Since the show was on a Wednesday night and the United Center is much closer to my office than home that meant I would be heading over right after work. It also meant that I would be wearing my concert clothes of jeans, cowboy boots, plaid shirt and black sequined electric cowboy hat all day. That's right, the electric hat that I bought at Ravinia last year had to make a return appearance!
The lights came down and the crowd started to roar with anticipation as we watched the video screens. It was the dramatic scenes from the Blown Away video as the tornado was shattering every window. It got louder and the energy was building as we watched every brick and every board blowing away. The videos on stage were projected on a set shaped like a house. The swirling of the wind came to a sudden stop as if the house was landing on the stage. The music for Good Girl started and the door opened and Carrie made her grand entrance on stage belting out her hard driving and 2012 CMT Video of the Year winning hit song!
After that thrilling opening, she kept the energy in high gear going into Undo It and Wasted. She looked stunning in a wonderful feather covered gown that was long in the back and short in the front to show her shapely long legs. She then sang her ballad I Told You So and her voice sounded as pure and crystal clear as always. It was surprising then after that song to see her turn away from the microphone and cough. Was it possible that she had a cold? It was hard to tell from her outstanding performance of her latest single Two Black Cadillacs that immediately followed.
After her first costume change she kept on serving up the hits with Last Name and All American Girl. Then, as if she was not feeling under the weather at all, she delivered a beautiful and heartwarming version of Temporary Home followed by her beloved first single, Jesus Take The Wheel. She closed out this set with her popular favorite from the Play On album and 2010 CMT Video of the Year winning Cowboy Casanova.
When she returned to the stage she had changed into a very cute t-shirt and cut off jean shorts. She walked to the front of the stage where some members of her band had all gathered within a smaller area surrounded by a picket fence. It was a very cute setting for her song Get Out Of This Town from the Some Hearts album. How thrilling it was when this entire section of the stage started to lift up into the air and move over the crowd on the main floor!!! Here she was now moving closer to her fans and creating a warm and intimate environment where there wasn't a bad seat in the house.
She hovered over the crowd and went through almost all of the Blown Away album. We were treated to live performances of Nobody Ever Told You, Thank God For Home Towns, Do You Think About Me and One Way Ticket. During this free spirited party anthem huge beach balls were tossed onto the main floor lending to the fun that was already being had by all. She also threw in Crazy Dreams from the Carnival Ride album during this aerial set.
They all came back to earth and the fun continued this time wearing some sleek black skinny pants and a shiny blue jacket. She continued with another track from the Blown Away album, Leave Love Alone. She was joined by opening act Hunter Hayes. While it's a great song, she seemed to be taking some on stage vocal rest during this one letting Hunter carry most of it. Maybe she does have a cold????
In somewhat of a surprise, Carrie started to rock the house with a cover of the Aerosmith classic Sweet Emotion. If you had seen her CMT Crossroads concert with Steven Tyler earlier this year, you would know that this performance, in fact, made perfect sense. But quickly returning to the country music that we all love, she was joined by Brad Paisley on the video screens to sing their wonderful ballad Remind Me. This set was brought to a rousing close with Cupid's Got A Shotgun and her huge smash Before He Cheats.
The crowd was cheering on their feet wanting to hear more. It was loud and amazing. Then, we knew she couldn't leave without giving us the title track from Blown Away and when the video screens were once again filled with the familiar tornado footage we knew the time had come. The energy in the arena had built up to an amazing climax when it suddenly stopped!
There was Carrie standing in a spotlight in an exquisite black gown. There was some light twinkling on the piano and soft strings playing. This wasn't Blown Away!!!
No, instead Carrie quite literally blew us away with her pristine and flawlessly powerful vocals on I Know You Won't. The crowd was riveted by her impressive delivery standing silently in awe of her amazing talent. Then, after knocking us over with a feather, the familiar beat started for Blown Away. It's a good thing that the United Center is a solidly built arena because the roof could have been torn off the place by the whirlwind of enthusiasm filling the place. It was an explosive end to a totally fun and entertaining night of live music.
In total Carrie Underwood performed 23 hit songs for us. And the next day we learned that she did in fact have a cold and she needed to cancel her next scheduled date on the tour. She sounded amazing as she toughed it out for us. Just another example how she has earned and deserves the title of Entertainer of the Year and all of the many other awards that she has won. I can't wait to see her again!!!
