Shania Serenades Hometown
By JOELLE KOVACH -- Special to JAM! Music

July 2, 1999

TIMMINS, ONT. -- Steady rain didn't matter much to Shania Twain as she serenaded her hometown on Canada Day, the last concert date of an extensive North American tour.

"Who cares about the darn rain?" she shouted into a microphone between songs. "This is a perfect, perfect evening."

In rain slickers and hats, more than 20,000 fans danced and sang at Hollinger Park, the venue that Twain last played at age 16.

In signature leather pants and tank top, Twain performed an evening of fare mostly from her latest album, Come On Over.

From the first strains of the opening number, Man, I Feel Like a Woman, the crowd danced as one frenzied mass.

For weeks prior to the concert, businesses and private homes alike have been adorned with giant 'Welcome Home Shania' placards while newspaper headlines screamed out her name.

In a backstage press conference, Twain seemed moved by the welcome. "It really warms my heart to know that practically half the town is here," she said. "It's totally exciting. The support's overwhelming."

Twain's North American tour kicked off just over a year ago in the nearby city of Sudbury, Ontario. Twain's hometown fans were disappointed not to see her in Timmins. "I wanted to start the tour here -- the logistics just didn't work out," she said. "But I didn't want to end this tour without coming to Timmins."

In fact, Twain said that she is hoping to buy a summer home somewhere in the North. She spent four days camping near Timmins before the concert. "Coming back here this week has made me so homesick, it's terrible," she said.

The country superstar said she misses the sense of security that Timmins afforded her, in her teens; indeed, she remembers walking home from bar gigs at 3 a.m. with no fear for her safety. "There's a lot of things to miss about Timmins once you've been gone."

She recalls attending several concerts at the very same venue. But never did Timmins host a show of the magnitude that she gave. "You had to go to Toronto to see a concert like this," she said.

Indeed, Twain was intent on bringing a little of the big city back to her hometown.

No doubt, the show offered more than the city had ever seen in its life. Four jumbo-tron screens were raised high above a covered stage. Pyrotechnics, an elaborate lights show and tunes booming across the park combined to get the audience dancing.

The show ended with an extensive Canada Day fireworks display.

"I wanted Timmins to get the show I give every night," Twain said. "But with a little more emotion."