Charlotte: Keith Urban's Second Carolina Concert

Oh wow! I am flying high on urban energy and sleep won’t be coming anytime soon. What a night!!

This was the first tour stop where I had not bought a Christmas presale ticket. I can’t recall why, but instead I had bought from Ticketmaster during the regular Monkeyville presale. The seat was in the risers next to the stage, a bit higher than I would prefer (Row N), but not bad.

But when I arrived at the arena it turned out that I had a really weird seat. Whereas Columbia had been overly cautious about selling seats that might not have a perfect straight-on view (so didn’t sell seats in 2 sections of risers closest to the stage on each side), Charlotte went the other way and sold seats beyond the point of having a full view of the stage. My seat was the farthest one in in row N, so it was approximately in line with Chris’s seat behind his drums!! When you are that far to the side and back of the stage you are not going to be able to see the screen. So although I had a rather unique view of the stage (and some of the backstage area), I was far enough up so I knew I’d really miss being able to see the big screen. Another weird thing = my seat was literally at the stop of a staircase (a staircase that ended pretty close to the stairway at the far edge of the stage). The first 2 photos to the left I took while sitting in that weird seat. looking down the long stairway. I was wearing a dress and felt rather peculiar perched at the top of this stairway, having to watch how I sat.

As the arena filled during Jake Owen’s set I noticed a lot of empty seats down by the bottom of my stairway, In fact, whereas my stairway seat was seat 12, the first several rows had no one sitting beyond seat 4. So I made an executive decision: I’m going to move down there, at least until the actual seatholders show up. So I went down to seat 6 in the first row, which put me right by the stairs to Keith’s side platform (the third image to the left is the view from this new seat; the yellow edge stairs sre to Keith's left platform). I so expected to eventually have to move back to my weird seat that I didn’t bother carrying my full cup of pop down with me. But I later learned that those seats were empty because they had not been sold just because they were a little close to the confetti cannons. No problem!! They can shoot me with confetti if I get a better view of the show!! I was able to stay in that first row! Chalk one up for Linda!

As I mentioned, until I moved down no one in those bottom rows was seated beyond seat 4, and now I was off by myself a bit further down the first row. Maybe I looked lonely, maybe I stood out because of it - for whatever reason, all of a sudden, as I am singing along to Jake’s songs (which are becoming quite familiar now), he dashes down the ramped stage and head’s straight over to me!! He hands me a drumstick, then takes my hand as he continues singing! He said something (????) to me (I was too stunned to catch it!) and I blurted out “I love you Jake!” (meaning I love his performance, but my mouth was not under the control of my brain at that point). And then he dashed back up on stage. People around me started asking “Do you know Jake?” (I wish!) “Did you know that was going to happen?” (No way!) and “Why did he aim right for you?” I could only give a giddy shrug and shake of my head. Chalk up another one for Linda! : ) Later a woman who writes Urban Country News came over and kind of interviewed me about Jake as well - hee hee.

I was later joined in row 1 by a fun group of gals who had also come down from poor visibility seats, so I had dancing and singing company for Keith’s set. Since we were sitting by the stairs he took to the platform we were able to sneak in little touches as he passed (although body guard Randy tried to insert his body in the way whenever he could). Actually each of the guys came up to the side stage during the evening - Brian and Danny multiple times - so we were sittin’ pretty! And when Keith returned from his You Look Good in My Shirt trip into the stands, he actually made a point of coming over to us on the side to slap hands before he went up on stage. Mmm - vitamin K tonight!! Chalk up another one for Linda! That put me over the top, rang the jackpot bell, and left me floating on a cloud when the show ended. SO glad I moved down!!

Okay - sorry to go on and on - I was just bursting! Other noteables this evening:

I love Danny’s mandolin (I think it is a large oval-bodied mandolin) into to Only You Can Love Me before Keith comes in on his acoustic guitar. He is a cutie too! He also played an accordian (!!)at one point in the evening but now I’m blanking on in which song.

In Keith’s initial conversation with the audience after the usual welcome and attention to each area of the arena, he initially mad mention of Saturday night quickly changed it to “Saturday night tomorrow - we’re happy to be in North Carolina with you on Friday night.” (I’m getting confused about what day it is too!) He later mentioned being glad to be in a Nascar state.

Tonight the sparkly spots of ‘starlight’ coming off the disco ball during Long Hot Summer changed color, so what was first golden spots throughout the arena turned magenta and blue and back to gold in turn.

