Carrie at Caesars
Carrie Underwood opened the newly retrofitted Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars last weekend, May 25 and 26. No longer a nightclub, the Circus Maximus has 1,600 forward-facing seats covered in maroon velour, and a $1 million sound system. Oddly enough, the disappearance of the nightclub tables gives this huge space a more intimate feel.
The sound in the new showroom certainly reaches the back of the house.
Carrie Underwood has a fantastic voice, but just two years removed from her American Idol win, she needs more seasoning to improve her skills as an entertainer.
She is still qualifying her dynamic rendition of “Before He Cheats” by saying she doesn’t condone violence. In the song, Underwood talks about keying her boyfriend’s truck, carving her name in the seat and taking a baseball bat to the headlights, hoping he might think twice before cheating on his next girlfriend. The packed house loved the song as it, without apologies. Attitude is something Underwood displays fully in her vocals but she could use a little more of it in her chat between songs.
This minor quibble aside, Underwood’s impressive vocals were on display as she performed most of the songs from her debut album including her hits “Wasted,” “Don’t Forget to Remember Me” and “Jesus Take the Wheel” for her encore.
She also performed her excellent cover of the Pretenders “I’ll Stand By You” which she performed on the Idol Gives Back charity concert.
Perhaps hoping to give her squeaky-clean image a little tweaking, towards the end of the show Underwood did a couple of Guns ‘n Roses covers, “Patience” and “Sweet Child ‘o Mine.”