvoloski | WDAY-TV | September 23, 2015 at 11:55 a.m.

A morning news anchor's dreams became a reality Monday night when Shania Twain performed at the Fargodome.

Travis Skonseng gave her a bouquet of flowers during "From this Moment."

That's him with the glowing cowboy hat.

According to witnesses Shania also blew superfan Skonseng a kiss and it was caught on camera.

If you'll recall, Skonseng was featured in a Forum photo pre-news career in 2004 the last time Shania performed in Fargo.

This time around, he's got another a magical moment to last a lifetime.

Click Link Below For Video.

http://www.wday.com/news/3845545-video-anchor-shares-moment-shania-twain

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain, you guys. Shania Twain

By Kevin Coffey | Omaha World-Herald | September 24, 2015 1:00 am

If you go

Shania Twain with Gavin DeGraw

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena,

400 Pinnacle Arena Drive

Tickets: $43 to $133 via Ticketmaster

Info: pinnaclebankarena.com or 402-904-4444

* * *

After a decade away from the spotlight, Shania Twain is at it again.

The crossover country singer responsible for “Any Man of Mine,” “You’re Still the One” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” is back onstage for the Rock This Country tour.

“Though it’s been a few years, between the vocals, the swagger and confidence, the crowd response to her and her music — it might as well have been 1999 all over again,” read a recent review from Billboard.

Twain has a host of hits to choose from during tonight’s two-hour show. Her third album, “Come on Over,” sold 20 million copies, making it the top-selling album of all time by a female artist.

http://www.omaha.com/go/shania-twain-you-guys-shania-twain/article_4da14a10-2942-5313-9d5f-eab6d8d350bb.html

Tommy · Guru

Review: Shania Twain, Gavin DeGraw in Sioux Falls

By Jeff Harkness | 1140AM KSOO | September 24, 2015 11:25 AM

The Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls is quickly becoming the place to say ‘goodbye’.

In the next three months, farewell tours from Elton John (‘The Final Curtain’) and Motley Crue (‘All Bad Things Must Come To An End’) are heading to the venue. Wednesday night, it was Shania Twain’s turn to bid adieu.

The ‘Queen of Country Pop’ has already said the ‘Rock This Country’ tour will be her last, and she made sure she gave her fans in Sioux Falls plenty to remember.

From the opening notes of ‘Rock This Country’ to the end of her one-song encore (‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman’), Shania mixed in pyrotechnics, wardrobe changes, and just the right balance of her more country oriented catalog with the pop songs that catapulted her into super stardom.

Shania even managed to venture into the crowd a couple of times. The first saw her literally taking a lap around the Premier Center on a wheeled cart, which gave fans in the back of the venue a chance to see her up close, and maybe even snag a high-five. Later she soared high above the crowd on a mechanical arm that hoisted her closer to the fans in the upper level.

There were also some nice low key moments as well. Shania talked of her stroll through Downtown Sioux Falls on her day off Tuesday, where she posed for a picture with a moose on the city’s sculpture walk.

She also talked about her fear of being arrested for later climbing on top of a horse sculpture. Shania was very complimentary to Sioux Falls, saying it was a very nice place to visit.

Shania was at her best vocally during an acoustic set toward the end of the show, when she led the audience in a sing-a-long of her Top Five songs ‘You’re Still The One’ and ‘From This Moment’.

One of the best moments of the show came when Shania teamed up opening act Gavin DeGraw on ‘Party For Two’.

Speaking of DeGraw, Wednesday was the second time I had a chance to see him live this year (he also opened for Billy Joel in Minneapolis in April), and I can honestly say I enjoy seeing him as much as any act I’ve seen in as long time.

The New York native has an outstanding voice and an engaging presence on stage. It’s not often you’re going to get crowds there to see the likes of Billy Joel and Shania Twain, to listen to your music, let alone give you a standing ovation when your set is done. A true man of the people, DeGraw even worked his way through nearly every section of the Premier Center’s lower level at one point.

In his decade on the charts, DeGraw has made a name for himself with the Top 40 hits ‘I Don’t Want To Be’, ‘Chariot’, ‘In Love With A Girl’, and ‘Not Over You’. He featured inspired versions of all of those Wednesday night, as well as working in covers of Billy Joel’s ‘Big Shot’ and Bryan Adams’ ‘Heaven’.

http://ksoo.com/review-shania-twain-gavin-degraw-in-sioux-falls/

Tommy · Guru

Review: Shania Twain brings energy, fireworks, lasers to Lincoln show

By Kevin Coffey | Omaha World-Herald | September 25, 2015 12:55 am

LINCOLN — A proposal, a happy birthday and a dance party were just some of the memories made by Shania Twain Thursday night.

For more than 90 minutes, the “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” singer led a nearly sold-out crowd through a greatest hits set.

Wearing a multitude of shimmering costumes and backed by a thundering seven-piece band, the 50-year-old country singer looked and sounded flawless at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The audience responded in a big way.

More than 12,000 fans had a few special moments, including the couple who got engaged during “You’re Still the One.” And they were cheered on by their whole section.

Then there was a man named Tim, whom Twain serenaded with “Happy Birthday.” (Performed a cappella, it certainly showed that Twain still has a gorgeous voice.)

And you had to enjoy the fans in the upper bowl near section 321 who abandoned their seats to dance up a storm in the aisles during “Party for Two.” A crowd manager had to eventually be dispatched to clear the fun-loving crowd and send them back to their seats.

Fans were even on their feet and freaking out for songs such as “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” tunes that aren’t exactly her biggest hits. (But who are we kidding: When you’re Shania Twain, even the B-sides are huge.)

“Holy cow, Nebraska,” Twain said. “Oh, I’m lovin’ it.”

With a production design that suggested an AC/DC show more than a country concert, Twain showed off every arena concert trick in the book.

Though it’s been more than a decade since her last tour, Twain did have a long stint in Las Vegas where she learned how to put on a show.

She busted out all the tricks Thursday: Fireworks, lasers, lights, costume changes, moving stage pieces, a trip through the audience and a seated acoustic singalong.

As pyro filled the arena air with a sulfur smell, Twain’s young, 7-piece band rocked across the stage in black leather. They were cranked up so loud that they sometimes drowned out poor Shania, whose still powerful voice couldn’t compete with three guitars and two fiddles.

Twain, who hasn’t released a new album since 2002, didn’t have to worry about pushing new music and fans didn’t have to sit through songs they didn’t know. Instead, it was a set full of the hits.

“Any Man of Mine” made the seats shake as fans stomped along to the beat.

“You’re Still the One” was a singalong and a slow dance, and couples swayed in their seats as they serenaded each other.

“That Don’t Impress Me Much” saw Twain run around the stage in knee-high red leather boots — part of her third costume change — and bring the audience to their feet.

She saved the best of her popped-up country for last. In a studded black bodysuit, Twain belted out “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” as pillars of flame burst behind her and fans cheered her on.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been up on stage for a tour,” she said. “I just wanted to say a very sincere thank you to all of you.”

http://www.omaha.com/go/music/review-shania-twain-brings-energy-fireworks-lasers-to-lincoln-show/article_6ace78c4-cee5-5c27-a23d-5c9ae51b53b6.html

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain puts on a real show at Pinnacle Bank Arena

By L. Kent Wolgamott | Lincoln Journal Star | September 25, 2015

Give it to Shania Twain. She knows how to put on a show.

That’s just what she did at Pinnacle Bank Arena Thursday night, pulling out every trick in the book as she ran through 19 of her hits and a few lesser-known numbers.

Twain hasn’t toured in more than a decade. But she just spent a couple of years at Caesars Palace. She learned a thing or two in Vegas, don’t you know ... and has incorporated those glitzy moves with arena crowd pleasers on what was supposed to be her farewell tour.

She’s changed her mind about that -- $40 million and a great time with audiences like Thursday’s will do that.

The tricks -- some would say cliches -- started with the lasers, fog and fireworks of opener “Rock The Country” that saw Twain rise up out of the floor on a metal frame wearing a sequined Rolling Stones shirt, fringed jacket and thigh-high black boots.

They ended 105 minutes later with “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” which kicked off with the night’s final blast of flames -- there was more pyro than a Motley Crue show -- and Twain in her fourth outfit of the night.

In between, she was pulled around the floor on a cart during “Any Man of Mine” and lifted above the crowd on a fringed saddle mounted on a crane on, you know it had to be, “Up!”

She brought back opener Gavin DeGraw to take Billy Currington’s part on “Party for Two,” a concert move that always works.

There was, of course, the requisite acoustic portion of the show -- complete with a curtain that dropped to frame the band and Twain seated on stools. Then she turned “You’re Still the One” into a singalong -- another concert requirement.

She even sang “Happy Birthday” to a guy named Tim. That show biz staple wasn’t a planned portion of the program. But it did demonstrate something important: Twain can really sing, even when she starts a song in a lower-than-comfortable register.

“Rock This Country” is the name of Twain’s tour, and that’s just what she and her seven-piece band did -- swinging the country hard on the twin fiddles of “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” which made great use of the video screen, and flat rocking out on “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “(If You’re Not in It for Love) I’m Outta Here” with the just-turned-50 Shania doing some seriously high leg kicks in her red boots.

Twain’s working on an album, but there were no new songs in the set. That, however, wasn’t a problem for the 12,500 fans who nearly sold out the arena for Thursday’s show. They got exactly what they had come to hear, packaged into a real deal show.

http://journalstar.com/entertainment/concerts/shania-twain-puts-on-a-real-show-at-pinnacle-bank/article_51dc1b95-d6e9-5365-8e75-14c0f00d233d.html

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain @ShaniaTwain

How we doing @TargetCenterMN?! #RockThisCountry

5:22 PM ET - 26 Sep 15

http://twitter.com/ShaniaTwain

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Shania Twain - ‘Rock This Country’ on The Last Road Show

By Mark R. Smith | Mixonline | September 25, 2015 6:45 PM

Eventful. That word describes the past year for Shania Twain and company.

Her two-year Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace ended last December, a couple of months before her Still The One: Live From Vegas album/video set was released; then came the kickoff of her current “Rock This Country” tour.

Twain is calling this arena jaunt through North America, her first tour since 2004, the last of a career that took off like an runaway train in the mid-’90s, zoomed down the tracks for several years, then pulled into the station and stopped.

The arena tour, which rolled Washington’s Verizon Center in late July, was recently extended a second time, through October 27, when it’s slated to wrap at Prospera Place, in Kelowna, B.C. Some of her touring crew worked not only on Still The One, but are no doubt still having nice dreams about the acoustic elegance of The Colosseum. Among them is Twain’s mix engineer, Nigel Green.

Ride Those Parts

Green—whose resume is bulleted by liaisons with Def Leppard, The Cars, Billy Ocean and the Backstreet Boys—has worked extensively with Twain’s former producer, studio legend Mutt Lange, since the ’80s. Though he didn’t “do any live work until late ’90s, with Shania,” he’s “worked with her from the beginning.

“Shania and Mutt made well-crafted records with great hooks,” Green says. “People talk about microphones, compressors and EQs in relation to her sound, but forget about the music. If a part isn’t balanced properly in the mix, it doesn’t matter what mic or compressor you use; when I mix her live shows, I concentrate on riding the parts since, at the end of the day, the music is what people are coming to listen too.”

When preparing for the shows, Green, the band and the sound crew start by “programming the sound of the guitar amps and keyboards first, then fine-tuning them on the mixing console,” he explains. Also on hand is Kenny Sellars, the systems engineer from Nashville-based VER Tour Sound, which is also providing the lighting and the video for the tour.

Sellars, who joined Twain’s sound crew after the Caesars run, mans the P.A. system. On the tour, that’s the Meyer Sound LEO system, complemented by the company’s 1100 LFC (low frequency control element), with the standard complement of Shure and Sennheiser mics, including Shania’s Sennheiser MD5235.

