Live Review: Celine Dion in San Jose, CA

Fans had waited a long time for Celine Dion to finally find her way back to San Jose.

They had waited patiently while the star conducted a five-year residency in Las Vegas, where she performed more than 700 nights at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, from 2003 to 2007. They put up with the highly publicized tour postponement, deemed necessary due to the star's battle with a respiratory illness, which translated to the San Jose date being bumped back three months.

Most incredibly, they withstood an opening set by "comedian" Gordie Brown, a celebrity impersonator who seemingly hasn't updated his act in 15 years, given that he's still doing bits on Julio Iglesias and "Thriller"-era Michael Jackson.

In all, it had been some 11 years since the Canadian songbird had last performed in Silicon Valley's capital city, during 1998's "Let's Talk About Love Tour." Judging by the reaction of the capacity crowd at HP Pavilion on Friday night (2/20), however, Celine was worth the wait.

"I can't tell you how wonderful it is to finally make it back to all of you in San Jose," the star said early in the evening. "I just want you to know that I never want to let you down."

The 40-year-old native of Montreal, who ranks--any way you want to slice it--as one of the most successful female vocalists in history, definitely didn't let her fans down with this stop on the "Taking Chances World Tour." For nearly two hours, she poured herself into a fan-friendly set list that included plenty of greatest hits, material from the 2007 studio album "Taking Chances" and a few covers.

The show opened with a raucous cover of "I Drove All Night," a tune that Cyndi Lauper first made famous in 1989 and Dion later recorded on 2003's "One Heart" CD, as the star appeared atop a large, boxy stage set up "in-the-round." The staging was just elaborate enough, featuring huge overhead video screens and lifts that would raise and lower Dion and members of her 10-piece band, but not over-the-top.

Likewise, the costuming and theatrics were done in moderation (at least for someone who spent five years in Vegas), although both would grow wilder toward the end of the night. In all, she did just enough in those respects to prove that she can hang with her peer group (Cher, Bette Midler, Madonna, etc.) without resorting to the extremes of, say, a Sarah Brightman show.

She also showed a surprising amount of restraint in the vocal category. She hit, and held, some notes that were simply breathtaking, but she never forced fans to endure the kind of self-indulgent vocal gymnastics that bring down so many female singers' shows.

The quieter moments were the night's best, when Dion would just relax and softly croon into the microphone, accompanied a small subsection of her large band. The evening's worst bits were all the big-production numbers, especially the frantic soul-medley that came toward the end of the show. Hearing Dion cover such cuts as Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" and James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" only underscores the obvious: She's not a soul singer.

And that's OK, given her ability as a contemporary pop/easy-listening performer. In that category, her clear, classy and bold voice is nearly without compare, as she proved with the evening's final number, "My Heart Will Go On."