Page 3 - CONCERT: After what seems like eons and many announcements by a guy that looked like Wild Bill from the Wild West show (now talk about dating yourself). One thing that was really special during the pre-concert announcements was the recognition of a soldier who had just returned from Iraq and was recognized by the pentagon for his heroism and goodwill. There was an extended standing ovation from the crowd which I’m sure must have meant a great deal to him There had been no opening act advertised but around 7:30 or so Fisher Stevenson and his 3 piece band came on stage. As Todd already mentioned in his review he was from Big Machine Records and mentioned Taylor several times, but did thank Carrie for the opportunity to open for her. He was very excited that his wife and girls were at the show.
It was still light when at around 8:30 the sound of rolling thunder began but people couldn’t really see the video opening on the monitor. Those young gals in front of me sprung to their feet like they had been shot out of a cannon and started screaming. I love watching the youngsters at this concert. Carrie was in a great mood and sounded even more fantastic than at my other concerts I‘ve been to this year.. She was more animated than I have seen her and very chatty and cute during the concert. She had the audience in the palm of her hand. As you can see by this picture she looked fantastic in her black mini dress with silver threads and those huge heels. Her hair looks cute shorter.
She cut out some stuff from her regular tour set like the SH medley, CD, ITYS and there was no Voices Carry. Some highlights of the evening for me.
Before Carrie started TMBIM she said I have a confession to make, “I’m in Love”. He’s the perfect guy and then said “However it is not with a human, but my Dog”, to which she got a big laugh. When Carrie started singing TMBIM the girls I had given the ACE signs to were jumping up and down holding their signs and towards the end Carrie saw it smiled and acknowledged it. They were so excited! During the Prince Charming part of the song this young man in a section behind me stood up and held a sign that said DATE? When Carrie acknowledged him he said if you have doubts ask the crowd. At that point a whole group of people held up YES signs.
Carrie laughed and said “Boy, you really came prepared” and mentioned something about that would have to be a long distance relationship.
You already heard in other reviews about the bug swallowing incident during IAICAM. She started the song and then stopped, said “I think I just Swallowed a Bug”. She choked a little, laughed a little, said “That was Gross”, , and then went right on hitting every note. I see someone got it on video. She mentioned also that there was someone from her hometown in the audience. She walked over to her left to acknowledge them. She sang California in the place of Checotah at the end which resulted in a huge cheer from the crowd.
Before DFTRM of course she sat on the stool as she usually does, they brought her guitar and she mentioned. I love wearing dresses, but it is hard to always sit like a lady so I cheated and wore shorts and she lifted her short dress to show her black shorts. She also mentioned we all knew how she got her start (she used the G word) and that you all were a GINORMOUS part of that so Thank You. She said they love what they do but do miss their families and said she hasn’t been home since Christmas but that her family comes to Nashville to visit her.
I Know You Won’t was just mesmerizing live and the crowd was in a trance until she hit those big notes and they let her know their appreciation with loud cheers. When she finished the crowd roared with approval as they knew they had just witnessed a vocal masterpiece. I thought the guy that sat next to me was going to be a jerk as he got there after the concert had already started and was a little miffed that I was standing by his seat. After Carrie finished that song I said Wow that was fantastic. To quote him "She is the best voice in America and she has the looks to go along with it". He turned out to be a nice guy and a big fan. A great lesson that our first impressions are not always on target. I got video of IKYW:
IknowYouWontKonocti72608.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
There was a gentleman with his little 2 or 3 year old daughter sitting on his shoulders right up by the stage and she was just looking up at Carrie with adoration. Carrie looked down at her and had this sweet smile on her face.
