Mr.Wonderful in Moline

>Moline, Moline, Moline, Moline!

(can you hear Dolly singing that?)

My friend Joan and I drove home from Des Moines Sunday morning. After I dropped her off I stopped briefly at our empty house (the rest of the brood is off visiting hubby’s family), pulled the dirty clothes out of my suitcase, put some clean clothes in, and then off to Moline to meet my sister Judi. I’m feeling the effects of a 3 day KURT, but loving it. How in the heck does Keith do it??

Judi and I met at a Moline mall, bargain shopped a little, then split two entrees at a Mexican restaurant before heading to the arena. The weather was gorgeous so we decided to take the riverwalk from our hotel to iWireless – really pretty but very breezy yesterday. Another plus of this arena (a nice smaller venue) – it is one of the few I have been to where we could walk to our floor level seats from the ground floor (my old knees hate those long arena stairways) and they also have restrooms on that level. Thanks Monkeyville for the dead center seats about 12 rows in front of Keith’s catwalk microphone!! Unfortunately, being dead center I didn’t feel like I should try to slip past all the others in my row during Taylor’s performance (I know how those continually going out of the row for beer bug me). That was a mistake!! For some reason the crowds in the halls and lines at the restrooms during the break were the worst that I have ever seen at the I Wireless or any other arena for that matter. I waited the entire break and, in fact, missed most of Hit the Ground!!!

Keith was in burgundy plaid with the sparkly metallic thread running through it and looked positively jubilant tonight. He was showing quite a bit of chest J (even before the fans had a chance to try to rip off his shirt while he strolled the aisles like they almost did last evening!). He seemed especially happy and energetic (grinning so much you just couldn’t help but grin right back) and his voice was in fine form even though it was the third concert in three days. He was playful too, using one of his deep ‘silly voices’ during Blacktop (see first videoclip) and including little jokes throughout the night (see below).

Oh that beautiful face during Better Half (love when he wrinkles his nose in the second clip below)!! He had us wrapped around his little finger all night.

Tonight on the small stage Keith had a new ending to Once in a Lifetime, omitting the “Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo’s” and instead adding a deeper, slower extra “We’ve got a once in a lifetime lo-oo-ove!”, so maybe he is protecting his voice a bit. As he settled down on his stool to sing Making Memories of Us he said “A lot of songs are written about getting revenge on your ex-lovers, so it will give them hell the next time you see them. This is NOT one of those songs!” (giggle) (is that a little bit of a dig?) During the lovely Only You Can Love Me This Way he really loudly shouted “You know its true baby girl!” making me wonder whether Nicole might be there somewhere this evening.

When Keith strolled out, strumming his guitar for the start of Raining on Sunday, he totally cracked up the audience by instead singing, straight-faced, Taylor’s opening line from Love Story “We were both young when I first saw you”!! (see third clip below)

Til Summer Comes Around was magnificent as usual! Keith gives so much of himself in that gut-wrenching guitar solo and last night and tonight he punctuated the ending with four very longing, mournful, emotional “I miss you babe”!’s Wonder if missing his own babes helps to fuel the passion in that song?

Keith has brought back his “Space, space space” echo at the start of I Told You So and again added a few bars of a melodic deep “Whoa ah –oh – ah – oh –ah – oh” before the final “Should a known better than to leave me darlin’” (see videoclip below). He hasn’t always done that, has he?

For the first time this evening either I was in just the right spot, or the lighting guy was right on target, or both, because I finally saw the effect that Keith hoped to achieve with his broken mirror front guitar. The light struck all those little mirror pieces and fractured into a hundred different beams shooting out in all directions towards the audience. Very neat! I guess I just wasn’t in the right spot to see that prismatic reflection before.

Keith delighted us with lots of guitar “play” before You Look Good in My Shirt on his ‘light up guitar’ (see clip below). We saw not only its rainbow of colors but also its flashing or blinking mode. He again had a great time in the risers during this song, again successfully leading the audience in song from his perch (listen to them join in in videoclip below) (and admire that booty!). He is having a much easier time now that they have a tiny stage or table for him to stand on while he is up in the audience. I guess one reason the guitar giveaway happens off stage before the show this tour is that he plays one of his special guitars during this number.

