Murray cheers sellout crowd> Canadian singer full of wit, warmth

Anne Murray proved just the thing to warm up a wet sellout crowd during a June monsoon.

“Ah, another beautiful, balmy spring day in Maine,” the veteran Canadian songstress joked early in the show Sunday night at the Maine Center for the Arts, University of Maine.

In her first trip to Maine in seven years, Murray, who just turned 53, gave the audience the hits they had come for, including “Just Another Woman in Love,” “Fall in Love With You,” “Can I Have This Dance” and “You Needed Me.”

The Nova Scotia native also gave her own flavor to the Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me,” the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin.’ ”

But Murray, dressed in an oversized ivory suit, refused to become a nostalgia act, with a good portion of Sunday’s show coming off her 1996 self-titled album, or, as she described it, “a really well-kept secret.”

She rolled out such up-tempo, rocking tunes as “Shame on Me,” “That’s the Way It Goes,” “I Knew Too Much” and Bryan Adams’ “What Would It Take,” which wouldn’t have been out of place on a Bonnie Raitt album. The newer material didn’t win over the rather mature crowd, but Murray deserves credit for looking ahead as well as back.

Two big attractions at the concert didn’t have to do strictly with the music. One was Murray’s sense of humor. She told a story about how her ego is regularly kept in check by fans. A female fan after a recent concert told Murray that she had only one disappointment.

” `What was that?,’ I asked. `You didn’t sing my favorite song,’ the woman replied. Puzzled, I asked, `Which one was that?’ `I Am Woman,’ she replied.

“So if any of you came to hear `I Am Woman,’ `Delta Dawn,’ `Angie Baby’ or `Me and You Against the World,’ you’ve got the wrong broad,” Murray explained to riotous laughter.

Also Murray’s infectious smile and her obvious camaraderie with her band, many of whom have been with her for more than 20 years, added to the evening’s sense of fun.

That relationship came through in the banter during an acoustic segment featuring Murray, her two guitarists and her backup singer.

Seated on stools, they sandwiched “Love Song” and “Snowbird” around three requests from the audience, “Song for the Mira,” “Blue Finger Lou” and “Put Your Hand in the Hand.” “Some of those songs were on albums that sold only three copies,” Murray marveled.

After tossing yellow roses to the audience, Murray closed with an encore of “Shadows in the Moonlight” and the classic “Danny’s Song.”

In an hour and 40 minutes, Murray showed why she’s been a favorite in Canada for 30 years, as her warmth and charm won the crowd.