Thursday, September 30, 2010

Jackson Browne & David Lindley Serenade Chicago

Jackson Browne had been on my “Artists I Hope to See Live” list for quite a while, so when I saw that he would be appearing in Chicago at a lovely small venue (the Chicago Theatre on State Street) I was immediately interested. It would not be easy to get to Chicago for a Thursday night show, then back to Iowa for my Friday classes, but I was willing to try.

I tried my darnedest to arrive in the Windy City before rush hour, but it seems like there is rush hour traffic almost all the time these days. I did okay until I hit the Kennedy Expressway out by the airport, but then in took another 90 minutes to creep the remaining way downtown. I headed for the parking lot the theatre had listed as the most convenient (but which turned out not to be the most economical). I had barely walked a half block when I got a meet-up call from my daughter Sara – perfect timing!! She and beau Sam walked up State to meet me so that we could walk the 3 blocks together to the restaurant Sara had selected. It was a nice Italian spot – the Rosebud- Theatre District. Not quite as cute or authentic looking as their Naperville site, but very tasty food. We had a fun dinner together – I ate too much of the crusty Italian bread and olive oil, but at least ordered some fresh lake whitefish on a bed of steamed spinach rather than pasta. I couldn’t resist ordering a side of Rosebud’s homemade Italian sausage for us to share – it was spicy, fennel-y and great! Next time I might go straight for an Italian sausage main course. Sara and I shared a trio of Italian gelatos for dessert – my favorite was a creamy lemon.

Sam and Sara walked me back to the Theatre (Jackson Browne was “before-their-time” so I was concerting alone) and we hugged goodbye until our next adventure together.

My seat was in the second row of the first balcony. All seats in the Chicago Theatre provide a good view of the stage, but what I had not realized is that the balcony rows have no leg room at all. My old knees were not too happy about that so I will avoid the balcony in the future. The only other time I had been at this theatre (to see Keith Urban’s charity concert for St. Jude’s a couple years ago) I had an aisle seat on the main floor without a leg room problem. Of course everyone stands through Urban concerts, but that was not the case for the audience seeing Jackson. They remained polite and seated except for a few brief standing ovations on the main floor after the biggest songs. One thing the crowd was not shy about - shouting out requests. In the second half of the show every round of applause following a number was followed by shouts of song names from every part of the theatre!

The sound of Jackson Browne and David Lindley playing together for the first several songs was just lovely. Their mellow acoustic instruments just resonated through the theatre – it was entrancing. For some reason the acoustics did not seem to be as good (at least not up in the balcony) later in the show when Jackson stood at the centerstage microphone (I don’t know why), but the sound seemed better when he sat at his keyboard. In any case, every song was a pleasure. Here are a few samples from the night: 

For Everyman

Call It A Loan

Bright Baby Blues

Fountain of Sorrow

Just Say Yeah

Running on Empty

My only disappointment was the omission of The Load Out as the closing song! I was so sure it would be included since it even mentions Chicago. I waited so expectantly, so patiently - but we were not gifted with this classic. (I consoled myself later by looking up the clip of Keith singing the Load Out while his crew was actually loading out - go to 6:14 in this clip.)
        I had reserved a hotel room west of the city, partway towards Iowa, so my drive in the early morning would be shorter. Little did I know that I would be encountering yet another "rush-hour" traffic jam at midnight!! The roadcrews do a lot of work between 9 pm and 5am and they had several lanes of the Eisenhower Expressway closed. Traffic was backed up for miles so I finally got off the highway and took my chances on the inner-city streets for several miles to get around the roadwork. Drove my "GPS lady" crazy - she kept directing me back to the midnight madness on 290!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Keith Urban's Summer Lovin' Tour Bids Farewell in Wallingford






"Another long summer's come and gone

I don't know why it always ends this way"


I had kept an eye out at the Essex Junction show for my online buddies who were attending as well, but never caught sight of them. But when I went down for breakfast at the hotel the next morning, there they were!! I was so glad to catch up with Corni, Edna, Leslie and Cindy! We were a

ll heading to the Wallingford show next (although they got an earlier start than I did) so we made plans to meet up for dinner beforehand. 


