Shania Twain returned to the Chicagoland area for the first time since 2018, and it was more than worth the wait.
To say the fans were eager and ready for this show is an understatement. The Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre was sold-out and bursting at the seams, with cowboy hats and boots as far as the eye could see. The gates opened at 5.30pm and at this point, the parking lots were almost already full as fans arrived early, excited to start the night.
Talk about knowing how to make an entrance! As the majority of the crowd were pointing their camera phones towards the stage, a ruse was afoot as two black boxes were wheeled around the walkway behind the soundboard. One box was then wheeled away again as the other box sprung to life as Shania Twain appeared. As she sang the first song of the evening, “Waking Up Dreaming,” the platform that the box was sitting on was wheeled around the walkway, with Shania getting up close and personal with some lucky fans who were blowing her kisses and reaching out their hands to try to touch the star.
If that wasn’t enough of an entrance, Twain made almost as dramatic an arrival on the stage as she make a dramatic appearance via a trap door. You wouldn’t expect anything less, but this show is a stage production and a half! There were UFOs, aliens, horses leaping over violin players, motorcycles, costume changes, and so much more. During her performance of “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” Shania slipped on something on the stage but carried on with the performance like the pro that she is.
It’s been well-documented that Shania’s voice sounds slightly different than it used to. This is not new information. After the impact of Lyme Disease and vocal cord surgery, it’s no surprise that her voice would sound different. Whose wouldn’t? Regardless of this, Shania put 110% into the performance at Tinley Park. She pioneered the way for the likes of Taylor Swift when she blended the pop-country genres. Whilst this was highly scrutinized at the time by country purists, you can’t deny the pull it had back then and still has these days with Twain selling out show after show. The Queen of Me Tour is one of Shania’s biggest tours to date, racking up an impressive 76 dates throughout North America and Europe. She hasn’t sold out a Chicago show since her Come On Over Tour in 1998, making this all the more impressive.
The stage setup was impressive, to say the least, with the large screen at the back of the stage being fully utilized throughout the entire show. At times “Illinois” and “Chicago” could be seen emblazoned on the backdrop, both of which received screams of appreciation from the ample-sized crowd. When she wasn’t dancing around the stage with her backing vocalists and band, she was sitting with her acoustic guitar for an audience-wide singalong to the likes of “You’re Still The One.”
The setlist included four songs from her latest album, Queen of Me, but as you would expect, she brought a lot of the hits with her. “Any Man of Mine,” “Up!,” “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!,” and “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” had the audience dancing and singing along. It’s no surprise that “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” were reserved for the encore. The show ended on the same explosive high that it began on without any dips or fillers in between.
Shania Twain is back and don’t you forget it! Looking across the packed-in audience, they clearly loved every minute of the show. It’s difficult to come back after such a lengthy absence from touring, but it’s fair to say Shania made up for the five-year gap.
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