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Kati the Dame and I went to the Shania Twain concert last night. I'm absolutely kicking myself for leaving my camera in the car last night because we were 50 feet from the stage. Absolutely kicking myself.

The opening band, Emerson Drive, was pretty good. I like country music in their style: more rock than twang. They played U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" to perfection. A great warmup act.

This concert was originally scheduled for April 6, but was moved to July 10 for reasons I've forgotten, making this the last stop on her Up! Tour. A long touring schedule seemed to show when she started off rather poorly - the first song ("Man! I Feel Like a Woman!") was as much spoken as it was sung. After the first song, however, she seemed to find her groove (and Shania's groove is an incredible place :-D)

Shania sung nearly an equal mix of all of her albums, including a medley of Come on Over songs including "You Win My Love," "Come on Over", and "I'm Holding on to Love." She sung "(If You're Not In it for Love) I'm Outta Here." The crowd sung along to "You're Still the One" and Shania did "Forever and for Always." Kati was happy with "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under," "Honey, I'm Home," "Any Man of Mine," and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman." I was happy with "Don't Be Stupid," "Rock This Country!," and "That Don't Impress Me Much." The crowd enjoyed "She's Not Just a Pretty Face." "Up!" was her second song of the evening and "Gonna Getcha Good" was towards the end.

That's sixteen songs and a wonderful evening. The lighting was superb, and at one point 10,000 reams or so of purple and white confetti were thrown in the air, creating a truly awesome sight. Shania's concerts have always been fairly pyrotechnic, and last night's was no exception. Spectacular.

Shania talked (as did her band members) about the long tour, the fact that it was ending, that they might never play together again, and so on. It's bittersweet, looking forward to something for so long and then realizing that it's over. Two hours of pure energy, enjoyment.

Shania's last tour ended and fans waited five years for her next album. Up! came out in 2002, and that seems ages ago. Will it be another five years (not counting the "Greatest Hits" album due in the fall)? Shania talked of finally having "made it" last night - a prelude to her going out on top? I don't know. I hope not - I admire singer/songwriters and think the world needs more of them, especially those as talented as Shania (and her husband).

The only thing that could have made the concert better was to have Carey with me.

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