Traveling south from Burlington to Connecticut was a lovely drive down winding roads through the green mountains of Vermont and into Massachusetts. I enjoyed the “Moose Crossing” and “Bear Crossing” signs on the Interstate although I did not see any wildlife myself. I pulled into a small Massachusetts town for lunch and picked a funky diner with a jam-packed parking lot, figuring it must be the local favorite. I sat at the counter with a great view into the kitchen of Denny’s Pantry and watched with wonder two of the fastest moving guys I’ve seen cooking up a storm of late Sunday breakfasts and lunches. I had a cup of the requisite New England clam chowder and a scallop roll (yum!).


As I pulled into my hotel parking lot in Wallingford, CT there were my concert buddies just unloading their cars! Later we were joined by Tammy and Kelsey as well and all 8 of us had a fun dinner together (tonight 3 of us decided on Lobster Rolls (gotta eat that East-coast seafood while you can!!)). We had a great time and timed it perfectly for heading out to the show. Thanks to Tammy and Kelsey for letting me tag along in their backseat! 


The Oakdale Theatre is a wonderful place for a concert - probably not a bad seat in the house. I had heard from those who had been there before that it tended to be a relatively “strict” venue at far as security goes, keeping the fans near their seats and the aisles and stage areas clear. They did so during Chris Allen’s set but began to have a problem during the break before Keith came on. As soon as they would shoo away the gathering crowd at stage edge, the fans would return as soon as security turned their backs. And when Keith and the guys came out and began to sing Kiss a Girl, Security was there again, asking the stage-edge standers to return to their seats. But apparently that was not was Keith wanted! While continuing to play and sing he went over one of the guards who had his back to him and set his foot on his shoulder to catch his attention and then gave a “Leave them alone” gesture with his body and guitar. The stage-rushers were thrilled of course and the aisles and front were pretty much a free for all the rest of the night. I did feel sorry for some of the front row seat holders (some disabled) who could not stand or who hardly had room to stand by the seat they purchased. I know that I had some trouble holding my place at my aisle seat because the aisle-crowd kept pushing forwards and sideways. So there are definite pros and cons of allowing fans to do what they want - some of them have no consideration for others and only want to push as close as they can. Good thing that Keith’s performance

is so fast-passed and amazing that one has no time to be mad or argue with the shovers!


Stupid Boy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBq9Gn8GO2o
Stupid Boy Solo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMl6OQibBGU



Keith greeted the audience saying ti was nice to be back in Wallingford - that it had been about 5 years since they last played there. He either noticed a sign or picked up on a guy’s comments from somewhere up front,because Keith queried this fellow “She loves me?? I bet she loves you more!” One gals was lucky enough to get Keith to lean down and give her a hug with a sign saying something like “I’m home in bed and can’t give my mommy a hug. Will you hug her for me?” : ) After Keith focused attention on each section of the theatre he noted “Oh - there are people in the boxes! Good evening my lords! Thank you for letting us play for you my lords!” - hamming it up with a deep bow to the elites in the box seats : ) .


A little Sweet Thing Scatting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V192ZVMsbb4


After Sweet Thing Keith lead us in a few rounds of sing-along, with a series of ooo-nah-nah-nah-nahs followed by “I’m just makin’ it up as I go along” and a very exaggerated “I don’t have a CLUE what I’m gonna sing now!” before he lead us in the alphabet. With each bit of nonsense that the audience parroted back to him Keith grew more delighted until, after they repreated the alphabet, Keith exclaimed “I love you so much you guys!”


I thought perhaps Kris Allen might play some prank or do something special on his last night out on tour with Keith. But he didn’t , perhaps because he’s not as well established as Taylor Swift. He and Keith once again collaborated on a Meelencamp song that suits them well.


Keith and Kris Allen - Jack and Diane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llIReUNubJI


I  was sitting in the third row aisle seat of the left side of the center section. I had noticed with interest, from the time I first sat down, that directly in front of me a stairway of sorts had been improvised by setting equipment boxes at the end of the stage. I was pretty sure Keith would be coming right down those boxes to me later in the show. Yes he did!! and I got my “Vitamin K” for the evening with a little squeeze of his arm. But what surprised everyone even more was his second journey off the opposite end of the stage after he returned up front the first time! He made a lot of people happy!!


A bit of You Look Good in My Shirt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paFY2YiuHOU


As in Vermont, Keith brought out his good Aussie friend Troy Cassar-Daley to sing a song (People Get Ready). Keith stayed in the background, playing his guitar, until the end, when he (and Jerry and Brian) joined Troy for an exuberant closing. 


