Saturday August 24th

Martina McBride

Sunday July 11, 2004

It’s been two years since Martina last graced Casino Rama with her room filling presence and we were very eager to see her again. More awards, a new album and more chart topping hits had happened since her last visit, along with a spectacular CMT special with Pat Benatar, so you can’t say Martina’s been taking a break.

The seven o’clock mark brought the lights down on a room filled with expectant people, who immediately let out a roar as the darker shapes of the band filed out to take their places. As the heavy thump of the first song’s opening began, another roar showed approval for “When God Fearing’ Women Get The Blues”, as Martina jumped right in, no slow build up needed. This is what she does, and she does it very well indeed. “Love’s The Only House” followed quickly, with Martina doing her part on the harmonica (as she does on the recorded version of the song). Yeah, she’s more than just a pretty face.

“Happy Girl” was proving too good to stand still for, as she grabbed the microphone and set off across the stage to say hi to the other side of the room. Every other line became ‘our part’, as she had us sing along with her. During the next break she took a breather and thanked us for coming out, filling us in on the ‘backstage’ antics of having your family along on the road. Her girls, she revealed, were having a ball taking bubble baths. “I think they’re on their third one today.” She said you do what you can when you’re on the road. That intro led into “In My Daughter’s Eyes”, featuring a video of the family in their off time playing in the pool, still photos of Martina and her girls (including an absolutely breathtaking black and white shot of Martina and Delaney when Delaney was a baby). With just piano accompaniment and the video in the background, you don’t know which way to look. In keeping with the ‘daughter’ theme, “Reluctant Daughter” was the next song, a rather gospel influenced tune that (like all of Martina’s songs) has a simple, heartfelt message.

No secrets are kept in a small town, everyone knows and talks about everyone else’s business, she told us next. And growing up in a Kansas town of a few hundred, I’m guessing she knows what she’s talking about. “Wearing White” is the song that reminds her of that, and was the next song out.

Strains of “Concrete Angel” brought cheers from the crowd, with beautiful lighting effects playing along with the heartbreaking story of the small girl with the tragic end. When you hear this song live, you wonder if the impact of the words would work with someone else singing the song, or if only Martina’s incredible voice can give it that extra push. That such a beautiful voice tells the story of such a tragedy is what makes you feel this song.

“Wild Angels” was obviously another crowd favourite, with everyone visibly bopping along. The pace was kept up with “My Baby Loves Me” and the bopping switching to clapping.

A note from a fan requesting “How Far” from Kelly, Don & the Kids, so of course, she obliged. The screams following that song went on for so long that Martina asked for the lights to go up so she could see us. I think she was a little surprised, but thanked everyone very warmly for the appreciation.

Discussions with the crowd about the CMT Crossroads special with Pat proved that fans loved it, and the talks were cut a little short when the bass player slipped in the first few bars or “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. Martina spun to him and said, “What are you doing? They don’t want to have me do that one…” but the screams erupting from the crowd proved otherwise. Martina smiled, shrugged, and gave us her version of the classic rock tune. But since we’d asked for it, we had to sing part of the chorus for her, while she watched with a big grin. She’d often mentioned how she played in some rock bars on the road to the top when she was starting out and one of her favourite ways to work her voice was to belt out Pat Benatar songs.

“This One’s For The Girls” had some girls up dancing, then another note passed up from Vanessa asking for a song prompted Martina to say yes, but it would be a surprise. “Valentine” brought more of those ear-splitting screams from the crowd. This is one of my favourites too.

Martina’s known for her power ballads as much as for her poignant message/story songs, but the next one is a little of both. “Whatever You Say” makes you agree that she’d HAVE to get the award for ‘longest note ever held’ in the history of music. Proving her incredible lung capacity, she heads right into “Broken Wing” for the next song.

Since she’s been having such a good time, she reveals that she’s added a lot of songs to the list, but there’s one that she’d added on that they’d only done live once before and she saves it for audiences that she thinks ‘will get it’. One fellow yells out, “We ARE Canadian,” to which she laughed and says, “That’s right!” So we were treated to “God’s Will” off of her latest album. Another breathtaking song about a child, obviously a subject close to her heart. If you wonder if the song transposes well to the stage, it SO totally does!

With a grin at the band, Martina tells us that she’d like to tell a joke now, and she says, “You guys are gonna flip! This is SO out of character for me, but it was a pretty funny one…” Following her little joke, she tried to head into “Independence Day” but couldn’t stifle a giggle, so the crowd sang the lines that she missed for her. “Now, this is a serious song,” she said (more to herself I think) as she tried to get back on track. This brought a rush to the stage, once one rushes up about seventy to eighty follow. This is the end of the show anyhow, though as she says goodbye you could see the crowd wasn’t going anywhere. “Life # 9” was the encore song, and brings another amazing visit by one of music’s brightest lights to an end. We already can’t wait until next time.

Thanks again to the crew at Casino Rama for making this another night to remember. If you want a quality show, in an excellent venue, Casino Rama is the place to go.

Very special thanks to Martina McBride and her crew for giving us their most precious gift – themselves. It’s not every day you get to experience a love-in of over four thousand people, but Martina brings it out every time.

And to those of you who missed this show, for whatever reason, you must make sure to get out the next time. If you look for peace of mind, if you need something to give your spirits a lift, if you can appreciate music that touches your heart, then you’ll love how you feel after a Martina McBride show. She really does make the world a better place.

Written by Kim Jamieson

Photos by Wayne Tozzi