With an eight-piece band behind her Carrie Underwood blew onto the stage like the tornado video and stage set that opened - and closed - the Tuesday night CN Centre show.
No, she didn't mention the Oklahoma tragedy where an elementary school was flattened by a tornado on Monday, killing seven children, and 24 people in total in the town of Moore, but she did tweet about it on her website.
Personally, I think it was worth a mention, especially when the Blown Away Tour premise was tornado oriented and Underwood talked about the fact that for every ticket sold on the tour $1 was donated to the Red Cross. The door was open, she just didn't cross the threshold.
A small complaint about an otherwise fantastic show.
The 5,100 member audience was more excited than I'd seen at CN Centre in a long time. Johnny Reid brings that kind of enthusiasm and Underwood's show had a whole other youthful element to it. Crazy teen girls banded together to scream 'I love you, Carrie' repeatedly. Twenty-somethings were dancing in the aisles, and Underwood took total control of the stage.
Carrie Underwood is a truly beautiful woman. And she has perfect pitch from Good Girl to Blown Away. She belted out song after song, including Jesus, Take the Wheel (did anyone else have a religious experience during that song, or was it just me?), Temporary Home, Cowboy Casanova and then when you thought she would ease off the pedal a bit, she came full mega-watt powered to the finale with I Know You Won't and Blown Away.
Every few songs, Underwood would slip off stage, usually taking a step onto a part of the stage that would lower her to floor level, sometimes taking the stairs at the far end. Mostly, she appeared in dresses that were minis in the front, long in the back. A sophisticated take on the mullett that somehow works in the design world of 2013. And did you see her shoes?
As the front portion of the stage was prepared for lift off, yes, I said lift off, Underwood took the time to change into cut-offs and a T-shirt so as not to give anyone an excuse to call her Carrie Underpants as the transparent floor would offer a view of the bottom of her boots and not much more. The rig lifted and set off over the centre of the stadium as ladies my age crossed themselves and struck the prayer pose as their eyes lifted to gaze at the superstar. Underwood sang All-American Girl, included some changed-up lyrics about Canadian girls, and her Canadian NHL hockey star hubby, Mike Fisher. She told the audience it was really important to her to say hi to everyone and that's why the traveling stage took flight.
On the trip back she belted out One Way Ticket, saying she wanted to take some fun time, a little me time, and promptly dropped a couple of leis on my head, that I shared with a young lady in a seat closest to me, while the audience bounced giant beach balls - it seemed like 10 but have been told it was only four - around the room, just for kicks and giggles.
As the stage was put back the way it was, she went to change into super tight blue shiny leggings, making it glaringly obvious that tight shiny pants were not for the young-at-heart but strictly for the young and fit. She sang Leave Love Alone, Flat on the Floor and a duet with a video-present Brad Paisley of Remind Me that really did remind me why I love the one I love.
It was a great show, from a tear-inspiring tale of life and love, Temporary Home; to a fist-raising anthem, Before He Cheats; to a take-me-away vacation diddy, One Way Ticket; to being blown away by well, Blown Away.
Tuesday's setlist:
1. Good Girl
2. Undo It
3. Wasted
4. See You Again
5. Two Black Cadillacs
6. Last Name
7. Temporary Home
8. Jesus, Take The Wheel
9. Cowboy Casanova
10. Nobody Ever Told You
11. All-American Girl
12. One Way Ticket
13. Leave Love Alone
14. Flat On The Floor
15. Remind Me
16. Cupid's Got a Shotgun
17. Before He Cheats
Encore
18. I Know You Won't
19. Blown Away
