October 24-25, 2008 - Edmonton, Canada (Rexall Place)

[Jacqui]

CELINE LEFT HER HOTEL IN VANCOUVER AT 8PM FOR THE AIRPORT, WE SAW THEM DRIVE PAST US ON THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT!! RC WAS WITH THEM SO HE NOT IN VEGAS!

 

Doesn't Rene-Charles always travel with his parents? Why was there any possiblity of him being in vegas?

 

And Tracy, I'm sorry you didn't get to see Celine, that sucks Hopefully next time you'll have more luck!

[bonninpili]

Celine Dion in Edmonton

(11:50 a.m. GMT) There's a reason Celine Dion has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide over the course of her career. It's the exact same reason why a sold-out crowd of 16,800 shelled out the big bucks to see her first appearance in Edmonton in over a decade Friday night at Rexall Place.

 

The reason is simple enough: the lady sure can sing. Dion is the quintessential performer: ultimately devoted to her material and her fans. Sure, her stage demeanor has been the subject of countless imitations (flattering and not-so-flattering) - the fist pumps, the banging on the chest, the "powerful" facial expressions and more than a bit of over-the-top showmanship.

 

Unfortunately for her detractors, Dion knows how to work a stage, and there was little doubt Friday night that the price of admission was worth every single penny. It didn't take long for Dion to remind us she practically packs as many hits as the countless blinding diamonds adorning her costumes.

 

From the get-go, there they were: I Drove All Night, Taking Chances, It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Because You Loved Me - back to back to back chart-toppers with more "money notes" than one can handle without feeling their spines melting. "It's been more than 12 years since we were last here," Dion told her audience. "It's been way too long."

 

Dion went on to thank a long list of people who are part of her Taking Chances tour, which she called her "family adventure" - including her 81-year-old mother (who raised Dion alongside her 13 siblings) and her son Rene-Charles (named in part after husband and manager Rene Angelil), who have been along for the ride since the tour began back in February.

 

There was little doubt that every little detail of Dion's performance have been worked out and rehearsed to the nth degree. Years of performing in Vegas have provided Dion with a well-oiled concert machine that borrows heavily from her (and other) Cirque du Soleil casino stage act, incorporating rising areas for her band, as well as trap doors and sliding platforms for her many dancers.

 

Acoustically, this had to be one of the best sounding shows we've ever witnessed at Rexall - incredibly loud and powerful, yet ultimately controlled and precise. Every instrument played by her huge, pitch-perfect band (three guitars, bass, keyboards and a variety of percussions) rang loud and clear, and Dion's singing was simply mesmerizing.

 

The show's presentation, complete with a giant LED "cage" that moved above and on the stage and served to provide Dion with a nifty way to head below discretely for costume changes, was worth the price of admission alone. But it was the material which had fans screaming for more, including the French classic Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore, Love Can Move Mountains and, of course, a perfect closer in My Heart Will Go On.

 

Whether you like her or not - and judging by the number of cross-armed husbands and boyfriends "tagging along" for last night's show, there are clearly a few who couldn't care less - Dion's voice is still pure gold. And when she hits those "ka-ching" moments in All By Myself or The Power of Love, you'd be hard-pressed not to want to let yourself be swept away.

 

[source: Edmonton Journal]

[Chellbie]

ANY reviews from last nights show??? from people from the forum.

[linah4]

Thanks for the tips, Shesings2me . can't wait!

 

Please though someone tell me, the box office where i'm supposed pick up the tickets says "regular hours...Saturday: 9-1:30"!!!!! I won't be there by 1:30!! tell me they are opened longer for the concert! Please...

[linah4]

Sorry guys, i just called ticket master and they said that it will be open one hour before to one hour after the show starts (what a relief... still kind of dumb). So someone said that she will arrive at the arena at about 5:00 PM? is this right? so i go to the arena at about 4:40 and go through the East side on the south end on Wayne Gretzky Drive South lol. So you said in the Parking lot . I'm just worried about the timing...