You’ll Think of Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbRCF_DpD8k


Better Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9yWxT5hXnc


There was thunderous applause and cheering for what seemed like a long time. Keith came out and graciously thanked the audience. Before he began to play again he said “This has been a fun, fun year for us - thank you so much! I don’t know where this song came fo me the other day, but this really sums up how I feel about you guys” and began to play the following:


I Only Want to Be With You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlJPk-yROQY


The very last song was Somebody Like You, with a few little variations in the guitar runs from usual. Also, at the point where he sang “ Don’t want to take this life for granted like I used to do” Keith looked at and gestured to some one in the first row or so and said “Ain’t that right Al?” to this person. Al? I wonder who Al is. (see the following)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0crU26dvOY


All too soon we had the final “day-o” sing-along and the great jumping, circling SLY ending. Keith did his water spray surprise from last tour and slapped many hands, signed a number of autographs and “signed” his final thanks and goodbyes. There were nearly brawls by me over the drumsticks and wristband tossed and other fans pleaded at stage edge for the set-lists taped to the floor. When will we next have a new setlist to fight over? Thanks so much Keith, Brian, Jerry and Chris for a great summer tour! We’ll miss you!


You had to go I understand
But you promised you'd be back again
And so I wander around this town
'Til the new tour comes around


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Viva Vermont - Keith Urban Plays the Green Mountain State




I survived my drive through midtown Manhattan and made my way to JFK. My flight to Burlington was a bit delayed by the line-up of planes waiting to take off, but once in the sky I enjoyed my departing views of NYC and the New York coastline, as well as my landing views of the green mountains of Vermont and lakes and rivers near to Burlington. With just a brief stop at my hotel I headed towards Essex Junction and braved the lines of cars waiting to enter the fairground parking lots (long lines but plenty of spaces, unlike Allentown). I wandered through the vendor booths looking for something distinctly “Vermont” for dinner, but the only thing that appeared to be regional were the many maple-sugar or maple-syrup related treats in the Maple House. I did try the Maple ice cream (so mild it could have been vanilla) and maple pecans (again, not distinctively maply). Meanwhile the skies were looking a bit threatening and the gusty wind was sending clouds of fine fairground sand through the air - I was hoping that we weren’t going to have any ‘Raining on Saturday’.

Apparently Keith and the guys were also worrying about that. When Keith cam out on stage he said that he and the boys had been singing “Earl Must Die” all day in hopes of keeping the hurricane’s side effects at bay. It didn’t completely work however.

Almost as soon as they took the stage a sideways rain joined the brisk breezes and for about the first 3-4 songs Keith and the guys were taking it in their faces. Happily the showers were never drenching and ended shortly. I kept my rain poncho on because it had gotten a little chilly out.

If you look closely at this first clip you can see the slanted rain and some of the debris flying through the air. Keith of course, being the trouper that he is, was unfazed in his performance. Before the concert began the big video screen was up and they used color displays to test its functioning (worked fine). But the weather must have been too threatening because by show time the video screen had been lowered out of sight, making this the first tour stop with no video screen at all. I’m glad I wasn’t in the grandstand!!


Stupid Boy in the Rain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC5MKziCcUw


Where the Blacktop Ends http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odFvXs2OrME


When Keith paused to talk to the audience with “It’s a little windy out here” to start off. He greeted each part of the audience but took special note of a “strong Montreal contingent” out on his left, who apparently had signs begging him to come to Montreal. Keith joked “ First we gotta play Vermont...” but then said he would love to play in Montreal and that they should “Consider it done!”  A little later Keith made fun of the windy weather again, stretching out and holding onto the microphone as if any second he was going to be blown away like Dorothy’s home in Kansas. lol


Keith Out in the Audience for You Look Good in My Shirt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uecnQ-_NsQk


Once again Keith brought out Kris Allen for a duet of Mellencamp’s Jack and Diane, When Kris groped for the lyrics of his verse Keith teased him with “and you won American Idol??”


