It has been a while since Scotiabank Place in Ottawa has seen large audiences on a regular basis. With the NHL lockout, even with the Ottawa 67’s, playing in the big house have struggled to fill the place. That is unfortunate because Scotiabank is run by a folks who take great pride in their work and rise above expectations on a regular basis. It was nice to see many of them again this evening…

The NHL lockout has affected many; including tonight’s star performer. Carrie Underwood had originally planned her tour to coincide with husband Mike Fisher’s schedule but with the lockout, he now finds himself grounded and unable to travel. The five-time Grammy-winning country singer says Fisher can’t join her on tour because he has an obligation to train and be available in preparation for a potentially sudden solution to the lockout. But tonight it was all about the music; Carrie Underwood playing at the ‘bank with 14,000 of her fans, many of whom she seemed to know personally, waving to many of them in the audience. The stage presentation was simple but well designed, placing the focus on her performance.

Underwood was back in Ottawa to as part of her tour to promote her latest album, Blown Away. The album debuted at number one in the United States on the Billboard 200 chart.  Like her three previous album, Blown Away also debuted at the top of the Country Albums chart, making Underwood only the second female to achieve that feat. As of November 19, 2012, Blown Away has sold 920,000 copies. Here in Canada, the album debuted at number one, with first-week sales of 17,300 copies.

December 8th, 2012. Carrie Underwood performs at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as part of her tour supporting her fourth album, Blown Away.