PART I: MY REVIEW

TAYLOR THE DYNAMO

Taylor probably did the most to raise my opinion of her worth as a country artist. She was really fun to watch. When she gets her feet stomping in those cowboy boots, her long thick hair bouncing up and down, and the guitar pickin' while she's singing, she radiates wholesome country energy. She was sweet, sincere and patient with her fans in the autograph line. Her handlers were trying to push everyone through because of the late hour and the length of the line. At one point, Taylor apologized for not being able to take posed shots with everyone, and I felt she really meant it. Even with the rush, I think every person that came through felt -- at least for a few seconds -- that they connected.

JACK THE ROCKER

At one point during his set, Jack Ingram asks the audience, "Do we have any country music fans here?" People cheer and Jack responds, "Well, you happen to be in luck, because I happen to play country music." And yes, he does, even if he leans hard to the rock edge of country. I like that, but he didn't engage the crowd nearly as much as Taylor or Kellie. With the right songs, though, Jack will make you listen. I'm sure he will continue to crank out hits.

KELLIE THE COUNTRY SIREN

OK, now it's time for some real country.

With the sun setting, Kellie walked out holding a video camera, her name in lights behind her. The crowd reacted with a warm round of applause for the hometown star.

Right from the start, I saw a country siren that surpassed even my expectations. Kellie is so much more confident, polished and refined on stage than before. She's got the moves, the facial expressions, the looks and the voice that can take her to the highest level, given the right songs and promotion. I was watching the CMA special on TV while I'm writing this, and I didn't see anyone that can command a stage and engage a crowd better than Kellie did on Saturday.

And sexy? Kellie's shiny silver tank top hung loosely, obscuring the "assets" that have garnered so much attention. She didn't need 'em Saturday. Her beauty, her radiant tan, her sunny smile, her tiny but curvy frame, the tight jeans and the bewitching hazel eyes combined with her voice, her confidence and her moves to create the ultimate country vixen, a rockin' Venus de Albemarle.

Kellie worked the crowd like a pro, not wasting a single glance, a raising or lowering of her voice, or a turn on stage. The time passed way too quickly as she moved through "Gotta Keep Moving," "Things That Never Cross A Man's Mind," and "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You."

Her soulful performance as the spurned lover questioning her former beau in "DYKHMILY" was strong, the most moving song of the night to that point. But Kellie wasn't finished yet.

She stepped effortlessly into the overworked pixie of "9 to 5," a version every bit as good and cute as the original. The energy perked up even more when she did her first hit, "Red High Heels" and she got people singing along.

Then came the final number, her heartbreaker, "I Wonder." When she choked up during the introduction, I could feel this would be no ordinary performance.

The crowd responded right away, and I think she drew strength from them. She pushed on through the song, the crowd screaming approval every time she hit the words "home to Carolina." She struggled to finish; you could hear and see her anguish.

By the time she hit "off to Tennessee," I felt that I had just witnessed something extraordinary. This wasn't just a song, this was an event I'll never forget.

She finished up with a tearful expression of thanks to the people of North Carolina who had given her so much support.

BRAD THE HEADLINER

I was expecting great things from Brad Paisley, and he didn't disappoint. I won't write that much about it, because I think most people are familiar with his work.

My main thoughts after were that I didn't realize how much I liked his music and the man. He lives to entertain. He's got a great sense of humor. His work is broad enough that he's got a song for every mood.

Think about his two songs, "Whiskey Lullaby" and "Alcohol." Same subject, opposite slants, and each one works perfectly to convey the meaning and mood he intends.

I was impressed by his short animation, "Zoom Paisley," which he created.

And I have to mention Kellie's prank, of course. With ratty overalls, a big ol' paint stain on the backside, buck teeth, pig tails sticking out like bike handles, Kellie went for the full Sadie Hawkins hillbilly stereotype. It worked. Brad was rattled.

See for yourself.



FINAL COMMENT

Between Kellie's set and Brad's, I started talking to the man sitting behind me. At one point, I asked him if he had watched Idol, and he said he hadn't, but that Kellie must have been amazing. I said she was, but she's so much better now.

As much as we loved her on Idol, it's amazing how far she's come since May 2006. That really was just the beginning.

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PART II -- MORE ABOUT THE CONCERT


GETTING READY

It takes a really special occasion for me to even consider wearing anything pink, but this was the first big-time country concert with Kellie Pickler I would ever attend. So, I had planned on wearing a big pink pin, complete with pink ribbon, that I bought at Kellie Pickler Day in Albemarle. I was going to stick the pin over the No. 8 on my Dale Jr. hat. He'll be driving a different number soon anyway. But after spending at least an hour looking, I never found the pin, so I ditched the hat idea.

But I did have my new T-shirt from Kellie's official Web site and some posters -- nothing fancy, just magic markers. About 5:30 I decided just to head on over. I had bought one ticket through the fan club for Shannon and one for me. After picking up the tickets, I was about to call her when I realized I had forgotten to punch her number into my cell phone. I knew Shannon was on her way though, because I had seen a message from her on Kellie Fans earlier.

