Carrie in Ravinia

I know I said my next post would be about my Grand Canyon trip...I just can't bring myself to photoshop all of those pictures yet...I will post in due time. However, I have plenty of pictures that don't need to be photoshopped from my adventure this weekend.

I took a trip to Chicago thanks to my friend Cynthia who gifted me part of it for the big 3-0! We went because Carrie was performing one of the few times this year. Once I got there on Saturday, I met up with my friends Cynthia and Michelle . When we got into town we ate at this place called Ed Debivic's which is a place in downtown Chicago with a 50's atmosphere. The servers are deliberately rude, but it is great! They are also dressed in the oddest attire...one of the servers reminded me of Mama from "Mama's family". They even dance in the windows and on the counter for you! After eating, we went down to Navy Pier to look around. We didn't get to do much downtown because our real purpose was to see Carrie.

Sunday, we spent time with other Carrie fans. I met some great people. I'm so lucky to know people all over the country (especially since Carrie is touring again in 2010, and I will need places to stay!). It's also great to know people who love Carrie like I do..I know many of you think I'm crazy...but it is really so much fun! If you would just try it once, you would see what I mean!

The concert was great! We had 4th row seats, but because of the setup of the pavilion, we were next to the stage. This venue was called the Ravinia Festival. It's a place where they have concerts all summer, but most of them seem laid back. A security guard told us before it started that you couldn't stand up. Some security guards allowed pics and some didn't. The nice one standing next to us let me take some (quickly so they may not be the best quality or the perfect exposure) which I am thankful for. You never know what befriending someone might do for you! ;) Thanks Mr. Security guard!

Carrie was on fire! Her vocals get better and stronger every time I see her. You can always tell what kind of mood she is in by the chatter between songs....she was in an awesome mood. She is really quite funny! Since most of the venue were season ticket holders, they weren't there just to see Carrie like we were so they weren't as into the whole concert. Towards the end of the show, we couldn't stand it anymore, and stood up to sing and dance. Carrie and the band noticed us, and we got a a little love from them!

After the concert, some of us headed back to our hotel to hang out for a while. I haven't laughed as much as I did that night in a long time. We were thoroughly entertained by my friend Renee who loves Micheal Jackson! My stomach and head hurt after we were done because I laughed so hard.

I know this is more than you want to know, but I had to record the events for myself! Carrie is releasing her 3rd album "Play On" on November 3rd. PICK IT UP!! She is also doing a HUGE tour next year for the album. I plan to go a lot, so if you want to go with me and see what I mean...just let me know!

Enjoy my pics! Maybe one day my pictures will get good enough and someone in the Carrie camp will hire me as their concert photographer...wouldn't that be awesome!

Ed Debivics


Lola, our server, dancing on the bar


The Sunday lunch crew


Miss Carrie Underwood


Singing "Jesus Take the Wheel". Before she started this song, she said "I don't know where you are in your faith, but listen to the words to this song." It's so cool to see a celebrity like her share her faith like she does in ways that people can understand and not just through words!


Power!


This one is blurry, but I love how she is looking at Mark, the bass player. The mic stand kept falling over, and eventually she just told them she didn't need it anyway because her guitar playing messed up their pretty stuff, but, here, I think she was trying to figure out what to do!




I love how she feels her own music!


Rocker Carrie


I'm always hoping for a shot like this...she makes faces all night, and I finally captured one!


What a night! I'm serious...if you want to go with me next year, just let me know! I can almost promise you that you will thank me! I think I may have a contest soon...it'll be called "guess how many live Carrie performances that I've seen"...anyone care to take a guess?