On Friday, July 3rd, Shania Twain’s Rock This Country tour blew the roof off the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. From the performance she delivered, one would find it hard to believe that Shania has been on an eleven-year hiatus from touring. Twain’s performance was not short on costume changes, set changes, or pyrotechnics – proving that you can take the girl out of Vegas, but you can’t take Vegas out of the girl. (Shania had a two-year residency in Sin City from 2012-2014) The 49 year-old singer would give some of today’s younger acts a run for their money as she cranked out non-stop hits for the packed house.
The top-selling female country artist of all time opened up with her high-energy hit, ‘Rock This Country.’ Emerging on a rising platform in the center of the stage, surrounded by a cloud of fog, the blonde was almost unrecognizable in a tasseled leather jacket, thigh-high boots, and sunglasses. Right away, Twain made it obvious that she was there to throw one helluva party as she had fireworks erupting from the stage roughly a minute into the show. Twain followed the opening number with her fiddle-heavy 1998 hit, ‘Honey, I’m Home,’ before taking off her jacket to reveal a show-stopping red sequined dress.
“This is a party weekend! We’re here to celebrate, right?” Shania asked and the crowd cheered in agreement. Before moving on to her next number, Twain admitted that she’s “a sucker for signs” as she noticed a fan with a poster requesting a selfie – she graciously put the show on hold for a moment to fulfill the fan’s request. Following the photo-op, Shania introduced the next song, ‘Ain’t No Quitter,’ as one she had never taken on the road before as she recorded it after her last tour.
Even though songs like ‘You Win My Love,’ ‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?’ and ‘Any Man of Mine’ are two decades old, most of the fans, regardless of their age, still remembered every word. Twain confessed that one of her favorite things about performing is checking out the audience, “I love watching you guys!” she said, adding, “You are my show… I love people watching, it’s so fun!” She told the crowd she wanted to get a closer look at everyone and began to descend from the stage. As Twain performed ‘Any Man of Mine,’ she made her way around the perimeter of the floor, greeting fans who were lucky enough to be along her path. Shania was giggly and awestruck, as if unfamiliar with the attention she was getting.
After a short instrumental break, Twain reappeared in her second outfit of the night – a silver sequined top paired with tiny black shorts and tights that sparkled. Her songs like, ‘Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)’ and ‘I’m Gonna Getcha Good’ had much of the audience dancing and screaming out the lyrics. “I can tell you’re in a party mood!” the singer pointed out.
Much to the crowd’s surprise, Shania played another number she had never taken on tour before. With this particular song being a duet, Twain brought Gavin DeGraw back out to perform ‘Party For Two,’ which was released in 2004 on her ‘Greatest Hits’ album. The two showcased their on-stage chemistry by taking turns singing to each other and twirling around each other’s arms. At the song’s conclusion, the tourmates extended praise for one another while the audience applauded the duet.
As Gavin retreated backstage, something that resembled a mechanical bull, or rather, just the saddle, appeared at the beginning of the catwalk. For a split second, we were all thinking, ‘Is she really going to ride that thing?’ and Twain answered our question by mounting the saddle and strapping herself in. Moments later, the singer began to rise from the stage as the instrumentals for ‘Up!’ simultaneously started playing. The ‘bull’ encircled the arena, giving the singer a better view of the crowd, especially those on the upper level, as she sang the 2002 hit.
Once grounded, the show switched tempos and Twain began a three-song acoustic set beginning with the beautiful, uplifting song, ‘Today is Your Day.’ The songstress continued to keep things mellow, “I want you guys to sing along,” she said before playing ‘No One Needs to Know,’ the 1996 single that was featured on the soundtrack for the movie, Twister, and was among Twain’s many number one hits.
The band left Shania and her guitar unaccompanied on stage. With the audience’s full attention she said, “I want to sincerely thank you for being here for all these years,” and then added, “I want you to sing this with me.” Twain began a heartwarming, acapella performance of ‘You’re Still the One,’ and the fans immediately chimed in. The band soon joined and by the time the song was closing with the line, “I’m so glad we made it, look how far we’ve come, my baby,” the crowd was cheering louder than they had all night.
The next song was for the couples, as I imagine much of the audience had danced to this number at a wedding or two, maybe even their own. Shania appeared in another new outfit and performed ‘From This Moment On’ at the end of the catwalk with a light show projected around her. The audience swayed back and forth in the embrace of their loved ones as they sang along passionately.
Another layer came off, and a new ensemble was revealed. Now donning a loose black dress with bright red thigh-high boots, Twain switched tempo as the singer transitioned into ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much.’ Another one of Twain’s number one hits, ‘(If You’re Not in it for Love) I’m Outta Here!’ kept the audience on their feet as the show was coming to a close.
The crowd’s energy didn’t weaken, even after Shania had left the stage. The audience continued to scream, whistle, and stomp their feet until the entire arena was shaking. It wasn’t long before the band reappeared on stage for the obvious encore, ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ Shania went out with a bang singing everyone’s favorite karaoke song – a performance that included a myriad of pyrotechnics and, of course, a new sparkling costume. Twain strutted around the stage in an embellished bodysuit that showed off the 49 year-old’s best assets. Somehow the singer gave this last performance more energy than she had all night, demonstrating beyond any doubt that Shania’s still got it. With a final boom and confetti falling to the ground, the fans bid Shania Twain a bittersweet farewell.
Between her killer stage presence and a catalog of timeless hits, one might find it hard to believe that Shania Twain has made the decision to hang up her touring hat for good. Friday’s audience got to experience roughly 100 minutes of pure satisfaction as they simultaneously welcomed Shania back to the stage and said goodbye on the same evening. Chances to see the superstar perform at this caliber are dwindling, and given the opportunity, it’s something I certainly would not recommend passing up. Shania Twain is undoubtedly a superstar, she’s got the whole package and it’s easy to see why her fans have stuck around for this long.