So I walked around, figuring I would run into her. Several people asked me where I had bought my shirt, including one little girl who was wearing a "Naughty Lil Minx" T-shirt and the same kind of pink button I wasn't able to find that morning.

I saw Shannon up at the ticket booth, and Shellie and her parents showed up shortly after. Everyone was really friendly, and it was cool meeting people I'd only talked to online.

Shellie's dad decided to trade up to some better seats, and said he'd meet up with us later.

A BRIEF GLIMPSE OF KELLIE

We headed on over to a radio booth where we heard that Kellie might make an appearance. We couldn't really get into the tent -- it was jam packed -- but stood near it. Sure enough, Kellie did show up, with some security guards whisking her through the tent and into a golf car. They disappeared quickly behind a fence, but Shannon got to say hello and Shellie was able to give her a gift. The main thing I noticed about Kellie was that she was thinner than during the AI tour, her tan was really radiant, and she reacted really genuinely when someone she knew said hello.

SINGING



By the concession stands, the Paisley fan club people were doing some trivia contests and karaoke. Shannon and Shellie performed "I Wonder."

Here's the video:



We also met Dixie from here on KellieFans and her family.

When Shellie's dad met up with us again, we decided to head on to the seats. Shannon and I were down in the fan club area.

MEETING SUMMER MILLER

We met Summer Miller, who I think is Kellie's closest friend, on the way in. She was there with her husband and stepdaughter, and stopped to talk to Shannon about some fan mail for Kellie.

I had seen Summer (on American Idol she greeted Kellie after the audition, she was at the homecoming and she's in the "I Wonder" video), but she was much thinner than I remember and was wearing huge wraparound sunglasses, so I almost didn't recognize her. She seemed really nice.

Later on in the show, you could see Kellie handing Summer a video camera she took on stage with her.

WHERE ARE OUR SEATS!

Heading on down, Shannon and I were pleasantly surprised to find out how close our row was, but ... we couldn't find our seats! Turned out they had numbered the folding chairs wrong and left out ours and a few others. The security guys got it all straightened out for us, though.

Right before the Brad Paisley set, the security guys moved some people up next to the stage. I think they were filming a promo spot or maybe part of a video, so they wanted more people at the edge of the stage. It opened up some more room in our area, and we got to move even closer to the stage. We also were able to get chairs for Shellie and her mom down near us.

AFTER THE SHOW

We left with just a few songs left in the Brad Paisley set to get in Kellie's autograph line.

As I was walking out, several people high-fived me. I don't know if it was because of my Kellie shirt or they were just really drunk and really happy.

We met another Kellie Fan there, Jen. Allie also came up with her family, and we took some photos with them.

When I got up to meet Kellie, I didn't say much. I kind of froze up, I guess. But it was late and they were rushing us through. I said hello and gave her the photo to sign. She handed it back to me, and all I could think to say was "Welcome home." She gave me a nice big smile and said "thank you."

After that, Shannon said she was going to get a Taylor autograph, and I figured I might as well get one, too. Shellie was in line at the merchandise booth, and got a Taylor Swift pic for me. Taylor's line was better managed. Turns out they were selling her pics in the line, and also letting people pose with the CMT award for photos.

Shannon was a hoot while we waited in line. We talked with everyone near us, including two high school boys that had huge crushes on Taylor.

We took as many photos as we could when we got up there, but they weren't letting people pose with Taylor.

Taylor seemed really sweet and genuine, and like I said before, I think everyone that went through the line was able to feel they made a connection.

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Great review Mike! Sounds like you had an amazing time!

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Great review!! Im glad you met her!

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Thanks, everyone for the nice comments.

Here's a link to the pics I took:

http://www.kelliefans.com/forum/kell...e-concert.html (More pics from Charlotte concert)

And here is the long awaited link to Shellie and Shannon singing "I Wonder"

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Another awesome review by a fellow KellieBean!!! Thanks a lot Mike!

Man, everyone is kicking butt in their reviews! It shows a lot of love and dedication.

Brad is awesome! The best part of his performances is that he tends to bring out a lot of the HOT girls to the concerts, haha! They were certainly plenty at mine!

Next, time, it would be cool if all you guys rent a limo and go together as a group! Cristal is on me!

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Thanks for the review of the show and the pre-show goings-on. It helps give us an all-day insight for those not able to go.

As for Shannon and Shellie singing "I Wonder", I think we've seen the new "Wreckers". Takes a lot of courage to do that - I thought they did great.

For anyone who was at the Charlotte, NC concert I just am curious to know if the crowds were more enthusiastic for Kellie in her home state than they were for Taylor Swift. Because, as I said in Hershey since Pennsylvania is Taylor's home state the crowds went wild for her a lot more than they did for Kellie but can someone who was at Charlotte tell me if Kellie's reception was better in NC?

I'm just now seeing this great review. Thanks for posting.

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