When the big video screen is showing Keith singing Making Memories, they do so in black and white - kind of an nice artistic touch.

They were really pumping out the stage fog tonight so sometimes Keith was just a blur in the mist when I tried to shoot pictures even though I was relatively close. I wonder if their intention is to decrease videotaping? I kept trying anyway - here is the searing solo from Georgia Woods. and Keith and the guys during I Told You So.

Keith was right in front of me for Sweet Thing since I was a bit behind the side stage. I had a side view of the Kiss-a-Girl sing-off tonight and when they were all lined up in a straight row couldn’t see them all to videotape. There was a boisterous guy from N. J., a Charlotte hometown girl and a young girl from South Carolina (the eventual winner). One thing I hadn’t thought of before, but had an upclose view of this time, is what the contestants are up against after their moment of fame. They have to somehow try to get through the tightly packed front of stage crowd to try to re-join their friends or family. Not very easy -especially for the young girls. Last night’s winner looked totally intimidated by the masses as Randy tried to coax her back outside of the side barriers - poor kid!

Keith mentioned that the next day was his and Nic’s 5th anniversary and dedicated Without You to her. I’m thinking she must be here (or will be in Raleigh) for their special day.

Charlotte was a little rough with Keith when he went out into the risers on my side for You Look Good in My Shirt. Since the floor is basically a free for all, the front is jammed with people all the way from one side platform, across the front of the main stage, and all the way to the other side platform. And Keith has to get through that crowd to get to the side aisle for his off-stage journey. Well he got “stuck” beneath my side platform last night - totally surrounded by adoring fans. I couldn’t see what they were doing to his poor body, but I could see the stranglehold ‘hugs’ around the neck and that multiple individuals vigorously rubbed his hair! Don’t roughly manhandle our man!! They must have knocked something off him or made him drop his mike because I also saw him struggle to pick something up off the floor (not easy to bend over when you are surrounded!). He did eventually make it into the lefthand stands. When he gave his guitar away tonight the young girl who was the lucky receiver burst into tears of joy - very sweet!

I have forgotten to mention that Keith has been doing his little royal bow/curtsy and thank you to those sitting in the arena boxes the last few shows. “Thank you my lords for letting us play for you.” And then a knowing aside to the rest of the audience “Its good to be king!” Tee hee.

Columbia, S.C.: The First of Keith Urban's Carolina Trifecta

If it had been up to me I would have better spaced out the tour dates I was interested in and able to go to, but Keith didn’t check with me : ). Of course I would be interested in all of his shows but, since that’s not possible, I looked for ones in parts of the country I’d like to experience or places my daughters might agree to go to. So here I am - two triple header weeks (Mississippi/Florida and then the Carolinas) in a row, feeling guilty about my gluttonous consumption of KU performances. Happily my flight to Charlotte was free (if you don’t count frequent flyer miles). I felt a little better when, standing in line at the Dollar car rental, I discovered that all of the women in line with me (6 at least) had flown in to go to all 3 Carolina concerts too! (and that was just one of the many rental agencies there). I felt better yet that night at the show when the ladies sitting in front of me said they too were hitting all the Carolina shows and had been to last week’s shows as well. So I guess there are more of the truly addicted than I realized!

I picked up my ticket - another Christmas presale ticket - in the afternoon. This time it was for Center Floor Row 9 - smack dab in front of Keith’s main microphone. While I was at the box office I also noticed a large box labeled Military tickets, but haven’t heard any promotions or particulars about that. Had a wonderful dinner of mussels and scallops at Garibaldi’s in Columbia and met some really friendly folks. Some showers thankfully cooled things a bit so it wasn’t so sweltering when I walked to the arena. The Colonial Life venue is smaller than Tampa and was a little odd. The arena ‘corners’ are more sharply angled than most, so the seats there face more towards the center of the arena rather than facing across the arena and the front of the stage. So they chose not to sell those seats (although I’m sure many would have been happy to be next to the stage). Consequently when Keith was up on his right or left platforms (which were next to these unused seats) he was 20 or 30 feet from the occupied risers. Strange. The little stage was just a couple rows in front of the mixer area, near rows 27-29 tonight - much closer to the far end of the arena than previous shows this year. It also appeared that they left less room between the stage and the first rows of seats tonight.