Keith and Brian in Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbPxIX2v4Hl


At one point during the night as Keith came forward for the next song, he was for some reason inspired to make one of those very rare disclosures about Sunday Rose. He imitated her 2-year old style of speech saying my daughter Sunday says “ Daddy play the guee-tar?” And then his response “ Yes Sunny - Daddy play the guee-tar.” : )


Keith then said he wanted to do something special and bring out his friend of 20 years and multi, multi platinum country recording artist in Australia, Troy Cassar-Daley. Here is Keith’s introduction and the beginning of Troy’s performance of People Get Ready (There’s a Train A-coming). Part 2 will appear after this post. Troy has quite a set of pipes on him!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGuoX4HYmIw


A special treat: Keith’s version of I Only Want to Be With You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1NeradV2Pg


So show #2 of my 3 concert roadtrip was another killer one. I headed right to bed in preparation for the trip south to Connecticut the next morning to the closing performance of the Summer Lovin’ Tour.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

'Living Here in Allentown' With Keith Urban





Planning for the final weekend of the Summer Lovin’ Tour I couldn’t help but consider how long might it be until a new tour began in 2011. The thought of the approaching long ‘dry spell’ pushed me towards ending the summer tour with a bang - a 3 show KURT!! It wouldn’t be easy - the last 3 tour stops were in 3 different and non-contiguous states! But I hadn’t been in (concert) training all summer long for nothing! Bring it on I thought! But how to plan such a crazy junket??? I did my best, last November, at pre-sale time - but (in retrospect) I was a bit naive and I’ll know better next time (notice that I’m sure there will be next times!).

Allentown, PA  - kind of in the middle of nowhere and not too easy to get to from the Midwest. Add to that the fact that the next morning I would be heading to stop #2 in Vermont! So I had to pick an airport within driving range of Allentown which would have flights to Burlington, VT. Burlington’s somewhat limited air service meant there weren’t a lot of options. I ended up choosing New York’s JFK airport (and those more experienced than me are probably already shaking their heads and saying “ Not JFK!?” - I told you I was naive! - but more about that later.)

JFK was not to be my only problem that day - several times I felt like the travel gremlins were conspiring against me making it to Allentown that evening. I had to be at my local airport at 5:40 AM and arrived to find that the security scanner was broken and the TSA agents were searching each and every bag - each and every nook and cranny of each and every bag - by hand. They completely emptied my huge purse, even looked in the pockets of my wallet, emptied my computer bag with its dozen cords and chargers for this and that. Doing this for each and every passenger delayed the flight which in turn made everyone nervous about their connecting flights, I did make my connection and had a nice flight to NYC. I enjoyed my bird’s eye view of Manhattan and Long Island as we landed on this sunny day. I figured out how to take JFK’s Air-train to the car rental places, picked up my vehicle and headed out of the city on what Mapquest had shown as a 2.5 hour drive. It was midday and the concert was at 7 so no problem, right?? Wrong! Already there was bumper-to-bumper traffic even though I picked what I thought would be the less congested route towards NJ. Two and a half hours turned into 4 hours and then there was a massive accident on Interstate 78 in PA that completely closed the highway in both directions, backing up traffic for miles and miles about 25 miles east of Allentown. What a no-escape mess! By the time I inched along to an exit, then took local roads through narrow-streeted towns, I had to abandon my original plan of going to my hotel and headed straight for the fair. The “Great Allentown Fair” is in the middle of town surrounded by hospitals, businesses and homes rather than being out in the outskirts. What that means is that there are no huge fair parking lots. Since I arrived around 6:30 the fair lot was completely full and every family and business had already sold every parking spot in their yards and driveways. I circled and circled and circled wondering what the heck I was going to do. I passed a business parking lot that already had its “FULL” sign out, but the young guy that had been collecting the parking fees was still standing there. I  made my best pleading face and asked “can’t you squeeze in 1 more little car?” And he did!

I hustled a few blocks to get into the fair. Kris Allen was already several songs into his set. Luckily my seat was on the left-hand aisle of the center floor section so I didn’t have to disturb anyone to get to my spot. I sat down with a sigh of relief - I had made it!! And things were going to be much better from that point on! 

I chatted with a nice NJ couple during the break who had weathered the same traffic backup to get to the show. The music during the break ended with a song picked especially for this venue - Billy Joel’s”Allentown” (I like the thoughtfulness of this effort).

Keith played joyfully all night long - obviously loving every minute as much as the fans that he was thrilling. Just a few of my favorite moments:


Stupid Boy’s stupendous guitar solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQzkCSUUclM


Where the Blacktop Ends

“Where the weekend belongs to all you crazy PAans!” (Do they really call themselves PAans?) Love the little growl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HGputDuwME


A fantastic solo at the end of Sweet Thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmMZGc_SZoM&feature=related


Keith went all the way up into the Grandstand during You Look Good in My Shirt and thrilled a fan there by having her sing a line of the song for him Too bad he didn’t choose the aisle that I was sitting on for his walk!


