The superstar held court at the Horseshoe Tavern on Friday night, delivering a set that mixed her hits with the autobiographical tracks off new album Little Miss Twain
Shania Twain always dreamed of playing Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern. The Queen of Country Pop, who has long headlined arenas and recently opened 12 stadium shows in London for Harry Styles, finally got to perform at the Queen Street landmark on Friday night, dropping into a venue that holds 500 people, testing out songs from her forthcoming album, Little Miss Twain, and delivering the pop smashes that helped sell more than 100 million albums worldwide.
The evening was filled with stories about growing up in Timmins, Ontario, “the North” — memories about her mother, her father, his truck, driving at age 10, her ripped blue jeans, her fantasy man, and other deeply personal things that became the basis for the new songs. The lyrics meant so much to Twain that several times after performing the song with the band, she sang verses again on her own, just to make sure the crowd heard them.
The $40 tickets (30 bucks in U.S. dollars) for the underplay sold out in minutes and were non-transferrable. A small number were set aside for contest winners, industry, media, and guests. The diehards who couldn’t get in listened from the sidewalk, but were unable to catch a glimpse of the five-time Grammy winner: the stage is located far in the backroom.
