Jesus Took My Wheel

Annie and I went to the JLC last night to see the singer and A.I. champ, Carrie Underwood.

It was definitely interesting, I'll have more to say about the narcissistic video, costume changes, headband, guitar 'playing', confetti, audience members and my little sis later.

Right now I have to give a test.

Check out the favorable review she got in the LFP below...


Journey worth the ride Tue, October 7, 2008

CONCERT: Carrie Underwood takes about 9,000 fans at the JLC along on her whirlwind ride to success

By JAMES REANEY

Carrie Underwood was in full voice introducing some of her new material from Carnival Ride to an appreciative crowd at the JLC last night. (DEREK RUTTAN, Sun Media)
Carrie's country carnival ride had thousands along for the hits and the glitz at the John Labatt Centre last night.



With about 9,000 fans jamming the London arena, U.S. country superstar Carrie Underwood hit the stage with Flat on the Floor from her hit album Carnival Ride.



The fans thundered out the final seconds of a big-screen countdown before a virtual Underwood was seen in faux leather in a video of a desert scene. It was the first of many looks -- ranging from Wonder Woman on the prowl at a honky-tonk bar to leather-jacketed rocker -- for Underwood on the night.



Of course, Underwood and her fans need those costumes. Not too many American Idol champs headline tours where they prove they can cover Randy Travis (a lovely I Told You So, in an unplugged-style mini-set) and Guns 'n' Roses (a noisy, butt-kicking Paradise City in the encore). Underwood is the only one.



The 2005 American Idol champ departed from the stage by a lift, just as she had arrived. Underwood left waving goodbye after the night's finale Before He Cheats had attracted a fierce and happy singalong from the thousands of sisters of all ages she had in the house.

About 90 minutes earlier, Underwood had arrived to huge cheers and flashes from countless cameras and cellphones. She was soon taking songs from Carnival Ride (Sony/BMG) out to the big walkway into the centre of the crowd, strutting with style,"I was so scared. Nobody was going to come," Underwood said at one point, talking about her fears as she prepared for the tour being her first as a headliner.



It was one of many times when she talked in an unaffected and seemingly unscripted way. She kidded her first outfit of the night -- which combined silver boots, an odd combination of Madonna in a vest at the top and a loose, multi-coloured skirt -- as superhero garb giving her the impression she just might fly when she was on stage. That outfit didn't fly, but Underwood soared in many other ways.



The glittery butterfly image on her headband was cuter. It saved what was not a good hair day and also gave her the superhero vibe, she joked.



Early in the set, Underwood turned around the lyrics to All-American Girl to "all-Canadian. On-stage help came from a five-year-old princess identified as Holly Siviero with Underwood kneeling to share the microphone.



The Grammy winner with the biggest-selling American Idol champ's album, Some Hearts, showed modesty and wit in keeping her career video montage short enough so that the screen went blank just as Idol host Ryan Seacrest was about to name her as the winner. Underwood and her tour handlers also showed they know how to move uptown as she emerged from a big, blue, ultra-sincere gown during Checotah, a song paying tribute to her Oklahoma hometown. "It doesn't matter," she said of the mispronunciations visited on Checotah. For the record, it sort of rhymes with "Dakota" and sounds gorgeous when Underwood sings about it. Gorgeous, too, was the skirt she wore underneath the gown. That look emerged as Underwood went uptown in the song's video. Production values and glitz -- lighting, videos, screens, a confetti shower finale -- were strong.



She saluted Cape Breton songwriter Gordie Sampson for his role in helping write Jesus, Take the Wheel and Just a Dream. Both are songs Underwood said she'll sing "for the rest of my life."
Along with The More Boys I Meet, So Small, Some Hearts, Last Name, Get Out of This Town and other Underwood hits, they received terrific treatment from the star and her eight-member band. U.S. group Little Big Town opened strongly for Underwood.