Keith and Kris doing Mellancamp’s “Jack and Diane”  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioZCIoyve20



A real highlight of the evening was Keith’s singing of a verse of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be With You” during the encore. (Be patient - my camera took 13 seconds to focus for some reason). What a sweetie pie! Love his “I love you Allentown!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wRlSBNubt4 

After the show ended I sat outside the grandstand admiring the brightly lit tightly packed vertically elaborate fair booths and food stands. I guess, being in the middle of town and tight on space, the  fairground venders have had to build upwards. I had a cheesesteak and headed to my hotel about midnight. Another gal was raving about the show as she checked in ahead of me and the night manager let slip “You know Keith and his band are staying here tonight.” !!!  : ) I was too tuckered to stalk but imagine, from what Keith has said, that Mr. Urban probably hit the sack shortly after arriving too. But it was fun knowing that, as Bob Marley sings, “We'll be together,  with a roof right over our heads”. Does sharing the same roof mean, loosely speaking, that I have slept with Keith Urban? lol

Postscript - I used my GPS to guide my drive back to JFK the next morning. Holy cow it took me through the Holland tunnel and down 42nd Street through the heart of Manhattan and taxi-cab hell!! I finally made it to the airport but was a little bit worse for wear from the experience. Hopefully Vermont will be a little more relaxing!



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Glorious Keith Urban/John Mayer Gorge Show


The start of fall semester is crazy busy and overwhelming on a college campus so normally I wouldn’t consider leaving town the first weekend of the school year. But how could I not take advantage of the amazing and probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Keith Urban and John Mayer perform together?? And at a venue in a spectacular setting at that?? So I tried my luck at the Monkeyville presale and got an excellent 4th row seat. Having been to Seattle a number of times and knowing its frequent traffic problems, I decided to fly into Spokane on the eastern border of the state instead  - a place that I had never been. The view from the plane was fascinating - the desert-y plains of Idaho and this side of Washington having a terrain and texture that was unique, and the golden-brown faintly hilly farmfields (hay? wheat?) looking totally different than the lush green of Iowa corn and soybeans. I picked up my rental car and continued to wonder at the new-to-me landscape during the 2 hour ride towards the Gorge. Not as flat as Nebraska but similar in its miles of open land with few and far-between signs of habitation. Those fields and prairies however had periodic spooky plumes rising straight up high into the sky - I passed a few dozen. I was so wishing I had a local with me to answer all my questions about the countryside. (Later at the concert a Washington woman told me these ‘plumes’ were dust-devils - like narrow little cyclones drawing the dry dirt straight up into the air!)

I checked into my hotel in Moses Lake and had an early dinner there before driving the remaining 20 miles to the town of George. (I can’t believe how long it took for me to realize why the town was named George. Funny name for a town I thought - maybe it was a variation on “gorge”? It wasn’t until Keith called out “Good evening George, Washington that the lightbulb came on in my head. Duh!) The gates at the Gorge opened at 5:00.  I arrived not too long after that and there were already long lines of cars pouring into the parking lots. Entering the venue from these lots puts one at the top of the natural amphitheatre bowl on the edge of the Columbia River Gorge - a gorgeous and inspiring view. I dilly-dallied at the top for a while knowing that I would be unable to see the majestic scenery once I was down on the floor. When I finally did head down to my seat I found it a rather scary experience, especially with a bum knee that might go out on me at any time. Even though the paths down are paved, the hillside is so steep that I just inched my way down, holding onto the fence whenever I could. I feared that if I toppled I would roll all the way down that long path, taking out the other pedestrians like so many bowling pins. And wouldl I ever be able to climb back out of the amphitheatre bowl at the end of a long concert??

At the Gorge only the center section of floor seats is truly in front of the performance part of the stage. I was in the righthand section, so there was equipment and speakers directly in front of me. But I was only 3 seats from the center aisle and at a great angle for seeing the center microphone. Both I and the KU fan sitting next to me bemoaned the fact that the stage had been set up with no room for the performers to walk to far stage right or stage left - Keith would not have the freedom of movement that he seems to enjoy. Surprisingly there were also no venue video screens to either side, just Keith’s big screen on stage. All those folks way off to the side or way up on the hill would not be seeing much of the performers!

