http://www.elpasotimes.com/entertainment/ci_9178638

Carrie Underwood delivers 'OK' show to 6,700 at Don Haskins Center

Doug Pullen / El Paso Times

Article Launched:�05/07/2008 09:30:42 AM MDT

Carrie Underwood performed in front of a crowd of 6,700 Wednesday night at the Don Haskins Center. (Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)

Carrie Underwood may be one of the hottest singers in country music today, but she's still got a lot to learn about putting on a great show.

Her performance Tuesday night for a nearly packed house of 6,700 at the Don Haskins Center was not a great show. It was an OK show, but certainly not up to the level of many of the genre's more seasoned superstars.

Heck, it wasn't even as enjoyable as opener Josh Turner's 45-minute set.

It had its moments, to be sure. The one-two encore punch of "Paradise City," the Guns 'N Roses slammer that's been a staple of her concerts for a couple of years, and "Before He Cheats," the revenge tale that crossed her over in the pop world, almost made up for the often nature of her 18-song, 90-minute performance.

And her earnest turns on her breakthrough hit ballad, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "I Told You So," an overlooked gem from her new "Carnival Ride" album, were powerful reminders of just how strong and expressive a singer she can be.

When the voice that won "American Idol" three years ago isn't buried in the mix, which she was often on Tuesday. It was hard to tell if it was a matter of policy or a poor effort on her sound crew's part of adjusting to the Don, which, with the stage reaching about center court, was cut down into more of a large theater than a basketball arena. The 25-year-old singer with the herculean voice sounded strained - and was sucking down a lot of water - in

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the show's rocked-out but mostly lackluster opening section. And after her first costume change, into a weirdly bottom-lit blue evening gown, she even let the crowd sing the first chorus of "Jesus, Take the Wheel" as if she was conserving her voice for its big money finish.

Whatever she did, it seemed to work, because her pipes were open full-throttle for the next song, "I Told You So," which proved an impressive if somewhat monotonous for the voice that seduced millions of voters on "Idol" and millions of music buyers after her run on that career-making show.

One of the problems that has plagued Underwood's post-"Idol" performing career is her lack of personality onstage. This was my third time seeing her, first as a headliner, and it seems that the charming young woman who had emerged on her 2006 tour with Kenny Chesney has been lost in the din of oversized video screens, catwalks, costume changes, routine audience patter, an unevenly paced set and a woman who seems more concerned with hitting her marks than hitting people where it counts - in the heart.

A perfect example of that was her performance of the lovely tearjerker "Just a Dream," one of the most poignant songs on "Carnival Ride." It's about a young woman, just 18, whose boyfriend has died in battle. It's a song that, if her vocal had been audible over the band's wall of sound, might have resonated with an audience in an Army town, especially since venue management said about 600 Iraq veterans had been given seats to the show.

She never acknowledged it or dedicated the song to those special guests. Maybe she didn't know they were there. Maybe she did and just couldn't or wouldn't depart from the script. It was an opportunity squandered, though she did manage to mention her impending induction into the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday.

A pre-Mother's Day dedication of "Don't Forget to Remember Me," a song inspired by her own mom (which brought her to @!@!! when she performed it in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago), would have been a nice touch. Instead, she introduced it by saying how much she appreciated the fans "for giving me a job," which she probably says every night.

Underwood just doesn't seem to have that kind of spontaneity. Not yet. She was a bit of an automaton up there - an automaton who can belt it out.

Heck, she showed more personality in a brief backstage video that accompanied "We're Young and Beautiful," one of a handful of songs from her 7-million-selling debut album "Some Hearts" that curiously was cannibalized into a medley, something usually reserved for much older artists who want to quickly dispense with moldy oldie hits they've tired of singing.

All the bells and whistles in the world can only cover up that stuff so much. If the 25-year-old Underwood spent more time letting her hair down than navigating the stage in stiletto heels, she could turn into one of country and pop's more engaging performers. For now, she's overreaching and underachieving. She's only been doing this on this level for a little under three years, so she'll get better.

She'd be wise to study guys like Josh Turner, the affable South Carolinian with the big baritone who opened the show. He's not exactly Garth Brooks up there, but Turner has a calm, assured air about him and an easygoing stage presence that comes with experience and confidence. And he's got a batch of songs that reflect the life he values - home, faith, family and the love of a woman (that was his wife Jennifer on keyboards). He doesn't have offer disclaimers, as Underwood did after she sang "Last Name," which, with its tale of regrettable drunken exploits, is like a sequel to "Before He Cheats."

Of course, Josh Turner's not the household name Carrie Underwood is, prompting hime to joke: "She's sold a lot more records than I have, which is exactly why you should go out and buy my record."

Doug Pullen may be reached at dpullen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6397.