Esther
06-10-2004, 9:56am
Three ways to meet a diva (besides buying a ticket)
Concert Review
BY DEVIN GRANT
Special to The Post and Courier
So let's say that you are looking for a chance to meet music superstar Shania Twain. There apparently are many ways to achieve this seemingly difficult dream. You could collect 1,102 pounds of food for the Lowcountry Food Bank. That is what James Island Charter High School Band Director Neville Curtis challenged the students in his marching band to do.
The half-ton of food, which was collected in about two weeks as part of a contest sponsored in part by local radio station WEZL, will go a long way to feed Charleston's hungry, and Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum, a dozen drummers in the Pride of the Island marching band got a chance to strut their stuff onstage during Twain's performance of "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
But what if you aren't in a marching band? No problem. Simply attend 25 shows on Twain's current tour, and you just might find yourself yanked up onstage to sing a song with the country diva. That's what happened to an unnamed super-fan from Syracuse, N.Y., who was attending his 25th show.
Twain invited the man onstage, congratulated him on his recent engagement, and showed him (and the rest of the audience) the brand new horse bite on her arm, then the two sang "Still the One."
Suppose you don't have the time or money to follow the tour for weeks. No problem. You can simply make a donation to Twain's Second Harvest Food Bank charity before the show, put the ticket you are given for your contribution in a bucket, and hope that Twain selects you as the lucky person to meet her onstage.
When Mary Crawford left her house Tuesday night to attend Twain's concert, she had no idea that she would leave the concert with a personalized Polaroid photo of herself with Twain. Crawford's name was indeed the one drawn.
The point of all of these warm-and-fuzzy "I met Shania" stories is to convey the fact that, despite her apparent diva status (just ask VH-1), Twain is a remarkably accessible pop star in concert. Numerous times during Tuesday's performance, Twain danced around the in-the-round stage, giving high fives, signing autographs, and accepting flowers (and what looked like a Moo Roo purse) from fans.
One would think that someone who is married to legendary producer John "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Cars), and who lives in a mansion in Switzerland, might be a bit difficult to get close to. Tuesday's show quickly dispelled those rumors. With a band that featured, among other things, three fiddle players, Twain kicked her Charleston performance off with "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" as she jogged around the top tier of the center stage. After running through "Up!" and "Honey, I'm Home," Twain, clad in a day-glow yellow tank top and equally bright magenta pants, greeted the audience.
"I heard that Charleston is the friendliest place in the whole U.S.," she commented, then tore right into "Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" from her 1997 album "Come On Over."
Other songs performed included "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under," "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"
Halfway through the concert, Twain condensed some of her earlier material into a medley, and also ran up to the top of the North Charleston Coliseum's lower level to sing "Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" while sitting among her admirers.
Twain later changed from her fluorescent outfit to a black and red midriff-baring number that was far more pleasing to the eye.
For her encore, which featured a great performance of "Any Man of Mine," Twain surprised the Charleston audience by returning to the stage wearing a South Carolina Stingrays hockey jersey.
The evening began with a rousing set by DreamWorks Nashville band Emerson Drive.
That band, which will release its latest collection of music in June, put the crowd in the proper mood for Twain's performance, especially with its performance of Charlie Daniel's "Devil Went Down to Georgia." It would be very easy for Twain (who, let's face it, is a pop star rather than a country artist) to hide herself behind an entourage of bodyguards. Instead, this singer goes out of her way to ensure that as many fans as possible have a chance to get up close and personal with her. It is for that reason that Shania Twain is a superstar.
http://charleston.net/stories/042904/pre_29shanrev.shtml
Concert Review
BY DEVIN GRANT
Special to The Post and Courier
So let's say that you are looking for a chance to meet music superstar Shania Twain. There apparently are many ways to achieve this seemingly difficult dream. You could collect 1,102 pounds of food for the Lowcountry Food Bank. That is what James Island Charter High School Band Director Neville Curtis challenged the students in his marching band to do.
The half-ton of food, which was collected in about two weeks as part of a contest sponsored in part by local radio station WEZL, will go a long way to feed Charleston's hungry, and Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum, a dozen drummers in the Pride of the Island marching band got a chance to strut their stuff onstage during Twain's performance of "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
But what if you aren't in a marching band? No problem. Simply attend 25 shows on Twain's current tour, and you just might find yourself yanked up onstage to sing a song with the country diva. That's what happened to an unnamed super-fan from Syracuse, N.Y., who was attending his 25th show.
Twain invited the man onstage, congratulated him on his recent engagement, and showed him (and the rest of the audience) the brand new horse bite on her arm, then the two sang "Still the One."
Suppose you don't have the time or money to follow the tour for weeks. No problem. You can simply make a donation to Twain's Second Harvest Food Bank charity before the show, put the ticket you are given for your contribution in a bucket, and hope that Twain selects you as the lucky person to meet her onstage.
When Mary Crawford left her house Tuesday night to attend Twain's concert, she had no idea that she would leave the concert with a personalized Polaroid photo of herself with Twain. Crawford's name was indeed the one drawn.
The point of all of these warm-and-fuzzy "I met Shania" stories is to convey the fact that, despite her apparent diva status (just ask VH-1), Twain is a remarkably accessible pop star in concert. Numerous times during Tuesday's performance, Twain danced around the in-the-round stage, giving high fives, signing autographs, and accepting flowers (and what looked like a Moo Roo purse) from fans.
One would think that someone who is married to legendary producer John "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Cars), and who lives in a mansion in Switzerland, might be a bit difficult to get close to. Tuesday's show quickly dispelled those rumors. With a band that featured, among other things, three fiddle players, Twain kicked her Charleston performance off with "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" as she jogged around the top tier of the center stage. After running through "Up!" and "Honey, I'm Home," Twain, clad in a day-glow yellow tank top and equally bright magenta pants, greeted the audience.
"I heard that Charleston is the friendliest place in the whole U.S.," she commented, then tore right into "Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" from her 1997 album "Come On Over."
Other songs performed included "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under," "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"
Halfway through the concert, Twain condensed some of her earlier material into a medley, and also ran up to the top of the North Charleston Coliseum's lower level to sing "Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" while sitting among her admirers.
Twain later changed from her fluorescent outfit to a black and red midriff-baring number that was far more pleasing to the eye.
For her encore, which featured a great performance of "Any Man of Mine," Twain surprised the Charleston audience by returning to the stage wearing a South Carolina Stingrays hockey jersey.
The evening began with a rousing set by DreamWorks Nashville band Emerson Drive.
That band, which will release its latest collection of music in June, put the crowd in the proper mood for Twain's performance, especially with its performance of Charlie Daniel's "Devil Went Down to Georgia." It would be very easy for Twain (who, let's face it, is a pop star rather than a country artist) to hide herself behind an entourage of bodyguards. Instead, this singer goes out of her way to ensure that as many fans as possible have a chance to get up close and personal with her. It is for that reason that Shania Twain is a superstar.
http://charleston.net/stories/042904/pre_29shanrev.shtml