Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban Shine Bright at Tour Opener

By: Tim Malcolm

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- If anyone needed confirmation, here it is: After a turbulent past filled with rich personal bouts, Keith Urban is now a full-fledged rock star.

Urban opened his 24-city Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride tour with Carrie Underwood Thursday night (Jan. 31) during a sold-out show here at Mohegan Sun Arena and demonstrated quite fiercely his rock 'n' roll chops.

The tour brings two gigantic country stars together in a high-production extravaganza. Playing their hits, Underwood and Urban kept the crowd completely engaged through production and personality during the entire four-hour show.

Underwood started the show right on time, delivering a high-energy set of her biggest hits from her two albums -- Some Hearts and Carnival Ride. Rising from below the stage, she started with "Flat on the Floor" and "Wasted" in a sequined shirt and leather pants. "The More Boys I Meet" was a big favorite, with the crowd drenched in orange lights, bringing out the warmth of the song about her dog, Ace.

For "Jesus, Take the Wheel," Underwood emerged in a gorgeous blue Cinderella gown. She threw off the gown's train and sauntered during "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore," which brought down the house as the American Idol winner transformed from small-town good girl to big-city pop star.

Underwood posed heavily for her adoring fans on the main stage and on a long runway extending to a smaller circular stage at the other end of the floor. They snapped photos at will while she stayed static throughout much of the night, mainly swinging her hips and grasping tight at the microphone. She became most comfortable after ditching her elaborate costumes for a more casual shirt and jeans. "Twisted" -- a self-proclaimed favorite of Underwood's -- found her at her most playful, truly enjoying the rocker as she shook and swayed about.

"So Small" had Underwood in another interesting setup -- surrounded by white sheets attached to overhead lights, as if she stood in the middle of White Sands, N.M. The lights, which were manually lowered and raised, detached the sheets at once, creating a powerful effect at the climax of the song.

An encore of "Before He Cheats" brought the female portion of the crowd into a singalong frenzy, one that only served as a prelude to Urban's performance.

Read the rest of this article at CMT.com