Oh My Oh in Ohio

Oh my - there is something darned special about seeing Keith outdoors on a clear sunny day. As wonderful as that big high def screen is in darkened arenas, the daylight really brings out the wonderful colors of Keith. Today he wore a bright white tee with the interesting logo of the Rolling Stones Unicycle Club (?) on the front and Capitol Cycles on the back, a great silver studded belt, and really blue bluejeans. In the sunlight that white shirt really showed off the great tan on those muscled arms and a rosy glow in his cheeks! He obviously has been enjoying some outdoors time. And in the daylight those blue eyes never sparkled brighter – totally mesmerizing! Our man was looking particularly lean and fit and happy to be playing a gig.

Keith came on at 7:45 with little to announce his arrival (no meteors and shooting stars or beat of OIAL as in the tour). Instead he came onto stage and immediately went into Days Go By, with the DGB fan video background (again I felt like there were some news bits in the video).on HIS usual big screen (I was SO happy to see they brought it to the stadium!). I say HIS because Kenny used multiple curved screens of his own (not quite as nice as Keith’s IMHO). The crowd joined right in on the song and Keith got a great response throughout his show even though the stadium crowd was, of course, a more mixed group than the usual Keith concert. Then on to Blacktop with a couple extra “You bet ya’s” thrown in (I always liked that line!) and then Stupid Boy with its great guitar solo (which garnered special cheers and applause). Keith talked a bit about being happy to be part of the show and said that when Kenny called and invited him to play he (Keith) had said “Let me think about it yeah okay” (all in one breath) J The word was that Nicole was present in Cleveland as well although we didn’t get to see her.

Well, shame on Kenny but he still did not allow his friend Keith to use the full catwalk. As with Kenny’s last tour the runway was physically blocked past the first “T” for all the other performers. So Keith did Raining on Sunday a bit closer to the stage than usual because of that limitation. He added in an extra line after “raining on Sunday”, saying that “It’s so much better than ‘raining on Saturday’” (and we had been so glad to see that Friday’s overcast skies had given way to skies as blue as Keith’s eyes by Saturday morning!).. This was followed by a totally rocking I Told You So (no drum corps of course)., a tender MMOU and heartfelt TIWC with the usual bit of playful piano lead-in. Of course all the Keith fans were totally into these songs but the slow songs do not quite have their usual impact on some of the rowdier ‘non-fans’ in a stadium crowd.

I was also a little surprised that no microphones had been provided at the right and left ends of the stage for the performers. This didn’t stop Keith from making his usual use of the stage ends – he just had to drag a microphone from center stage with him each time he journeyed out to the far ends.

Better Life was followed by Keith congratulating Chris M – Chris is getting married tomorrow!! Keith also thanked Dave and Shelly Fry (?) for flying them all back home after the show so that they can be there for the wedding.

YTOM got a great response from the crowd, as did Keith’s classic guitar riffs leading into YLGIMS. No venturing off stage tonight and Kenny was the one who gave a guitar away to a startled young girl later in the night.

Keith paused to remind us all that we are able to come out to enjoy music together because we are free but that freedom comes at a cost, and sent out a special thank you to all those fighting for and protecting that freedom overseas and their families. He finished off his performance with WWWBM and SLY, saying during this last song that “This one is for you Baby Girl!” (I assume he was saying this to Nicole off stage).

The hour and a quarter that Keith played went by far too fast (especially after being spoiled by those long tour shows), but even Kenny only played an hour and a half – I guess that is the price of a multi-performer concert.

With the exception of the catwalk situation I was pleasantly surprised by my stadium experience. I thought the sound was great and the big screens plus side screens provided a much better view than all the outdoor concerts I have been to in the past. For some reason I had missed any mention of Gary Allen appearing at this venue so was very pleased when he opened the show (not counting the couple songs by a local band that won Kenny’s “New Big Star” contest in this area). And another unexpected treat was Jennifer Nettles showing up during Kenny’s set and singing us “Stay” and also joining in with Kenny during his “Anything But Mine” towards the end of the show. Kenny’s set was fun but left me more convinced than ever that Keith is the EOTY!

PS Another special treat was getting to meet rum tum tugger at the show!

Loving Him in Lexington!

>Lexington was all blue skies and sunshine, gentle breezes and 65 degrees – perfect weather as far as I am concerned (especially since Iowa was expecting a late season snowstorm when I left – can you believe it!?). Had a talkative cabbie who asked a lot of questions about Keith and was rather astounded by my Keithie travels. I guess I am rather astounded too!

As soon as I dropped off my suitcase at the hotel I headed out to enjoy the weather and prowl around the Rupp looking for our guys on motorcycles. The buses were parked in a lot in the middle of the Rupp Arena and shopping & convention center complex – well guarded and out of reach of fans. But I sat on a cement wall, gazing down a driveway at the back entrance of the Rupp closest to the 2 buses with the motorcycle trailers. As I did I heard the deep guttural and incredibly loud sound of a BIG bike and I caught a glimpse of the cycle and rider unfortunately heading out of the opposite side of the parking lot. I was convinced that big bike must be Keith’s (although between the helmet and the distance I could not be sure). But what the heck – it was a lovely day for sitting in the sun, so I walked around the arena to that other driveway, found a comfie spot and settled in to await soundcheck time and, hopefully, the return of all riders. Lexington must be a friendly town, because locals kept coming up and sitting down next to me to chat. One guy was carrying his groceries home and pulled out a loaf of bread and coldcuts and asked if I would like a sandwich!! Anyway, at 3:20 two of the guys returned on smaller cycles (again their headgear and speed meant my guess that it was Brian and Jerry just that – a guess). Brad Rice once told me soundcheck was at 4:00, but no big bike returned by 4:00 or even 5:00, when I finally gave up and left for a Monkeyville pre-party.