 

Thanks again Shesings2me!! Can't wait!

[mebe]

Another great review:

 

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/D/Dion_C...201126-sun.html

 

Rexall Place, Edmonton - October 24, 2008

By MIKE ROSS - Sun Media

 

 

 

EDMONTON - One you've "gone" Vegas, there is no coming back.

 

Just ask Elvis.

 

But of course you could argue that Celine Dion has had it in her all along. She was born to be a diva. It fits her well.

 

With a five-year Vegas run under her belt, she's also set the bar high over the last few years.

 

So now she's staging a spectacular, grandiose and thoroughly entertaining Cirque du Celine show on the road in a tour dubbed "Taking Chances," which ironically doesn't take any chances at all.

 

What's she going to do at this point? Come out in jeans with a small acoustic combo to croon a folky version of My Heart Will Go On with no special effects whatsoever? That would be taking chances. But I don't think so.

 

 

The word of the day is "big" - big voice, big production, big costumes, big deal all the way around. We expected no less.

 

Whether or not you saw her Las Vegas show, last night's spectacle at Rexall Place was a real treat.

 

And even if you quibble with her Meat Loafian, chest-thumping vocal delivery and the thick layers of musical bombast that accompany it every step of the way, you'd have to be made of stone not to feel goosebumps at the dramatic modulation in All By Myself - the Eric Carmen classic she now owns.

 

Same goes for the Power of Love. Same goes for It's All Coming Back to Me Now, written by the baron of bombast, Jim Steinman (Meat Loaf's partner in crime). They don't build songs much bigger than this, and there aren't many voices bigger than Celine Dion's. It all works out.

 

By the end of the show, no stop was left unpulled, no power ballad was spared, and no utterance of the word "love" was unadorned by at least three syllables, sometimes many more.

 

Presented "in the round" on a stage constructed of moveable cubes festooned with video screens, the show opened with a montage suggesting a car commercial, befitting the first, disco-fied tune: Drove All Night, as in "I drove all night to make love to you."

 

Much joy was noted in a largely female crowd of 16,500, with a like number expected for tonight's likewise sold-out show.

 

In a short skirt with what appeared to be the gross national product of a small country-worth of jewelry on her arms, Celine first appeared on a riser at centre stage before striding to the four corners to greet the fans, resounding cheers meeting her at every turn.

 

In the vocal department, as ever, she made it look easy - hitting every note with flawless precision, often thumping herself to drive home the more powerful moments, sometimes even chewing off the notes at the end.

 

It's a simple pleasure watching someone that gifted with such a high level of technique, never mind the material.

 

I've often carved Dion in the past for seeming to value her own voice over the songs she sings - "listen to me sing!" far less preferable than "listen to my song!"

 

But I'm not so sure anymore. I've seen Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey is a self-obsessed over-singer of the highest order.

 

Celine Dion is no Mariah Carey. Celine last night showed taste, tact, emotion and a warmth you don't often get from a diva in a gazillion dollar in-the-round stadium spectacular stuffed into an arena.

 

In the battle between an amazing voice and not-so-amazing songs, let's call it a draw. At this point, the high production is inseparable from the singer it supports.

 

In between hitting most of the big hits from her long career, Celine disappeared at regular intervals for costume changes, each more fabulous than the last, while a crack squad of eight dancers wowed the audience with Cirque-like choreography.

 

Perhaps she met these guys in Vegas.

 

But even within the larger than life presentation, with elements of her large band popping up and down from inside the mechanical stage, as needed, there were moments of intimacy.

 

Celine reminded area fans it's been 12 years since she's been here. She triggered vast outpourings of familial warmth by mentioning that her 81-year-old mother (who raised 14 children) is on the road with her.

 

And she allowed a folksy moment of connection with her fans, as she said, "I'm sure you can put yourself in my shoes - because I do have a lot of them."