I get a kick out of Brad and Brian taking a running leap and sliding down one of the stage ramps (I think its at the end of Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me)! Really tickles those lining the runway too!

Just under two hours into Keith’s performance a particularly soulful Tonight I Wanna Cry during the encore had the whole audience still singing along (listen to the clip below). And they were all with him during the final Better Life too!! He later thanked the audience and said he loved us for staying to the very end (in Milwaukee some started exiting early). We’ll stick around all night long Keith!! Thank you for another wonderful evening!! Enjoy your eight days off – we’ll be missing you!!

(videoclips added shortly)

Keith Urban Dazzles in Des Moines

>Although rain was predicted on Saturday my buddy Joan and I traveled to Des Moines without seeing a drop, stopping in Ames for a yummy rib combo at the Hickory House, perhaps the most popular restaurant in that town. Once in Des Moines we had just enough time to check into the Quality Inn but then had to hustle over to Wells-Fargo Arena Will Call to pick up our tickets.

I thought for a while that it was going to be another day of ticket problems because I did something stupid back at pre-sale time. The pre-sale for Des Moines began at a time I was teaching a class, so I asked my daughter to go online and get tickets for me, forgetting that this arena does not allow Ticketmaster to mail out tickets – everything is will-call to foil the ticket scalpers. Good idea, but not when you forget that then they will expect my daughter to pick up the tickets and she lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan! Once I realized that, I called the arena, called Ticketmaster, and contacted Monkeyville, trying to get the okay for my name to be put on the ticket order along with my daughter’s. It took lots of calls and some extra paperwork, but I thought I had the situation sorted out. I arrived at the box office and gave them both of our names and my photo ID. They weren’t happy with that (despite all the calls and Ticketmaster’s assurance that my name was now on the order). So I gave the box office a xerox of my daughter’s driver’s license. Then a xerox of the credit card she used. Then a xerox of her passport. Then they wanted the order confirmation number so I dug out the Ticketmaster email with that number. Geesh!! I thought they were going to request a DNA sample next!!! Finally I think I overwhelmed them with all the papers I brought along and they finally surrendered the tickets. It was worth the struggle though to see Keith’s wonderful show. Our seats were on the left hand aisle of the floor in row 16.

I enjoyed many of Taylor Swift’s songs and the little “monologues” she does between numbers, but I could do without the dramatics (the head flinging and banging, the drum beating segment) and her behavioral beckoning for the applause and screams of her fans (maybe cute the first time but it quickly got old). I also fear she may run out of song material if she doesn’t move beyond ex-boyfriends. But I have to give her credit – she definitely warmed up the crowd and got an even bigger response from the audience than Carrie Underwood!! And she is smart enough to use many of the things that Keith has had success with. She has her own 3 panel big video screen, she comes off stage briefly during the show and slaps hands and hugs the fans in the front section of the risers, she expresses her affection for the audience, and she incorporates a couple interesting videos into her set (what does it mean to be fearless and a little interview segment).

I don’t know if Keith and his production staff keep changing things or if I just notice new details. In Des Moines the big black curtain was back, but I noticed for the first time that the curtain was surrounded, on the outside by a ring of purple spotlights shining down from the rafters, adding to its mystery. And, perhaps I’m crazy, but it also seemed for the first time, that at the moment the show started, that huge back curtain suddenly DROPPED rather than pulling back! I stared in amazement because I swear that didn’t happen before and I couldn’t imagine how that big thing came down without falling on those at stage edge (but apparently it did not since there were only screams of delight, not screams of distress!) And there was Keith ! (no rising out of the floor tonight).

