Shania Twain is hot. She is sexy, fun, energetic and puts on a great show. I knew I probably wouldn’t ever get to see a Shania show live so I figured what better way to enjoy a show than from my living room? GAC had offered a special package of the Shania Twain UP! Live in Chicago DVD and the UP! CD autographed so I was lucky to catch a set before they sold out.

Background Information:

Shania Twain took a break from her singing career to become a mother. She came back strong with her UP! album. The UP! Live in Chicago was the concert to begin Shania’s return to music. It was the first concert that she had done in over two years. It was filmed on July 27, 2003 in front of 50,000+ screaming fans. It was filmed in Chicago’s Grant Park. NBC taped it for Shania’s fourth television special and it was shown on August 19, 2003. They cut out 6 of the songs for the television special. This DVD includes the entire concert, which has 22 live performances.

About the DVD:

The DVD begins with a nice view of the city and pictures of lots of different fans. You can see the Chicago skyline in the background. It shows Shania en route to the show as she prepares to go on stage. When it first starts it is afternoon. Later on you can see the sun setting and then it is nighttime.

She opens the show with “Are you ready Chicago?”. At one point Shania walks down to the fans and touches hands as she walks by. For the start of the concert she is wearing a tight yellow shirt and the tackiest black cargo pants with weird looking boots.

She talks to the fans between the songs and shares things about the songs. She said that She’s Not Just a Pretty Face was written for all the women in our life. She said Forever and Always is about a love that lasts forever. Between Ka-Ching and When You Kiss Me Shania introduces James Hunt to the crowd. He is a fan who wrote a letter to Shania. He lets him explain as he asks his girlfriend to join him on the stage. He gets down on one knee and asks her to marry him. Shania asks them to dance to her next song When You Kiss Me. It is a beautiful love song and you can see couples dancing in the crowd.

There are big screens on the stage so fans in the back can see Shania better. She invites three little girls from the crowd to join her in signing I’m Gonna Getcha Good. There is a huge fireworks display after the song. From This Moment On has soft lights shining. The musicians do a beautiful introduction for the song and Shania is revealed in a beautiful new outfit. She is wearing a halter-top with sequined roses and a heart with True Love on the front. She wears a long flowing pants set that looks like it could be a skirt at first. It is sequined as well. Shania looks gorgeous except she has her bra showing. The back was out of the top she was wearing except for a couple of ties. She had a black bra on for the entire world to see. You could also see the bra straps where the top tied around the back of her neck. I don’t know what she was thinking. She looked great except for the black bra showing. From This Moment On ends with a nice fireworks display on stage.

For No One Needs to Know Shania picks up her guitar and plays with the song. She said It Only Hurts When I Breath is a heartbreak song. Shania tells that Juanita “was written as an inspiration for all of us who search for hope, strength and courage”. Any Man of Mine is the “book of rules for the men in our lives”, Shania says. Before she sings In My Car she asks two guys and a girl to come on stage with her. The guys have no shirt on and have SHA and NIA spelled across their chests. There is a big fireworks display. At one point it shows the lights of the city and the cars on the highway.

Shania leaves and emerges with a new outfit. She is wearing a black shirt with an American flag and Capri pants. She is sitting on a stool playing the guitar with her music. She has the crowds swaying their arms during Nah!. Shania chooses Rock This Country! for the last song in the performance. There are lots of fireworks and flashing lights. She ends it with a huge production.

The Menu:
The menu is very easy to navigate through. There are 4 options: Play, Audio Setup, Song Selection and Discography. They have a complete listing of all of her CD’s and DVD’s.

Songs Included on this DVD:

Man! I Feel Like a Woman! ~ Up! ~ Honey, I’m Home ~ She’s Not Just a Pretty Face ~ Forever and Always ~ Ka-Ching! ~ When You Kiss Me ~ Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) ~ That Don’t Impress Me Much ~ I’m Gonna Getcha Good! ~ From This Moment On ~ No One Needs to Know ~ Thank You Baby! (For Making Someday Come So Soon) ~ It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing ~ Juanita ~ Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? ~ Any Man of Mine ~ In My Car (I’ll Be The Driver) ~ (If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here! ~ You’re Still the One ~ Nah! ~ Rock This Country!

My Thoughts:

Shania Twain is such a beautiful person with a great voice. She started out singing more country music, but now pleases the pop fans as well. Most of the country fans still love her though. Shania and her husband write all of her songs. She is not only a great singer, but also a very talented songwriter.

Shania has so much energy during this concert. She is sassy and so full of spunk. She is constantly running, jumping and dancing. There are lots of displays of fireworks and flashing lights. She gets the crowd involved. It showed them many times and they were always singing, dancing and having a great time. Shania is so upbeat and seems like so much fun to be around.

If you are a Shania fan you will be sure to enjoy this DVD. She includes many songs from her current album, Up! as well as older things from her early career. She really offers a wide variety of songs that any Shania fan will love.

The sound on it is great. I could blast it on my television and hear it all through the house. You can have it on either 5.1 Surround Sound or 2.0 Stereo Sound. The sound is outstanding if you have Surround Sound. The picture is outstanding as well. I felt like I was at the concert.

The DVD is really awesome. The only thing I wish were included is some type of extra things. An interview with Shania would have been nice or some behind the scenes things. It was a couple of hours in length so I got to hear lots of Shania singing, just would have liked some of the extras that are sometimes included.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8