August 15-16, 2008 - Montreal, Canada (Bell Centre)

[lyn]

oh man what a great song list!!! I'm so glad you guys had a fantastic concert!! :)

[dovey15]

Just wondering - how was security/strictness as far as cameras were concerned? Because it was not really strict at all in Boston, so I just wondered how it went last night...

[anewdayhascome]

they should change ABM with TT at least... i hope songs which were perfmormed once or a few times will be as a bonus....

 

the strangest thing of the tour is the songlist in the tourbook.... but maybe dvd recording will be later?

[ThisTime]

Thanks for the reviews guys

Sounds like it was AMAZING! Wish I could have been there!

& Its intervesting that they didn't shoot for the dvd tonight

Maybe tomorrow? & Maybe for the dvd they might change some outfits?

[Davey84]

it seems like you guys had an amazing night!! well I can imagine that Céline was even more energetic then in Arras, because she's finally perfoming home again! I think that was on her mind since South-Africa! I do hope Céline got to see the Holland says Hi flag!!

 

oke, Mego and René spends nights and nights and nights to create the perfect setlist, that Canada will like... and they come up with the adding of SOL and LAEE instead of Ziggy? I can say so freaking much right now, but I will refrain myself from doing so

[Thomas]

HQ pics from the show:

 

http://img111.imagevenue.com/loc1097/th_74499_2_122_1097lo.jpg

 

http://img202.imagevenue.com/loc218/th_74497_1_122_218lo.jpg

 

http://img146.imagevenue.com/loc971/th_74506_3_122_971lo.jpg

 

http://img14.imagevenue.com/loc1002/th_74512_4_122_1002lo.jpg

 

http://img25.imagevenue.com/loc932/th_74518_5_122_932lo.jpg

 

http://img249.imagevenue.com/loc13/th_74524_6_122_13lo.jpg

 

http://img186.imagevenue.com/loc251/th_74528_7_122_251lo.jpg

[fab]

Thank you Thomas

[celine-addict]

HQ pics from the show:

http://img186.imagevenue.com/loc251/th_74528_7_122_251lo.jpg

 

Thanks and I LOVE THAT PICTURE!! :clap:

[pat200]

Thanks all for the reviews and the pics, and thanks JP for the videos!

[Bellamy]

Celine Dion wows fans with opening of Canadian leg of 'Taking Chances' tour

 

3 hours ago

 

MONTREAL — Celine Dion kicked off the Canadian leg of her "Taking Chances" world tour Friday night with the classic "I Drove All Night" and never left the driver's seat during the two-hour long show.

 

Hardcore Dionistas - 22,426 strong - packed Montreal's downtown Bell Centre and gave the singer her first thunderous standing ovation of the night before she even opened her mouth. The crowd went wild the moment she appeared on stage.

 

But despite the tour's title, the concert played it pretty safe.

 

The staples were there, including "Power of Love", and "My Heart Will Go On," which she did in two versions - a remix and the one from the soundtrack of the movie "Titanic" that sent audiences lunging for their handkerchiefs.

 

Dion's stock moves were also on ready display - the fist jabs in the air, the sweep of the arms which makes her look as though she's going to take flight, and the cantering across the stage.

 

However, the trademark chest-thumping move dubbed "the defibrillator" by comedians and critics wasn't as prominent.

 

The "Taking Chances World Tour" marks Dion's return to the road after a five-year gig in Las Vegas and Celineophiles were tingling with excitement as they lined up to get into the Bell Centre.

 

"I've been ready since I bought the tickets last autumn," said Lucette Pelletier of Montreal. "Celine is a great talent."

 

Pelletier said she admires the hard work that took Dion to megastardom, saying she holds a lot of family values and good judgment that are beloved by Quebecers.

 

"She talks about Quebec wherever she goes. She is the best ambassador that we have," she said.

 

Marie-Claudelle Leduc of Huntingdon, Que., said she knows all of the songs on Dion's new "Taking Chances" album by heart and had shivers at the prospect of seeing her live.

 

"I've known about her since I was small," Leduc said. "My mother listened to her, my grandmother. She's part of Quebec's culture, a legend."

 

Helene Langlais-Fortin has followed Dion since 1981, when she saw her sing in Quebec City when Dion was 13.

