BIG NORTH B1
BIG NORTH FREE PRESS - JUNE 2013
Big North
Classifieds and Careers
B7
B Section
FREE PRESS
Underwood goes over the top in show TERESA MALLAM arts@pgfreepress.com
Thank God for small towns. Because the girl from small-town Oklahoma took us by storm with her Blown Away Tour show at CN Centre on May 21. Country-rock singer, songwriter Carrie Underwood gave an absolutely awesome, all-out performance to thrill a sold-out crowd of 5,100. Having shot to superstar status following her 2005 American Idol win, Underwood has developed quite a fan base – with good reason. It’s a total package thing. She’s got a great voice, stage presence, charm and charisma. She’s sincere, sweet and sexy – all at the same time. No small feat, any woman will tell you. Underwood’s a glam gal for sure. A beautiful southern blonde belle with more costume changes – trademark cut-away evening gowns to hot pants to clingy tight jeans – than seems possible given the number of songs she pulled from her arsenal of hits and covers. I loved her heartfelt Temporary Home, high-octave Two Black Cadillacs, her love song Remind Me with Brad Paisley (seen on the big screen), and All American Girl – she sang ‘Canadian’ girl a few times as a nod to the Canadian leg of her North American tour. When I heard Underwood brought with her 16 trailers, I thought, ‘Wow, that girl is high maintenance.’ But after seeing the show with all its dazzling new technology, aerial cables and stunning visual effects, I can see why she needed all those trailers to transport it. Underwood took time to thank her Prince George fans and let them know how much she loves what she does. A philanthropist who supports a number of causes, she told the crowd that $1 of every seat sale on the Canada tour will go to the Canadian Red Cross. The audience responded with wild applause. Her show totally hit it out of the ballpark for me. I’ve heard her sing before of course, on Idol and other TV performances, on the radio and on her CDs but in a live performance, she’s an amazing powerhouse. The highlight for me (and for her too, she said) was the elaborate “hot air balloon” part of the show which brought her and members of her band up, up and away over the heads of the audience. That was followed with giant beach balls thrown out into the audience so they could enjoy tossing them around. According to Wikipedia, the 30-year-old singer and musician – she plays piano and guitar – has sold more than 13 million albums and is outrageously popular with a huge fan base. After Tuesday night’s show at CN Centre, she no doubt has hundreds more. The female fan beside me knew the words to every one of her songs and during the show happily sang along while taking photos with her iPhone. Audience members ranged in age from teens to boomers. For her encore, everyone in the house knew that Underwood would return to do Blown Away – after all, it was the name of the tour. But I’m not sure that any of us could have anticipated her soaring vocals or the jawdropping visual effects that went with it. Great show, great gal.
Te re s a M A LLA M / Fre e Pre s s
Country rock superstar Carrie Underwood has a crowd of 5,100 at CN Centre in Prince George in a fan frenzy during her May 21 concert.