The Avett Brothers were an energy-packed crazy-ass band unlike any other that was definitely fun to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CTAgBRQ6aw . After their set, as the stage was being prepared for the headliners, I saw familiar KU equipment, so figured Keith or Keith and John together would start the show. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the organization of their set(s). I did note with interest that, behind the fence set up in front of the stage, there was a pink-edged ramp coming off stage and heading in my direction. That looked promising!!

Finally the lights went out and the familiar intro to Kiss a Girl began. When the stage lights came on Keith and the guys were in their usual spots and went through the setlist as they had all summer (KAG, DGB, SB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctFE6A_TjNA , BH, ST, I’m In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8WRPWmE-6A ). I was so grateful for the great view I had! Even once the night grew quite chilly, Keith kept me warm!! The acoustics and size of this amphitheatre bowl made it not ideal for most sing-alongs. Even though I’m sure the fans were singing their hearts out, their voices just seemed to disappear into the Gorge! Keith realized that early on and did not have the audience filling in lines in his songs like he usually does (some of those lines I hadn't heard HIM sing in a long time!). Naturally in WWWBM tonight “She was singing a John Mayer song to me  - Be Good to Your Daughters”.

It wasn’t until Til Summer Comes Around that Keith said that he wanted us to welcome John Mayer to stage. The 2 of them together on Til Summer (and the rest of the night) was just fantastic. John was deferential and hung in the background on this song while Keith was singing his verse and didn’t step forward until the chorus and then his second verse. His guitar playing complemented and intertwined with Keith’s, but Keith was still the star on the smoking hot solo. I think the vocal portion of the song may have been a tad slower than usual - see what you think - perhaps to allow even more nuanced plaintive guitar play. It was so fun to watch them watching each other during their musical communion!! What pair!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUp0V65ooeI 

Then a deviation from the summer set list for another song the 2 of them could rip into: Hit the Ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwzzoGVZNWk  Playing the intro side by side they looked like they were having lots of fun - like light and dark brothers. It was a little disconcerting to me during the evening that, with his headband, I kept getting a Keith Richards vibe from John : ). This time Keith hung back a bit to give John a little solo time. I enjoyed Keith keeping time with both feet, doing a little march-like dance toward the end of the song.

Did Keith and John do Springsteen’s I’m On Fire in the Crossroads episode? I didn’t remember it, so was surprised when Keith began his haunting rendition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNvUpDpJ9CA The row in front of me blocked my view briefly so I ended up having 2 different clips (beginning and end) of this one, on different cameras. Here is Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BNP0HZQDBg 

Then John left the stage for the time being and Keith and the guys returned to songs from the usual setlist, but minus MMOU and OYCLM. I was tickled that I had been right about the pink-edged runway just in front of me. Keith did come down it during YLGIMS and (quickly muscling past the guy between me and the aisle) I was able to grin goofily at him and give his back (or was it his backside?: ) ) a little rub. That’s been a rare opportunity at these big summer concerts.

           Even though I recognized the end of the usual summer setlist, I was surprised when Keith did his usual big finish, sing-alongs, and thank yous and the guys threw out their picks and drumsticks, almost as if the show was not going to continue. I guess this was the end of the evening for Brian, Jerry and Chris. I also didn’t expect the degree to which the crew completely emptied the stage of equipment to make room for John’s set up. I  guess every band needs their own stuff, huh?

When John came out after the break he began with such a long rocking intro with his band that I almost thought it was going to be a completely instrumental piece before he finally broke I'm On Fire.

John then said “It is an honor to be sharing the stage tonight with Keith Urban this evening. I’m having the time that I used to have at concerts when I was a teenager. I feel like a child at his first rock and roll show - there is so much great energy flowing around. Thank you Keith and thank you guys for making this a really, really, really memorable moment.”

I thoroughly enjoyed most of John’s set. He played some of my favorites and I loved his acoustic and softer numbers in particular http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxHTnmM3Pu4  (I am not quite as big on the “big-band” sounding songs). The only other time I had seen John live I had been in the top-most row of the nose-bleed seats of the big arena in St. Paul, MN and could barely see him, so being in up-close seats this time was really nice. One thing I had never realized before is the incredible number of faces that he makes as he sings and plays. Not just faces of intense concentration or funny faces like Keith may throw in occasionally. I think John’s faces are unconscious and perhaps reflections of the emotions of his songs.  But I was amazed that he has the facial plasticity of Jim Carrey and sometimes downright distorts his mouth in particular into mask-like visages. A few times he got a little verbose when talking about holding onto summer or introducing his numbers..


