Jeff’s New York State fair review

Ok, how should I start? Carrie was just awesome once again, but she was especially talkative during this show.

Just a few tidbits

- it was an overcast day. It wasn’t supposed to rain. But I came prepared with my poncho. After andy griggs’ set when they set up the stage for carrie, I hear thunder. I look at the guy next to me and we both had the same “oh no” look. Turns out the stereo was playing garth brooks’ The Thunder Rolls. We both heave a sigh of relief. So we start talking. He is amazed (not surprising) when I said I came in from Michigan. Guess wearing a Cornell university tshirt didn’t help me blend in among the new Yorkers. Turns out, he knows one of the star players for my college football team (Michigan wolverines) so he tells me some interesting things. Even says he thinks the wolverines will go unbeaten this season. I said ohio state has a good team, he shakes his head, says the wolverines will be the team to surprise everyone. Immediately I like him since he is at a carrie concert and he predicts my team will go unbeaten lol. So we talk about carrie, and so he asks if he is correct to assume that I have been to a few carrie concerts. I reply “yea a few” and then say she puts on a great show.

- show starts. The guy next to me is immediately impressed as he oohs and ahhs as she hits the notes. Oh yea, he tells his parents and gf that I came in from Michigan. He is about to start taking pictures, then sees my canon powershot and he goes “that’s got to take some great pictures! Can you send me yours?” of course I agree since I already like him.

- Carrie is wearing a simple red blouse and jeans. Man, red is the best color on her. My favorite look of hers with the CMAs last year and the NASCAR coke 600. why does she keep looking better and better each time I see her?

- As others have mentioned, carrie was especially chatty, the chattiest I have ever seen her in concert. The part I found most amusing was early on the show, she asks “has school started?” and then she nods her head slowly and frowns and goes “yea? Well, I don’t need to go back to school since I just graduated” after a song or 2, I think it was SCOM, when she ends the songs, she exclaims “class dismissed!”

- She also mentioned she thinks she is a dork and the audience get a chuckle out of that. Well, she has to be the most beautiful dork then

- She says how she sees little girls just bawl when they meet her and she wonders why. She is just carrie underwood. Then she talks about her recent encounter with randy travis, someone whom she has looked up to for a long time. And she remembered she was bawling as well!

- She mentioned her tour with Kenny chesney. Says she probably made him feel old when she mentioned to him that she saw him in concert when she was 15. she then mentions she will tour with brad paisley in the fall and that he is such a nice guy. I am thinking, watch out young lady, he hasn’t played a prank on you yet. But then maybe cant bring himself to play a prank on sweet carrie…

- My new pal sitting next to me keeps saying to me how good he thinks she is (practically after each song he goes man she is good!). Turns out, his gf is actually sitting a row behind and a few seats away too. Safe for him to praise carrie.

- It starts to drizzle during her acoustic set. I go yikes and start to wear my poncho and put it on the wrong way. My pal says “you certainly came prepared”. It took me a good couple of minutes to put it on, but then 2 problems arose. One, its warm inside the poncho; two, I cant take any pics with my came with the poncho on! So I take it off and place my faith in good-weather carrie again. Good-weather carrie pulls through again as the drizzle stops pretty soon.

- There was this couple of people in the front (or second) row and they made signs for carrie. She comes over my side of the stage, they put it up. Ok no big deal, since ive made one before and I know their excitement. She looks at it and they leave it up the ENTIRE time she was there. My pal shouted at them; I couldn’t say anything as I thought I was going to get an aneurysm missing out on some potential photos. Then the next time she comes over, they put it up again!!! Unbelievable, though thankfully not the entire time she was there, but they did this at least 5 times…

- Carrie leaves the stage after SH, so my pal asks me “that’s all???” and I assure him there is one more. He looks happy.

Meeting carrie

Some of you may know already, but I was determined to tell her what I had always planned to say to her since the first time I met her, but with my repeated failures and pulling myselfs, never got to say! We were pretty much in the front of the line and I made sure I was last among the CF folks so they couldn’t watch me pull a potential me. At this point Sara wants a picture taken of her and carrie, and she entrusts her camera to my bungling hands, since we use the exact same model. So I had mine slung around my neck, and then slung Sara’s camera around my neck too. One of the fair security folks look at me and asks me how many cameras I have. Someone (I think either sara or don) said yea hes the paparazzi. I just smile as my moment is arriving.

So sara goes before me. I go out of the line to get a better angle to take a picture of her and carrie. So after sara spoke with carrie, the guy who was behind me propped himself in front of carrie! So I just butted in and said “hey, sorry dude, its my turn.” My hands were freakin full at this time as I was holding the pic I wanted her to sign, I was holding my bag with her present in it, and my neck had 2 huge cameras slung on it. I decide to return sara her camera.

I changed my approach this time. Usually, I stress myself out showing carrie the present I got her and then forget everything else, so I just placed the bag on the table and told her I got her a magnetic plush toy that she could stick onto her fridge. She looked at it (the bag is transparent) and smiles. Then, the moment comes when I finally say what I have wanted to say all along. Miracles do happen, reggie. I was determined to spit everything out. So I just said “I haven’t said this before, but I really want to thank you for everything you have done for us. It really means a lot and we all really appreciate everything.” (ok, now that wasn’t really as hard as I made it out to be right?) Carrie flashes me this huge smile and looks incredulously at me, perhaps knowing it’s the first time I have ever strung a sentence of more than 10 words in front of her, since all I usually say is “thank you” when she hands me back the autographed picture. She then laughs and says back “well, thank YOU for coming back out once again!” at this moment I hand her this stunning pic for her to sign (http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...i/IMG_1417.jpg) then she looks and says “how can i sign black on black?" and flashes me another smile. I then hand over the silver pen that I had brought along. As she is about to hand me the picture back, I say to her “you look really great tonight in this outfit and red is a great color for you.” At this moment, she giggles and then gives me a cute little pose! I don’t know how to describe it, but its something like a curtsy even though she is sitting down (makes sense?). at this point, my determination not to have brain cramps is broken as she is looking so stunning in that red blouse, and that little pose she did just did it for me. i thanked her again as she handed me back my pic and left. And then I realized my brain cramps cost me something! I left my silver pen behind with carrie! Lol sneaky carrie! I am convinced she comes on this board and somehow got wind of my determination not to have brain cramps this time so she probably ensured I got one anyway, and then came away with my silver pen too! Haha!