“We bring 44 Leo, 44 Lyon and 24 1100 LFCs, with eight Meyer Mina for front-fills,” Sellars said. “The main hang is 14 LEO over four Lyon W; sides are eight Leo over six LYON; and rear hang is 12 LYON W. We have eight 1100s on the ground and four in the air per side.

Green sends Sellars “a L/R sub and vocal bus,’ he says. “The latter is not typical, because most engineers send a L/R sub and fill. The vocal bus allows me to attenuate her vocal in each box individually.”

Sellars and Green also use a sidechain multiband compressor on the left and right bus. “We compress from 500 to 2k at about 3 dB when Shania’s singing,” Sellars says. “That creates a pocket for her vocal, so it’s not overwhelmed by the music.”

All Digital

Sellars’ keenest focus during the show is watching Shania and attenuating her vocal in any speaker she may wind up in front of.

“I turn her down in the bottom six boxes as she rides the crane—make that her saddle—during ‘Up!’, since the crane takes her within a few feet of the main hang. This allows Nigel to mix without worrying about feedback,” Sellars says. “There’s a similar scenario during ‘Any Man of Mine,’ when she walks down the ramp and into the crowd.”

Sellars and Green create her sound with Twain’s lead guitarist and band leader, Cory Churko; he’s also toured with Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire, and worked with the late Mike Shipley, who was Lange’s right-hand man before he became an in-demand mix engineer in L.A. and Nashville.

Churko, who mixed the “Still The One” set with Green, says he’d planned “to build a huge multi-amp guitar rig [he plays Prestige guitars, and Matchless and Bogner amps].” Then his tech, Bryan Jones, “suggested that we at least go with iso cabinets that, upon testing, were a bit of a let down sonically.”

So? “I set up my Kemper profiling amp, modeled my amps and did an A/B test between the amps and the Kemper version. I was blown away. The differences were negligible enough that I decided to use it instead of the real amps. My tech was over the moon, needless to say,” he says, due to quicker setup/tear down, more consistent sound, no tubes or speakers to blow, or mics accidentally getting kicked over before the show.

Programmed in Tandem

Then Churko convinced fellow guitarist Joshua Ray Gooch, steel guitarist Austin Clark and utility guitarist/fiddler Jason Mowery to also use the Kemper amp. At that point, the tour became ampless, in the traditional sense. Churko and Gooch programmed and sculpted all of their sounds in Churko’s studio before rehearsals, “programming levels and effects, from part to part,” Churko says. “That made it quicker for Nigel to refine our tones without loud amps bleeding offstage and muddying the mix.”

But having software-based amplifiers with no cabinets has its downside. “You don’t get the natural interaction and sustain between the guitar pickups and speakers,” he says, “so we feed the Kemper’s aux outs to some Line 6 L3Ts full-range monitors pointed at the ceiling onstage behind us, which help sustain our guitars, but don’t bother Nigel out front.”

Ditto with bassist Derek Frank’s bass rig. “He uses a rack-mounted SansAmp,” Churko said, “so there’s no amp or cabinet on him, either.”

Because all of these amps are MIDI-friendly, the show computer controls all of the patches. This means none of the musicians have to step on any stomp boxes to change patches from part to part, song to song. “We don’t have to run back up the thrust to our pedal boards to change patches before taking solos,” Churko says. “Everything magically changes with MIDI program changes, including wah pedal and volume swells. All we have to do is play.”

In addition, drummer Elijah Wood plays to a click track, “which enables us to create a timecode for the show,” said Green. “Then we can trigger snapshot changes in the FOH console, and MIDI patch changes for the guitars and keyboards. It’s also used for lights and video.”

Teams Work

Also at the FOH, Green sets Twain’s vocal and employs a hardware insert on Pro Tools during “Any Man of Mine,” when she’s circling the arena in her chariot, and cuts her vocal by 7 decibels; it’s automated to cut in and out between lines when she’s not singing, thus avoiding feedback and the screams of fans.

“I try to excite the crowd by riding the musical hooks the fans are used to hearing on the records,” he says. “I ride the faders constantly during the show to accentuate certain points in songs the crowd especially likes, maybe even if a part comes in a little too loud, just to get a reaction. For instance, on ‘Honey, I’m Home,’ Shania yells, ‘Yay’ and points to the crowd, so I turn up the background vocal chants to accommodate. With a guitar solo, I make sure the entry comes in loud to create a statement, as if to say, ‘Here I am.’ If it’s still too loud after the initial entry, I’ll pull it back.”

Green also does “what a lot of people don’t do”—ride the stereo mix bus by three or four decibels, to create excitement and dynamics with the music. “I’m always keeping an eye on the decibel meter. If I don’t, I might overstep a limit.”

The one thing Green learned from making records is that, “There’s no right or wrong way of doing anything, as long as the sound is great.

“It’s all teamwork,” he says. “Great songs, great arrangements, great performers and no clutter. That makes the performance instantly sound better.”

http://www.mixonline.com/news/tours/shania-twain/425719

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain gets more impressive second time around at Target Center

By Jon Bream | Minneapolis Star Tribune | September 27, 2015 — 3:50pm

The second time around, Shania Twain was significantly better. Her performance Saturday night at Target Center in Minneapolis was more satisfying than her show there in July.

Why?

The 1990s country-pop superstar was looser and friendlier, more chatty and more fun. She seemed more invested in her vocals and just more comfortable with her Rock This Country Tour, which she says is her farewell trek.

Saturday’s concert was part of the second leg of the tour, and there have been some tweaks even though the set list remains the same.

Shania hit the stage in the same black leather jacket with long fringe but instead of a sequined red one-piece leotard she was wearing a spangly Rolling Stones min-dress, complete with tongue-logo (later she wore an AC/DC top with the Aussie rock band’s logo in red sequins). The new rock ‘n’ roll outfits lent a sense of fun, especially given her album-rock-inspired, drum-driven sound.

Besides the logo-emblazoned tops, Twain remodeled her ShaniaMobile in which she traveled around the arena floor during "Any Man of Mine." She ditched the clear plastic roof, which had made it resemble the PopeMobile, and now the vehicle looked more like a chariot. She also eschewed the selfie-stick during the ride, which had seemed like a trendy gimmick at the July 28 concert.

Twain, who turned 50 in August, seemed less rote and more in the moment this time. Not only did she slap countless hands of fans but when she was giving her little spiel about it’s been a long time – she went on a hiatus from touring 11 years ago – she caught herself and mentioned that it had only been since July in Minneapolis.

After Taylor Swift subjected Twin Cities fans to a robotic, supermodel-strutting performances earlier this month, it was refreshing to see Twain move with a more natural stride in her various over-the-knee boots and skimpy outfits. And there was no question Shania was singing live. It was obvious when she delivered the “OK, so you’re Brad Pitt” line with apropos sarcasm during "That Don't Impress Me Much."

There was no new material and nothing really new (save the rock ‘n’ rolling outfits) but Twain had clearly hit the refresh button and it worked.

http://www.startribune.com/shania-twain-impresses-much-second-time-around-at-target-center/329702331/

Tommy · Guru

Rocking denim and sequins, Shania Twain rocks and serenades Kohl Center crowd

By Maham Hasan | The Daily Cardinal - University of Wisconsin-Madison | September 28, 2015

I am not a fan of country music, and, as such, I’ve never quite understood the great furor it inspires. Like most rap music, it all sounds the same to me. Not to quote the same old clichés, but every song seems to be about a woman, beer, trucks and the country. With that twang, oh the twang, that is the hallmark of all that is country. I’m foreign and I knew how to recognize country music before setting foot on American soil. Admittedly, it does have some redeeming qualities as far as entertainment and charm go. I did, after all, go to the South and line dance to “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” at a real honkey tonk. Yes, it happened.

One never quite knows how to react then when they’re handed press coverage tickets to a Shania Twain concert. Thank you? One then also frantically wracks their brain for all the things that they know about the artist. She’s country, she’s as old as my mom but doesn’t look like anyone’s mom, and she has that one song that seems to be every woman’s anthem. We all know what I’m talking about. I won’t exaggerate, the enthusiasm for this concert was lukewarm at best. I asked my editor what he was thinking, sending a classic rock connoisseur such as myself to a country concert. It just seemed baffling, like a person who was only a fan of competitive synchronized swimming showing up to a Packers game. My editor, however, did not budge, that tyrant, and merely catered to my ego in his insistence.

The crowd swarming to the Kohl Center under the supersized eclipsing moon on Sunday was an interesting one. Denim and bedazzled clothing were in abundance, and the age range of men and women alike was wide. I’m pretty sure I saw somebody’s great-grandmother rocking some boots, a denim jacket and senility. This Kohl Center was not the one you see for Badger games, but redesigned for a stage fit for an arena show. I had made the fatal error of forgetting that Gavin DeGraw was opening for Twain. For someone who had embarrassingly enough grown up with “One Tree Hill” and witnessed the start of every single episode with DeGraw’s most iconic song, well, the 14-year-old in me could not have been more excited. DeGraw channeled a very enthusiastic energy with his powerful ballad and quick feet, taking us through all his big songs. “I Don’t Want to Be,” “Not Over You” and “Chariot” were performed with a vigor that really did justice to how well known they are.

Twain strutted out soon after, paying homage to The Rolling Stones with her attire, amidst fireworks and large video screens depicting her in all her glory. Then began what can only be described as a no-holds-barred, visual fiesta of a performance lasting 90 minutes with Twain’s greatest hits. For someone who went into the concert more than fully prepared not to enjoy herself, I have to hand it to Twain. She really knew how to get a crowd on its feet, whether it entailed dancing without abandon everywhere you looked, or polite manly swaying.

With it being more than a decade since her last big tour, the now 50-year-old star performed like she did this every day in her sleep. With all the pomp and flourish that goes into a glittery show, Twain surrounded herself with fireworks, lasers, light, costumer changes and even the soulful acoustic singing with the crowd. Favorites among the crowd included “Any Man Of Mine,” “You’re Still The One,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” while ending with the country song for females of this generation, “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!"

http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/rocking-denim-and-sequins-shania-twain-rocks-and-serenades-kohl/article_61f0d99a-665a-11e5-9ffc-e3df0adb234e.html

Tommy · Guru

Shania says goodbye with FNC show

By Jeff Miers | The Buffalo News | September 28, 2015

So this will be it for Shania Twain, one of the biggest success stories in latter-day country pop, as well as one of the progenitors of a style that willfully married country music to rock and pop tropes, paving the way for everyone from Taylor Swift to Florida Georgia Line, and selling some 75 million records in the process.

When Twain brings her appropriately christened “Rock This Country Tour” to First Niagara Center for a show at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3, she’ll be taking what she has described in interviews as “a victory lap.”

Twain’s first tour in 11 years may be her last, but fans can expect a new album some time in 2016. In fact, the “Rock This Country Tour” was undertaken as a break and a respite from ongoing recording sessions for that album.

Fans can look forward to a lengthy set covering the entirety of Twain’s career as the first lady of country-pop-rock, along with a plethora of costume changes, and er, um, a mechanical bull.

Reports form the tour suggest this one is all about pleasing the hard-core followers, as well as affording Twain the opportunity to wrap up her career, put a bow on it, and call it a day, just as she turns 50. Nice work, if you can get it.

Tickets are $43.50 to $133.50 (box office, Tickets.com).

http://buffalo.com/2015/09/28/news/music/concert-previews/shania-says-goodbye-with-fnc-show/

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain @ShaniaTwain

We are throwing a party at @PeoriaCivicCntr tonight! #RockThisCountry

3:25 PM ET - 29 Sep 15

http://twitter.com/ShaniaTwain

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain bids farewell with music rebirth at Madison's Kohl Center

Examiner.com | September 29, 2015 4:02 PM MST

Country music fans welcomed Shania Twain's "Rock this Country" tour to Madison, Wis., on Sept. 27. The tour is Shania's first live jaunt in over a decade, while it also ushered in a new era for the Kohl Center. The University of Wisconsin campus sports complex has not seen a live concert grace its environs in half a decade. The combination made for an electrifying evening of live music, with an excess of 9,000 in attendance for the show that also featured opener Gavin DeGraw.