I walked into the restaurant room Monkeys had reserved and grabbed an empty seat at a table only to discover that I knew all but one person from other concerts. Gaetane (sp?) from Montreal was there as well as the Michigan couple I had had dinner with at the Chicago Theatre concert way back in Feb 2007 and Tim who I had sold a ticket to in Green Bay. Small world and good company!

Since they were filming for the live concert DVD tonight there was one of those huge extra long camera booms set up about row 10 on the right side. With the long boom the camera could reach out to most of the right floor audience, sometimes coming down to face level to capture our singing or facial expressions. I think they had that same kind of boom at the Atlanta fan club concerts last year. Because of the filming Keith also had fun introducing most of the band members twice tonight – one time when they each sang their their little solos, and then, immediately after, another time without the singing. Keith explained that was just in case they didn’t get approval from the respective song “owners” for those little bits to be in the DVD.

Perhaps because it was Kentucky I swear the fragrance that they piped into the arena at showtime was the smell of a freshly opened can of sweet pipe tobacco!! At the break between Carrie and Keith it also smelled like this is an arena that allows smoking (or had a lot of smoking offenders).Tonight there were quite a few empty seats during Carrie’s set – it appeared lots of folks were coming primarily to hear Keith. The UK drum corps had seats in the risers at the far left of the stage so that they could enjoy Carrie and the very beginning of Keith’s set. And by the time he came on it was an awesome, totally hyped full-to-the-brim crowd who sang and cheered their hearts out until the final minute that Keith left the stage. (The Rupp Arena if both a deep and high arena with the longest staircase from the entry level to the floor that I have ever experienced!) The arena was hot and Keith was even hotter (my hair was as damp as Keith’s by night’s end).He was totally jubilant and playful and full of beaming smiles. Several times he made reference to this being the last of 107 shows (remember last year when we could hardly believe he would be able to do 100 in a year!) and that it was going to be a party. Once again he had fun with his exaggerated performer’s movements – e.g. at the end of DGB (which again seemed to have more new clips – sure hope they post that video on the website!) he stood on the runway with one leg raised for a full 20-30 seconds before finally breaking into that final DGB guitar solo at the end! Keith was wearing what I think was a vintage tee tonight – dark blue with what looked like a row of hearts stuck on the spikes of a wrought iron gate? Each of the other guys was dressed differently as usual – Brad in long sleeve tee, Chris R in a suitcoat, Jerry in a vest, Brian in a tie and dressshirt, Chris M in a bright orangish red tee. The guys also seemed to be in particularly high spirits tonight. I noticed at one point Brian and Jerry “leaping” at each other from across the stage (a la Keith and Jerry’s jousts at the beginning of WWWBM) just to switch up which ends of the stage they played on. They also seemed more playful on the small stage.

The first three songs of Keith’s set were as usual – thrilling OIAL, energy packed WTBE, and uplifting Shine, with the audience fully participating. Then when Keith paused for his usual welcoming of the crowd and drawing out the cheers of each section of the arena, there were lots of signs showing. Keith singled out a “cooperative effort” of 4 signs held by what looked like young high school girls. One said “I want to play your guitar” and the other 3 each said “Let her play your guitar”, with arrows pointing to the first gal. So Keith – the great sport that he is, invited Leslie up and gave her a stool and a guitar, She was just a tiny gal, maybe 15, but she immediately ran off some hot riffs on that guitar in front of 20,000 people!! Keith (and the audience) were totally floored – he nearly fell to the down with his delight and laughter! He did partially bow down to her, with arms raised over his head, making that “I am not worthy” type pf motion – so funny. So he asked what she wanted to play and she said she knew the solo to Raise the Barn. And she did! Keith let her start out alone but then joined in with his guitar and vocals and they rocked the house with a verse, chorus and guitar solo from Raise the Barn!!! It was fantastic and that gal may have a future – we need a few hot female guitarists in country bands!! After they finished Keith said “Thank you and good night!” because it really was like a rousing closing number.

I had a fantastic seat (from the Monkeyville presale) on the catwalk near the middle. Carrie’s catwalk microphone and Keith’s ROS microphone were 4 feet away from me and Keith began his duet with Carrie smack dab in front of me so that I stole a brief touch of his boot and leg. Also got 3 handslaps during the night (yay – they have to last me a while!) and many awesome close-ups. I could not manage to catch a pick however (Even though my sign tonight said “Pining for a Pick or to be Picked” with a picture of the pick with guitarmonkey on it. The Monkey on the catwalk of the row behind me got handed THREE picks during the evening!* One couple behind me had come to see Carrie and were a little uncertain whether they should bother to stay for Keith. They were surrounded by ardent fans who were shocked and convinced them that they had to stay for our “Entertainer of theYear”! Well, I noticed later in the show when I was perched on the catwalk barrier, the fellow was crawling on the floor under my feet, stretching to reach a guitar pick that had fallen close to the catwalk (and which I hadn’t noticed – damn!). He must have really been watching Keith play to notice the path of that stray pick from his mid-row seat!! I think we have a convert there!

