I have enjoyed Kellie Pickler's singing and personality since her American Idol days, so when I heard she would be performing about an hour away, I asked my BFF Joan if she wanted to make it a "girls night out" and she was game. Tama, IA is the location of our closest Native American reservation and the associated Meskwaki casino which has a small ballroom size venue.
Kellie had a fair amount of lighting equipment with her on stage as well as an elevated platform for her drummer and keyboardist. (Sometimes there was a bit too much strob light and psychedelic spinning lights for my taste!) I'm not sure that she had all of her regular band with her however, since a couple of the guys she introduced as "playing with us tonight" as if they might not be regulars. She said that traveling with all of them in the bus was like having the big brothers she had always wished for.
Kellie's set was a great combination of new and old, with selections from her newest album ("Making Me Fall in Love With You"), some from her American Idol days and some great oldies which were among my favorite songs for the evening. She mentioned during her show that her grandparents had brought her their old record player and record collection during a recent visit to Nashville and she had been reminiscing as she listened to all the songs that she grew up with. I just loved her renditions of "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" and "Stand By Your Man" and even a little "Jolene", "Two Doors Down" and "Nine to Five"! Kellie did remind me of Dolly several times during the night (and other times my buddy Joan said she sounded like Reba!) During the more up-close-and-personal acoustic portion of her show, with Kellie and a few of the guys sitting on stools near stage edge, she also had a fun time with "I Wanna Be Married, I Wanna Be Single Too", telling us that her new hubby hated that song. She shared that her hubby ("my best friend") was with her in Iowa. Kellie mentioned she loved Keith Whitleys's music and sang a touching "Don't Close Your Eyes". (The ladies behind us got excited because they thought she said she was going to do a Keith Urban song : ). Her voice sounded just great on that sweet ballad.
Kelly told us a funny story about watching Dolly Parton (on television) with her grandparents when she was 7 or 8 years old, all google-eyed - admiring her singing, her fancy clothes and how pretty she was. Her grandma apparently was not as impressed with Dolly's physical charms and muttered "Whore!" at one point. Innocent Kellie decided then and there "That's what I wanna be when I grow up!" : ) I really enjoyed all of her little stories! But I think she needs someone to interact with on stage to really show the more feisty 'ain't she a pistol' side of her personality that often showed up in interviews or with Simon Cowell.
Kellie's I Wonder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iAhHpybbjE
I had watched many of Kellie's Youtube videos before coming to the show and had not seen her on television lately, so almost didn't recognize her when she came out on stage. Long straight blond hair has replaced her shorter, bouncy do and, with a more rounded angel's face, she looks more a woman than a teenager than her earlier days. Also she wore a rather unflattering, somewhat baggy tunic, making me wonder if she was expecting (but maybe she has just been enjoying the good life during her honeymoon).
Kellie saved Red High Heels for her encore and was sweet enough to invite everyone up for a handshake and an autograph after the show!
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