We noticed as soon as we entered the arena that there was a huge video boom positioned close to the small stage suggesting that was where the music video shoot would take place. But in fact there were cameramen moving through the aisles shooting audience shots throughout the show during almost all numbers. I don’t know if they are working on another concert DVD or shooting stuff for KUTube or a special, but they were busy all night (I notice, however, that they favored the ‘sweet young things’ in the audience in their shots rather than including the full diversity of the audience). I wore polka dots so I can find myself just in case I make it into any of the shots J

Keith of course asked the audience to give a round of applause for our “soul-sister Taylor Swift” and said “It is absolutely killer having her out with us.” The audience in Des Moines was very participatory – the whole jam-packed 3 level arena was standing and loudly singing throughout the night. Keith commented on our singing several times during the evening. I thought he did a particularly hot performance of Blacktop tonight with some really wailing guitar work and a shout of “Mercy!!” to top it off.

Since the arena had sold, in the last few days, some standing room only tickets for the floor area beyond the small stage, I wasn’t sure if there would be any room for those of us with floor seats to gather close to that stage, but I was game to give it a try. So at the start of Better Half I walked back to the small stage and YES! I found a spot just one person away from the stage edge. We sometimes got shoved this way or that – by security when they wanted to make a path for Keith (right past me so I gave that right bicep a little pat) or when the cameramen wanted to get a particular shot. I didn’t notice any cameras pointing in my direction, so I probably didn’t make it into the music video, but I had a wonderful up close view for the four songs (and also for Keith’s grimacing and “I feel so stupid right now” comments as his aide Deborah tried to pat dry some of the sweat on his face and rearrange his damp bangs before he performed Only You Can Love Me This Way J. Boy, I know we would all welcome a sweaty Keith with open arms, but I don’t know why anyone would choose to shoot this sweet, romantic song while all sweaty!!?? Personally I wonder whether they will really like the footage they shot for that reason. Or we’ll see what tricks they can do with good editing.

Being up that close it was especially apparent that Keith is now absolutely all lean, hard muscle. Oh my.

Keith said that Des Moines is a very friendly city. He dedicated Making Memories “ to those who are feeling in love tonight”. Then as they got ready to shoot the video he introduced Deborah and explained how they had to pick a place to shoot and he said “What about Des Moines?” He said that because of the filming he would be playing the song twice and we were all likely to be in the video. The crowd was thrilled and had obviously practiced their lyrics (but unfortunately the screaming periodically broke out so I hope that wasn’t a problem). After the first take Keith said “You guys are the best! I love you guys!” and thanked us for being patient with this process. (We’d listen to it a dozen times Keith!!) The crowd around the small stage really sang loudly the second time around - hope we didn’t drown out Keith!). Keith threw in an "You know its true Des Moines!" after singing the line OYCLMTW. His exit from the remote stage and return up front left hoards of women who ‘made contact’ screaming, trembling, crying. I thought the gal next to me was going to pass out!

Chris, Brian and Jerry once again sang Michael Jackson tributes during introductions. Tonight Chris switched to “I’ll Be There.” and got a great response, but Brian again won the prize for getting the most audience to join in on his “The Way You Make Me Feel.” In the closing of Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me Keith switched the words to “Singing a Taylor Swift song to me – Love Story!” At the ending of “If Ever I Could Love” the audience (or at least the floor) began following Keith’s rhythmic ‘clapping dance’ providing extra emphasis to that final Celtic beat. No improvised song for Des Moines before Raining on Sunday, but Keith did give an extra “Whoo-o” of enthusiasm after the second verse and a powerful, wrenching guitar solo. He also added a few bars of a melodic deep “Whoa ah –oh – ah – oh –ah – oh” before the final “Should a known better than to leave me darlin’” in I Told You So.

I was excited that, when it came time for You Look Good in My Shirt, Keith headed down the aisle I was sitting next to. Two more gentle touches to his abs and back.. Definitely got my ‘Vitamin K’ today and it is very energizing! While high up in the risers he again got the audience to sing the chorus of this song a couple times, each time louder.

More than once during the evening Keith called out “Are you having a good time?” but I am sure he had to know the answer to that question given our whole-hearted participation every step along the way!! The joy in the room was palpable.