The pre-show music included some Frank Sinatra! Don’t recall hearing ol’ blue eyes at a Keith concert before! Jake Owen was looking particularly sharp tonight in a red western shirt with black appliqued designs. His vocals were great but it seemed he was a little less interactive in some ways(less hand-slapping, less sitting on the end of the catwalk). But he did, during a pause in a song, borrow a beer from some gal up front, saying he needed to clear his throat! And he did come down off the stage into the left front audience to sing one verse of a song. He also improvised a bit, singing this to us:

“It’s been a little while since I’ve been in Columbia, South Carolina,

But I feel like spreading the love tonight,

I gotta thank Mr. Keith Urban for having us out on tour all year long

And it sure feels good seeing you sing all of my songs,

But before we get up and get on out of here

I’ve got a couple more I’d love you to hear -

Baby don’t think I can’t love you!

Once again Keith and Brian played a special little guitar intro preceding the full band performance of Put You in a Song and I scolded myself for not being ready with my camera. I’ve been so focused on Keith when he sings You’re Gonna Fly, it being a new song and all, that I just tonight realized that this is another song for which they have created for the big screen a little video ‘story” related to the song, showing a young guy taking a gal out in his red truck. For this number they often superimposed the live images of Keith singing right over (but transparently) the song-related video. I think you need a half dozen pairs of eyes to catch everything going on during the show!

This audience joined in when Keith sang Silly Love Songs and then gave a big cheer for Making Memories as he transitioned into that favorite. A little change related to the small stage songs: Keith still sang I’m In, Blues Jeans, and You’ll Think of Me, but now all 3 songs are projected on the big video screen for those who can’t see the little stage. Thank you Keith and crew!! (are you reading my suggestions?) They did not raise up the little stage until about halfway through YTOM however.

I sat next to a young married couple where, for a change, it was the guy who was absolutely crazy about Keith. He knew all the words and, being a guitar player, most of the chords and guitar fingering so played an ‘air guitar’ much of the night. He rushed back to see Keith on the small stage, was awestruck watching Keith play each solo, and tried his hardest to get Keith to pick him for the sing-off. So fun to see the opposite sex giving Keith the admiration he is due!

Tonight’s Kiss a Girl singing competition included 2 young gals and a little boy. Keith kind of sang a little tune as he picked his participants. The little boy knew about 2 lines but then got lost, so for a change the youngest was not the winner tonight. One young girl exerted her independence singing “I wanna kiss a boy!” and then the second girl followed suit.

Keith has taken to giving a bit of a verbal introduction to Georgia Woods and the relationship it portrays, calling it a sexy song about “getting down in the woods” and adding, last night, that the fellow in the song has no control over what this girl does or the feelings she arouses in him. He also suggests that most of the audience can probably relate to such a situation. (I personally worry about poison ivy in MY woods!) : )

For the first time I saw the guitar that Keith gives away close enough to see some detail. The back of the black guitar is embossed with the tour logo and the tour photo of Keith in his back bend. When you are facing the stage, this has been his pattern at the shows so far: R, L, L. And he almost went to our left again last night, then caught himself and retraced his step back to (our) right side. Apparently this is pre-arranged so that they can be ready with a little stage/table for him up in the stands as well as having his security guys on hand. The encore songs are still TIWC and Better Life. I was a little surprised Keith didn't mention he'd be playing just 90 miles down the road the next night. I think there may be a 'Keith caravan' making that trip!! I've uploaded about a half dozen clips to the tube.

Tidbits from Tampa: Keith Urban Already Changing Up Setlist

I made a leisurely drive from Jacksonville down to Tampa for the last show of the first weekend of the Get Closer Tour, encountering a few more of those sudden cloudbursts with torrential rain so heavy that some drivers pulled off the highway because visibility was so bad. I was sorry that I just couldn’t carry any more home with me the next day, because I passed all sorts of interesting farm stands advertising tree-fresh ripe peaches, boiled peanuts, freshly shelled peas, and other home grown goodies.

I had another moment of panic when I checked into my Tampa hotel. They could not find my name in their computer. I pulled out my prepaid hotel confirmation of the reservation made months ago and they could not find the confirmation number in their system. I was so worried that between the convention that was in town and the concert, I would end up roomless, at least in downtown Tampa. Somehow the online hotel reservation service I have used dozen of times before had somehow screwed up the reservation despite my full payment (I’ll never be completely confident I have a reservation again!).

Happily the hotel worked it out with the online service over the phone and they did have a room to give me, but I have to watch my credit card bills to make sure they don’t bill me a second time.