Security was tighter last night, at least early on, There was no “catwalk aisle” – catwalk seats were pretty much up against the barrier. I got scolded twice for standing on the rail of the barrier to try to get my handslaps. I must say one’s “perspective” when you actually have a catwalk seat is a little different from recent discussions on the board (for instance when we were all urging bird to make the rush from her mid-row seat). Well, that’s what happened every time Carrie or Keith hit the runway – 4 or 5 gals from farther down the row very aggressively rushed the catwalk in my row sometimes shoving so hard they nearly displaced me – the ticket holder. Every time I stood up one of them would jump up on my chair and stand towering over me. If I wanted to briefly sit (like during the photos that precede UTTP) I had to ask them to get down from my chair. So although I am in favor of polite sharing of Keith access, I was a little miffed last night and had to do a little shouldering of my own to maintain my catwalk seat.

A little glitch when FC was to begin – the Shine background video started instead of the one for FC. Keith took the brief pause while they corrected things to give out additional thanks to the travelers, the nosebleed seat people and last night he gave a special thanks to those who travel to attend multiple concerts (yay!). He talked about the DVD filming and told us to be on our WORST behavior.:).

UTTP was back – I was so glad to hear it again. And the little stage set was extra fun with the double introductions I mentioned earlier. The Carrie duet, which Keith now does right after the band leaves the small stage – was rip-roaring hot – I so wish that they would record that as a single!! Keith was mobbed as usual when he went out in the audience during YLGIMS – one gal actually grabbed him and gave him a pretty big kiss on the cheek. He is a brave man to keep making that trip!

During the encore Keith did not do the usual “Blister in the Sun”. Instead he asked us to bear with him while he did something crazy (at which point the crowd cheered of course!). He said he felt like singing something different even though with was actually written for a female. “So just forget that I’m a guy for the moment!”(Fat chance of that Keith!) and did a lovely rendition of an Emmy Lou Harris song Kentucky Girl. During GIRTT Keith said he had been dedicating the song all tour to one wonderful person, his wife, and “Thank God she is here tonight!” I think Nicole was offstage because Keith kept pointing, looking and grinning at the side of the stage. A camera did catch a shot of her blushing and hiding her face, but she was against a brick background, another reason that I don’t think she was out in the arena proper. So maybe that’s why there was no sign of Keith on cycle at 4:00-5:00 – maybe he was off lunching with Nicole. Lot of colorful confetti tonight – especially up front – so the stage looked like a beautiful kaleidoscope for Everybody. Keith first again thanked everyone who had been coming to the shows because for him it had been the most amazing, fun, awe-inspiring, joyful, spiritually-rewarding tour that he had ever been on in his lifetime (he may have even had a few more adjectives – it was very moving!) Thank you Keith – believe me your fans feel the same way about this magnificent tour!! It was unforgettable!! But I could tell his voice was getting a little shaky during those thanks and by the time he was one verse into the closing song Everybody, big tears were just rolling down his face on the big screen. I don’t know how he was able to continue singing – I think many fans could not sing a peep with those great big lumps in their throats!

I yelled out my “Thank you Keith!!!” as he made his final hand-slapping journey down the runway, collecting oodles of tiny shirts, monkeys, roses and the like. He stopped to sign 6-8 autographs on various pictures and posters. Some fans around me were in tears – such a wonderful show but a bittersweet ending to this long exciting tour. I believe the show ended between 12:30 and 12:45 (I didn’t get to my hotel right across the street until after 1:00 AM).

P.S. Sunday morning and I am sitting in the Lexington airport, and in walks Brad Rice with the head honcho of the stagecrew (sorry, don’t know the name of the guy who hustles back and forth between the main stage and small stage). “That was a fantastic show last night!” I told Brad. “We’re all sorry to have the tour end although we know you guys need a break.” He replied that they were sorry it was ending too, and that they were looking forward to the shows with Kenny this summer. He was a very “Sweet B” and willing to chat. We went through security and ended up at the same coffee shop, at which point I decided to ask him for a photo op. He was happy to oblige – put his arm around me after draping his LPATWCT backstage access badge around my neck and StageGuy shot our picture. Then Brad gave me both one of his guitar picks and one of Keith’s!! So I did finally get my picks and a very nice conversation to boot. When I left the guys to drink my coffee at another table I could still catch their fun conversation on their experience of the various little snafus of the tour – the amps that went dead, Chris R. being unexpectedly tethered by cords that got caught on something, who was responsible for the early confetti release in Raleigh, the problems during the DVD filming and so forth (sorry for eavesdropping guys!). When I went to my gate, lo and behold they were on the same flight, so I popped one additional question to Brad. “Is there an expected release date for the DVD?” “Sometime in September” he volunteered! Yay!!! What a glorious trip!

* I later learned she (and sometimes bits of me) was being filmed for the "Greatest Fans" special!

Carolina On My Mind

>It is a gorgeous night in North Carolina – it was such a pleasure to walk back to my hotel from the RBC Center, aglow with that Keith buzz. I couldn’t help but whistle most of the way. It is amazing that with every Keith concert one can fall in love anew (not that I ever felt my urbanitis waning, but each new concert packs a whallop in my affections).

