Carrie Underwood 'Plays On' In Hamilton
by Nathaniel on 2010-03-24Copps Coliseum - HamiltonI must admit, when I had gotten these tickets for my girlfriend for Christmas, I was unsure what I was getting myself into. Yes, the first ever music album I owned was the Paul Brandt cassette, 'My Heart Has A History', but my love for country music stopped there, many years ago. I haven't really been into it since. Now, I know the Carrie Underwood songs and I will admit that I do not have a problem sitting through her songs, so I figured if I was going to ever go to a country music concert, Carrie Underwood would probably be involved somehow. Therefore, there I was last night. I managed to get my girlfriend and I floor seats. We were seated in about the middle of the floor. Pretty decent seats even if there was a chance you'd find yourself sitting behind a person who was a bit on the tall side (my apologies to the girls behind me). The show opened up with the Sons of Sylvia. I gotta say, I really enjoyed them. It helps music always sounds better live, but these guys put on a wicked show. The lead singer has a good voice, which, for a live performance, is kind of what can make or break a set. He can also perform, hell, the whole band knew how to perform. So a solid start and a very solid opening act. Highlight: There little instrumental 'barn burner'. I'm a huge fan of instrumental pieces and just seeing people's musical talent. I was impressed. Before I go into Craig Morgan, I'd just like to mention how I was impressed and really enjoyed the little wait time between gigs. The set crew was efficient. I've done some stage set-up stuff and set set-ups and no that there's a lot that goes into it, but these guys were fast and good. The waiting time was enough to go to the washroom, maybe get something to eat or drink and get back in time. So thumbs up to that. Craig Morgan was much more 'country' than the other acts. He's a homegrown 'Tennesseeian', so I suppose is makes sense. I wasn't as big of a fan of him since he was too country for me, however, putting personal preference aside, the guy did an amazing job performing. At one point he even went into the crowd, while singing, and took pictures with fans and just hung out. I have huge respect for entertainers who will do that. Gives a much more personal feel to shows and allows fans to connect more. Plus he sang the first vers of Amazing Grace which has always been one of my favourite songs. Highlight: Besides going into the crowd for a song, he also did sing at one point a Lionel Ritchie song. 'Easy Like A Sunday Morning'. And now for the main show. Carrie Underwood knows how to perform. She also has a set of pipes on her that blew me away. I've never heard someone live who could just throwdown vocals like that. Visually, the set and everything was amazing. The backdrpo would change to different settings and was very colourful. At no point did you feel bored with what you were watching, which is what a concert is about. She sang all her hits, had a nice mix of slow and fast songs. She showed her musical side by playing guitar and piano and did a duet with the Sons of Sylvia, and in what I imagine being a nice little surprise, a duet with Randy Travis (he wasn't there personally, but his image showed up on the backdrop screens). Her outfits were always stunning. I won't go into detail because I wouldn't know the first tihng in describing outfits, but she did look beautiful. My favourite probably is when she appeared with a long gown whereas lights and projections would be shot onto it and made her a part of the light show. I'm not describing it well, but it was something that I was impressed with. Highlight: One of her songs she got onto an old blue pick up truck, was elevated and began moving out towards the crowd. My girlfriend and I had the pleasure of the truck coming all the way out to where we were and stop right above us. I was able to get some nice close-up shots of her. Once again, it was a really nice little intimate touch done as the crowd just absolutely loved it. It gave everyone in the stadium a little close-up of Carrie Underwood. Even though, I still haven't really been converted to a country fan, I will say that I have become a bigger Carrie Underwood fan. A good show is a good show and I know that everyone left that show feeling like they got their money's worth. I know I sure did.