For the Tampa show I had purchased a Christmas presale “Premium Lowers” ticket. My seat was in the 4th row of the risers closest to the stage, maybe 6-10 feet from Keith’s right side platform. I had a great view and my old achey knee was happy to be able to sit a bit more during the night than a floor seat allows you to do.

I noticed that Jerry Flowers and a couple ladies came out just on the other of the right platform to watch Jake Owen’s set. I’ve been keeping an eye out for Nicole, but if she has been around, I haven’t seen her.

Jake Owen reported that his family was in the audience as well as the buddies he had grown up with. He went down to and directed much attention to the left-hand (as you face the stage) front floor seats, so maybe that’s where they were all sitting. I admire his agility as he runs down the ramped stage or leaps effortlessly up onto the elevated drums platform. He even made kind of a running leap and slide down the ramp on his butt one time

Tonight Keith and the guys handled their opening song a bit differently. Keith sang his a cappella line from the Put You in a Song chorus, but then before they broke into the full song he and Brian come out on the catwalk and did a little special guitar lead-in. It seemed that they also added some extra guitar embellishment mid-song as well.

Keith dedicated Long HOT Summer to the state of Florida (appropriately!). Later in the evening, at the close of Til Summer Comes Around, Keith gave THREE particularly plaintive “When are you coming back Baby?”’s in a row before the big guitar solo that had the crowd gasping and screaming. All his guitar solos seemed particularly searing in Tampa.

I am very blessed to be able to make these road trips and each night realize little details that I had completely missed before. I’m sure that many, like me, get so caught up in watching Keith that we may sometimes be oblivious to the staging details that they, no doubt, worked hard on. For example, during Stupid Boy the video screen sometimes shows Keith and the guys playing, but inserted among those live images are little video segments depicting the Stupid Boy story. So we see a young woman’s arms, with one wrist sporting a lovely hummingbird tattoo, twisting her wedding ring in anguish and uncertainty - looking like she is thinking “can I stay in this relationship? can I leave?”.

One of the biggest surprises of the evening: the setlist has already changed. Once in a Lifetime Love was dropped, and I’m In was added and performed on the small stage. Days Go By has moved from the small stage back to being a mainstage song. I wonder if they will continue to switch things up? I would absolutely love it if they did! Wouldn’t it be fun if every couple shows the switched in an old favorite: But For the Grace of God, Raining on Sunday, Homespun Love, My Everything.... I’m sure we could come up with a long list of possibilities!!

I was pleased that I finally had a good view of the small stage from the risers. Since, even when the small stage is not rotating, Keith makes sure to turn to different parts of the audience during his songs, we all get the full 360 view - not a bad thing! : ) When he wasn’t playing his guitar Keith sometime rested his hand behind back, below his belt - an action I don’t remember seeing before. Could that be his “I know where you are staring” move?? Blue Jeans is a major flippage song!! Keith got one of his shorter-in-back, boyish haircuts for the tour but it is still long enough in the front to have some good swing to it. I’m not sure whether there was a cause-effect relationship or not, but some fans around the small stage in Tampa were kind of ‘reachy’ or waving their hands up so high that they were distractions in the video shots of Keith - then suddenly I saw the small stage ‘elevator’ work for the first time, lifting that small stage a couple feet above the crowd. It gives better visibility to all and no more “reachies”. If this was used at earlier shows, I couldn’t see it from the front arena because audience members end up standing on their seats, trying to see what’s happening when Keith leaves the mainstage.

I also noticed for the first time some beautiful lighting effects throughout the night on the ‘roller coaster tracks’. And that disco ball suspended from the ceiling, when they focus golden light beams on it during Long Hot Summer, the thousands of little mirror tiles reflect back that light and dapple the entire arena ceiling and audience with golden star-like spots - perfect for that song! Waiting for the stars to come out - whoa ho....

Tonight Keith was in a dancing mood and danced on stage to the extended drum beats that Chris M. does following his introduction. I was sorry that I didn’t have my camera ready for action!

