Having seen Carrie Underwood win over the crowd as Brad Paisley’s opening act at the Cajundome in November 2006, I knew I would be in for a good show when she returned to the venue as a headliner. There is no doubt the girl can sing, and sing she did. I was originally not going to attend the show because it was on a Wednesday night, but at the very last minute, literally the Monday before the show, I ordered tickets and my husband and I went. Granted, our seats were five rows from the highest row in the building, but the view point was great. And besides, what arena tour these days does not have the big screens on the sides of the stage so those up in the nosebleed seats can enjoy the action and actually watch the artist do their thing.
Opening act Jason Michael Carroll performed a solid half-hour set including his three breakout hits, “Livin’ Our Love Song,” “I Can Sleep When I’m Dead,” and “Alyssa Lies.” The crowd response to his performance was wild - especially from the young ladies in the audience. No surprises there. The young and hot newcomer also previewed a few new tracks from his upcoming sophomore release. He worked the stage and the crowd like a pro and earned many new fans that night who may have only been familiar with his few hits. I predict, if he keeps on this current path, he will be huge within the next few years, even though the male market in country music is somewhat oversaturated these days to say the least. He’s got the sexy baritone voice going on, and he’s not hard on the eyes, girls. Plus, he knows how to rock.
On to headliner Carrie. She opened the show with the rockin’ “Flat on the Floor” from her current release, Carnival Ride. She ran through a medley of songs from her uber successful debut cd, but she focused more on material from the new cd. Of course, the set list included the big hits, such as “Last Name,” “All American Girl,” and of course, “Jesus Take the Wheel.”
The show was well put together, and the staging and lighting were well choreographed. Her crew did a great job putting this tour together. Also, Carrie had several costume changes (I lost count.) She donned her rocker chick attire for the up tempo numbers, and at one point in the show, she changed into a beautiful deep blue gown to perform “Jesus Take the Wheel,” “So Small,” “Just a Dream,” and “I Know You Won’t.” The latter two were definitely the highlights of the night for me. She nailed the emotion of these two strong power ballads, and I was in tears.
At one point in the show, she shared her memories of the night she was asked to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry by legend Randy Travis before belting out her cover of his early hit “I Told You So.,” to the wild approval of the crowd.
Carrie was fairly chatty with the audience and even commented on the sad state of her love life making the tabloid rounds of late and told the guys, “Don’t think I’m not scoping you out.” After the guys roared at that comment, Carrie talked about her “baby,” dog Ace, and sang “The More Boys I Meet,” with the hook line, “the more I love my dog.”
Towards the end of the show, she came back out after another quick costume change to finish out the set with her two most recent chart-busting smashes, “All American Girl” and “Last Name,” much to the squealing delight of all the teeny bopper Carrie fans in the crowd, including a loud and loyal group right next to me.
After she left the stage, she returned for an encore several minutes later. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the opening notes of “Paradise City” by Guns and Roses. Back in the day, I loved GnR, and at the previous show, Carrie sang the heck out of their “Sweet Child of Mine,” so I was stoked to hear her take on this serious rocker. And she nailed it - Axl Rose moves and all! You go Carrie! The next day, I was surfing You Tube and saw that she also performs GnR’s “November Rain” as an encore. I would have loved to see her do that one at the ‘dome. Carrie must be a serious Guns fan to rotate three of the biggest Guns and Roses hits as her encores for each show.
Before Carrie left Lafayette, however, there was one more song the fans were dying to hear from the petite blonde Oklahoma native, and as the strains of “Before He Cheats” kicked in, the crowd roared its approval and sang along to every word. I am so glad I ended up going to this show. Even my hubby, who is not a huge concert goer like myself, enjoyed the show and is a big Carrie convert. I will definitely see her again if she returns to the area in the future.
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