Reba McEntire! That’s all that needs to be said, due to her fantastic show Friday, Oct. 6 at Hilton Coliseum. Her show was visually and musically impressive to all that attended.

Reba’s opening acts were double the fun. Rhett Akins and Tracy Byrd took the stage for a good hour of honky-tonk and male vocals to spice up the night. Georgia-born Rhett Akins performed first.

He magically appeared in the middle of the crowd and stopped many Iowan women’s hearts as his tight, faded blue jeans and white sparkly jacket did him justice. He made his way to the front stage slapping the hands of many adoring fans along the way.

Next in line was Tracy Byrd. He performed for about 40 minutes and sang his most memorable song, “The Watermelon Crawl,” which jolted the audience onto their feet and got them dancing in the aisles. After Byrd’s electrifying performance, the audience was set for the main act.

The black stage was bare and only a white tarp covered it. The lights went out, the announcer’s voice boomed over the loud speakers and the spotlights zoomed around the room as one of Reba’s famous videos, “Fancy,” flashed over the tarp, which revealed two huge screens.

The video showed her in a taxi cab smoking a cigarette, in an old-fashioned black jacket and her red hair all tied up. All of a sudden, the real Reba came out in a real taxi, got out and started singing “Fancy.” The crowd went wild with delight, especially in the middle of the song, when she let her hair down and ripped off the black coat. Lo and behold, she was in a drop-dead, crimson evening gown to finish off the song.

Reba was so swift in her dozen or so costume changes that the audience never got bored waiting for her; she filled up the space so well with videos and her dancers. Reba’s back-up singers were fantastic including the one and only Linda Davis.

Some highlights of the evening were the songs, usage of the stage and the extraordinary special effects. They included such spectacles as fireworks, trapdoors, a hydraulic lift (for popping out of the stage) and a movable platform bridge that Reba rode over the audience for her encore.

Some of the highlight songs were “The Heart Won’t Lie,” with Vince Gill on a huge screened version that was taped prior to the show; “She Thinks His Name Was John,” where a huge AIDS quilt came down from the ceiling and brought tears to many fans; and her finale, “Is There Life Out There,” where she donned three different costumes: her old-fashioned dress, her graduation robe that came down from above and a purple business suit.

All in all, the only name you have to say is REBA, and you know you’ve got an entertaining show with terrific talent to bring the house down — REBA STYLE!