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
© 2004 Opry North/Whitepaw
Productions