When it was time for the Kiss a Girl Sing-Off Keith, without intending to, ended up with FIVE people on stage. There was one gal that kind of tagged along and came up on stage without being invited (and didn’t sing) but Keith was nice enough not to make a scene. The real ‘contestants’ were a little red-headed boy, 2 women, brunnette and blond, and a tall male who Keith sought out at the last minute. Keith noted that he had noticed this guy singing every song and he needed to balance out the genders on stage. Keith asked everyone for their names and where they live. The little red-head reported that he lived in Florida (no hometown) which cracked up Keith so he said “Florida - what are the chances!?” The blond and the tall male were hams and sang as a duet - the blond was so loud and off key that Keith reflexively made a move to cover his ears but caught himself at the last moment. He then referred to the duet as Olivia Newton and John Travolta. hee hee When they got little audience applause Keith said that “Six people like these guys.” The little boy sang perfectly and of course won the heart of the audience and was the winner for the night. (video coming)

At the end of another wonderful concert we had another uninvited guest on stage - some gal up front walked up the ramped stage and gave Keith a hug before security could escort her offstage.

Funny - even though most would say my premium riser seat was not nearly as good as being up front on the floor in Biloxi and Jacksonville, I left the Tampa show and walked back to my hotel with the strongest glow of Urban euphoria! Maybe it was a cumulative effect of 3 great nights, maybe it was noticing more details, maybe it was not being quite as exhausted - but I am definitely ‘in the zone’ - the Urban zone.

Raining on Friday (but no Raining on Sunday)

Almost didn’t make it to Jacksonville despite my careful planning. First, the plane was oversold so they needed 4 scheduled passengers to ‘volunteer’ to take a later flight (too late). I was really nervous since I had heard from a gate agent that those who buy their tickets from places like Expedia or Orbitz are more likely to be bumped if necessary than those who buy direct from the airlines. Luckily, they did get volunteers. But then there was one delay after another so we arrived much later than the scheduled time. I rushed to the hotel and pulled into their parking garage. It was across the street from the hotel and just as I was crossing the street there was a sudden monsoon like torrential downpour drenching me before I could reach the opposite curb! I looked like a drowned cat as I checked in : (

Luckily there was no line at the arena will call window, so I was able to pick up my “Christmas presale” ticket quickly. I had bought a regular floor seat but once again the fan club was truthful when they promised we would be happy with the Christmas presale tickets even though we had to wait until the concert day to learn our seat locations. This time I ended up with a Center Floor “Row 5” seat but as in Biloxi, rows 1-3 are absent from the center section to make room for the little catwalk, so Row 5 was effectively Row 2!! Thank you Monkeyville!! The Jacksonville arena is smaller, so tonight the small satellite stage was located next to rows 18-20 (the rear of the front floor section) rather than near Rows 29-30 as in Biloxi.

Jake Owen appeared on time if not a little early. Boy, I am really enjoying this guy!! What a lady killer and a fine performer! This time I anticipated the effect he would have on the audience and when I saw the signs that people were going to start coming up front ‘to take a picture’, I popped up as well and got right up to the catwalk. Jake firmly clasped my hand and stared into my eyes for several seconds of the song which distracted me so much that now I can’t recall which romantic song it was! : ) Such fan contact continued for the rest of his set. Here is Starting With Me. He also came down off the stage twice, one time sitting down in the midst of some first row side section folks as he sang and did another song sitting on the end of the catwalk surrounded by many happy gals. He told us about growing up in Florida and also that he will be turning 30 on August 30, the day his new album comes out and also the day he plays Dallas with Keith (get ready to sing happy birthday Dallas fans!). Watch for his engaging hip wiggle! (video of Yee Haw)

Tonight there was different music during the break - more modern than classic, including Beyonce and also Boys of Summer among others. Tonight they also reved up the ‘incense’ machine so there was a patchouli like scent wafting over us. The Beatles’ A Day in the Life was again the song that signaled the start of the show so run for your seat if you are out in the lobby and hear that playing.

Keith made mention of having been away from Florida too long and being so happy to be back several times during the show, even incorporating it into Only You Could Love Me: :”And I’d have never had this feeling - finally making it back to Florida.” When he first chatted with the audience he mentioned they had kicked off the tour in Biloxi the night before and he had a good feeling about tonight as soon as he started to meet fans backstage in Jacksonville. “I have the feeling your guys are gonna raise the roof. After all, it is Friday night in Jacksonville. It could be a wild night, just to let you know!” Here is some of Long Hot Summer.