 

"I am an unconditional fan of Celine since the start," said Langlais-Fortin who plans to see Dion in Quebec City next week and will attend the "Taking Chances" show twice more.

 

Dion's mother was also front and centre in the audience as was former prime minister Brian Mulroney.

 

The show, which launched on Valentine's Day, has already played Dubai, Europe, Australia, South Africa and Boston - something that was noted in a video as Dion prepared to take the stage.

 

However, in the first tear-jerking moment of the evening - 15 minutes in - Dion allowed that Quebec was the place she most longed to be.

 

"There have been a lot of emotions since the start of this tour but the image I saw most in my head was this night when I came back to this town," she said, promising the 30-song show would "make up for lost time."

 

Although some people call Dion goofy and schmaltzy and mock her earnestness, there was no doubt that she intended to leave her fans Friday with smiles on their face.

 

There were only scant moments when she wasn't on the square stage, usually belting out a song with car alarm-triggering intensity in the high energy show.

 

She sprinkled in some ballads, including "My Love," which brought an extended ovation and another brimming of the tear ducts.

 

Dion had the crowd in the palm of her hand to the point that when she swaggered over to a corner of the stage during various songs, the crowd in that section rose as one as though on command and reached out.

 

The concert has several sections, with one focusing on rock and another dubbed passion, where Dion appears amid flamenco dancers sporting a flowing cape that would have Batman envious.

 

A segment dubbed "fashionista" almost looked Madonna-esque with an outbreak of voguing by Dion's dancers. But that's where the raciness stopped for the songbird of Charlemagne, Que.

 

There were few false notes in the show, which often had the audience up and dancing in the aisles.

 

Her interpretation of "Alone" didn't live up to the original and the song still belongs to Ann Wilson of Heart. "It's A Man's World" also seemed a little overdone.

 

After two encores, Dion had one final treat for fans, who she had readily touched hands with during the show as she worked the stage.

 

She shunned the disappearing act usually done by big acts and chose instead to leave the stage by walking through the audience and greeting fans - albeit with two mountainous bodyguards close by.

 

Dion has several shows on her Montreal bill and will appear in a free concert next week on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City to mark the provincial capital's 400th birthday.

 

The show's next Canadian stop will be in Toronto on Aug. 27.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/AL...xK7gtmlQ4-eSUHw

[Davey84]

thanks bellamy! great article, except for Alone and IAMW! For me, those along with TSMGO were the highlights of the show!

[CellyDee87]

Fans can't fight the feelin'

KATHRYN GREENAWAY, The Gazette

Published: 1 hour ago

 

It was the opening night of Céline Dion's eight-night run at the Bell Centre yesterday and by 6 p.m., there were lineups everywhere you looked.

 

The queue at the adjacent St. Hubert Rotisserie snaked southward. The lineup for the nearby Baton Rouge stretched northward. A crowd pushed up against the arena's main doors waiting for the turnstiles to open. And a six-deep mass of humanity ran the length of the red carpet on the arena's east side.

 

Diane Baril and her 14-year-old god-daughter, Lysanne B. Roberge, had secured front row views of the red carpet. They had driven from Trois Rivières that morning and planned to drive home following the show.

 

"We Quebecers are proud of our Céline," Baril said. "She is a young girl from here who grew up to live her dream."

 

Baril gave her goddaughter a ticket for the concert as a Christmas present. She had the ticket framed and presented the gift as if it was a piece of art.

 

"I screamed," B. Roberge said. "I was so excited. She is a star, yet we feel close to her."

 

"The whole world knows her," Baril said. "I get goosebumps when I say that."

 

Scalpers nearby pushed to off-load tickets at rock bottom prices - one fellow was offering tickets in the white section for $40. A panhandler worked the crowd using his stained straw hat to collect coins.

 

Old and young, dressed to the nines and oozing excitement, the crowd sang along to piped Dion songs and waited for a glimpse of someone famous or, better yet, for a table to free up in a restaurant.

 

Celebrities including Gregory Charles, Mitsou and Corneille strolled the red carpet, pausing for fans to snap photos. (Luc Plamondon slipped through the crowd, unannounced.)

 

On the food front, St. Hubert general manager éric Plourde had his staff of six extra cooks (for a total of 20) and 40 servers ready for action at 3:30 p.m. - 90 minutes earlier than the usual shift begins at the restaurant when there is a show at the Bell Centre. They served two seatings of 500 tables each.

