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Posted February 13, 200916 yr

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Céline's homecoming a love-in for Quebec fans
By T'CHA DUNLEVY, The GazetteFebruary 13, 2009 12:01 PM

There are homecomings and then there are homecomings. When we last saw Céline Dion, she was settling in for eight sold-out nights at the Bell Centre at the end in August, a little more than halfway through her Taking Chances world tour. Last night she returned for the first of three more Montreal dates, with the tour's end just a couple of weeks away.

An air of familiarity permeated the evening. She was again playing to a sellout crowd of over 22,400 people. Singer-comedian Véronic Dicaire again warmed up the room with impressions of various Quebec music personalities, culminating in an all-in-good-fun sendup of Dion herself.

With few exceptions, the set list and staging were virtually identical. Remember, this is a woman who did Vegas for five years - she has no problem performing the same show night after night, throwing herself into each performance as if it was her last. Last night, it almost was.

It felt like a love-in, an atmosphere that Dion fosters, allowing herself regular breaks throughout the night to soak it all in. She has it down pat - eyes wide with emotion, hand on heart, sigh of disbelief/gratitude, etc.

Loosely divided into four segments - Rock, Passion, Fashionista and Soul - the set list was designed to show Dion's various personalities, which she sprinkled throughout her career-spanning set.

First song I Drove All Night launched the party on a Euro-dance note. Dion skipped to all corners of the open-concept stage, waving to her fans as she went. J'irai où tu n'iras pas, next, had a boogie rock feel. Power of Love brought the imperative power-ballad.

"Merci beaucoup," Dion said, after this last song (she addressed the crowd en français all night). "Finally, I'm back home. I missed you. I have to say, in a few days, this great adventure that started a year ago in South Africa will end. This year, I had the opportunity, with my family and team, to live moments that were honestly wonderful. But the most wonderful thing is coming home."

She performed Taking Chances early in the night, delivering her lines with streamlined, quivering emotion.

Cue flamenco interlude, Dion's dancers and 10-piece band taking the spotlight while she changed costumes. Luc Plamondon's dramatic ballad L'amour existe encore came with a dedication to recently hospitalized rocker Éric Lapointe. Dans un autre monde was straight '90s pop-rock, while All By Myself gave her a chance to tug at people's heartstrings.

She sat on the piano, just like last time, to tell the audience how producer Linda Perry wrote a song for her - My Love - which she sang a cappella (prompting catcalls from the crowd). She again performed The Prayer, in video-duet with Andrea Bocelli, and wrapped up the show with a string of soul hits, including It's a Man's World and River Deep Mountain High. (She dropped the cover of Queen's We Will Rock You, performed last time.)

And let's not forget My Heart Will Go on, in the second encore, complete with Titanic video montage, candles and Dion in a flowing black gown, singing from atop a podium, centre stage. The audience lapped up every overwrought minute.

tdunlevy@thegazette.canwest.com