Supported by a seven-piece band, the Queen of Country Pop surfaced from below the fog-engulfed stage and continued to rise well above the crowd as she opened with "Rock This Country!" Ex-husband Mutt Lange's presence was felt throughout the show, with sticky-sweet "Honey, I'm Home" showcasing the pop-influence in her music. However, it's those recognizable pop-hooks that catapulted her to superstardom and nearly filled an arena without any hint of new music. The boisterous crowd that appeared to span a mininum six-decade age difference was simply reinforcement of that success.

While Shania has not toured recently, she is fresh off a residency in Las Vegas. Her time in Sin City was obvious in the show--a two-hour spectacle that incorporated lasers, smoke, well-timed pyrotechnics, mechanical risers and plenty of glitter. She even took to the air while saddled upon a bull that was conveniently attached to a crane (sadly, no photo evidence) during "Up!"

The night's biggest exclmations might have come during songs from "Come On Over," drawing huge crowd response on "You're Still the One" "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "From This Moment On." She did take it down a notch for acoutic performances of "Today Is Your Day" and "No One Needs to Know" late in the set. Opener Gavin DeGraw also joined her on "Party For Two," handling Billy Currington's role on the duet.

Shania announced that this will be her grand farewell. Given that she's sold over 85-million records through only a handful of studio releases, and toured on three of four albums prior to her current stint, fans should make an effort to catch this tour. Only a few dates remain as the tour sweeps to the Northeast, concluding in her homeland of Canada on October 27 in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Remaining Shania Twain "Rock This Country" tour dates:

Sept. 29 - Peoria, Ill. @ Peoria Civic Center
Sept. 30 - Columbus, Ohio @ Nationwide Arena
Oct. 2 - Allentown, Pa. @ PPL Center
Oct. 3 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ First Niagara Center
Oct. 6 - Manchester, N.H. @Verizon Wireless Arena
Oct. 7 - Albany, N.Y. @ Times Union Center
Oct. 9 - Quebec City, Quebec @ Videotron Centre
Oct. 11 - Toronto, Ontario @ Air Canada Centre
Oct. 18 - Regina, Saskatchewan @ Brandt Centre
Oct. 19 - Regina, Saskatchewan @ Brandt Centre
Oct. 21 - Grande Praire, Alberta @ Revolution Place
Oct. 22 - Prince George, B.C. @ CN Centre
Oct. 24 - Victoria, B.C. @ Save On Foods Memorial Centre
Oct. 25 - Victoria, B.C. @ Save On Foods Memorial Centre
Oct. 27 - Kelowna, B.C. @ Prospera Place

http://www.examiner.com/review/shania-twain-bids-farewell-with-music-rebirth-at-madison-s-kohl-center

Tommy · Guru

Concert review | Shania Twain: Nostalgia, boots, charisma rule night

By Kevin Joy | The Columbus Dispatch | September 30, 2015 11:44 PM

A house full of Shania Twain fans partied on Wednesday night like it was, well, 1995.

As the country-pop queen — an artist to bridge the genre divide long before Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift — strutted a Nationwide Arena stage in thigh-high boots and a fringed leather jacket to deliver her caught-ya-cheating smash Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? while thousands of boot-clad fans toe-tapped in time, it was odd to acknowledge Twain’s extended absence from the stage.

The 50-year-old Canadian superstar, whose 1997 Come On Over album remains the best-selling album by a female artist, had been silent for nearly a decade after vocal-cord problems took her out of the spotlight (her post-rehabilitation return came three years ago via a Las Vegas residency that encompassed 105 shows at Caesars Palace).

The artist’s time in Sin City was reflected in a big-budget, pyro-heavy stage show that found Twain — now a blonde — hitting every mark and having us home by 10:20 p.m. It was a greatest-hits showcase that gave the headliner little need to shoehorn in new or obscure material.

A lone exception: 2011 midtempo cut Today Is Your Day, the first piece of music Twain wrote after splitting from her powerhouse producer and husband, Robert “Mutt” Lange.

Otherwise, nostalgia ruled. She rode around the floor seats in a popemobile-style vehicle to deliver high-fives and handshakes during her twangy Any Man of Mine. A pool of smoke hung at her sequin-encrusted footwear during the ballad From This Moment On. Before an umpteenth run-through of the fizzy bubbler Up!, Twain mounted a mechanical bull attached to a crane that took her over the floor seats.

“From my perch up here,” Twain said above the squeals, “this is just an honor.”

It was, to her charisma and credit, well-rehearsed spontaneity.

The musical equivalent of playing Candy Crush or curling up with a glass of red wine on Scandal night, Twain’s catalog has long been a guilty pleasure that most of us don’t feel all that guilty about.

And that glee was seen in sing-along, exclamation-point-heavy melodies of female empowerment (I’m Gonna Getcha Good! and [If You’re Not in It for Love] I’m Outta Here!) as well as Top 40 hits Man! I Feel Like A Woman and, with the latter featuring a seated Twain on acoustic guitar in a rare moment of moderation, a poignant You’re Still The One — with which most people in the venue could still croon along as if it had been released last month, not in 1998.

Twain’s voice, while commanding, showed signs that the diva is still working to regain the prominence of her glory days.

For most in attendance, however, those memories were at the forefront. She was, in fact, still the one.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2015/10/01/concert-review-shania-twain.html

Tommy · Guru

Concert review: Shania Twain rocks Columbus in arena return

By Caitlin Essig | Uweekly | October 1, 2015

When Shania Twain dubbed her tour “Rock This Country,” she meant it.

It’s as if Twain woke up from her last, early-2000s tour and strutted directly to the stage at Nationwide Arena Wednesday night. For one, she rocked red-tinted sunglasses and platform heels, and nearly all of her outfit changes included some sort of long, flowy duster, but more importantly, her vocals didn’t miss a beat.

She brought elements of Las Vegas, where she had a two-year run performing exclusively at Caesars Palace up until last year, including sporadic use of pyrotechnics from burning hot flames to fireworks onstage.

Twain kicked off her set by rising up from a platform inside the stage to flames bursting and “Rock This Country!” blaring. From the first note, she was in her element, despite the slight, expected awkwardness of a 50-year-old returning to arena shows after more than 10 years.

The crowd went wild for “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under,” one of her most popular songs. At its close, she addressed the audience for the first time, saying, “It’s good to be back. Thanks for the welcome.”

Of course, this Columbus audience cheered with joy, happy to welcome back the queen of country pop and the best-selling female country artist of all time.

During “Any Man Of Mine,” Twain wheeled into the audience to greet her fans a little more closely, even offering a camera angle from her point of view.

More Vegas elements came into play when Twain mounted a saddle attached to a crane arm that hoisted her … up … into the crowd during her 2002 release “Up!”

But she also brought elements of Nashville, calming down for an acoustic performance with her band, drawing luxurious red theater curtains closed behind her. She broke one of her first hits, “No One Needs To Know,” down to bare bones, turning it into the kind of campfire, clap-your-hands country that’s good for the soul.

One of the best moments of the night followed, when her band exited the stage for her to sing “You’re Still The One” solo. After introducing it, she spoke on how much has changed since she entered country music as an 8-year-old singing for drunk people in bars.

“The greatest thing that has changed is there’s so much more of you now and I feel so appreciated,” Twain said. “It’s really nice to feel appreciated for what you do.”

She urged the audience to sing along, undoubtedly taking them back to drives through country roads to school when this song came on the radio or dancing cheek-to-cheek to it at a high school prom.

Twain closed down her set saving some of the best for last, including the ‘90s classic wedding song “From This Moment On,” and feminist anthem “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”

As if there was any other option, her singular encore song was a heavy rock intro from the band before Twain appeared back on stage to shout “Let’s go girls,” launching into “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”

This was Vegas meets Nashville meets the Midwest.

This was your mom’s concert, where the largely middle-aged female audience was able to head home just past 10:30 p.m.

This was a powerful, nostalgic show that fans were truly lucky to experience live.

Gavin DeGraw was also there but lost in the shuffle. It happens when you’re touring with one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time.

Twain is one of the original female country music icons of this generation, as much as she is an icon for strong, fierce women in general. It’s good to have her back.

http://uweekly.com/concert-review-shania-twain-rocks-columbus-in-arena-return/

Tommy · Guru

REVIEW: Yes, Twain's talent is diminished, but at PPL Center she still impresses much

By John J. Moser | The Morning Call | October 2, 2015 10:29 PM

The reasons to see Shania Twain in concert are multitude: She’s the second-best-selling female country artist ever, has the best-selling country album ever, and is the only female to have three consecutive discs sell 10 million copies. Seven of her songs hit No. 1 on the country chart.

But when Twain came to Allentown’s PPL Center on Friday, there were some equally compelling reasons.

Twain hasn’t released an album in 13 years and not toured in 11 years. She had vocal cord lesions that left her unable to sing and barely able to speak. So there were legitimate concerns about what Twain would sound like.

Additionally, Twain has said this is her final tour a farewell to the road as she concentrates on writing and recording and perhaps performing residencies, such as her recent two-year stint in Las Vegas.

From the opening song of her 19-song, 95-minute show Friday — the appropriate tour title “Rock This Country!” — Twain proved she can still sing, though in a slightly lower register and more constrained range. On most songs, she belted in the brassy voice of her hit “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”

Her five-man band faithfully re-created the 1990-vibe country rock music that made Twain such a crossover phenomenon.

And it was easily the biggest-production concert PPL has seen. Dressed in a sequined black body suit with The Rolling Stones’ “tongue” logo on it, thigh-high high-heeled booth and a fringed jacket, Twain rose out of the stage a high tower and shot off fireworks, literally, on the first song, then three others.

Later in the show, she rode a long mechanical arm, with a saddle at one end, that swung over the crowd.

“Allentown, this party’s for you,” she sang on the opening song.

And yet, the show was strangely staid through the first four songs or so — until her 1995 first No. 1 hit, “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” and the fiddle-infused more pure country of “I Ain’t No Quitter.”

The show really began to kick in – and her voice gained significantly more power – on the gold hit “Love Gets Me Every Time.” That was the country-pop-rock that she did so well. And it got a big hand from the surprisingly full crowd.

Much the same for “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” and the upbeat “Any Man of Mine” had her pulled through the crowd standing in a clear cart.

The set list covered her entire career — offering every one of her biggest hits, offering every one of her seven No. 1 hits an six of her seven gold or platinum songs. It spanned her career, from her 1995 gold breakthrough it “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” through her last charting single, 2011’s “Today Is Your Day.”

The only omission — admittedly big — was her 2003 gold hit “Forever and for Always,” and it seemed obvious the reason it was skipped is because Twain can no longer hit its high falsetto.

The one song on which she reached for higher notes was “Up!” the title track from her 2003 album.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on tour – over a decade, that’s a long time,” she said in introducing the song. “And all I can say is there’s nowhere but up from here.” But in hitting some of her highest notes of the night, she reminding how much better her voice actually was.

She played an acoustic set of “Today is Your Day” and a nicely warm “No One Needs to Know” that focused on her voice and showed she, indeed, can still sing. And she still sounded good — though lushly backgrounded, on her biggest hit, ”You’re Still The One.”

She also sang “Party For Two” as a duet with opening act Gavin DeGraw, and it was a surprisingly good duet on the rock side of country.

And yet much of the show had Twain, who turned 50 in August, was in more overtly sexy outfits, her hair dyed blond and even, early on, wearing rose-colored aviator glasses, as if she needed to add more to her show than just her voice. She left stage twice for a total of seven minutes to change costumes.

It made her sometimes seem more of a cougar than the more understated wholesome persona she had a decade ago. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

She wound down her show in a black sequined dress with her delicate big hit, “From This Moment On,” though again lushly supported, with flowing fog, lasers and sparkling lights. Then, stripping to a revealing mini dress with high red books, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” on which her vocals faltered, but were saved by the fact that it was such a fun song.

