Wednesday, October 01, 2003

By John Young

How does Shania Twain do it? Performing at Mellon Arena on the first U.S. date of her Up! World Tour Monday night, she crammed hit after hit into her two-hour concert. She wore four flashy outfits. She performed amid eye-popping sparkler showers and indoor fireworks. But none of these was her most impressive feat.

Twain's sheer will to literally touch as many fans as possible while still managing to sing with precision and feeling was truly jaw-dropping. The concert stage was in the middle of the arena floor and Twain almost constantly patrolled its outer edge to shake or slap hands, wave and trade smiles. She also accepted marker after marker to sign everything from hats to T-shirts to ticket stubs.

When she was too involved in performing a song to exchange words, she would simply crouch and tap on her outstretched thigh to signal fans to place items there so she could more quickly and efficiently scrawl across them.

As a backdrop to all the glitz and glad-handing, Twain and her nine-piece band performed 24 songs from her albums "Up!" "Come on Over" and "The Woman in Me." Her music has become more genre-defying with each disc, ranging from the twang of early hits like "Any Man of Mine" and "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" to adult contemporary ballads like "From This Moment On" to the synthesizer-heavy pop of "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" and "That Don't Impress Me Much."

The songs from "Up!" seemed to be inspired by music as eclectic as Abba ("C'est La Vie"), the Carpenters ("Forever and For Always") and '80s new wave ("What a Way to Wanna Be!").

While the show was performed in the round, it was always easy to monitor Twain and her group via video screens suspended above the stage. Drummer J.D. Blair won fans over early by walking through the crowd to the stage wearing a Mario Lemieux Penguins jersey and carrying a Steelers helmet. Twain performed her three encore songs in a black Steelers T-shirt rolled up to expose her midriff, further encouraging raucous shouts from the Pittsburgh faithful.

"We're gonna be in and out of town real fast," Twain had told listeners earlier in her set. "But this is gonna be the best two hours we spend in Pittsburgh."

For those who got close to their idol, as well as those who just drank in the good vibes and popular tunes, it was an evening pleasantly spent.

John Young is a freelance critic for the Post-Gazette.

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