My suitcase didn’t arrive with me so I ended up attending the concert in the long skirt I had traveled in, and without my camera strap and sign, but what the hey. I arrived at the arena just before the doors opened. The BSE folks were entering the door next to mine and I asked if anyone had an extra pass, just in case J (fat chance!). I used my hour before showtime well – had my picture taken by Verizon to show on the big screen and entered the BBQ contest again, filmed another video “with Keith” – this time with both of us singing I Told You So, found the Monkeyville passport table and had me some North Carolina BBQ, complete with the coleslaw on the sandwich and some sweet tea.

I was pleasantly surprised that Floor 3 was not as far back as I had anticipated. Although I was about 9 seats away from the catwalk, my row was even with Keith’s microphone at the end of the walk, just ahead of the small stage, where plenty of action takes place. I didn’t have a chance to cross to the opposite side to look for board buddy bird in Floor 2, but I did try to send her a text message hello on the the big screen. Verizon texted me a thank you for my message saying watch for it on the screen but I don’t think it ever showed up.

Carrie put on a good performance although I think she sang a few more songs from her new album that I was not familiar with. She has increased her “chatting” with the audience, which is nice. She apologized to the folks in the nosebleed seats saying she would invite them all down to the stage if she could. She joked about the audience sort of being her “boss” since they voted her “into office” when she was on Idol. She also made kind of a odd joke (I guess) about this being the time when she “sucks up to the audience” and told us, laughing, that we were an awesome audience. During her set many security manned the catwalk area keeping the audience at bay. Tonight they had about a 3 foot gap between the seats and the catwalk, so early in the evening I was not sure if the intent was to keep the audience away or to invite them up to the walk. After Carrie the catwalk security essentially disappeared so that gap completely filled with standers. I felt sorry for those sitting next to the catwalk who might have thought they had a secure view, but if they weren’t quick they lost it! There seemed to be a different DJ tonight – PJ Scully, so when Keith thanked him he made no reference to the “Twin Disks of Love”.

At the last show I attended Keith had a one minute countdown clock, but not tonight. The lights went down, eliciting the usual screams, and they went right into the astronomical background of OIAL. I was immediately a goner, nearly moaning when Keith appeared in silhouette, because of that thigh keeping the OIAL beat. Mercy!

And when the lights came up and we could see him in that cream colored tee that he began wearing in Charlottesville – oh Lordy! The tee has somewhat shorter sleeves, I think, and I could hardly take my eyes off those lovely bulging biceps, muscles pulsing as he tore into that guitar. There were other distractions though. You could see Keith’s pecs right through that soft teeshirt fabric (that man has been working that body!!) – pecs and nipples ( oh the urge just to give one of them a little tweak!). His hair looked great – trimmed fairly short on the sides, with a few blond streaks and exceptional flippage during his duet with Carrie and WWWBM. The voice, the music, the dimples and grins were wonderful as usual and he graced us with several rather mischevious smiles, biting his lower lip while he ripped off those riffs.

There were lots and lots of signs tonight – Keith had the camera pan the audience and I couldn’t even read them all. He invited one teenage gal up on stage with her “Picture Me With You- Making Memories of Us” sign – with 2 holes cut for her and Keith’s faces to stick through. Lucky girl got several squeezes and multiple photo poses.

Tonight, instead of playing “Let’s Get It On” as she walked up on stage, the band played Johnny Cash’s “I Hear the Train A-Coming”!??

Keith hammed it up a bit on the piano before TIWC, running clear off the upper range of the keyboard leaning out so far he almost fell off the bench. He also was goofing with the guys – at one point before WWWBM he managed to make “bunny ears” (or are they devil’s horns?) on Chris R’s head on the big screen by positioning his hand just right in the line of the camera (even though Chris was several feet away). There were some new clips in the DGB fan video. And, as sweetness reported in Charlottesville, each of the guys (except Chris M) did a bit of a solo when they were introduced – that was fun to hear. I particularly enjoyed Chris R singing Hot Blooded. Keith received an abundance of flowers and gifts during the evening. At one point he was playing a guitar solo with 3 pink roses clenched in his teeth and he performed part of one song (I’m blanking on which) in a cowboy hat

When Keith came back on stage for the encore he sang a couple lines of “In my mind I’m going to Carolina” (can’t remember the actual title of that James Taylor song….). He was also a hoot because he came back on stage kind of chewing, apologizing for being slow because he had been hungry and grabbed something to eat ( and he continued kind of chewing and wiping his lips on and off for the first couple minutes). He told us that not only would he be leaving with fond memories of North Carolina but he had bought another motorcycle that day at the Capitol BMW dealership! (He did precede that story with a disclaimer that he does not “pledge allegiance” to any one brand of cycle – anything with 2 wheels is fine with him). He thanked the salesman for riding his old cycle back to the arena for himJ He dedicated GIRTT to his “very pregnant wife”.

I had a terrific time – how could I not??? – but there were a couple disappointments tonight. First – I was disappointed in the audience – quite a few of which left early, leaving some obvious gaps in the seating. And then a couple set changes: No trip into the audience during YLGIMS!! And naturally tonight I slipped out of my seat and positioned myself near the stairway he usually ascends, but then he never left stage L

Maybe those women who swamped him at the last concert were just too much??? No confetti during Better Life (may have been due to a malfunctioning system since a small spurt of confetti did appear during SLY).And then no Everybody!! The show felt a little incomplete without that wonderful closing number. This is the first show I have seen with the Keith/Carrie duet – has Everybody been omitted at the other concerts where they added the duet?? Or might Keith have actually been responding to the gaps in the audience?? No thank yous tonight for crew or those who stayed to “the bitter end”, as he usually does. But Keith did stay on stage and walked the catwalk long after the band had left the stage. He slapped hands, thanked much of the audience, accepted more gifts and even signed a couple autographs,

Outstanding in Omaha!