He voice also was weaker on the main-set-closing “(If You’re Not in it for Love) I’m Outta Here.”

She returned, in her most revealing black body suit, for an encore of another big hit, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” on which her voice again was sometimes drastically restrained, but again was good because the song was so fun, and because Twain seemed to let loose, no matter her limitations.

So to answer the question — yes, Twain’s voice is not what it was when she last toured in 2004. But she more than compensated to make her show still worth seeing.

She still impresses much.

As the opener, DeGraw gave his best performance of the half dozen or so area shows he has played since debuting at Allentown Fair in 2003.

In a 10-song, 40-minute set, DeGraw abandoned the self-aware approach he showed at Sands Bethlehem Event Center and elsewhere and became a populist rocker that captured the crowd.

He opened with one of his best songs, “Soldier,” and four songs in did the full first verse of Bill Joel’s “Allentown” that actually was very good. He followed with a delightfully Dylanesque reading of his “Best I Ever Had,” then a version of Joel’s “Big Shot” that was as good as the original.

He closed with his breakthrough hit “I Don’t Want To Be” in which he went out into the arena’s riser seats, and concluded by pairing Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” with his “Not Over You.”

It was almost Sprinsteenesque. Where had DeGraw been keeping this part of himself?

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/lehigh-valley-music/mc-review-yes-twains-talent-is-diminished-but-at-ppl-center-she-still-impresses-much-20151002-column.html

Tommy · Guru

Twain gives crowd moments of magic in First Niagara Center

By Tim O'Shei | The Buffalo News | October 3, 2015 11:44 PM

The long-awaited moment came at 10:04 p.m. Shania Twain, dressed in a flowing black robe, fog cascading around her feet, framed by minty ice-colored lasers, sang her lyrics to “From This Moment On.”

The fans who filled every level of First Niagara Center Saturday night, fans who’d been waiting more than a decade for this moment, joined in.

There were other songs on Twain’s “Rock This Country” tour set that pumped more adrenaline. Songs like “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” which showcased the rocking side of Twain’s talented seven-piece band.

Songs like the finale, “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” that have been karaoke and car-radio classics for years.

But this was a concert about moments. Moments that even Twain, 50, never thought would come again.

It started with opener Gavin DeGraw, who faced a nearly full arena with humility. “I know most of you don’t know who I am,” he said a few songs into his 45-minute set. That was slightly surprising, considering DeGraw, 38, has been a radio mainstay for several years. But judging from the crowd’s polite but seated response to his first few songs (“Soldier,” “In Love with a Girl” and “Fire”), he was right.

They didn’t know him.

As he’s surely done on all his Shania tour stops, DeGraw spent the next half-hour changing that. He alternated between his piano and taking a microphone to the runway that bisected the front-of-house crowd and each flank of the stage. As he strutted around the stage in a gray fedora and dark pants and shirt, DeGraw amped up the audience with each song. His cover of Billy Joel’s “Big Shot” jolted anyone whose attention he was lacking, especially when he took the performance into the crowd. DeGraw worked his way through the floor section, then ascended the stairway to the top of the 100-level at what, in hockey terms, would be center ice.

With his four-man band playing continuously, DeGraw melded the Joel classic into his own hit, “I Don’t Want to Be,” which surely triggered the music memory of fans who thought they didn’t know DeGraw, then realized they did.

As DeGraw descended the stairway between sections 104 and 105, the fans so anxious for Twain were all his.

They were perfectly warmed up for her, too. When it was Twain time, the star rose to the stage on a tall platform wearing fringed top, sequined Rolling Stones logo shirt and red-tinged glasses.

The spectacles proved necessary for the spectacle when several shots of hot pyrotechnics fired from the stage.

The flash of the opening songs of Twain’s set outdid her initial performance. Twain seemed to struggle slightly at times during the opening two songs, “Rock this Country” and “Honey, I’m Home.”

Maybe it was her vocals. Maybe it was the sound. Whatever the case, it balanced out after that. Twain’s voice was powerful through “You Win My Love” and “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”

She introduced “I Ain’t No Quitter,” a fun and slightly sassy song she’s never performed on tour before this, by pointing out the title fits her.

It does. Before the “Rock This Country” tour, Twain stayed off the road – and largely out of the public eye – for more than a decade. She spent that time caring for her now-teen son, battling vocal issues (she needs to warm up for 90 minutes before every show) reshaping her personal life. (She divorced and remarried.)

When Twain took the stage again two years ago for a Vegas residency and then for this tour, fans met a renewed, and changed, Shania.

“It’s like a reunion of sorts,” Twain told reporters on a May conference call previewing the tour.

At the time, Twain said this tour would be her goodbye to the stage. She wanted to concentrate on creating, not performing.

“I could just do songwriting, and I would be happy,” she said. “I would be fulfilled.”

Twain revised her plans in August, though, telling a Las Vegas journalist that she wasn’t ready to leave the stage. After the first leg of her tour ends in her native Canada at the end of this month, she’s planning to work on her next album then take her show overseas and eventually back to Vegas.

One of the most telling moments of the Buffalo show came when Twain spoke openly about stepping away to be a mom. Along with the positives, she admitted, “I lost a lot of my confidence while I was on that break.”

Twain spoke at length about her hesitation to return to the stage, and her realization that she can still perform and have a balanced life.

Now wearing a sparkling white top and sitting on a stool with a guitar in hand, Twain asked the crowd to light their phones as she played one of her newer compositions, “Today Is Your Day.”

It’s an organic, slightly earthy tune with a poignant message. To borrow Twain’s words: You can have all your moments.

http://buffalo.com/2015/10/03/news/music/concert-reviews/twain-gives-crowd-moments-of-magic-in-first-niagara-center/

Tommy · Guru

Review: Shania Twain in top form for Buffalo show

By Thom Jennings | Niagara Gazette | October 5, 2015 10:30 am

Shania Twain returned to Buffalo for the first time in over a decade on what she has stated will be her final tour. The 50-year-old singer-songwriter’s self-imposed time away from touring has not diminished her ability to captivate, connect and entertain a crowd.

Even though it has been years since Twain has dominated the charts, her 19-song set was filled with fresh versions of classics from her back catalogue. That was due in no small part to the efforts of an amazing ensemble of musicians backing her. The seven-piece band packed a powerful punch when they needed to, and had the finesse to bring it down for ballads and acoustic numbers.

Visually, it was the perfect balance of pyro, complex backgrounds and fog. The visuals always added to the music and were never a distraction, giving the show the big production elements fans deserve while not compromising the quality of the performance.

Vocally, Twain sounded fantastic, managing to deliver great vocal performances while roaming through the arena, or being suspended above the crowd, appropriately enough during “Up!”

There were many highlights, including a well-received duet with opener Gavin Degraw, “Party for Two.” Twain smile lit up the arena as she and Degraw traded vocal lines, ending with the pair singing acapella.

Before launching into a three-song acoustic set, Twain thanked her fans and began talking about her reasons for taking time away from performing. When Twain noted that her mother passed away before she was able to witness Shania’s success as a musician. Her mother would definitely be proud, Twain has not only overcome a lot of adversity, she has done it with poise and class.

During “You're Still the One” the crowd joyously sang along with the chorus while Twain sat in a chair at the front of the stage by herself with just a guitar in her lap. When she appeared onstage for the next song, “From This Moment On,” the stage was filled with smoke in front of a backdrop of clouds below a brightly lit moon. It created an ethereal visual for Twain’s final ballad of the evening before finishing her set with a bang.

The main set ended with a powerful extended version of “ (If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!” Twain strutted around the stage, whipping the crowd into a massive frenzy before disappearing offstage before the evening’s encore.

When Twain reappeared onstage to perform her signature hit, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” the crowd roared, and she responded with a pyro filled and confetti laden rendition of the song that added an exclamation point to a stellar performance.

One can only hope that we have not heard or seen the last of Shania Twain. It’s hard to imagine she would be able to put together a full stage production of she does not tour. The fan reaction may reinvigorate her, and while she could easily continue to draw huge crowds without releasing new music, her fans would likely embrace a full album of new material.

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/night_and_day/review-shania-twain-in-top-form-for-buffalo-show/article_93ff3f68-6b6d-11e5-a0c5-231ca20b992d.html

Tommy · Guru

Shania's concerts in Manchester, NH tonight and Albany, NY tomorrow night have been CANCELLED...

Shania Twain’s Rock This Country tour dates at the Verizon Wireless Arena on October 6th in Manchester, NH and the Times Union Center on October 7th in Albany, NY have been cancelled due to illness. Shania Twain’s doctors have advised her to rest for several days after she was diagnosed with a respiratory infection.

The concert dates are unable to be rescheduled due to Shania Twain’s current touring schedule. All tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. Shania Twain apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause her fans and greatly appreciates their understanding.

The tour will resume on October 9th at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.

4:12 PM ET - 6 Oct 15

http://www.facebook.com/ShaniaTwain

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain Forced to Cancel Several Tour Dates Due to Respiratory Infection

By Lily Harrison | E! Online | October 6, 2015 5:43 PM ET

Shania Twain's Rock This Country tour has come to a screeching halt this week.

The country superstar has had to pull the plug on two upcoming concert dates after doctors diagnosed her with having a respiratory infection.

According to a message posted on her Facebook earlier today, the dates at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Oct. 6 in Manchester and the Times Union Center show the following day in Albany have both been cancelled.

"The concert dates are unable to be rescheduled due to Shania Twain's current touring schedule. All tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. Shania Twain apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause her fans and greatly appreciates their understanding."

The post also explains how medical professionals advised Twain to take a few days of time off to rest from her infection.

As of now, the Rock This Country tour is slated to kick right back on up on Oct. 9 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.

Earlier this year, after announcing her 48-city tour, the singer opened up about why this string of concerts will be extra special for her.

"I'm finally, after 11 years, I'm going back on tour," she shared on Good Morning America. "It's been a long time, 11 years. Finally going back on the road. This is a very, very important time in my life on the road. This is going to be a big, big tour for me because it's going to be my last. This is my last tour. I'm going to make the most of it, let's put it that way."

Get well, Shania!

http://www.eonline.com/news/703712/shania-twain-forced-to-cancel-several-tour-dates-due-to-respiratory-infection

Tommy · Guru

Wes Mack @WesMackMusic

Just over a week till we leave on tour again... | Couple headlining shows in Alberta and then a handful more with the one and only @ShaniaTwain | #RockThisCountry

8:37 PM ET - 6 Oct 15

http://twitter.com/WesMackMusic

This confirms Gavin DeGraw's final concert is Oct. 11 in Toronto. Then Wes Mack will open for Shania again during the final 7 concerts of the tour in Western Canada Oct. 18-27.

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain Cancels Final Two U.S. Shows for Respiratory Infection

Country legend's Rock This Country Tour takes a hit while singer recovers

By Andrew Leahey | Rolling Stone | October 7, 2015

An upper respiratory infection has temporarily sidelined Shania Twain, whose Rock This Country Tour takes a serious hit this week. With just 10 shows left to go on the tour's 2015 leg, Twain has been forced to pull the plug on two gigs while she recovers. On the chopping block are last night's concert in Manchester, New Hampshire, which was canceled several hours before showtime, as well as tonight's show in Albany, New York. The shows were the final two concerts scheduled for the United States and won't be rescheduled.

"Shania Twain's doctors have advised her to rest for several days after she was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. The concert dates are unable to be rescheduled due to Shania Twain's current touring schedule," reads a post on the singer's Facebook page, followed by nearly 700 comments expressing everything from sympathy to outrage.

Twain has played more than 60 shows since kicking off her farewell tour in June. The concerts have been demanding, filled with costume changes, pyrotechnics, aerial tricks and a 19-song setlist. A 2016 trek across Europe is reportedly in the works, as is a new album, which will be her first studio release since Up! in 2002. Although Twain, 50, has expressed interest in launching another residency in Las Vegas, the Rock This Country Tour will reportedly be her last time taking her show across the world.