 

"Céline is special. It's not usually like this, not even on a hockey night," Plourde said.

 

Back outside, Quebec City native Yann Auclair waited to see his idol live for the third time. The first time he saw Dion sing live he was five years old.

 

"I've grown up following her career," the Grade 5 elementary school teacher said. "I saw her again when I was 18. It was magnificent. The power of her voice."

 

While Montrealers Louise Leclerc and Rita Greco mingled with the crowd, they spoke of their special memories.

 

Greco saw the Dion's concert at the Bell Centre on New Year's Eve eight years ago.

 

"I was sitting in the fifth row behind (Dion's) father," Greco said. "She was breathtaking."

 

Leclerc saw one of Dion's last shows at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in December.

 

"She came off the stage and gave a little girl a flower," Leclerc said. "She is so down to earth."

 

And then it happened. The doors opened and people surged toward the turnstiles. It was time to see Quebec's queen.

 

"We just want to feel her energy," Greco said.

 

kgreenaway@thegazette.canwest.com

 

 

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008

 

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...01-c9edd5460e06

 

Pop queen rules over Dionland - wailing voice, fist pumps and all

T'CHA DUNLEVY, The Gazette

Published: 1 hour ago

 

You've got to admire a diva who can poke fun at herself - or at least allow others two. Opening act Véronic DiCaire got the crowd laughing early last night at the Bell Centre, with a bang-on Céline Dion imitation - wailing voice, fist pumps and all.

 

Then Dion came out and gave us the real thing. But first, she took it all in.

 

Following a pre-show video montage listing several of the stops so far on her Taking Chances World Tour - including Johannesburg, Tokyo, London, Paris, Prague, Berlin, Dublin and Boston - Dion surfaced, centre stage, hand on her heart, and soaked up the love of 22,400 fans.

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She waved, and yes, she pumped her fist, she smiled, her eyes sparkled, then she closed them. "Bonsoir tout le monde!" she shouted. "Vous êtes là? Vous êtes là?"

 

The answer was an unequivocal yes. This was the first of eight sold-out shows through Sept. 1. (A February 13 date has been added - tickets go on sale next Saturday.) It was the homecoming - with emphasis on "home" - of a Quebec music icon who just happens to be the biggest pop star on the planet.

 

The atmosphere was more than celebratory. It was familial, familiar, emotional and exuberant. This was a state-of-the-art concert experience with aspirations to be intimate.

 

Ramps, conveyer-belt floors, rising and falling platforms all served to facilitate Dion's movement about the spacious square stage at the centre of the room. Along with an array of big screens, it all served to get the singer as up close and personal with her fans as possible.

 

Costume changes come with the territory. And backed by a 10-piece band and eight backup dancers, she was well-surrounded; but there was no doubt as to who the star of the show was.

 

We were in Dionland, and she offered glimpses of all of her persona - from the Euro-dance opener I Drove All Night to the retro rock'n'roll of J'irai ou tu iras, the voice-showcasing ballad The Power of Love (and many others) and the manicured pop of the tour's title track, Taking Chances.

 

Extremes were everywhere. L'amour existe, from her 1991 album Dion chante Plamondon, provided requisite melodrama; and Dans un autre monde veered into grating modern rock territory. She sang operatic pop ballad The Prayer in a video duet with Andrea Bocelli; stomped around the stage in a rowdy rendition of Queen's We Will Rock You; did James Brown's It's a Man's World as a go-girl torch song; and, in the encore, delivered Ike & Tina's River Deep Mountain High like a '60s soul queen (or her approximation thereof).

 

A second encore provided the inevitable My Heart Will Go On, and come-down show-closer Pour que tu m'aimes encore. Then, rather than slip out backstage, she exited through the crowd, greeting fans along the way (followed by a glaring spotlight, of course).

 

The message? Céline Dion: global superstar, woman of the people, of her people, happy to be home.

 

tdunlevy@thegazette.canwest.com

 

 

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008

 

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...67-742aa11f13bf

 

Dionland LOVE IT

Edited August 16, 2008 at 09:31 AM by Denelle

[Celine_2533]

Video by me - L'Amour Existe Encore - MP4 - 71MB

 

http://www.evilshare.com/820e9ab2-bcad-102...2a-00a0c993e9d6

 

Please upload other website, i can't to download.