>Keith had the Omaha audience in the palm of his hand last night!! They (we) were just crazy for him and cheered and screamed at every opportunity, not just after songs. He was just astounded by how much supportive noise we were making clear to the end of the evening, saying things like “I love it here”, “What do they put in the water here?” “I’m going to move to Nebraska!” and finally thanking us for being such an amazing crowd and staying to the very end. And thank you Keith (and the guys) for putting on such an amazing performance!!!

His set began with the great OIAL opening and then WTBE, but then Keith said they had to stop and do things a little different because it was Chris Rodriguez’s birthday. Keith wanted to lead 15,000 people in the singing of Happy Birthday to Chris, and so he did! He gave Chris a big hug and said that Chris was 29 – again! J Chris wore a shiny red cone shaped birthday party hat for the next song or two.

BTW, towards the end of her set Carrie made a point of saying what nice, sweet guys Keith and his band are and how she loves touring with them “And I don’t have to say that, but it is absolutely true.” she added.

ROS was fantastic as usual – especially with such a participatory crowd. They loved Keith’s extra dramatic pause before the chorus and how he then laughed at his dramatics. He added a few extra lines at the end – they were a surprise and I didn’t catch the exact wording – but he sang to us something like “I’m going to sleep Saturday night in Omaha and then stay in bed all Sunday, and maybe the next day, and the next day, even if it is not raining on Sunday!”

I was pleased to hear the amazed comments of some of the guys sitting near me – obviously first timers at a Keith concert. “Now he’s going to play the bass guitar too!!” “He does keyboard as well !??” when Keith moved to the piano, and several comments to the effect of “This is just great!” They seemed to be as awed as we are.

Used to the Pain was back again tonight!! Yeah! So apparently its omission in KC was just temporary. On the small stage Keith and Jerry reminisced about playing in a club in Lincoln on Halloween (of all nights) to about 30 people. “37 “ said Jerry, so then Keith thanked those 37 for bringing out their friends tonight.

Tonight for his classic guitar riffs Keith had a good looking shiny black guitar. He was totally mobbed during his walk into the stands – he could hardly move and it took forever to make it up the stairs to mid-lower bowl and finally stand on a chair because he was so surrounded by adoring fans. We, on the floor, made worried comments to each other – was he going to make it? Will he actually be hurt this time? He gave the guitar (signed in white tonight) to a delighted young girl, although there too there was almost a fist fight as different fans grabbed hold of different parts of the instrument trying to claim it. But Keith made clear who he was handing it to and managed to plough through the crowd back to stage seemingly unharmed. I understand ardent fans but I hope their passion doesn’t ruin this fun attempt to interact with the audience and make Keith think twice about venturing off stage.

Before the encore the sound from the crowd was absolutely thunderous. And in contrast to cell phone sparse Kansas City, it looked like all 15000 cell phones were out, calling Keith back to stage – an amazing sight even before he organized the cell phone wave! He was quite tickled by the sight.

One of the funniest highlights of the evening came during the encore. Keith returned to stage with a video camera of his own, moving it to capture all parts of this amazing audience. It was such a cute turn around of all of us constantly snapping shots of him. He set what seemed to be a running video cam on top of his piano, facing the audience, so that he could continue to film us during the cell phone wave and GIRTT.

He again pitted one side of the risers against the other for the privilege of starting the wave and worked them up to a fever pitch, finally saying “Nebraska – a state that will fight to start a cell phone wave!” Gotta love it!

He was particularly profuse with his thanks to the crowd tonight – I think Omaha was an extra fine ending to his 3 day run in this part of the country. I’m sorry that it is over!

Backstage with Sweet Sweet Keith

>I was sitting at my desk at work, grading student exams, when my computer made its “You’ve got new mail” sound and the sender was listed as Monkeyville. Thinking it might be notice of a new concert date or presale, I opened the email immediately. But, praise the Lord, it wasn’t either of those – it was a “You have won a Backstage Experience in Omaha”email!! “Yes!!” I shouted and did one exuberant happy dance in my chair, reading and re-reading the message! My youngest daughter (my concert partner this time) would be a little jealous, but she had won a BSE in Memphis, so she couldn’t complain too much, right? Besides we know those BSE passes are non-transferable, right? Okay, Mom is not going to feel guilty about going to the BSE.

We arrived in Omaha about 4:30 and stopped at the Qwest Center Box Office. “Do you have the Keith Urban Backstage Experience envelopes?” I asked the woman manning the ticket window. “No, we don’t know anything about backstage passes.” she replied and my face no doubt fell. But luckily a voice from the back room of the box office chimed in and said “Oh yes we do!” and another woman carried out a box of envelopes. She checked my photo ID and pulled out an envelope with KEITH URBAN and the tour’s heart symbol on it, with my name written across the top. It was really true! I had a pass!

I arrived about 15 minutes before the stated meeting time, only to find about 50 others with BSE passes were already there. The staff seemed a bit disorganized – I guess every arena set-up is a little different – so first they lined us up one way, then they changed their minds and moved the line to another location. Then they started marching us in, but once again changed their minds, so back in line we went. Finally the staff led us backstage and lined us up once more for pictures. Gosh there seemed to be a lot of us – some with Monkeyville passes, some with radio station passes, some with Verizon passes. While we waited Chris McHugh was talking to some of the fans.