Pending her recovery, Twain's tour resumes on Friday, October 9th, in Quebec City. All remaining dates are in Twain's native Canada, however, with the final show set for Kelowna, British Columbia, on October 27th.

"I feel like there are so many other things to do musically, and there is just not enough time to do everything," Twain told Rolling Stone Country in June, explaining her reasons to stop touring. "I want to write more music. I'd like to spend a lot more time doing that. I'd like to make more records. I want to write for other people. I'd like to write more books. I've got a teenage son. I've just got a whole decade in front of me that is full already, before it even gets started."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/shania-twain-cancels-final-two-u-s-shows-for-respiratory-infection-20151007

Tommy · Guru

Tonto wrote:
Hi,
Saw this today on the MSN homepage. www.bing.com/search
Some of the links say her respiratory infection is severe.
Haven't heard anything about whether she will cancel anymore dates. I hope she gets better soon.

Warmest regards as always,
Tonto

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain @ShaniaTwain

Back in Canada! #RockThisCountry

5:27 PM ET - 9 Oct 15

http://twitter.com/ShaniaTwain

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain on fire

Successes per tonne and the presence surprise Corey Hart turned the reunion Shania Twain with the public in Quebec an unforgettable evening for the 13,000 fans who filled the Videotron Centre Friday night.

By Cédric Bélanger | The Quebec Journal | October 9, 2015 11:20 p.m.

Despite the 11 years since her last visit to Pepsi Coliseum, Shania Twain was not forgotten Quebecers, who offered her a welcome worthy of a star.

And she was like, Shania, with its shimmering jersey Rolling Stones. The respiratory infection forced her to cancel two concerts earlier this week, seemed ancient history.

In fact, to see traverse the vast stage and down through its seven musicians, flame jets and lasers, we struggled to believe that Rock This Country tour will be her last, as the singer, who is now 50, announced earlier this year.

She even paid a pit tour of what might be called a "Shaniamobile".

Duet with Corey Hart

Begun in country mode with Honey, I'm Home and Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?, The concert really took off when Twain was immersed in her pop-rock repertoire. Do not Be Stupid (You Know I Love You ) and I'm Gonna Getcha Good did fly, but not as an unexpected visit from Corey Hart, for the duet of Party for Two.

"She has a heart, it is a real thing," was praised afterwards Hart, before asking the crowd to sing an excerpt from For a moment, Harmonium, the queen of the evening.

The Montreal singer returned later to the delight of the crowd to sing You're Still the One, in acoustic version. "We never did this together", launched Twain.

The singer spoke in French to the public throughout the evening, a nice touch, which resulted in some funny exchanges with fans.

"Quebec is the most beautiful city. You are really lucky, "Shania said in part, specifying taking in a meal at Panache Thursday night.

Brilliant Finale

But gossip truce, we were there to hear the inevitable. Except Come On Over, evacuated although it appeared the program, they were all there. And classical were served for dessert.

From This Moment On, first, then doubled explosive That Do not Impress Me Much and (If You're Not in it For Love) I'm Outta Here.

Revenue on stage in a sexy costume recalling the sex symbol she was, Shania Twain concert concluded nearly two hours with shine on Man! I Feel Like a Woman!. While confetti invaded the Videotron Centre.

A standing ovation for DeGraw

Gavin DeGraw has worked hard to win the first game crowd. Faced with a public unreceptive to his muscular pop rock, DeGraw has taken the lead in going out to meet the audience.

He completed at least half of the amphitheater singing and distributing high five. It has even been found in the mobile Videotron area at the top of the lower passageway.

His getaway set fire to the pit. The ovation that greeted the end of his performance could not have been more deserved.

http://www.journaldequebec.com/2015/10/09/shania-twain-en-feu

Tommy · Guru

Tommy wrote:
Shania Twain @ShaniaTwain
Exclusive tour merchandise for your city! ONLY available for a limited time. http://teespring.com/ShaniaTwainID
12:45 PM ET - 15 Sep 15
http://twitter.com/ShaniaTwain
The link above is for Boise, Idaho only. Keep checking back for your city's custom tour merchandise. Other links will be up the day of the concert.

I'm not sure what happened with this promotion. I haven't seen any other t-shirts since Boise, Idaho. But here is a t-shirt offer for Toronto on October 11. https://teespring.com/ShaniaTwainTor

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain gives Toronto fans a night to remember

By Jason MacNeil | Toronto Sun | October 12, 2015 10:46 AM EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays finally took the advice Shania Twain might have offered them last week, namely make sure you put together a string of big hits and things will fall into place.

For over 100 minutes Sunday night at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, Twain — making the third visit to the venue in just four months with her Rock This Country tour — brought ample chart-topping hits. From the opening Rock This Country, Twain quickly got off her pedestal (literally) before hopping around to the delight of the boisterous crowd.

After a highly successful Las Vegas residency, Twain has spent this year once again taking her hits on the road after a decade-plus absence. Unlike previous tours, where she routinely signed autographs and worked the fans while singing, Twain was generally content to spend most of the time onstage during the country pop of Honey, I'm Home and the rowdier You Win My Love.

Twain also brought up Jane, a young fan from Sudbury, to sing a duet of You're Still The One. “That was beautiful,” Twain said before a hug and posing for a selfie. She would later do the song seated with the crowd belting out the pretty ballad.

The first true highlight was the generational-spanning singalong during the country-soaked Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? Here Twain paced the large (and largely bare) stage while her supporting cast fleshed out the hit. “Toronto!” she shouted just before wrapping up the tune.

Fans gave Twain, who just turned 50, a lengthy ovation prior to the swinging I Ain't No Quitter. “I don't want this moment to end, this is so surreal,” she said, adding she was “relishing every minute.”

When she opted for the up-tempo tracks, she shone on the fun, bouncy combination of Love Gets Me Every Time and the lovable Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) which featured a trio of fiddlers as Twain let some fans take the lead vocal. Meanwhile Party For Two, the duet she did with opening act Gavin DeGraw, surprisingly shined. Twain also gave a heartfelt thank you to DeGraw who was playing his final show as her opener.

The Timmins, Ont.-native — who spent some of her Thanksgiving weekend in Picton — seemed to battle her way through the pyro-heavy I'm Gonna Getcha Good! Yet she upped the ante on Up! Twain got on a large mechanical arm that did a full circle.

An acoustic rendition of No One Needs To Know hit all the right notes. But even that paled in comparison to the theatrical presentation Twain gave From This Moment On despite the overdose of dry ice.

Twain left three of her crowd-pleasing favourites for last with That Don't Impress Me Much and (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here! Both of them had their desired effect before Twain returned with Man! I Feel Like A Woman!.

SETLIST

Rock This Country!

Honey, I'm Home

You Win My Love

Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?

I Ain't No Quitter

Love Gets Me Every Time

Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)

Any Man Of Mine

I'm Gonna Getcha Good!

Party For Two

Up!

Today Is The Day

No One Needs To Know

You're Still The One

From This Moment On

That Don't Impress Me Much

(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!

Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/10/12/shania-twain-gives-toronto-fans-a-night-to-remember

Tommy · Guru

***Shania is now taking a short break until Sunday, October 18 when she will begin to wrap up the final 7 concerts of her "Rock This Country" tour in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

----------------------------------

Oct 18 & Oct 19 - Regina, SK; Brandt Centre

Oct 21 - Grande Prairie, AB; Revolution Place

Oct 22 - Prince George, BC; CN Centre

Oct 24 & Oct 25 - Victoria, BC; Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre

Oct 27 - Kelowna, BC; Prospera Place

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain draws more fans than Madonna in Quebec City

The queen of country had the better of the queen of pop. Shania Twain drew more spectators than Madonna in the Videotron Centre.

By Cédric Bélanger | The Quebec Journal | October 14, 2015 2:17 p.m.

According to figures released by Billboard on Wednesday, the Canadian singer sang before a crowd of 13,284 people on Friday night during the stopover in Quebec City of her Rock This Country tour. It is exactly 233 fans more than the 13,051 who came to applaud Madonna when her Rebel Heart tour stopped in Quebec on September 21.

In fact, revenues from Shania Twain's concert ($1,288,990) outperformed those of Madonna ($1,078,608).

Shania Twain's Quebec City concert was one of the top ten crowds during the sixty-five concerts of the tour presented so far in North America. The tour ends October 27 in Kelowna.

In Quebec City, the country pop star enjoyed many fans asking Corey Hart to sing with her on stage during the evening.

http://www.journaldequebec.com/2015/10/14/shania-twain-attire-plus-de-fans-que-madonna

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain delivers with glitz and glamour

By Jeff DeDekker | The Regina Leader-Post | October 19, 2015. 8:42 AM

REGINA - When it comes to her live show, Shania Twain lives by a simple tenet — go big or go home.

Reginans got a first hand look at that basic principle Sunday night when Twain brought her Rock This Country tour to the Brandt Centre for the first of two shows.

There was nothing subtle about the show as Twain used most every known production trick to deliver her catalogue of country pop hits. Her massive stage included two enormous vertical video screens and numerous platforms for her band that were moved around the stage but also fit together like pieces of a puzzle to create a large single platform.

With an array of lights, lasers, pyrotechnics and dry ice fog, the show literally had everything necessary to present the music in a mind-boggling spectacle. Most impressive were the pyrotechnics. Not only did the production release the flames from eight outlets across the stage, the fire came in multiple forms — big plumes to four thin lines to two thin lines crossing each other.

The evening had an interesting beginning for Twain. With Joan Jett’s I Love Rock And Roll blasting from the speakers, the production segued with the curtain rising with a good dose of fog, bright lights and video to bring Twain to the stage. Rising from underneath centre stage on an elevator platform, which lifted her 20 feet above the stage, Twain opened with Rock This Country!

Visually stunning, the opening hit a bump in the road with some sound issues. Twain’s vocals were muddled, the band was too loud and there were some reverb problems in the mix. But by mid-song the technicians solved the problem and it was clear sailing from there for Twain.

Twain spoke with the audience often, hitting on a number of different topics, including a connection with Regina.

“I’m going to share a personal note with you — my middle name is Regina. I’m serious,” said Twain, who was born Eileen Regina Edwards. “Not everybody would want Regina as a middle name but I wear it proudly.”

Twain, who turned 50 on Aug. 28, also touched briefly on her return to touring.

“It took a long time for me to get back on to the stage, it was 10 years and I’m so glad to be back,” she said.

Once the technical problems were solved, Twain took control of the crowd. She was only three songs into her 100-minute, 18-song set when she had everyone in the floor seating area up on their feet.

After Honey I’m Home and You Win My Love, Twain unveiled the first surprise of the night when she dug deep into her catalogue for Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? Her first country hit, the song has stood the test of time since it’s release in 1995. It’s a fun, rocking tune that sounds as good today as the day Twain released it.

And while the set was full of hits that her fans were expecting to hear, songs like Love Gets Me Every Time, Any Man Of Man and Up!, Twain managed to slip a relatively unknown song into the mix.

“This is a song that I’ve never done on tour before,” said Twain. “It’s a little sexy song called I Ain’t No Quitter.”

Twain was active throughout the show, whether it was moving around the stage or hustling her way offstage for one of many outfit changes. She even joined the fans during Any Man Of Man, climbing into a small stage with wheels that was pushed around the outside of the floor seating area. It’s was interesting to see the reactions Twain got from just slapping someone’s hand as she went by.

But the show wasn’t entirely about the bigger the better — at one point she gathered her seven-member band, including Moose Jaw native Cory Churko, at centre stage for stripped down versions of Today Is The Day and No One Needs To Know. While this portion of the set did slow the pace somewhat, it was impressive to see what Twain could deliver without all the bells and whistles.

