Phantastic in Phoenix!! What a Tour Opener!

Okay, I have to say - before I can provide any details- that I am positively drunk on Keith Urban!! (no alcohol involved). I am floating, flying high on the concert experience. What a wonderful, excellent night. Our man just couldn’t have been better. I am filled with the joy of Keith and his music!! I just beamed all the way back to the hotel, getting smiles in response from several in the crowd. A woman in the elevator even said “You look drunk on Keith Urban.” And she was right!

The new concert set-up is totally awesome. He has really done everything possible to try to make sure that there isn’t a bad seat in the house, short of finding a way to fly up to the nosebleed seats. But I bet even the upper tier was happy with Keith’s efforts. I don’t know if all arenas will be the same, but here in Phoenix the catwalk and second stage extended almost all the way to the seats at the far end of the arena!!! I tried to count how many rows of floor seats that was – it was about 45 rows long and no floor seats beyond the second stage in Phoenix. And then that amazing video screen – a really high resolution, a really, REALLY can see Keith video screen – not all pixilated like some of the screens I’ve seen at outdoor concerts. You could see each hair in his scruff and even the silhouette of the fine hairs on those magnificent forearms when they did close-ups on his guitar playing. Good realistic color too! In fact that huge Keith on the screen (and sometimes a split screen of 2 Keiths!) had such magnetic appeal that Keith may find that sometimes the eyes of the audience are not looking at him, but at that beautiful video screen. They did not use it all the time – sometimes it was dark or filled with colorful abstract images or images related to the song (Faster Car, Used to the Pain), but Keith is up there much of the time for the people in the far seats, and they also used it to keep the front floor people happy when Keith was way down on the small stage with his back to them (so sometimes we could get both a front view and a hind view – Nice!)

They let the audience line the sides of the catwalk - some people stood there all night. The second stage had more of a barrier around it so the audience was more than an arms-length away there.

Keith looked stunningly gorgeous. Washboard flat stomach – I think he lost the little bit of “filling out” that some had commented on and toned every visible muscle, from those tan, well defined guns, pecs, thighs and those lovely gluts. Oh my. And boy did he have the moves tonight – he sashayed and swaggered and shoulder rolled and made those entrancing head moves that I can’t possibly describe, but which make me all soft in side. Throughout the evening I went back and forth between grinning like an idiot, having my jaw drop with wonder, and wanting desperately to plant a smacker of a kiss on his puss. He had a new wide black leather (I think) bracelet with the LPATWCT heart on it, He was dressed in dark jeans and dark tee and wore what looked like black suede shoes or boots,

What about the music you say. Well I don’t have a set list or record of the show – I was on an aisle that was heavily policed by the “camera cops” who early on asked me if my camera took video. I said no and being afraid of confiscation, did not use it much as a result. But it was similar to the sets we heard about in Oz - Once In A Lifetime, Faster Car, Used to the Pain, Shine, I Can’t Stop Loving You, Everybody, Got It Right This Time, I Told You So from the new album.Blacktop, Better Life, Better Half, Somebody Like You, Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me, - what am I forgetting? No You Look Good In My Shirt, but he did sing happy birthday to “a long time friend – Ansel”. It was so great hearing some of those new songs live for the first time and made even more special because he did not just sing the album tracks. He added flourishes, changes in expression, timing and emphasis, new little guitar bits (like a bit of a slow sinuous guitar solo in the middle of Used to the Pain), or switched to acoustic, so the concert performances are unique. He did 2 songs, I think, from mid-catwalk and 4or 5 from the small stage with a couple other short jaunts down the catwalk. He and the guys did slap some hands and he signed one autograph. By the way the Chrisses both looked very good – I think they may have worked out too! No sign reading but I did see Keith giving a half dozen people (maybe with signs – I wasn’t watching the audience!) nods of acknowledgement.

There was a drum corps from Phoenix at the end of I Told You So which gave the band time to retreat from the small stage back to the main stage.

I was also tickled and thrilled that they included a video of Keith playing that little musical ditty from the end of Used To The Pain. I still didn’t catch all the lyrics but I loved seeing him playing that little mandolin (?, I think that’s what it was?).

Other little touches – the entire arena was ringed with an attractive, continuous electronic LPATWC Tour “banner” when we entered. The arena was also very heavily “fogged” - in preparation for the Wreckers lighting effects I guess. The Wreckers were great (but no song with Keith). Confetti guns shot off during Better Life (I think Keith picked that up from his buddies Brooks and Dunn).

Keith was his usual sweet, grateful and modest self. He got an absolutely amazing response from the crowd at the end of the show (but before the encore).- the noise was deafening and in addition an amazing number of people were shining lights from cell phones or lighters – the entire arena was a-twinkle so that even Keith remarked how amazing the placed looked when he came out for the encore. But it took multiple thank-yous and little embarrassed grins and looks at the band before the crowd stopped cheering so he could perform. I think he was quite moved and overwhelmed by the response. He said he’d play there again the next night if he only could! The audience just loved the show.