Tonight I Wanna Cry was back in the encore tonight and Keith’s voice was so sweet and touching – one of those chill giving moments that just make you catch your breath.

When giving the usual thanks at the close of the show he not only thanked those who traveled a long way but also said “You guys rock!” During Better Life he was either a little mixed up or multilingual because he counted off “Un, deux, tres, quattro” J And, even though tonight there was no American sign translator present, during his final goodbyes Keith signed “Thank you” and “I love you.” to the sides of the arena.

PS

In the morning my friend Joan and I were joined by a couple other concert regulars at breakfast. Joan is not quite an “urban virgin” – this was her second concert – but she certainly isn’t yet familiar with some of the fan lingo. At breakfast I said something to jean-on-gal about how she must have been tickled to have her BSE with Keith filmed and up on KUTube. Joan looked a little shocked and asked in puzzlement “Keith is involved with breast self-examinations? And they’re videotaped?!”

Keith Urban in Milwaukee - Mighty Fine!!

(I won’t dampen my Keith high recounting my stressful ticket problems today, but suffice it to say I was very happy and relieved to make it to tonight’s show thanks to the sweet fan who came to my rescue.)

The drive from Iowa to Madison and then Milwaukee on a sunny day like today is quite lovely most of the way. I listened to Counting Crows music for part of the ride, something I haven’t done in a while, to get ready for Keith’s “special guests”. It was in the high eighties during my drive, so I was expecting it to be pretty hot in the ‘open-air’ Marcus Amphitheater and was happy I grabbed my “I (heart) Keith” hand fan that I scored at one of last summer’s Kenny & Keith concerts. But the evening turned out to be surprising comfortable rather than hot and humid (at least until Keith started making us sweat).

My hotel turned out to be across the street from a pub offering a free shuttle to the Summerfest grounds. By the time I worked out my ticket problems it was almost show time so I didn’t get to explore the huge fair. Happily the seat I ended up with, although off to one side, was just 13 rows from the stage on a nicely sloped floor so I had a pretty good view over the heads in front of me. The first thing that I noticed was that there was no catwalk (despite the Ticketmaster seating chart) and no ramps and what looked to be the normal amphitheater stage rather than Keith’s special large stage. But the video walls were in place, so that was a big plus. This venue was distinct from the regular tour stops in other ways – no sign of Verizon or Kingsford/Masterpiece inside or outside the arena. (

I’m afraid the amphitheater was still rather empty when the Counting Crows came on at 7:30. Although it filled up by the end of their set, the audience was definitely a Keith crowd, not a Crow crowd, so the Crows unfortunately got a rather weak response even to their biggest hits like Mr. Jones and Rain King. Adam looked really good, fit and energetic, jumping around like crazy (even higher than Keith jumps) but he never really “had” the audience. I enjoyed how they blended Rain King in with the Beatles’ A Little Help From My Friends and went back and forth between the two a bit. The Crows had a small piano with them to play A Long December and I wondered whether Keith might possibly borrow it for a song, but no such luck.

No big curtains or clouds of vapor tonight but Keith and the boys definitely rocked the house with the opening Hit the Ground. Keith wore the red plaid shirt with the metallic thread through it, so between it, his sparkly guitar strap, and the light shining in those baby blues he was all a-glitter tonight. Fine!

A few changes in the set list tonight – Days Go By was followed by Stupid Boy, then Blacktop and Better Half. Despite the lack of ramps our brave man did head off the stage at the end of Better Half – which especially amazed the crowd (there were fewer “regular” Keith fans there familiar with his tricks than usual)- to a tiny stage set up behind section 2. I’m not sure if the audience was stunned or more polite, but they seemed to allow Keith to play his guitar as he moved through the arena without much interference (except lots of screams of course!). His line about “Whose got the good seats now?” drew a huge response since in the Marcus the rear section is very wide and extends out onto the lawn, so included perhaps 2/3 of the audience. His 3 songs there included Only You Can Love Me This Way, which Keith mentioned as from Defying Gravity, but he did not mention that it was about to be released as a single.