Wes Mack, who opened with an entertaining 25-minute set, returned to the stage for Party For Two, stepping into the shoes of Mark McGrath and Billy Currington who recorded the pop and country versions of the song, respectively, with Twain.

One final highlight of the set was the presentation of From This Moment On. The mood for the ballad was perfect, with a river of fog cascading to the front of the stage with Twain out front on a circular revolving stage, basked in white lights. With one final outfit change, Twain brought the night to an end with a rousing version of Man! I Feel Like A Woman! that had the near capacity crowd on it feet and screaming for more.

Set List

1. Rock This Country!

2. Honey, I’m Home

3. You Win My Love

4. Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?

5. I Ain’t No Quitter

6. Love Gets Me Every Time

7. Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)

8. Any Man Of Mine

9. I’m Gonna Getcha Good!

10. Party For Two

11. Up!

12. Today Is Your Day

13. No One Needs To Know

14. You’re Still The One

15. From This Moment On

16. That Don’t Impress Me Much

17. (If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here!

Encore

18. Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

http://www.leaderpost.com/dedekker+shania+twain+delivers+with+glitz+glamour/11448480/story.html

Whosboots · Newbie

What's up with the short catwalk for the last bit of the tour?

Tommy · Guru

Whosboots wrote:
What's up with the short catwalk for the last bit of the tour?

Probably because the arenas are pretty small. The Brandt Centre in Regina only holds 6,000 people. It doesn't even have an upper level/bowl. Revolution Place in Grande Prairie, Alberta on Wednesday only holds 3,200 people!

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain Rocks Out, Rolls On

By Steve Harvey | Prosound Network | October 19, 2015

LOS ANGELES, CA—Shania Twain’s Rock This Country Tour, which launched in Seattle on June 5, was intended to be the Canadian country-pop singer’s last hurrah. But just days after PSN visited the production at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, Twain revealed that she was extending her North America-only farewell jaunt to Europe and possibly beyond, and hopes to return to her Las Vegas residency soon.

Twain’s Shania: Still the One two-year run at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which ended in December, 2014, influenced some of the technical decisions on this latest production, which has audio provided by VER Tour Sound and is her first since the 2003/2004 Up! Tour. For instance, front-of-house engineer Nigel Green brought the same desk that he’d been using at Caesars Palace—an Avid D-Show with a sidecar—out on the road.

“It didn’t seem to make sense to change everything that was already programmed. There were new songs, but not all of it was new, so we stayed with the Avid,” he says.

Green is using the timecode that runs the show’s complex lighting and video production to automate various aspects of his audio mix. “I try to use it just to bring general scenes up,” he says, “but I program certain things: If something has to come up for a solo, I have those pre-programmed. All the original programming, whether something is compressed or EQ’d a certain way, was done in rehearsals. [Those channels] then go to the VCAs and I manually ride those, because it sounds different in every building. But it’s handy to have the timecode to switch the stuff so that I don’t have to think about it.”

Green has mixed Twain’s tours and broadcast specials since the beginning, and has also mixed Bruce Springsteen live. As he notes, in the studio, an engineer might spend hours programming faders. “It’s about trying to enhance the music, and I try to do that live. In an arena, to get the clarity, you really have to over-exaggerate some of the moves—I do, anyway.”

Unlike Green, monitor engineer Connie Fernstrom changed out his console for the tour. “When we were in Vegas, I had a [Yamaha PM]1D,” he reports. “This is my first tour with the [DiGiCo] SD5. It’s a really nice desk; I’m very pleased. It sounds great.” With such a complex show, Fernstrom is generating 30 sends to feed production personnel such as the pyro specialists as well as the musicians, all of whom are on in-ears.

The way that system engineer and crew chief Kennith “Kenny” Sellars has configured the P.A. to handle the time that Twain spends in front of the speakers also enhances Green’s mixing capabilities. “A saddle comes up out of the center of the thrust and brings her right out in front of the P.A., around and back in front of that P.A. [indicating the opposite hang], back to the middle and down,” explains Sellars. “Most people would send me left, right, sub and fill. Instead, I got Nigel to send me left, right, sub and vocal. There’s no vocal in the left/right buss.”

Twain continues to favor a wireless Sennheiser MD5235 vocal mic, custom finished in red, which she has used for years. Background vocals by her six-man, one-woman band are via DPA 4088F headsets.

The speaker system is all Meyer Sound. Each main left and right hang comprises 14 Leo boxes with four Lyon W cabinets—the 100-degree wide version—below. “Normally, the side hang—we’re only doing two of the three hangs today—has eight Leos with six Lyon Ns,” the 80-degree narrow version. “The rear hang, which is my side hang here, is 12 Lyon Wides,” he adds. The system is completed by Meyer 1100-LFC subs, typically including four per side flown in a cardioid configuration.

“The P.A. is broken out so that I have individual control of every box,” says Sellars. “I can take her vocal and turn it up and down per box as needed when she’s in front of it. Part of my night is spent chasing her around. I have her in the left bottom boxes, the right bottom boxes, left front fills and right front fills, on big faders.”

Such granular control is afforded through a dozen Meyer Sound Calisto DSP units. Sellars explains, “There are two master Calistos, AES in and out. One of them gets the left/right and the other gets sub/vocal, and there’s an output for each array. I have 10 non-AES Calistos, and two spares. They spit out analog to the boxes individually. Every slave Calisto gets left, right, sub and vocal, so that if I need to plug something else into a different one, I can. I don’t have to figure out cabling—everything goes everywhere.”

Sellars has also set up a Waves C3 multiband compressor plug-in on the D-Show for Green. “When she sings, it carves out the midrange, 800 to 2k, of the left and right mix,” explains Sellars, “so her vocal sits on top. She’s hot and loud and clear, and the band fills in around her.”

“I try to get the beginnings of songs loud and punchy, but I know I can’t keep it there because it will be too loud,” comments Green. “The drums will come in loud on a song and as soon as she comes in, I bring the general buss of the whole band down. The audience focuses on the voice and doesn’t even notice that the band has come down.”

Plus, he notes, “Having the stereo buss separate from the vocal means that I can EQ things and not worry. Say I wanted a bit more top in the mix; if the vocal was going there, it would change the sound of the mic, but the mic is going through its own processing.”

Unlike a record, a live mix is ephemeral, as Green notes: “The thing about the music is that it’s so well-arranged. So now it’s just about trying to deliver it. What I try and do is enhance the hooks and push those things up. People buy tickets, have a good time and that’s it; it’s gone. They’re not going to listen to it again.”

VER Tour Sound
Verrents.com

Meyer Sound Labs
Meyersound.com

Avid
Avid.com

http://www.prosoundnetwork.com/article/shania-twain-rocks-out-rolls-on/20067

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain @ShaniaTwain

Back at the @BrandtCentre tonight! Who's coming? #RockThisCountry

6:54 PM ET - 19 Oct 15

http://twitter.com/ShaniaTwain

Tommy · Guru

Wes Mack @WesMackMusic

One last @shaniatwain show means one last set of hidden tickets. Time to play #WheresWes | I've hidden the envelope here Prince George. Look inside for details.... Go go go!!!!

9:42 PM ET - 22 Oct 15

http://twitter.com/WesMackMusic

***It looks like tonight's concert in Prince George, BC, Canada is Wes Mack's final concert opening for Shania. No word on who, if anyone, will be opening the last 3 concerts of the tour. 2 in Victoria, BC, Canada on Saturday & Sunday and 1 in Kelowna, BC, Canada on Tuesday.

matteotempo · Guru

So, does it mean no more Party For Two then? Maybe she'll sing it with Cory...

Tommy · Guru

matteotempo wrote:
So, does it mean no more Party For Two then? Maybe she'll sing it with Cory...

I was wondering about "Party For Two" too.

Tommy · Guru

Wes Mack @WesMackMusic

Prince George!!! Thx for bringing the party for our last show with @ShaniaTwain | #RockThisCountry | Heading home...

5:24 PM ET - 23 Oct 15

http://twitter.com/WesMackMusic

Tommy · Guru

Authentic Shania Twain erupted CN Centre

By Frank Pebbles | Prince George Citizen | October 23, 2015 9:59 PM

The queen of country hit the CN Centre stage Thursday in a thunder of drums and flash of pyrotechnics. Was this Lee Aaron making a triumphant comeback, or the little giant from Timmins who became the most successful female country artist in the history of the world?

Shania Twain was criticized heavily in her early breakout days during the early/mid-1990s for being more rock 'n' roll than country, but it all felt perfect in the concert setting.

It always was unfair criticism anyway. Twain has never shirked her country duties. Steel guitar, blue-collar lyric themes, and fiddles were never hidden in her mixes - not on the megaselling albums and not in concert. In fact there were even moments of triple-fiddle on Thursday night.

Since Twain had never been to Prince George before, this was a debut experience for many of her legions of fans. Those who've followed her the breadth of her career know that performing live was thought to be a scandalous weakness - that she didn't have the vocal chops to do the big shows. Well, Prince George, how did that sound to you? Did she pull it off?

Hell yes.

No, she did not land every single note right on the pitch mark but she was constantly moving (partially to be out of the way of the pillars of fire and jets of flame that spurted frequently from the floor of the stage) and engaging with the audience. She sometimes lacked the full power you might have memorized from the album tracks. She sometimes changed up the timing of the lyrical delivery just a little, or let the vowel sounds turn soft when all you've ever heard was the hard version on the stereo. What these live moments did, though, was prove just how "live" she was, without the help of auto-tuning or lip-synching to backtracks. We were getting an authentic show, and when those money notes were called for, they rose and soared above the thousands of fans and throngs of critics who have by now melted away into irrelevant history.

The fans also got a truckload of visual experiences. There was probably more fire at the Jason Aldean concert a couple weeks ago, but you could feel Shania's heat in the cheap seats (not that there were any of those - yikes, I think some fans had to auction vital organs to afford this one). She also had trap doors in the stage, elevators, huge screens showing multimedia effects, multiple costume changes into clothes so bedazzled they could distract the Hubble Telescope, two giant animated fire cats you couldn't stop staring at, and a wild pile of Shania personality.

She certainly isn't afraid of people, despite the standoffish tabloid reports. She was back-slapping and high-fiving all over the room, chatting frequently between songs. She sang Happy Birthday to 11-year-old Samantha. She even went for a wander through the crowd, but sadly had to do so in a plexiglass cart that covered her legs and waist. You best believe she didn't come up with that idea because all the fans in past crowds maintained their respect for her personal space, yet, out she went for a quick visit on the floor.

The chatter in the seats around me eventually got to speculation on the encore. What was she saving for the finale? So much hit material got jammed into the night, we all lost track. So when the time came, and the drums thundered again, and the guitars screamed, and the fire erupted, my eyes popped as Twain reappeared, this time wearing a chrome breastplate and the screens emblazoned with stylized steel letters - ST. The song was Man I Feel Like A Woman, but the spirit was all Lee Aaron, and I did, I did feel like a woman for that five minute hurricane. And then it was over. Everyone was spent, smiling and satisfied that whatever the style or whatever the history, pixieish Shania Twain was as big as a mountain, wild as a storm, and mesmerizing as a forest fire.

What's not country about all that?

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/entertainment/local-a-e/authentic-shania-twain-erupted-cn-centre-1.2094489

Tommy · Guru

Bastian Baker & The Band from Lausanne, Switzerland opened tonight in Victoria, BC, Canada. Bastian sang "Party For Two" with Shania.

Website: http://www.bastianbaker.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BastianBakerTheBand

Tommy · Guru

Review: Shania Twain reigns in action-packed, 2-hour Victoria show

By Mike Devlin | Victoria Times Colonist | October 24, 2015 10:40 PM

REVIEW

Shania Twain

When: Saturday

Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre

Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

In a word, wow.

That’s the quickest way to describe the spectacle that was Shania Twain’s concert on Saturday, her first appearance in Victoria and a concert that must be considered among the most vibrant and lavish ever to take place inside the Blanshard Street arena.

