Carrie Underwood, Storyteller Tour, Verizon Center, Washington DC, USA, February 25, 2016

I’ve been a fan of Carrie Underwood since she first graced the stages of American Idol eleven years ago. I was never a big fan of American Idol, itself… in fact, Carrie’s season was the only season I ever watched. But I was dazzled by her beautiful voice and great stage presence back then, when she was just a young aspiring unknown singer from Checotah, Oklahoma. Now, just 11 short years later, she is a worldwide superstar, traveling the world and entertaining her fans with her stunning voice and powerful songs. I saw her live for the first time back in 2012 when she was touring her “Blown away” album, and I was personally blown away by her show. When she announced her current tour in support her most recent album, “Storyteller”, I couldn’t wait to see her again.

The show I attended was in Washington DC at the Verizon Center, a large arena type venue. Her concert was in the round and consisted of a large center stage that rose up and down with a long catwalk to either side connecting to two smaller stages at the ends. Now, I generally don’t like concerts in the round, for several reasons. They do have their pluses. For one they allow more seats as there are no blocked off seats like there are with an end stage. Secondly, they do offer better viewing for the people with seats in the upper tiers of the venues. The problem with them is, for people on the floor or the lower tiers, who have frequently paid a premium price for their “better seats”, their view is often obstructed at times by stage props and other band members. Very few “in the round” stages are designed well enough to avoid this issue, and although Carrie’s was better than most, tonight wasn’t really an exception. There were times when she was less than five feet from me (which was awesome), but there were other times she was so far away that I could barely see her. Other times she was blocked by stage props or one of her guitarists, and I couldn’t see her at all. But, I knew the concert was in the round, and knew what to expect, so I had already resigned myself to dealing with occasional obstructed views despite the fact I was on the floor and on the rail, about midway down one of the side catwalks.

There were two opening acts that night; The Swon Brothers and Easton Corbin. I wasn’t familiar with either act, but they were both musically very good. They were also very animated and put on an active visual show. Unlike myself, the audience did seem familiar with both of these acts and there was lots of cheering and singing along. When Carrie finally hit the stage, the crowd was in a frenzy and the cheers were deafening. She played about an hour and 45 minute set with no encores. I thought her set was a bit short considering she had five studio albums she could draw material from. But what the show lacked in quantity, it more than made up for in quality. The performance was stunning. There were multiple costume changes and the light show was amazing. Here band was made up of eight very talented musicians who not only played well but moved around and interacted with the audience. And Carrie’s voice?… just perfect! I still would have preferred to see her in an end stage set up, but just like the last time I saw her… I was blown away!

Carrie hit the stage with “Renegade Runaway” from her new album. The second song was primarily, “Last Name”, but she kept interjecting the chorus from her recent duet with Miranda Lambert, “Somethin’ Bad”. Although I like both of these songs, the mix didn’t work well for me and I personally wish she had just chose one or the other to sing. The show was heavily weighted with songs from her new album, which also included: “Church Bells”, “Heartbeat”, “Dirty Laundry”, “Choctaw County Affair”, “What I Never Knew I Always Wanted”, “Clock Don’t Stop”, and “Smoke Break”. “What I Never Knew I Always Wanted”, a not so subtle tribute to her child, was performed in a very emotionally heartwarming way… with her sitting on a grand piano on one of the side stages while a slideshow of photos of her child and family scrolled across the overhead telescreens. This included everything including in utero ultrasound images. It was a fantastic song!

Songs performed from 2012’s “Blown Away” album included the title track as well as “Good Girl” and “Two Black Cadillacs”. “Blown Away” was a visually stunning performance with wind inflated tornado-like clouds at the corners of the main stage. It wasn’t as stunning as the synthetic tornado that was created with smoke and a wind machine in the center of the stage during her last tour… but still pretty awesome! Songs from the “Play On” album included “Undo It” and “Cowboy Casanova”. “Cowboy Casanova” was performed from the top of a giant Jukebox that rose from underneath the stage. Additional older songs included: “Jesus, Take the Wheel”, “Wasted”, “Before He Cheats”, and “All-American Girl”. During “All-American Girl”, Carrie introduced her band by videoing them with a hand held camera while the live video aired on the overhead screens.

Some special moments occurred as well, when Carrie paid tribute to Dolly Parton by singing a cover of one of Dolly’s biggest hits: “I Will Always Love You”… and she did a awesome job! There was also a cover of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song: “Fishin’ in the Dark” during which her opening acts Easton Corbin and the Swon Brothers returned to the stage to perform the song with her! Carrie also sang the two previously unreleased songs from her 2014 “Greatest Hits” album: “Little Toy Guns” and “Something in the Water”, which was the final song of the night. “Something in the Water” was another visual spectacle which she sang from center stage while the lighting created the illusion of her standing in a rainstorm. It was a stunning night of twenty-two incredible songs sung by an incredible performer. It really is a show not to be missed. The current tour is scheduled to run through the end of May. Don’t miss out!!

Carrie Underwood globalnoiz Live Report USA