 

Not sure what that's supposed to mean - that she's got a lot of shoes or a lot of fans? Both, obviously.

 

The opening act was straight out of Vegas - literally. When impressionist Gordie Brown isn't opening for Celine Dion, you can see him at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.

 

Teeing off on everyone from Hootie to MC Hammer, from John Wayne to Robert di Niro, from Neil Diamond to Ozzy Osbourne and ending with Michael Jackson and Elvis, naturally, Brown displayed impressive impressionistic skill, mildly risque humour and finely honed material so proven that you might not mind that the act probably hasn't changed much in 10 years. What?! No O.J. Simpson jokes?

 

Celine Dion's Taking Chances concert repeats at Rexall Place tonight.

[Shesings2me]

Awesome reviews; it sounds like I missed quite a show. But I'm so happy to have shared my love of Celine with others last night. I sold my ticket to a friend from work and then bought more for her sister and sister's partner off Ebay. My friend ended up getting sick, so her brother from Edmonton went instead. As I already mentioned it took me forever to finally meet up with them to get them the tickets, took 6 to 7 hours of driving time to and from Edmonton, I missed waiting for Celine because of this and other commitments, etc....BUT it was so worth it when I got a call late this morning from one of them. They were driving back to Calgary and they wanted to call to let me know how magical their experience with Celine was. Keep in mind that this lady is in her 60s; she said that they were on an absolute HIGH this morning. She said that Celine was in absolutely FINE form and that it was obvious that she had a LOVE AFFAIR with her audience. She couldn't believe the AMAZING range and power of Celine's voice and how her voice FILLED THEM UP with so much JOY. She and her family were so grateful for all the trouble I went through to make this happen for them. Now this was a great way to wake up after such a trying 24 hours.

 

Linah, for goodness sake go early to make sure you don't miss her. And by the way, there are two sets of doors for picking up tickets. Don't go to the set that says "Box Office"; go next door and you'll see all kinds of windows that say "will call". Yesterday, the windows didn't open until about 6pm, so I'm not sure what they'll do today. My suggestion is that you get there around 4pm to wait for Celine, have a wonderful time taking a pic with her and of course getting an autograph or two, and then get yourself to the Will Call doors which are close by...and you'll be just fine; actually, you'll be more than fine 'cause you would have seen Celine and so you'll be bragging to everyone else in line and showing them the autograph, etc

 

HAVE FUN GIRLFRIEND!!!

[celinevegas]

Took you photos of your meeting and the show?

[celinevegas]

VIDEOS :

 

"My Heart will go on " :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=_jE8B5ndAl8

 

"Alone " :

 

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=u65bpODiyCA

 

[Lou555]

Glad to read great press reviews from Edmonton! Thanks for posting!

 

Any fan reviews yet?

[linah4]

Aww guys i missed her everything was blocked off and the security made me go to the first box office. i went and got my tickets, but no Celine. i sat in that parking lot for about 20 mins and my family got tired of it and left. i wasn't driving so i couldn't stop them. we did get a hotel near the rexall place.... but not an autograph... ok. where would i go after the show???

 

Thanks again shesings2me, i just read your message, and its too late for that.

[celinesounds]

thanks for the reviews and the videos

[KatieCanning]

Did anypne get any good video of the show lastnight???!

[linah4]

WOOOOOOO!

 

Lol i just got backk from the concert.... AWESOME!!

 

So, i didn't get my autograph.. or didn't get to meet her, but the show was awesome. yes im trying not to let it ruin my night. my seats were great. I'll post some photos in a bit. it was hilarious though when she started "My Love" someone in first level yelled "I love you, Celine!" and she dropped and started laughing!! it was so funny and she couldn't start again. she's like "This is supposed to be easier than the recording studio!" "It's not supposed to be funny". lol, she was great. She came down and shook hands with the audience.... signed autographs, of course on the opposite side of the arena that i was on. oh well... there's always next time.

[stevo]

I LOVE this!!..."I've seen Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey is a self-obsessed over-singer of the highest order.