I have been wondering about the filming of the music video for that song in Des Moines because the sound of the solo acoustic performance is quite different from the track that they are releasing for the single. But last night it seemed he performed it more like the album track, even with some of the background music, rather than just the solo acoustic guitar. Maybe that was a practice run for tonight in Des Moines.

Once back on the main stage Keith did Brad’s introduction and then Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me. Apropos to this evening during the final verse he incorporated “She was singing a Counting Crows song to me – Mr. Jones!” He then chatted up the crowd a bit, asking each part of the audience how they were doing. Because of the type of venue he was in he was able to ask “How are all of you on the grass? Followed by And how are you who are sitting on the grass? (laughs and groans at his joke). He reminisced about player Summerfest in years past (on the smaller Briggs and Stratton or Harley stages) and was pleased they finally made it into the Amphitheater.

An interesting feature: there was a young woman just off my end of the stage who presented all the lyrics in American sign during both the Counting Crows’ and Keith’s songs. It was interesting to watch her since she did it with rhythm and expression (kind of rockin’ in American sign). During the Counting Crows security people stood about every 6 feet along the front of the stage, keeping things clear, so she was easy to watch. But Keith had obviously told security to get lost for his performance. During the break between the Crows and Keith security left the front edge of the stage and fans moved up to fill the space between the stage and the front rows as has been happening at many other venues. I was happy to see that several fans in wheelchairs were up at stage edge. But with the growing crowd stageside during Keith’s set it got harder and harder to see the poor gal signing the lyrics. Towards the end of his set, during I Told You So, Keith noticed the problem. He went over, in the middle of the song, and with those amazing muscles, lifted the woman up on the stage with him and sang and played right next to her as she blushingly continued to sign I Told You So in time with his singing. Very sweet. Not only that but at the end of the show Keith vigorously signed a special message back to her – looked like perhaps a special thank you (I don’t know sign I’m afraid) – another sweet moment. I wonder if he and Nic are going to be signing to Sunday before she begins to talk.

I noticed that the music during the break included more Michael Jackson tunes than usual. And when it came time for more band introductions Chris, Brian and Jerry each sang bits of Michael Jackson songs for their solos tonight. Chris did Rock With You (a bit too old for much of the audience), Brian did The Way You Make Me Feel (and the whole arena joined in!!) and Jerry did Man in the Mirror. When they finished Keith shouted “This one is for you Michael” and lifted his arm in tribute. Very nice.

The guitar solos were stellar, of course – Stupid Boy, Til Summer Comes Around, the fancy guitar play before You Look Good in My Shirt – they all blew the audience away. I heard lots of compliments during the show and on the bar bus ride back to the hotel. The stunning ‘cracked mirror’ guitar made an appearance but the guitar whose face is covered with light emitting diodes stole the show as Keith switched the hue of the lights through every color of the rainbow as he played. When it came time for Chris McHugh’s introduction, Keith leapt up atop once of the amplifier cases (so he was up as high as Chris and his drums) to do the intro ! Keith did not leave the stage during YLGIMS but did lead us in a sing along of a couple rounds of its chorus, requesting that we sing louder each time (we did good!) and closing it with a little special guitar flourish. There were quite a few other ‘echoing’ sing-alongs during the evening, with amazing audience participation.

Of course by show end Keith was sweating bullets despite the comfortable evening temperature. He made us laugh by taking a big gulp from his water bottle, then letting it go, face pointing upwards, in a giant spray (perhaps that cooled him off?). He concluded with the usual thank yous to those sitting up high, out on the lawn, to those who traveled a long way, to the hard-working road crew, and to everyone for choosing this show and jumping through whatever hoops they needed to in order to attend in these tough times. Keith and the guys got a huge round of applause, whistles and screams and Keith thanked us with his usual modesty, saying “You guys are the best!!”. Better Life was the only encore song tonight but then they did quite a bit of hand-slapping and pick- throwing so it took a while for their final Band of 5 bow and last waves as they left the stage. A mighty fine night in Milwaukee!! (photos & video to come...)

