TORONTO - When Diana Krall began touring in support of her latest album The Girl In The Other Room in April 2004, she started with a special mini-concert at Union Station with hubby Elvis Costello nearby.

Last night at the first of two-sold out shows at the Hummingbird Centre, Elvis was nowhere near the building. But Krall and her tight trio of musicians delivered a strong two-hour set.

The singer, who will conclude her tour this week in Ottawa, opened the night with I Love Being Here With You, a quick and punchy jazz number that seemed to work out any foreseeable kinks.

Krall, wearing a black dress, kept herself planted on her piano bench in front of her ebony Steinway for most of the evening, often stomping one foot while tapping the other. Stop This World, the opening track from the new album, slowed things down somewhat as Krall grimaced slightly while pouring herself into the tune.

"Thank you very much, good evening," Krall said before a certain audience member, aka Flyerman, stole some of her thunder.

"What's happening?" she asked him before shutting him up. "This is my show but it's cool."

And cool she and her supporting cast were for most of the night. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (and no, not the Green Day song) was a tender, dim-the-lights sort of tune as Krall delivered it in a whispery tone.

Just as pleasing was her guitar player Anthony Wilson. Although looking as if he was in pain most of the night with his contorted facial expressions, Wilson had plenty of solo moments during Deed I Do.

Above all though, the night belonged to Krall, particularly on the softer numbers like Little Girl Blue that showed her strong pipes against her softer, sultry vocals. My Shining Hour started a bit slow but kicked into high gear. Throughout it all, Krall manages to play and perform so easily it seems almost mechanical. But it isn't.

Later on in the evening, Krall mentioned how she had completed a Christmas album recently that will be released shortly. She also showed a lighter side as the crowd clapped on hearing the news.

"You haven't heard it yet! It could suck," she said to laughs.

She also kept the Christmas thread during I Was Doing All Right, slipping in a bit of Let It Snow on piano.

The homestretch included Devil May Care which seemed to fall a bit flat as Krall rambled through the lyrics but the smooth Almost Blue brought things back to normal.

After a flubbed attempt at Don't Fence Me In, Krall shone in the encore with the high-tempo Frim Fram Sauce and the mellower, melancholic Departure Bay.