The expectation going in was that Twain would bring her considerable coterie of hits and a stage show to match, which she did. But the scope and size of the production she brought to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Saturday night was unexpected.

The crowd came ready to party. Even Twain appeared a bit surprised at the rapturous reception she received from the sold-out audience of 5,714. “I want to thank you for such a warm welcome,” she said. “This is so great. I just want to stand here and look at you a little bit.”

She hardly stood there — but she did take photos with fans, and sign autographs for those upfront. “I’m a mother, I can do 10 things at once,” she quipped.

During her hit, Any Man of Mine, Twain travelled the length of the floor on a makeshift cart, escorted all the while by her security. The Twainiacs would have mobbed her, had they been given the chance. She was like a queen enjoying her reign on this night, and the star of the night played the role with the right rhythm.

She never came across as entitled. Rather, Twain seemed to genuinely enjoy her time on stage, and gave what appeared to be her all during an action-packed two-hour, 18-song show.

She played Thursday in Prince George, but there was no dip in energy two nights later. Backed by a great sounding seven-piece band who gave her a few minutes to breathe backstage, Twain — sporting a bedazzled Rolling Stones shirt early on — never stopped. Nor did the hits.

Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?, I’m Gonna Getcha Good!, Up!, You’re Still the One, From This Moment On, Man! I Feel Like a Woman! and That Don’t Impress Me Much were highlights across the board, thanks to the way in which they were delivered — with ultimate energy.

On occasion, she blew a tire or two. I Ain’t No Quitter, for all its twang, didn’t work, while acoustic renditions of Today Is Your Day and No One Needs To Know — though sung with passion from Twain — halted the momentum somewhat. But those were minor flaws. But if spunk counts for anything in the concert world, Twain was pretty much perfect.

She opened the show with Joan Jett’s I Love Rock n Roll (the original, not a cover) followed by a video onstage of a glammed-up Twain in all her double video-screen glory. By the end of the first song, Rock This Country!, during which she rode an elevator platform to the lighting rig above the stage, while surrounded by blasts of pyrotechnics, all over-the-top accoutrements were accounted for. Throw in a few costume changes, and this Vegas veteran turned in an all-star performance.

On the whole, her voice is a little huskier than it was, but Twain is in fine shape as she heads toward the final concerts of her career. She will retire before 2016 is off the books, so the second of two Victoria shows (tonight at the arena) is a must-see.

Country fan or not, you owe it to yourself to see Twain before she’s done.

http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/review-shania-twain-reigns-in-action-packed-2-hour-victoria-show-1.2094940

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain Rocks Victoria at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre

By JZ | Victoria Buzz | October 25, 2015

On Saturday night, Shania Twain treated audiences to her first ever Victoria concert, and her second-to-last performance in our town, as she retires from the touring circuit. The overwhelmingly female audience was comprised of all ages. There were plenty of moms and their teenage daughters decked out in country attire, ready to dance the night away!

The singer’s ROCK THIS COUNTRY TOUR began in Seattle in June of this year and has seen her perform throughout North America. It’s Shania’s first tour in 11 years, and as she told audiences tonight, this took some courage. Although this is a farewell tour, the 50 year old artist says she will continue to make music for the rest of her life.

The night opened with a video sequence of Shania on two large screens and audiences went wild as she emerged from the floor, opening with “Rock this Country!” There were no dancers in the act, however there was plenty of dancing in the audience especially with numbers like “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” “(If You’re Not in it for Love) I’m Outta Here!”

Early on in the show, the singer took time out to sign items from fans joking, “I can do ten things at once!” After “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” several fans (48 year old Wendy, a 41 year old woman, and several others) told Shania it was their birthday. Not to leave anybody out, the star said she would sing what she called, “a general birthday” adding, “this is for all you birthday girls!!” The sexy breathy number concluded with “Happy Birthday dear beauties!” Shania engaged with the entire crowd, yet the overall feeling was one of a girlfriend reunion – as if she knew each one of us.

Settling into a slower pace, with an acoustic, “Today is Your Day” Shania spoke of her dream of working with David Foster and that this song allowed that to come about. It was the first song produced by someone other than her ex-husband, and was the culmination of a painful time in her life. The song is a symbol of hope and she dedicated it to the audience for, “anyone trying to get over a hurdle.”

The atmosphere for the entire show was electric, with dazzling light displays and pyrotechnics during several songs. Shania worked the crowd and moved across the floor without missing a beat, her voice as powerful and melodic as ever. The audience joined her in a “warm up” for “You’re Still the One” before all – the singer and her fans – joined together in a building moving chorus.

The explosive encore of “Man! I feel Like a Woman!” had the audience jumping, leaving no doubt they were in the presence of a star.

Due to the overwhelming demand, Shania Twain’s ROCK THIS COUNTRY tour is playing back to back shows in Victoria, with a second and final performance tonight, Sunday, October 25. This will be the last time she will play in Victoria, and if last night is anything to go by, the evening will be one to remember.

http://www.victoriabuzz.com/shania-twain-rocks-victoria-at-save-on-foods-memorial-centre/

Tommy · Guru

Shania Twain delivers amazing performance in Victoria

By Mikayla Russell | Nexus newspaper | October 26, 2015

Being a Shania Twain fan since I was a little kid, I was very excited for her recent concert at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and had high expectations for the whole night. My expectations were definitely met.

The opening act was Bastian Baker. Although the beginning of his set wasn’t as high energy as the middle and end were, the tunes were easy to listen to, with catchy lyrics. But when Twain came on, that’s when the fun started.

From the moment she came on stage, it was obvious Twain was having fun; her personality really came through. This tour, which is set to be her last, was all about her greatest hits; Twain fans delighted in loudly singing their old favorites along with her.

What really added to the vocals and instruments were the lights and pyrotechnics; “I’m Gonna Getcha Good” was full of flames shooting out of the stage heating up the night (literally). Even though during some parts of the costume changes the audience was kept entertained by fabulous violin or guitar solos, there were some moments where it was just darkness, which took away some of the night’s energy.

One thing, besides the amazing singing, that impressed me was the way Twain connected with the fans throughout the show. She talked with the audience, signed a couple T-shirts, and, when she found out two audience members had birthdays that day, sang “Happy Birthday.”

This show was, in a word, amazing. Twain is set to retire from the touring life soon; seeing her live is easily worth a road trip before it’s too late.

http://www.nexusnewspaper.com/2015/10/26/shania-twain-delivers-amazing-performance-in-victoria

Tommy · Guru

Shania Performs Final "Rock This Country" Concert Tonight!

Shania wraps up her 74-date North American "Rock This Country" tonight in Kelowna, BC, Canada! Beginning back on June 5 in Seattle, Shania has rocked sold-out arenas from coast to coast giving U.S. and Canadian fans memories to last a lifetime. Shania said this is her farewell tour, but she is expected to announce an European leg in 2016. It has been an amazing few years for Shania between her Las Vegas show and "Rock This Country" tour. What will next year bring? A new album? A tour overseas? A return to Vegas? Shania fans will just have to wait and see!

Tommy · Guru

Shania rocks the house in Kelowna!

By Barry Gerding | Kelowna Capital News | October 27, 2015 at 11:00 PM

Shania Twain pulled out all the stops in putting a signature closing to her music live performance career before a sold-out crowd at Prospera Place on Tuesday night.

Twain has been on tour for the past six months after closing out her nightly show in Las Vegas, a tour that came to a conclusion with venue stops in Victoria and Vancouver before arriving in the Okanagan.

From the multiple costume changes with an apparent liking for knee high high-heeled boots to the seven-piece backup band, punctuated by four guitar players, and a light laser show bolstered by the occasion pyrotechnic blasts, Twain reeled off her many hits throughout the show, the only recent offering being a ballad that was produced by David Foster.

Otherwise, despite being off stage for nearly a decade after going through an ugly divorce from her husband and music collaborator Mutt Lange followed by a fear she had to overcome of getting back up on stage, Twain was feelling both celebratory and also a bit melancholy at times as she interacted with the audience about this being her final show.

She thanked her band and the road crew, all 105 of them, for their support during the tour across North America the past six months, a musical army that consisted of 15 semi-trucks, 11 buses and transporting 600 tonnes of stage equipment.

"That is a sh*tload of stuff, " she said.

Twain was generous in pouring through her musical catologue for the show, singing hit after hit including I'm Gonna Getcha Good!, Up!, Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You), (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!, Any Man Of Mine and Party For Two (which she performed with her opening act Bastian Baker).

Sitting along on stage with a guitar, she gave a poignant rendition of Looks Like We Made It with a generous supply of audience participation, a song that seems a little more emotional than originally intended when the song was first recorded since it was written with her former husband.

She closed out the style in a predictable Las Vegas brash fashion with From This Moment On, No One Needs To Know and That Don't Impress Me Much, and coming back for an encore, singing Man! I Feel Like A Woman!.

If this is truly the end for Twain's time on stage, she leaves behind a musical legacy unmatched by few performers in country or pop music, as she reminded her Okanagan fans at Prospera Place on Tuesday.

http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/337841241.html

Tommy · Guru

Kelowna crowd up for Shania

By Staff | Kelowna Daily Courier | October 27, 2015 10:10 pm

The Queen of Country Pop blew fans away with the final show of her farewell tour in Kelowna Tuesday night.

Rock This Country, Shania Twain’s first tour in more than a decade, was also her last, she has said.

Anticipation for the tour was evident in Kelowna, with Tuesday night’s concert selling out in under five minutes.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Twain said she initially thought her two-year residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas would be her final performance.

“It was such a challenge getting back up on stage, getting my voice in order, getting my confidence back up. The whole mountain was pretty high,” said Twain. “(But) I felt it was a strange way to finish my performance career, not being able to get around to the people.”

Twain has no more shows booked for this year, although a European leg is expected to be announced in 2016.

Twain cancelled two tour dates in the United States because of a respiratory infection earlier in October.

The tour resumed Oct. 9 in Quebec City. Before coming to Kelowna, Twain played two shows in Victoria over the weekend.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/entertainment/article_72cefb72-7d32-11e5-b1a6-cf03bb0b3a9e.html

Tommy · Guru

Fitting Finale for Canada's Country Femme Fatale

By Miles Overn | eiKelowna.com | October 28, 2015

Canadian Country Mega Star Shania Twain wound up her Rock This Country tour, which is to be her last, here in Kelowna at Prospera Place last night with a jaw dropping, heart pounding, boot stomping tour-de-force performance. It truly was everything that you would hope any great artist’s last concert would be.

Shania made what could only be described as a grand entrance. Short video clips of her on giant screens, with band members silhouetted on raised platforms in the foreground. Lasers and spotlights moving constantly across the stage and out into the audience. Flames shooting high into the sky. The band cranking out Rock This Country at full volume. And out of the middle of all this Shania Twain rises up through the floor of the stage and then continues her ascension some 50 or so feet up into what may as well have been the heavens.

Red sunglasses, red microphone, red lipstick, sequined outfit with huge red Rolling Stones logo. Black thigh high leather boots and a leather jacket. And that trademark Shania Twain smile. Everyone was on their feet and every set of eyes were on the Queen of Country Pop. Twain and her band deftly made their way through many of her biggest hits, launching into Honey I’m Home, You Win My Love, Who’s Bed Have Your Boots Been Under, Any Man of Mine, and so many others. All these and more were played with the precision of a Swiss watch and the power of an American locomotive engine, providing the perfect platform for this Canadian girl from Windsor to wind up a brilliant career by belting out the songs that together with her energy and ability to entertain catapulted her to the very top of the upper echelon of country pop music super stars.

After keeping the entire audience on their feet for a little over an hour with up tempo tunes, Twain and her band brought it down to a seated and mostly acoustic set which included Today Is Your Day, No-one Needs To Know, and You’re Still The One. The Prospera Place concert bowl was awash in smartphone flashlight apps gently swaying back and forth through most of the first and third songs of this perfectly placed and executed change of pace.

