Last stop on the Carolina concert tour: Raleigh. This was another regular fan club presale ticket - row 17 of the left floor. Since I have been spoiled rotten with close seats, this seemed far back (altho it really wasn’t bad) and there were too many heads in the way when it came to using my camera. So I stuck to singing and dancing for the early part of the show. Consequently I wasn’t camera-ready when Keith began to chat with the audience. He mentioned it was his and Nicole’s fifth anniversary, holding up his hand to indicate the 5. He went on to share that Nic had surprised him by arriving in Raleigh! He said that they don’t often surprise each other, but that this was a very good surprise. A little later in the evening sadly I was unprepared again. It was time for Without You and I suspected he might dedicate it to Nic since he has done so before. But Keith did more than that. He said, as best as I can recall “I mentioned earlier that today is my anniversary. I can’t tell you just how much my wife has changed my life. Seven years ago I had no clue where I was heading - absolutely none - until we met. This song is for you baby girl. I love you!” I kept an eye out for signs of Nic backstage or up in the boxes but didn’t catch sight of her.
Jake Owen thrilled the North Carolina crowd by donning a N.C. State football jersey and talking about how he got it from with one of his friends who is with the “Wolfpack”. Jake said it was a really big deal for him to wear the jersey since he is from Florida and went to Florida State who plays against NC State. (I understand that Jake himself was there on a football scholarship until he was injured. Luckily any injuries certainly aren’t affecting his engaging moves on stage! : ) ) Here is his Keepin' It Country.
Keith read a sign from someone celebrating her birthday and said “Happy Birthday sweetheart!”. Signs can be fun but some overdo it and hold up their sign for virtually the entire 2 hours (without regard for those behind them).
Tonight during Long Hot Summer they decided to rotate the “stars” shining on the ceiling and audience. Might be a nice idea (and in fact U2 did much the same during their show the next night), but they set the speed a bit too high, so I had a flashback of what it used to be like to be spun too fast on the playground merry-go-round and seeing everything pass too quickly. I actually had to shut my eyes because I started getting dizzy.
Keith has been adding a special closing line after Making Memories - something like
“There is no way to show just just how much I love you.”
One benefit of my seat tonight was being just 2 seats from the end of the row and halfway back towards the small stage. I decided it was a good night to try to visit that stage when Keith came back. I thought I was being so clever since I figured I knew the setlist and signs that it was time whereas most others at the RBC would be new to the show. I slipped back to the small stage a minute or so before Keith left the mainstage but found a crowd had already gathered!! So either they knew the routine, or maybe they just gathered there all night long knowing sooner or later Keith would appear.
But I was saved by the fact that as soon as Keith got to the small stage, the people actually seated in the surrounding rows suddenly and quickly moved further into their row to get as close to Keith as possible (much like a bunch of metal balls being pulled toward a strong magnet ... Keith the Magnet!). I quickly stepped into a row spot that had been vacated, so had a wonderful view (never mind the person behind me who seemed to be resting her camera on my head to steady it). Although the lighting was not the best for I’m In (too bright) I got some really nice videos (on youtube) from all angles. I was awestruck throughout but was particularly tickled by Keith upside down singing from under the microphone in Jeans On: ) Here is You'll Think of Me.
They use some pretty neat video techniques this tour. Here is a bit of Sweet Thing showing some of these.
Given that Keith somewhat randomly selects fans from around the stage (who have been singing, who look like they might be fun, or who are young fans) for the Kiss A Girl sing-off, those ‘contestants” give us some idea of just how many people travel to see Keith perform, It seems like nearly half those brought up on the stage have been from hundreds of miles away from the venue. In Raleigh one was from N.J. and another from N.Y - Keith kind of shook his head and said something like ‘I just can’t pick locals!”. Luckily the third gal was from Cary, a Raleigh “suburb”.
Keith went to our right for his off-stage journey during You Look Good in My Shirt, so is keeping a pretty even 50/50 split between sides. I was faked out though - beforehand I looked around to see if I could tell where he might head and saw a cleared spot and what looked like a table in the left risers. So I made my way out to the left hand aisle hoping he would pass by. I don’t know what the heck I saw, but it turned out not to be the YLGIMS spot. Upon returning to stage Keith finished up that song and the guitar flourish at the end laying flat on his back while continuing to play his guitar! Still on his back and playing, he used his feet to make his body spin on the floor. What a a ham!
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