Giddy Up! Shania Twain Puts On A Spectacular Show In Charlotte
The Queen of Me Tour Stops at PNC Music Pavilion
Oh my! The “Queen of Country Pop” is back out on tour in support of her latest album Queen of Me and after a two-hour show of epic proportions all I can say is “Man, I Feel Like a Woman!”
It’s been five years since Shania has been out on the road and even longer since her presence has been felt in Charlotte and fans showed up and showed out in force to see their girl. There have been a lot of rumors circulating about the tour and whether or not Shania lip-syncs with a fair share of pretty rough reviews, but I am quite pleased to be able to say don’t believe everything you read.
As traffic has been an issue for several shows at PNC Music Pavilion already this season, the venue did a great job of getting the word out to get here early and even put on a pre-party in the parking area before the show, opening up the lots much earlier than usual. I’m happy to say that by the time I hit the venue area, traffic was at a minimum as most of the crowd seemed to already be there. And I can’t say that I blame them. This was a show you wouldn’t want to miss a second of.
There was definitely a party vibe going on and fans were having a great time. Light-up cowboy hats and sequined, high-heeled boots were the dress code of the evening with pink, pink, and more pink with a touch of silver for the color scheme. The venue offered specialty cocktails including a watermelon chili pepper margarita complete with a tiny plastic cowboy hat on top just for the occasion. The VIP lounge was packed and offered some special activities including face painting, hair braiding, and even line dancing. But, of course, the main attraction was still to come.
As the venue lights dimmed and the opening music began, the crowd eagerly popped up to their feet, eyes glued to the stage in anticipation of what was about to happen. However, Ms. Twain had a surprise up her sleeve. Three black carts were being wheeled across the center walkway just behind the first set of box seats and as the third one came to a stop, Shania herself popped out! Clad in a black trenchcoat with her blonde wig tucked inside it and a pair of snazzy sunglasses, she faced the crowd at the back of the venue with one of her new songs “Waking Up Dreaming.” Shania took time to interact with fans along her “parade route” and bumped fists with some and sang into the cellphones of others. It was a surprising way to start the show and a cool way to give fans in the less expensive seats a bird’s eye view.
Once out of our sight, we all focused back on the stage as plumes of smoke shot up across it and a rocket appeared on the huge LED screen at the back as Shania rose up out of the smoke onto the huge platform. Wow! The lighting scheme and LED screen were amazing, changing the scenery throughout the night. We had everything from a space and rocketship theme to pink floating cowboy hats to a Shania Twain saloon and probably my favorite, the giant North Carolina lettering emblazoned at the rear.
Her costume was hot and I mean hot pink with a flowy top and bright yellow platform boots that tied up all the way to just below her knee. The look was complete with her long, blonde wig and a long, billowy yellow train that blew in the breezes of the stage fans, making her look like a modern-day, country-pop version of Marilyn Monroe. At one point, there was an extra-large motorcycle on the stage which Shania leaned back on, posing like a supermodel for “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”
Shania may be 57 years old but she still moves like a woman half her age. She danced, swayed, and high-kicked all over the stage, interacting with her male dancers along the way. Speaking of interaction, Shania did not let her fans go unnoticed. At various times throughout the set, she brought fans up on stage including a very lucky 7-year-old girl complete in her pink cowgirl outfit that got a nice hug from Shania after she sang a few bars of the little girl’s favorite song.
Sonically, Shania’s band sounded phenomenal. They were on point all evening long and her fiddle player Cory Churko was outstanding. But what about Shania? Does she lip-sync or not? Truthfully, I don’t know and I don’t care. What I can say for certain is that she is definitely singing with her own voice during the acapella parts of the show. As for the rest, I couldn’t tell and honestly, I didn’t care and I doubt that anyone in the sold-out crowd did either.
Of course, the night couldn’t end without Shania’s biggest hit and as she took the stage for her encore, the entire venue was hopping. Shania even brought the original outfit out of the museum that she wore in the music video years ago as she had us all high kicking for “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
“Wanna make some noise
Really raise my voice
Yeah, I wanna scream and shout…”
There’s something so incredibly catchy about that song that it’s no wonder it was Shania’s biggest and most memorable hit. It was a perfect way to cap off the party that the Queen brought to Charlotte. Until next time…Giddy Up!
Opening the show was North Carolina’s own Priscilla Block who put on a short, but entertaining set. The country singer-songwriter has been rising fast, earning a record deal after her song “Just About Over You” went viral on Tik Tok in 2020. Block has already been nominated for several country music awards and after witnessing her performance on this tour, I have no doubt that we will be seeing and hearing a lot more Priscilla Block in the future.
See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!
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Click Here for Tickets and Tour Information!
Tour Dates:
7/01 Tinley Park, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre &
7/03 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts &
7/06 Ottawa, ON Ottawa Bluesfest *
7/08 Syracuse, NY St Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview +
7/09 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center +
7/11 New York, NY Madison Square Garden +
7/13 Burgettstown, PA The Pavilion at Star Lake +
7/15 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center +
7/19 Kansas City, MO T-Mobile Center =
7/21 Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion =
7/22 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion =
7/24 New Orleans, LA Smoothie King Center =
9/14 Glasgow, UK OVO Hydro
9/16 London, UK The O2
9/19 Dublin, IRE 3Arena
9/22 Glasgow, UK OVO Hydro Arena
9/25 Manchester, UK AO Arena
9/26 Birmingham, UK Utilita Arena Birmingham
9/28 Leeds, UK First Direct Arena
10/12 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
10/13 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena
10/16 Knoxville, TN Thompson Boling Arena
10/18 Raleigh, NC PNC Arena
10/20 Buffalo, NY KeyBank Center
10/22 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
10/24 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
10/25 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
10/27 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
10/28 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
10/31 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum
11/02 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center
11/03 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
11/05 Fargo, ND FARGODOME
11/07 Winnipeg, MB Canada Life Centre
11/09 Saskatoon, SK Sasktel Centre
11/11 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
11/12 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
11/14 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
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