When Keith finally came out to greet the first photo group he looked gorgeous. Dark blue new looking jeans, light brown button down shirt nicely unbuttoned, with pockets on both the right and left sides with pearly looking buttons; hair shiny, straight and smooth - that new haircut is looking great! Sweet shyish smile, hands often going in his jeans pockets when he was not greeting fans. Mmm – fine!

I was in the 3^rd group of ~10 to be photographed. Of course I was hoping to get to stand next to Keith, but in fact I was the very last person in my group so was actually the farthest away from our man. Still happy to be there I hoped the photographer got the far ends of the line of fans in his photo (he promised me that he did : )

No hugs for anyone tonight, but Keith did go down the line of fans, saying hello and shaking hands with each and every person (now I can’t wash that hand again!). When he took my hand I prolonged the moment and said “Thank you for your wonderful music Keith!” (as he continued to hold my hand :) , He replied “You are entirely welcome Sweetheart!” . Sigh – my first “Sweetheart”! Then our group was directed to a dark passageway across the hall leading to the backstage experience room. My group, no offense, kind of moved like an unruly group of cattle. A big guy in front of me, who had been moving forward, made a sudden backstep. I, in turn, had to backstep to get out of his way, bumping into Keith and nearly knocking him over in the process! (really – the full body contact (back to back) was accidental! I swear!) Frightful images of me wounding the star attraction moments before the show popped into my mind! (“We’re sorry to announce the show has been canceled because Linda rear-ended Keith.”) I apologized profusely for nearly toppling him over. “Not a problem Baby!” he replied. Ooh – a “Baby” for me too, in that wonderful accent. I was floating on a cloud.

Down the winding dark passageway was the velvet-curtained, dimly lit BSE room. Considering that I was in the 3^rd photo group I was happy to find a chair just 2 seats away from the stool Keith would be performing from. Klutz that I am however, I nearly fell into that seat but the gallant cowboy in the next chait caught me. I believe the funny and endearing video they showed us about the band and the tour was an updated version with some different segments than what was shown in 2007. Thoroughly enjoyable – all the guys are so funny and Keith was positively droll.

After the video Keith came in, sat on the stool just a few feet away and asked what we’d like to hear him sing. Someone immediately said MMOU (I would have chosen a song that was not in the concert set list). But of course it was beautiful to hear up close and personal. It made me wonder whether he sang it any differently at his wedding.

I so enjoy that Keith never hesitates to make fun of himself. Tonight, before singing, he first reported that he got lost in the dark winding passageway and ended up in a different room before finding us. The he looked at all of us and confessed that he was wondering how in the heck to gracefully get rid of the gum in his mouth in front of 50 people. And proceeded to take it out and stick it to the candle table next to him. (a woman promptly asked if she could have his chewed gum!!!). He then said that when he put the gum down he worried for an instant that he was going to burn his arm on the nearby candles – only to realize they are fake candles, at which point he pressed the “lit” end of a fake candle against his cheek. Too funny!

Then the Q & A. The first question was about his Ipod (most listened to song right now and most embarrassing song). Keith said he had bought an album today and was listening to the music of Ashton Shepard (not sure that is her spelling) over and over. He said he had a lot of “guilty pleasures” on his Ipod but he couldn’t think of what was most embarrassing. One guy piped up with “the Carpenters?” but ever diplomatic Keith said he liked the Carpenters…..

A guy congratulated Keith on his upcoming fatherhood and asked if Keith was hoping for a boy or a girl and did they have names yet? Keith said they felt very blessed and just hoped for a healthy baby. Another guy asked about what guitarists influenced him. Keith mentioned some of the usuals we have heard about in interviews (like Knopfler) but also mentioned he learned a lot from local Australian guitarists that his parents took him to see at local pubs and clubs, starting when he was just 9 (and made a joke about his folks taking him to bars at that age). He also mentioned Vince Gill, a person I don’t recall Keith citing as an influence before.

My question was “Is there a concert DVD coming in the near future?” Keith seemed to like that question and talked about it for a few minutes, saying they had filmed at at lot of the venues on the first leg and thought that they were nearly done, but then the second leg expanded and Keith decided they needed to keep filming. He mentioned they would film at the 2 Atlanta shows and also the Lexington show, and then probably will be done.

But they will have a huge amount of footage to go through to make the DVD and probably will include a lot of bonus segments as well. He didn’t sound like they had a firm date in mind for the DVD’s release.

So our sweet sweet man was such a pleasure to be with, even if I didn’t get to cuddle up next to him in a photo or get a hug and a smell of that lovely neck. Something to hope for and look forward to I guess!

From ACrazy Litttle Woman in Kansas City

>It has been quite a day and I am plum tuckered out, so I don’t know how much I’ll be able to write tonight. But right now I am so wired with Keith excitement that I know I won’t be able to sleep for some time, so here it goes.