[Fran]

TV news:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU6FS35CZzA

[pat200]

Amazing! the l'amour existe encore performance sent goosebumps all over my body! i wish i was there to hear that song, which is one of my all time favorites! Thanks again JP for sharing that special moment with us!

[nature boy]

I lost my entire hopes for changes..

 

Why would a good show change? People really enjoyed it and this is what its all about. Of course for all of us watching every moves she makes on youtube and on the net we hope for change, but the show is at its top and shes really into it.

 

I agree what you said..but looking at other side..she is singing the same songs for more than 10 years...is this seems to be perfect for you...come on..i like the show,and everything...but 10 years the same..i'm really sick of that..i think that many people want sth else..this is only my opinion..without any offend..

 

 

I'm really happy to hear about the show and the energy she put into it, sounds amazing!!! wish I could have been there.....but my point after all of this....and why I'm kinda cranky is that it was already been said that they were releasing two separate DVDs one for the English leg and one for the francophone ....which it's totally different as a DVD in two different versions (AND as an example)...and it's pointless if they share most of the songs....for me that's called "milk the fans"...and that's the only reason i was hoping for the different set lists..... just one night of totally different songs....but properly recorded for a commercial release.....still proud of being a fan of such a performer...and this show really shows how much respect she deserves

 

We were told that there was gonna be 2 DVDs of AND orginally. The very first years show and the final one so we could see the "evolution" So I'm taking this 2 DVDs with a pich of salt.

 

I'm stunned regarding the lack of changes actually. I totally agree with you about the lack of differences between the two concerts so far, what's the point ion having 2 discs?? . Again we were told that so many different songs were been rehearsed and the songs listed at the back of the programme. We all expected to be more changes. I would have thought that with singing the same songs for the last 5 years in Vegas they would have had new ones in, to keep things fresh for Celine and the band.

 

That said the show is awesome.

[ashleylovesceline]

Awww, she looks like she's having an amazing time! Thanks, Thomas!

 

Thanks for all the reviews!

[freakyali]

Oh my god, I'm downloading the videos and I'm already so moved by your reaviews!

The thing that makes me so happy is to hear she was happy as well and touched by all the love you gave her last night!!!

How much I wanted to be there!!!!!!

[Prince Whiskers]

The atmosphere was even more intense than I had expected. Clearly, there's nothing like performing for your first-ever fans.

 

Montreal and Celine is a love affair that just keeps standing strong.

[pol]

Can you post the complete setlist of the yesterday show, please?

Do you still state that "My heart will go on" wasn't performed at the end but in the middle of the show??

[Davey84]

please read more carefully, it says in the post that it isn't the right order! anyway all the songs are posted a few pages back, and she did her normal french ending: RDHM, MHWGO, PQTME

[pol]

please read more carefully, it says in the post that it isn't the right order! anyway all the songs are posted a few pages back, and she did her normal french ending: RDHM, MHWGO, PQTME

 

 

Well I read carfeully and I know that the list posted before is NOT in right order.

But somebody back in this topic said that "My heart will go on" was performed around the middle of the show.

So I asked.

 

Anbyway, thanks for resolving my doubts

[zoea2812]

Thankyou for the pictures, Celine looked amazing as always.

[Bellamy]

L'amour Existe Encore sounds as effortless as the 2001 performance.

[dj4celine]

Wowee!!

 

This seems to have been the most amazing show in the whole tour! Celine seems happy, the fans were going crazy and so many celebrities

 

Thanks for the reviews, videos (especially JP for LAEE) and photos (Thomas)

 

Can't wait for more videos to surface

[Prince Whiskers]

L'amour Existe Encore sounds as effortless as the 2001 performance.

The magic that happens when Celine is TRULY into a song.

[dj4celine]

The only wish unfulfilled for me is that she didn't sing OSAAC

 

But she compensates it with her amazing performance of L'Amour Existe Encore

[Chula]

The only wish unfulfilled for me is that she didn't sing OSAAC

 

Which song is it? It's hard to guess.

 

 

 

Intro video (Boston was added)

[Prince Whiskers]

Celine should do proper encores.

[ce-line]

The link doesn't work for me either?!