Sometimes chance favors the unprepared mind.

On Wednesday morning, I decided that if I could find a good seat for Kelly Clarkson’s show that night at U.S. Airways Center, and if that ticket cost less than $80, I’d like to see her live show. I figured the last few available tickets would cost $120 and be located up under the eaves with the mourning doves, so I’d end up instead using my freebie pass for yet another damned rom-com.

Spoiler: this blog entry is about Clarkson’s show. And I’m probably going to gush.

Clarkson is touring as encouragement to the masses who bought her latest album, Stronger (iTunes, Amazon), co-headining with The Fray, who hope people will notice their latest album, Scars and Stories (iTunes, Amazon). The opener is Carolina Liar, whose indie album Wild Blessed Freedom (iTunes, Amazon) has a title that contains S sounds but no words that start with S.

Putting Clarkson’s lively pop/R&B show between the mournful post-grunge guitar rock of Carolina Liar and the mournful, post-grunge piano rock of The Fray is like sending Eeyore and his hypothetical younger brother Ooyore into the Enchanted Forest, where they encounter a PINK SPARKLY UNICORN. And the PINK SPARKLY UNICORN holds grudges! Snarky, defiant, angry grudges! Read the rest of this entry »