Omaha, USA feb 26th

Posted February 27, 200916 yr

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In Omaha at last, Céline Dion wows fans
Errant spotlights shine off the bald spots of dutiful husbands, quietly clutching beers amid groups of chattering women, all perfume and good cheer.

Suddenly the lights go dark.

Celine Dion at an earlier concert in Canada.Such was the scene Thursday night as the clock hit 9:20, and the wait for Céline Dion's long-anticipated Omaha appearance came to an end.

Emerging from behind video screens planted in the center of the stage, Dion was greeted briefly with cheers that turned into the silence of awe.

Apparently, these people were fans.

Dion put on a crowd-pleasing spectacle of a show, constantly keeping her four-sided stage-in-the-round popping with movement, lights and color.

The concert, postponed from its original date in November because of Dion's inflamed vocal cords, drew just under 16,000 people to Qwest Center Omaha, including one group holding up a "We came from Brazil" sign.

Dion delivered what they were looking for, romping across the stage to give the fans watching from all sides equal view of her 20-plus-song performance, including "Taking Chances," the tour's namesake; "All By Myself" and "I'm Your Angel," originally a duet with R. Kelly but performed here with a talented male backup singer.

Eight dancers provided worthy distraction during outfit changes, and Dion emerged from below stage each time to renewed cheers.

The crowd consisted mostly of women in their 40s, with older and younger faces dotting the masses. Females outnumbered males at least 2-to-1.

Dion played to the audience intimately, apologizing sincerely for the postponed November show and even creating an Omaha theme song, asking the crowd to join her as she sung "Ay-O-ma-ma-ha" in a French-Canadian accent.

The crowd stayed with her in a subdued enthusiasm - this is Nebraska, after all - and cheered as she crouched on the floor of the stage to collect trinkets, flowers and kisses from those close to the stage.

Though mentioning Céline Dion's name can draw poisonous looks in the outside world, on Thursday night, the Qwest Center was flooded with love.

After two separate fake exits, Dion re-emerged on stage in a flowing black dress, surrounded by candles - and gave the crowd exactly what they were waiting for.

"My Heart Will Go On" drifted to the rafters as video from the movie "Titanic" played on large screens, the crowd swaying with the music.

The song was the last of Dion's yearlong worldwide tour, and she brought her dancers, stage crew and singers up to share a hug and a cry with her final crowd before calling it a night.

"Thank you for giving us another chance," she said. "I love you guys. Good night."