 

Celine Dion is no Mariah Carey. Celine last night showed taste, tact, emotion and a warmth you don't often get from a diva in a gazillion dollar in-the-round stadium spectacular stuffed into an arena."

 

Amen

[CELINO]

No pics??

[Terre]

Thanks for the reviews and videos!

[binsk]

listen to how high of a note she got on river deep mountain high at 4:55

she went higher than usual

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OZDWSJeqTU

[celinevegas]

listen to how high of a note she got on river deep mountain high at 4:55

she went higher than usual

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OZDWSJeqTU

I have not the impression that people participate in the show!?!

[Bruno Dion]

no pictures?????????????

[linah4]

I have to go buy a memory card reader, lol. then i will post the really bad quality pics i got cause i wasn't sure how they handled cameras at the show. Tried asking here but i didn't get a response so i just took my small camera so i could sneak it in

[Alex_Incognito]

Tracy----glad you had a good time!!! I miss you!

[linah4]

Here are some pics...

 

Umm i can only upload one of them?

[Teodora]

My friend Cristina and her husband Jason were at one of the concerts in Edmonton and she gave me permission to upload her pics here (she's too busy with her first baby, a girl named Nadia Celine ). She even got to meet Celine at her hotel in Edmonton, she was all alone there (no other fans) and Celine was quite alone herself, just bodyguards. Here you go:

[Teodora]

Part 2:

[Teodora]

Part 3 and final:

[celinefan5]

They are amazing pictures She's so lucky!

[nano]

Thanks for the pictures!!

[celcris]

Hmmmm... I am so frustrated that I didn't think to check the forum before the concert! I haven't been on the Forum too many times, and I kept on searching fans to attend the show on Facebook, with no luck.

 

I attended the show on Friday, October 24th and I had gold package seats purchased 11 months ago. Prior to that I have only seen Celine once in Las Vegas (after 12 years of dreaming of her), and I was lucky to get my seats exchanged from the 7th row to the front row by the Box Office Manager. Being so close to Celine, I wasn't really able to enjoy the show, as I kept on shivering throughout the whole thing. Celine was just meters away from me and when she sat down at the edge of the stage, she basically sat in front of me! What an amazingly beautiful woman, both inside and out!

 

Anyways, at her concert in Edmonton, I had the chance to enjoy myself: I danced and sang and yelled all show long. I was also able to take some really nice pictures and videos, which I will always treasure! Such an amazing show... What a night!!!

After the show I begged my husband to take me to the Fairmont MacDonald Hotel and after about an hour of waiting, one of Celine's security agents came to us and told us she would no longer come downstairs. Full of disappointment, we left home, but promised to return the next day.

 

So on October 25th, we sat in front of the hotel for about 2 hours. It was freezing and we had our 2 month old daughter, Nadia Celine, with us. But that wait was all worthed. Celine came downstairs just minutes before 5 PM, and even though the security people said she wouldn't stop as she is in a huge hurry, all I had to say was "Celine!" and she came straight to me!!! She was not very warm nor very talkative to me, but she signed my book and my husband's Montreal Canadiens hockey jersey, and she took the picture with me despite the fact that her bodyguard tried to push me away from the car. When I thanked her for having been such a huge inspiration throughout my life, she sighed and mumbled a little 'thank you'. Now I found out that she was actually battling a cold, and probably wasn't feeling too good. Not to mention the stress that she always undergoes before her shows.

 

After she left, we learnt that besides me and my family, she stopped with a couple of ladies from Calagry inside the hotel and also stopped in to congratulate the bride and the groom that were having the reception inside the hotel.

 

However, I am forever grateful for having met Celine in person. She is my model in life and I am glad I could say thank you to her!

Edited October 29, 2008 at 08:26 PM by celcris

[celcris]

LOL I just noticed my friend posted some of the pictures we took during the show and after just when I was composing my message! Thanks Teo! )