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Milwaukee's Daily Magazine for Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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In Festival Guide Reviews

Carrie Underwood wrapped up the Marcus Amphitheater portion of Summerfest 2010 Sunday night.

Underwood wraps up Big Gig with big show


In her tailored Carrie Bradshaw tuxedo, Carrie Underwood took to the stage to guide her fans on a tour of her greatest hits -- thus far, at least.

Making no less than 5 costume changes, Underwood not only impressed with both her vocal talent but also her ability to captivate an audience.

Leading off with her hit single, "Cowboy Casanova," Underwood definitely lived up to her reputation for sassy rock-twang and glitzy country music. With this latest stop in Milwaukee, Underwood pleased the crowd by drawing from her entire collection of albums ranging from 2005's "Some Hearts" to last year's "Undo It."

A lot of times with major concert tours it's easy to see how the artist can disconnect from the material and the songs. That was not the case for Underwood Sunday night.

Having written some of the songs on the new album, it is clear that many of her lyrics contain personal meaning. Just before performing "Temporary Home," Underwood admitted that she still feels like she's that college student back in Oklahoma.

With "Mama's Song," the crowd was treated to a look into Underwood's childhood and relationship with her parents and her fiancé -- hockey player Mike Fisher -- via slideshow.

Since winning the fourth season of American Idol, Underwood has catapulted into the far reaches of stardom. Not many artists can perform wonderful love ballads while suspended from a swing, lifted above the crowd. Not many artists can also claim that they are members of the Grand Ole Opry, which Underwood was able to incorporate into the show as a pre-recorded duet with Randy Travis on his album, "I Told You So."

Playing for just around two hours, Underwood ended the show with a trio of girl-power anthems -- "Last Name," "Before He Cheats" and "Songs Like This" -- during which she sampled fellow country darling Miranda Lambert's "White Liar" and surprisingly, Beyonce's "Put a Ring On It."

Opening the show was the country trio, Sons of Sylvia, who collaborated with Underwood on "What Can I Say" from her newest album "Play On" and came back to perform towards the end of Underwood's set.

The boys, with roots in bluegrass, sampled what they grew up with; though might have been better served showcasing more of that influence.


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