Summerfest Here I Come

YAY! Time for another KURT (Keith Urban Road Trip)! Tomorrow morning I am off to Milwaukee's Summerfest. It will be my first time at what is billed as the world's largest music festival - "700 bands on 11 stages". Wish I could make it to the opening night concert by Bon Jovi this evening, but I just couldn't get away early. Nevermind - I am so excited about seeing Keith's show tomorrow night - especially with "special guest", the Counting Crows. The Crows have been a favorite of my daughters and myself since long before I heard the music of Keith Urban. I think this will be my 10th time seeing the Counting Crows and I'm really curious whether or not they will simply open for Keith or whether they might actually collaborate on a number or two.

I am also hoping to initiate a new member into the Urbanite clan tomorrow. My niece Becca, an Urban virgin, and her friend are using my extra tickets to the show. Becca is pretty cool about the prospect - she's coming because her friend and her aunt are 'country fans' but laughed at the notion that she might be hooked once she sees Keith live. We'll see......

These Are the Times We Will Remember

Prague Zoo Bat Cave and Chair Lift

Tram in Rudesheim to Niederwald Monument

"Morning After" Party to 'Finish the Keg' & Castles

Tasting Reislings in Bernkastel, Germany

The Batobus on the Seine in Paris

 Well my biological clock is finally getting back to Midwest time after my European adventure. We had a wonderful, wonderful time - beautiful and fascinatingly historic scenary, sunny weather in the 60's-70's, lots of castles and vineyards and amazing vistas, too much good food and wine. But the real joy was traveling with the whole family and our best friends! I so miss my daughters when they are away at school -  it is a real treat to have them as travel companions. Seeing the Eiffel Tower was swell but seeing their smiling faces under the Eiffel Tower was magnificent!

You'd be hard pressed to distinguish many of the photos of one person's European vacation from those of another. I surely enjoyed seeing some of the great sights but will probably most remember some of the little quirky highlights of our trip. 

Like the group of us who got left behind in a giant park by our Paris tour bus in one of the few rainshowers of the trip. 

Riding down the Seine on the glass roofed batobus boat past Eiffel Tour and Notre Dame.

Dining at French bistros, sidewalk cafes, German beerhouses. 

Riding in a cable car high above the German vineyards  of Rudesheim with my youngest daughter Anne. 

Watching for low bridges as we cruised the Main River in Germany - bridges that required that the Captain's pilot house be lowered into the ship and everyone on the upper deck had to crouch down as the bridge nearly skimmed the ship railing. 

The whole family getting a little silly sampling dozens of different Reislings with open access to a large wine cellar, trying to detect the subtle differences described by the producers. 

Riding a delightful little dark wood boat (rather than the big glass sided tourboats) on the Vtlava River and its side canals, enjoying not only the view but the Czech beer, gingerbread and ice cream the sailors handed out.

The shouts of amazement from my family members when, after going our separate ways one morning in the Czech Republic, we actually managed to all meet up by the statue near the astronomical clock in the Old Town Square ("Stare maestra") at 2:00, like some star-crossed lovers in an old time movie.

Riding the Prague Metro with its incredibly steep escalators.

Hanging, suspended, in a single chair chairlift with no restraints, as it carried me down the mountainside in the Prague Zoo. Visiting the bat cave there, with dozens of 12 inch bats freely swooping about our heads and legs and dangling from the walls and ceilings.   

Sharing, around our dinner table on the last evening of the trip, shots of strange traditional Czech liqueurs (Becherovka, Fernet, and slivovicz).

I am so blessed!

Time for an "Other Adventure"!

My "Keith Urban Journey" will be on hold for a little bit. For the next 10 concerts I will be reading, not writing reviews while my family and I and our best friends take an anniversary trip to Paris that had to be postponed a couple years. But I'm looking forward to Keith coming to Iowa, so I will be back on the road following Keith a little later in the summer.