OTTAWA -- Even the name of their tour -- Soul2Soul -- is a bit much.

The Tim McGraw/Faith Hill marital musical rolled into Ottawa last night, the last Canadian date on a tour that in 2006 proved to be the highest-grossing country act of all time. Ottawa turned out in droves too, 15,000 of them breathlessly packing into Scotiabank Place, many clad in cowboy hats of their own.

The 39- and 40-year-old couple, who met when Hill was McGraw's opening act, have been married 10 years and have three daughters. As was to be expected, their enviable marital bond was put out on full display last night.

Hill appeared first, rising from the round stage in the middle of the floor in a pair of black sequin-spangled pants, singing the opening lines of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars. Deafening cheers.

Moments later, a cowboy-hat clad McGraw appeared from the stage's nether regions. Even more deafening cheers. From there it was all about the lingering glances, the tender hand placement, the wait till the show is done and I get you back on the bus sort of sexual tension: In short, the kind of chemistry that is palpable, and for that reason, perhaps faintly annoying.

You know those perfect couples at dinner parties who can't keep their hands off each other? Like that.

The Sun's earliest deadline made it difficult to file much in the way of an encompassing review.

The show has regularly stretched between two-and-a-half and three hours, featuring a lengthy solo section from both artists as well as a half-dozen duets, accompanied by an eight-piece band and two backup singers.

I can tell you this: Once McGraw departed, Hill delivered exactly the kind of heartfelt, dramatic new country music her fans wanted, though I have to wonder if any of them were as distracted by the static electrified halo of blonde hair she was sporting, through no fault of her own.

There was a healthy portion of Nashville flavour, like The Lucky One,and the apt Sunshine & Summertime, and then plenty of Hill's crossover crowd pleasers, like This Kiss, a rearranged, and not in a good way, version of ballad Cry, the awesome Breathe, during which Hill got up close with some of her front row fans, and the peppy The Way You Loved Me. There was a pretty cool cover of Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart and also Lost, which provided a pleasant sneak peek into what's going to be on offer from Hill's next album, due later this year. Not surprisingly, as the singer explained, "it's a song about being madly in love."

Hill is solid and likeable, but she's just not the most exciting performer around. She can sing, sure, but other than that her repertoire consists of jiggling one leg on the spot, strutting around, catwalk-like, waving sweetly to individual fans, and doing elaborate curtseys after big numbers.

McGraw had yet to come out for his portion of the show by deadline, but having seen him in the past I would have bet on a couple of things happening: Most of the women in the crowd would go crazy wild, he would bust out a white undershirt at some point and indulge in some sort of self-deprecating banter with the crowd.

That's one thing the country acts -- the big, lucrative, here-to-stay ones like McGraw/Hill -- have down pat. From a stage that sent risers deep into the floor crowd in all four directions, to the length of time they played, to the inevitable autographs they would sign at the end, they never seem to forget who's boss.