This morning in Iowa I awoke to fresh snow (for the hundredth time) and flurries still coming down – a bit worrisome considering my tightly scheduled road trip plans. I taught my morning classes trying, without complete success, to keep my mind on my students. I had arranged for someone to take over my last class so I could leave town in a timely fashion, but he got sick at the last moment, so no early escape was possible. Then I rushed off to the cancer clinic to have my chemo pump removed and hit the snowy roads, pressing the pedal to the metal as much as I dared (and keeping the volume on my music a bit down so I could hear if my radar detector went off!!). Luckily the blowing snow stopped after 100 miles and the remainder of my trip was clear sailing, although I did not get to my hotel in KC until nearly 6:00.

There were fairly long lines to get into the arena and we all went through metal detectors ( the guy in front of me had to give up a pocket knife…) The first thing I saw once inside was the Verizon “green screen” where they can film you so that it looks like you are in a video with Keith. At that moment there was no waiting line, so I decided to give it a try. They asked if I wanted a guitar to hold or if I just wanted it to appear that Keith was serenading me. I chose the latter and, as they filmed me, I could see (on a video screen) what looked like Keith singing Everybody to me (standing next to him). Fun! They said they would send the video to my phone – the question is whether cell-phone challenged me will be able to retrieve a video message!

The new Sprint Center is a nice arena (although there are some nosebleed seats). To me it seemed that the catwalk was shorter tonight than usual, ending just past the middle of the arena. I tried to count the floor rows and believe there were only about 28 rows next to the walk and small stage instead of the usual 40 or so. They had a fairly large fenced in area beyond the small stage where some (special?) people stood all night. Security was a bit tight – they not only walked the aisles keeping folks in line, but actually came into some of the floor rows, telling fans not to shoot video.

Carrie was perky and in fine pitch but I was counting the minutes until it was Keith’s turn. I did enjoy the cute video she had accompanying her All-American Girl song ( I must not have been looking at her video screens in Virginia) and the rollicking rendition of one of my favorite Guns ‘n Roses songs, Paradise City, that she surprised us with. I also liked the warm shout out she gave to friends and family who were in the audience tonight (and the “I love you Mama” at the end of Don’t Forget to Remember Me) but felt my pulse speed up when she finally sang Before He Cheats because I knew that my waiting was almost over.

DJ Debonair mixed in some new tunes tonight, including Kansas City (Here I Come). Finally the lights dimmed and the beat of Keith’s guitar began. I am really liking the “astronomical” shooting stars and comets background that they are now using during OIALL. Keith was looking so fine today!!! His hair looked freshly trimmed and downright handsome. His boyish gorgeous grin melted my heart faster than usual. And that man has definitely been working out – I swear I could see well-defined pecs and abs through that skinny teeshirt! And need I say anything about the cutest butt in the world?

When Keith had us all give a round of applause for Carrie, he added “I gotta get me some of those boots!” (tall, tight, black and flashy). He reminisced about playing the Beaumont Club in KC back in 1999 or 2000 and how KC has always given him a warm welcome.

One less song tonight for some reason – they skipped Used to the Pain and went right to the video of Keith playing that musical ditty on the E-bow (is that right?) – wonder why this change? I was excited to hear that signal that they would be heading down the catwalk since I was sitting about 6 seats to the side of the small stage. But gosh darn it, Jerry – God love him – almost always managed to be between me and Keith during their songs down there. Except during BH, when the guys move around a lot, I was just able to glimpse pieces of Keith – a bulging biceps, the flying hair during the passionate YTOM,

his back as he leaned over his guitar. I was wishing Jerry might fall off his stool so I would have a better view!;) Chis M. wore a red and white polka-dotted dewrag or maybe more like a pirate’s kerchief while on the small stage. Keith introduced Chris R. not only with the usual list of instruments and vocals, but also said that Chris played the triangle J

Keith threw in some extra flourishes here and threw – an “Ole!” at the end of one song, a ululating (sp?) cry after another, some extra dramatic concert pianist like playing before TIWC, a couple “baby girl”’s in GIRTT (is he telling us something?), and twirling in repeated circles from one edge of the stage to the other at the end of WWWBM. He accepted something red and white from someone in the first row and stuck it in his back pocket, where it flapped as he sashayed across the stage (as if he needed a little “flag” to draw our attention to his hiney!). He sang YLGIMS with an extra strong country twang and chose not the first stairway to the risers during his foray on the floor, but the second or third stairway – almost making it as far back as where I was sitting by the small stage. I could not see who received the guitar tonight.

Although there were almost no cell phones out during the applause and screams before the encore, Keith did do the cell phone wave – wanting to see what it would look like in an arena of 13000. He had fun pitting one side of the arena against the other for who would begin the wave and just loved the loud boos he got from one side or the other when he suggested maybe the other side of the crowd should start the wave. When Keith offered his usual thanks to the 140 hard-working road crew they showed a cool fast-forward video of the catwalk and small stage and floor seating being set up before the show. During Everybody he changed the words during one verse to “If you don’t want to go home, we’ll stay!” (wish that were true!). He did stay afterwards to slap many, many hands and accepted as many gifts (hats, roses, cards, posters, maybe a coffee cup) as his arms could hold before he gave a final nod and thanks to the crowd and left the stage.

Another wonderful night to spark sweet dreams of Keith!

Rowdy in Roanoke!

>Well I have danced and clapped myself to near exhaustion and sang, screamed and woo-hooed myself to hoarseness. Virginia definitely gave Keith some love tonight!! He said the crowd sounded like New Year’s Eve and that is not because they were drunk! I didn’t actually look for an alcohol vender, so I can’t say for sure, but tonight’s venue may have been a dry venue because I never saw anyone drinking or carrying beers tonight. But that didn’t keep the crowd from loudly participating!