John did a nice merger of his song Why Georgia with his special version of Sitting on the Dock of the Bay where he incorporated “Watching Keith Urban play some crazy stuff” into the song  as well as headed for the “SeaTac Bay”. And then brought it back to  Why Georgia again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA22Q1XtX3w t After that John chatted a bit with the audience, checking in with how the people on the hill were doing, He then asked, by the way hill people, have you met the flatland people? Flatland people (on the floor) turn around and say hi to the hill people. I want us all to become one big copper wire - one big conductor of fun and funk.”

He then went on to say “ It’s hard to play guitar after a guitar player who kicks so much ass comes and kicks ass before you!! I’m going to try to find all the notes that Keith didn’t play tonight - there aren’t many of them - but I’m going to try and pick out all the nooks and crannies and make them my garden tonight.”

Having praised Keith multiple times I believe John was truly mad at himself a songs later when he mis-spoke and then immediately cussed at himself in dismay. It went something like this:

“You know I’ve got to be honest, when you’re backstage listening to the opener..”   and John immediately stopped and said “Naw fuck, oh shit” and turns to the side of the stage where Keith must have been standing, and begins carrying on this conversation with Keith: “Keith, why did I just say that??? Why does my mouth do that??? Why did I say the opener? The only reason that somebody had to go on first is because it would have sounded terrible if we went on at the same time. I think its because I was making this other point and so I go reach this other point and my mouth says don’t worry brain, I’ve got this, you go get that other point, I’ll say some shit. Keith I’m sorry!! Most of the time when someone goes on first it is not Keith Urban going on! Do I have a chance to get out of this hole or should I just play through? This will dig into my brain like a corkscrew for the rest of the night. Are you cool? I can’t tell - I can’t read you now - are you silently fuming “This motherfucker...” “  (all this time John is making I’m sorry faces and body language to Keith).

“Point being - if there is one left - was that I was listening to Keith Urban playing, the HEADLINER, and I believe his bass player played this song and so we looked at each other and said should we still do this song? It’s a little bit like watching somebody else wear the same dress to the party (hold on I need a drink). So technically this was approached musically tonight but we’re gonna do it in a different way. We’re gonna wear the same color dress. Its called Ain’t No Sunshine.”

The crowd really loved this whole exchange, so maybe it was planned, but I must say that John was quite physically expressive and he continued to look to and gesture at Keith at side-stage  (for forgiveness, approval, sameness of mind?) throughout the rest of his set.

Later on in the show John said this after thanking the audience for their enthusiastic applause: “I’ve had a career thanks to you guys for 10 years. And for 10 years I’ve been looking for a friend in this whole game. I’ve been looking for a friend. You meet people who are musicians and it is all self-consciousness. Its all people who are thinking that they shouldn’t be here. They don’t know if you are going to be here next week so they’re all defensiveness. It took me 10 years to meet someone I can finally call a true friend - the man of the night Keith Urban.” 


Once again I was thrilled by the two of them playing together - now performing a couple of John’s songs.


Perfectly Lonely http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kds3eIhpcI4 and Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kds3eIhpcI4 


They were obviously having such a good time that John said to Keith  “ What do you think - should we take this on the road across America?  And then, kind of answering himself “ You just don’t do that, man."  And then to the audience “ You guys are seeing something really special. This is the night that we decided we should just tour like this.” Meanwhile Keith is trying to respond to John’s original question and keeps repeating  “I’m available John. I’m available John!”  John finally picks up on what Keith is saying and jokes “You’re available for parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs...  And Keith says “Especially bar mitzvahs.” lol  Maybe they will play together again in the future!


Gravity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt7pkt6KZt8 ( I liked John telling Keith to “take your sweet time- take your time” with the lovely guitar solo). WOW! This song gave me chills!


 And then a surprise closing song - Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7EwuIMwA9k 

Keith even had fun capturing the vocal style of Dire Straits' lead singer. I know how much he thinks of that group.


What a magnificant night! I left with an Urban-Mayer glow with eveyone exclaiming how awesome a concert it had been. Happily I was rescued by the "handicapped bus" which gave me, with my end of the night limp, a lift to the topside parking lots or I may still be at the bottom of the Gorge in George!