The pace picked up again as Twain came back with Don’t Be Stupid and followed that up with From This Moment On and others before finishing the main concert set, which ran a full 90 minutes, with Red Storm.

Throughout the concert Twain managed a number of wardrobe changes and the band platform went through numerous configurations, all seamlessly covered through the use of lights, lasers, and projection screens that bordered on perfection. Pyro was used dramatically and artistically in and between several songs as well, starting from Rock This Country and all the way through her encore number.

Twain put an exclamation mark on the night with her mega hit, Man I Feel Like A Woman, after the crowd screamed their delight with a deafening roar for what seemed like an eternity, demanding an encore. Shania Twain shook up the world of country pop music with her arrival back in the 90s. Her combination of great songs, high energy and massive sex appeal made an impact that is still being felt today. She shook it up again last night with her final performance from her final tour to a delighted sold out crowd at Kelowna’s Prospera Place. A truly fitting finale for Canada’s country femme fatale, and a night that will be remembered by the packed to the rafters assembly of delirious fans who stayed until after she lowered herself below the stage and disappeared from view. Pick any scale, choose the top number, and times that by whatever the biggest number you know is, and give that score to this performance. Epic. Iconic. Visually and aurally astounding. Shania.

http://www.eikelowna.com/singlereview.aspx?rid=75

Tommy · Guru

Shania great… from what they could see

Kelowna Daily Courier | Posted: Thursday, October 29, 2015 2:34 pm

I travelled from Nelson to see Shania Twain in concert, my first Shania concert.

I brought my adult daughter with me. We love country music and feel a special connection to Shania, since our family is from and still live in Timmins.

But here is the rub: I am so happy she sold out in five minutes, or what was quoted in the paper on Wednesday morning, but I spent $320 for two seats to be put in a section that was behind the stage. The director or producer decided to close the red curtains behind the opening act and for the full acoustic set of Shania.

Insane rudeness.

As poor Shania heard, when the side reds were being lowered, the sections behind the curtains booed. What a bad artistic call that idea was.

I hope the management of Prospera Place reminds promotors to treat the side audience with the same respect they treat the front rows. We could have sat home and listened to the CD for a lot less hard-earned money.

And we love Shania.

P. Henman, Nelson

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/opinion/article_cce0d5ec-7e84-11e5-bab5-177bff31a6ab.html

------------------------------------------------------------

Next Shania concert, they’ll choose different seats (There won't be a next. )

Kelowna Daily Courier | Posted: Thursday, October 29, 2015 2:35 pm

I would like to make a comment on my seats at the Shania Twain concert last night, Oct. 27, at Prospera Place.

First, let me say, Shania herself gave a great performance, no complaint there. As for seating… totally different story. We were stuck behind the stage which created several issues:

1. Because the curtain was left down, we didn’t even get to see the opening act, only their silhouettes.

2. The audio was horrendous, making it impossible to hear any clear vocals, even once the curtains were lifted for Shania.

3. The only view we got of Shania was either her back (which was most of the time), or her left side, so picture taking was a joke.

4. There were no screens or even TV setups to allow us to view the front of the stage.

All of this at a considerable ticket cost. Extremely disappointing and expensive. I came from out of town and had a three hour return drive, so not impressed.

It’s a real shame; I was so looking forward to this, since June, when I purchased the tickets.

At no point during purchasing was I informed the seats were behind the stage.

I don’t think whoever was in charge should have allowed any “behind the stage” tickets to be sold, just to fill the venue.

I know I’m not alone in this.

B. Phillips, Salmon Arm

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/opinion/article_01604050-7e85-11e5-bfc8-13082401fafd.html

Tommy · Guru

How I learned to stop worrying and love Shania Twain

By Myles Sauer | The Martlet | November 5, 2015

Of all the things I expected to see at Shania Twain’s Oct. 24 show at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, giant plasma leopards were not at the top of the list — or anywhere on the list, really. But there we were, and wouldn’t you know it: there were hella plasma leopards.

We’ll get back to that. But if we’re being honest, I went into Shania’s show with minimal expectations. I had forgotten all about my flippant media pass request made weeks earlier, and it was only that afternoon that I received confirmation that it was approved (so much for no plans on a Saturday night). I faced the prospect of attending a country show with some trepidation, but I forged ahead in the interests of journalism and self-discovery.

I considered undertaking some pre-show research, but let’s be real: if you listen to any radio station anywhere ever (and having worked in retail for so many years, I heard a lot), there’s a very good chance you’re already familiar with the bulk of Shania’s oeuvre. So off I went with Katie, my trusty expert and fangirl for all things Twain.

I can’t say I looked the part. Black jeans, a leather jacket, and an Iron Maiden T-shirt, a country boy’s attire does not make (though I did see one denim-jacket-wearing young man with a Rush patch, to whom I wanted to scream, “What are we doing here, man?!”). I stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the rhinestone-bedazzled denim-clad country moms, but I got in the spirit of things regardless, with a $7.25 stadium beer in hand to wash down the twangy country aftertaste.

Colour me surprised, though: Twain brought it hard. Dare I say it was probably the most ****in’ metal country show I’ve ever attended (which isn’t saying much, as I have attended approximately zero). From the opening notes of “Rock This Country” (during which she ascended on a platform to the rafters, evoking such rock royalty as KISS), to the finale of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” the show was all about spectacle and big hits. Considering I went in with a mindset to the effect of “How can I be a huge wiener about this,” I found myself swayed by it all.

But, back to the plasma leopards. According to Katie, these were a callback to the video for “Don’t Impress Me Much,” in which Shania wore a leopard skin outfit. Regardless of the backstory, I felt they were a little out of place at first; but here they were, shining forth from the two massive screens flanking the stage, and I admit that they grew on me. (An aside: at one point, these screens displayed flashing images of Shania dancing in a red dress. It looked like something out of an Avon commercial, and it was weird. But I digress.)

Ultimately, that slow acceptance of Shania’s brand of small-town-country-meets-stadium-rock flavoured my entire experience, and who am I to deny that? I’m a sucker for a good hook, and Shania has them in spades. (I have no doubt that Shania has her ex-husband/producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, who produced such megasellers as AC/DC and Def Leppard, to thank in part for this.) And her backing band was no slouch either, with members rotating between different instruments and providing some solid backing vocals. On one occasion, the band took over for an instrumental break while Shania changed outfits; the proceeding musical whirlwind sounded akin to Trans-Siberian Orchestra — an even odder fit than the leopards.

Most endearing for me, however, was Shania’s willingness to engage with the audience. There was the “I’m so happy to be here in VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIAAA” song and dance, of course, but there were some genuine moments of levity: at one point, a raving fan in the front row asked Shania to sign some article of clothing, which she was happy to oblige (and with tickets costing between $160 and $200, you’d hope she would); during “Any Man of Mine,” she was towed through the audience on a buggy by security, waving to her fans like she was the Pope (my notes at this point include a very forced effort to make “Twain Train” a thing, but alas). Manufactured or not, her willingness to get up close with those who support her was refreshing.

What’s left to say? Shania proved herself to me, but she didn’t have to. This show was about her returning from a ten-year hiatus to see her fans off (this is supposedly her final tour), and it didn’t matter if I was along for the ride or not. All in all, I’m glad I got to see one of music’s biggest stars bring the final chapter (?) of her career to a close. Just don’t expect to see my boots under anyone’s bed anytime soon.

http://www.martlet.ca/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-shania-twain/

Tonto · Guru

Tommy wrote:
How I learned to stop worrying and love Shania Twain
By Myles Sauer | The Martlet | November 5, 2015
Of all the things I expected to see at Shania Twain’s Oct. 24 show at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, giant plasma leopards were not at the top of the list — or anywhere on the list, really. But there we were, and wouldn’t you know it: there were hella plasma leopards.
We’ll get back to that. But if we’re being honest, I went into Shania’s show with minimal expectations. I had forgotten all about my flippant media pass request made weeks earlier, and it was only that afternoon that I received confirmation that it was approved (so much for no plans on a Saturday night). I faced the prospect of attending a country show with some trepidation, but I forged ahead in the interests of journalism and self-discovery.
I considered undertaking some pre-show research, but let’s be real: if you listen to any radio station anywhere ever (and having worked in retail for so many years, I heard a lot), there’s a very good chance you’re already familiar with the bulk of Shania’s oeuvre. So off I went with Katie, my trusty expert and fangirl for all things Twain.
I can’t say I looked the part. Black jeans, a leather jacket, and an Iron Maiden T-shirt, a country boy’s attire does not make (though I did see one denim-jacket-wearing young man with a Rush patch, to whom I wanted to scream, “What are we doing here, man?!”). I stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the rhinestone-bedazzled denim-clad country moms, but I got in the spirit of things regardless, with a $7.25 stadium beer in hand to wash down the twangy country aftertaste.
Colour me surprised, though: Twain brought it hard. Dare I say it was probably the most ****in’ metal country show I’ve ever attended (which isn’t saying much, as I have attended approximately zero). From the opening notes of “Rock This Country” (during which she ascended on a platform to the rafters, evoking such rock royalty as KISS), to the finale of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” the show was all about spectacle and big hits. Considering I went in with a mindset to the effect of “How can I be a huge wiener about this,” I found myself swayed by it all.
But, back to the plasma leopards. According to Katie, these were a callback to the video for “Don’t Impress Me Much,” in which Shania wore a leopard skin outfit. Regardless of the backstory, I felt they were a little out of place at first; but here they were, shining forth from the two massive screens flanking the stage, and I admit that they grew on me. (An aside: at one point, these screens displayed flashing images of Shania dancing in a red dress. It looked like something out of an Avon commercial, and it was weird. But I digress.)
Ultimately, that slow acceptance of Shania’s brand of small-town-country-meets-stadium-rock flavoured my entire experience, and who am I to deny that? I’m a sucker for a good hook, and Shania has them in spades. (I have no doubt that Shania has her ex-husband/producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, who produced such megasellers as AC/DC and Def Leppard, to thank in part for this.) And her backing band was no slouch either, with members rotating between different instruments and providing some solid backing vocals. On one occasion, the band took over for an instrumental break while Shania changed outfits; the proceeding musical whirlwind sounded akin to Trans-Siberian Orchestra — an even odder fit than the leopards.
Most endearing for me, however, was Shania’s willingness to engage with the audience. There was the “I’m so happy to be here in VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIAAA” song and dance, of course, but there were some genuine moments of levity: at one point, a raving fan in the front row asked Shania to sign some article of clothing, which she was happy to oblige (and with tickets costing between $160 and $200, you’d hope she would); during “Any Man of Mine,” she was towed through the audience on a buggy by security, waving to her fans like she was the Pope (my notes at this point include a very forced effort to make “Twain Train” a thing, but alas). Manufactured or not, her willingness to get up close with those who support her was refreshing.
What’s left to say? Shania proved herself to me, but she didn’t have to. This show was about her returning from a ten-year hiatus to see her fans off (this is supposedly her final tour), and it didn’t matter if I was along for the ride or not. All in all, I’m glad I got to see one of music’s biggest stars bring the final chapter (?) of her career to a close. Just don’t expect to see my boots under anyone’s bed anytime soon.
http://www.martlet.ca/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-shania-twain/

Hi,

Just have to say that when I read this I was like what??? I went to the Charlotte concert and paid for the VIP experience and we were told that we could not ask for autographs or touch her or take pictures and we were not supposed to talk to her. She must have saw all the bad publicity and changed things up. She also wasn't signing autographs from the stage that night either. I was really disappointed that I couldn't ask for an autograph because I have all these signed things I bought off of ebay and even won an autographed Greatest Hits album form the Fan club but I was really hoping beyond hope to get an autograph that I got to see her sign myself. She really did though at the end of the tour start doing that sort of thing more I think. Lucky people who got her to sign on the spot. Me not so lucky with that I guess. But I still wouldn't trade the experience. Would love to do a repeat though!!!!

Just my thoughts,

Warmest regards as always,

Tonto