TWAIN'S SHOWMANSHIP CONNECTS WITH UPBEAT BOWL CROWD.

Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Entertainment Editor

Midway through her encore Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl, Shania Twain stood straddling a cylindrical metal frame. As the song ended, Twain dropped down into the paper-covered cylinder, which was quickly set on fire, revealing an empty frame. As her nine-piece band kept playing, Twain emerged moments later on the side of the stage atop a platform hefted by four burly guys, who carried her through the adoring audience.

And that sums up Twain's show: a little bit of magic, a lot of spectacle, total fun and - oh yeah - some pretty good music. As the lights dimmed before her opening number, a roar of sound came from the speakers followed by fireworks and then Twain's disembodied voice asking, ``Are you ready, L.A.?''

Skipping on stage dressed in a black tank top with two white horizontal stripes along her midriff; shiny, black, form-fitting plastic pants; and funky black-and-white platform shoes, she launched into ``Man! I Feel Like a Woman.'' And we have no doubt she meant it as she playfully prowled the stage and the T-shaped runway that extended into the audience.

It would be easy to be cynical about the Canadian singer who has won the hearts of both country and pop fans. Twain breaks no new ground in her show, serving up most of her hits - and there seem to be a few thousand of them on her last two albums, including ``You're Still the One,'' ``That Don't Impress Me Much'' - with little variations from the CD versions. At times her voice, which is appealing on record, is lost amid her band's strong backing. And no one is going to call the songs masterpieces that Twain and her producer, ``Mutt'' Lang, write. But they are well-craft, polished pop songs with an infectious edge - something that's becoming rarer and rarer these days - and the tunes wear well, making you want to get up and dance, which is what Twain wants you to do.

Throughout the concert, Twain urged audience members to ``get off your butts.'' She spends a lot of time interacting with them, waving at and high-fiving fans, bringing some of them up on stage for Polaroid pictures, which she signed and gave them. While all this is no doubt well planned, it also seems natural for Twain. It was certainly fun watching the 33-year-old singer's multi-generational audience - from tykes to those in their 60s - rocking away. (That Twain grew up in poverty is well known, and it should be noted that she gives some of her concert proceeds to local charities to feed children.)

While Twain may not be pure country, she embodies the modern sensibility of an old stereotype. She's not just standing around standing by her man. In ``Honey, I'm Home,'' she tells her man to fix her a drink and rub her neck while she complains about her job. In ``Man! I Feel Like a Woman,'' she wants to ``get a little out of line.''

That Twain isn't some angst-ridden 20-something but a mature woman with an upbeat, even wild side is what her audience responds to when she's on stage.

Profound? The best thing since sliced bread? To quote a Twain title, ``Don't Be Stupid.'' But pure entertainment? You bet.