The evening had a bit of an auspicious start however. I arrived at the Civic Center at 6:15 for the 7:30 show and there were already huge lines of ticketholders at each of the doors, with shuttle busloads more arriving every few minutes. The doors did not open at the expected 6:30, or 6:45 and the crowd was getting antsy. Close to 7:00 staff shouted something I could not hear over the sound of one of Keith’s highly decorated tour buses that was running next to our line, but the folks next to me heard the words “fire marshall”. So officials delayed doors opening until 7:00 meaning that they had to back up showtime to 8:00 to allow enough time for everyone to enter.

I only decided to go to tonight’s show on Thursday afternoon when I learned hubby had to go out of town and I’d be all by my lonesome for the weekend. I quickly found a reasonably priced flight and hotel. I knew I’d have to settle for what concert tickets were available at the last minute for what tonight looked like a sold out concert. I bought what I thought, from the seating chart on Ebay, was a “Club” seat or whatever they called that kind of mezzanine level above the lower risers. I was just glad that it was in the front row of that section, close to the stage and beggers can’t be choosers. But lo and behold it was not really a “Club” seat, but instead first row of the “Box Seats”. I think the Ebay seller perhaps didn’t know just how good a seat it actually was at the Roanoke Civic Center (a fairly small venue like the Mohegan). I was level with the height of the stage and sitting 10 ft from Keith’s microphone at stage right!! Face to face with the man every time he sang or strummed on that side – what a joyful experience!

Tonight it looked like the edge of the catwalk was a free for all – crowds lined the walkway during the break after Carrie. The glowing bulbs (red) that outline the catwalk and center front of the stage were used to good effect both during some of Carrie’s songs and one or two of Keith’s. But I was surprised that Keith and the guys did not make their usual first trip down the walk at the end of Faster Car. Tonight they all lined up on the front edge of the stage for that pounding guitar ending – that’s the first time I’ve seen them do it there. A few other staging elements were also new to me. The catwalk bulbs glowed blue for ROS and tonight Keith’s great Stupid Boy guitar solo also took place halfway down the runway. During the lead-in to the first ROS chorus Keith took an extra long exaggerated pause, leaning back in almost a back bend for so long that eventually both he and the audience cracked up laughing – laughing so much, in fact that he had a little trouble getting back to the ROS chorus! But he enjoyed that laugh and said we were his kind of crowd! God I love his various laughs. I couldn’t hear what later set off some sexy chuckles when they moved to the small stage, but I enjoyed the chuckles nonetheless. While on the small stage Keith brought up a darling 4 year old named Sydney who had a monkey for Keith and a sign to the effect of “I want to be your Monkeyville mascot.” They had a very sweet conversation and a couple of hugs. As she left the stage Keith said “I’ve got to get me one of those” – expressing his desire and excitement, I believe, about having a “little person” in his life! I wonder if they know they might be expecting a daughter……

On a completely separate note Keith and Verizon are really working together now. Verizon allowed audience members to send in text messages which showed on the big screen during the break as well as having some other special promotions in the lobby. But what really intrigued me is their contest to win a backyard BBQ with Keith!! And, if I understood correctly, another contest to appear in a Keith video. I’ll get the grills ready Keith!!!

Some of my favorite concert parts were made more special than ever. Keith not only dedicated GIRTT to Nicole, but tonight added “After all, I wrote this song for her!” and inserted some “Sweet sweet girl”’s in the song. After ROS he sang a little extra “And if it is raining or snowing on Sunday in Roanoke, it doesn’t matter – we’re staying!” He said a special hello to an old friend from Franklin County, Virginia that was in the audience and, earlier in the evening, thanked Virginia for the great weather Saturday because it had been perfect for riding the cycles.

But sometimes a change in a favorite moment is not as appreciated, even if it is skillful.

I have always loved the purity and intimacy of Keith singing TIWC at the piano, He was wonderful as usual – so heartfelt. But then the band came in behind him on the second verse and chorus – kind of like they do on the Celebration version of GIRTT (not quite as fullblown in TIWC but not subtle). I’m sorry Jerry (who was leading this guitar addition), but for this song I just want Keith’s sweet voice, expressive face and the piano.

Tonight Keith never made it off the floor during his brave venture into the crowd during YLGIMS. He was simply mobbed – some gals tried to hold onto him for the entire length of his walk rather than just being content with a touch or a squeeze. He made it halfway back in the arena and then stepped up on a chair to sing his verse (which helped protect him while on that perch). Again he signed and gave away a guitar but I couldn’t see who received it.

Tonight Keith really wanted ITYS to be participatory and the crowd obliged – it has joined the list of songs that much of the audience seems able to sing along with. And the cell phone wave returned tonight with great success!

Other bits and pieces – Brian Nutter sure looks different with a full head of dark hair! Sweet B seemed to be guiding around a family-looking group before the show – I watched him shepherd them back behind stage. I do like Keith’s new haircut, even if I miss the flippage. Keith was particularly profuse in his thanks to the crowd for staying “to the bitter end tonight” as he says it. There were a few empty seats after the pre-encore break but not many. He again outlasted the other guys after the lights came up – he continued to walk down the catwalk and to both sides of the arena, thanking, nodding, accepting roses, slapping hands, throwing picks, signing a few autographs. It was nearly midnight when he finally left the stage leaving a well-satisfied , happy audience.