I think the guys had their timing a little more precise this evening (I imagine they have to worry about arena fines if they run overtime) but not all of their technology cooperated. The Little Big Town video wouldn’t play, so the cameraman had to switch to live shots. One of Keith’s guitars for the small stage wouldn’t play and, later in the evening, his colorful light-up guitar wouldn’t stay lit despite Keith giving it a few whacks. Last of all, during Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me Keith intended to go up onto the right side platform for the final verse but arrived to find that the microphone there had disappeared. He dashed back to stage but couldn’t make it to the microphone in time. So he did a bit frantic gesturing to Brian that it was up to him to sing the next verse, which, being surprised, Brian did, but a bit weakly. Keith is a good sport and once he did have a microphone he was able to incorporate his mishap into the lyrics “ this road might be long - that microphone was gone”!

I’m not sure if this is as planned or not, but it appears that the little stage does not rotate when Keith is standing for his first 2 or 3 songs there (maybe they are afraid of toppling him?) - it only rotates when he sits down for You’ll Think of Me. They have not been projecting his first 2 songs from the little stage onto the big screen, which is unfortunate for the folks up front. They only turned on the big screen for YTOM. I was watching the young people seated around me and they seemed to be a bit baffled by Blue Jeans - I think that album was a little to early for many in the audience to be familiar with. Here is the oh-so-special Silly Love Songs. and a wonderful, up close Without You.

Once again we had a Kiss a Girl sing-off. Tonight Keith picked a guy, a young woman and a little girl. He asked each in turn their name and where they were from and then had each sing the chorus. The first two were hams, totally enjoying their moment of fame. But when Keith got to the little girl and asked her if she would sing KAG, she shook her head no. So Keith asked if she wanted to sing something else. Again, she shook her head no. Oh-oh! Keith asked if he could sing with her and coaxed her with “You’re representing Jacksonville”. Once he got her started got her started she did just fine and naturally won the audience’s loudest applause. (video coming) He also lead a round of singing with the entire audience.

The audience was really singing up a storm all night long - you can hear them on my video segments - and Keith was totally loving it, just grinning with delight. He has acknowledged some fan signs with gestures or even kind of “signed” “I love your sign”, pointing to the person, outlining a rectangle in the air and then making the sign for love. No reading of signs out loud or sharing them with the audience yet. But I have the feeling that nothing is carved in stone for this tour and there may be more surprises to come.

Postscript: Just as we left the arena the monsoon struck again totally soaking most of us and more than discouraging those who might have planned on walking back to their hotels. Trying to find a cab in a rainstorm in a concert congested area is almost impossible but I finally found one and shared it with a couple other ‘drowned’ concert goers. Doused two times in one day -sheesh! Good thing that Keith is worth it!

Keith Urban's Get Closer Tour: A Boisterous Start in Biloxi

I headed over to the MS Coast Coliseum about an hour early so that I would have time to look around. The wind off the water had picked up, which was good (not so sweltering hot) and bad (it was strong enough so that it was picking up fine sand so I was gently sand-blasted during my walk). Obviously this happens all the time so the sidewalk between the hotel and arena was 6 inches deep in loose have-to-wade-through it sand. So I walked in busy Beach Blvd whenever I could and just stepped up in the sand when traffic barreled by. When I got to the venue there was a rather long, slow line to pass through the doors. I saw the Samsung green screen folks right off and volunteered to be photographed or videoed “with Keith” but they unfortunately reported they were behind in getting their software in gear so weren’t yet ready to go.

So then I inspected the arena. I entered from the rear and immediately noticed there was a long bar staffed by 3 bartenders in the spot where last tour the satellite stage would have been positioned. This year’s quite small round satellite stage in mid-arena; in Biloxi this was between the front floor (which went through Row 30) and the rear floor. Consequently there was not a huge amount of open floor space around the little stage. That may vary with venue I imagine.

The main stage was a surprise given the diagrams in the Ticketmaster seating charts. There are not 2 ramps as most diagrams show. The stage is a semicircle and its entire outer edge is ramped except for the little 5 foot “catwalk” (hardly deserves that title - just a platform for when Keith wants to bring his microphone out closer to the fans) center stage. So Keith can exit the stage almost anywhere around the semicircle. There are actual stairs towards the back of each side of the stage as usual. The far side microphones closest to the risers are now on their own free-standing platforms so Keith has to come down off the stage and climb up to the platform when he wants to sing to the sides of the arena.

As you may have seen from the rehearsal show, there is a looping ‘roller coaster” like track for lights to move on as well as a giant circular video screen on the back wall of the stage. There is also a curlique of similar lighting track above the stage and a giant disco ball suspended from the ceiling about 30 feet out from the stage. Of course we couldn’t initially see the backdrop. Jake Owen’s red-framed equipment was on stage and a beautiful rippling silvery gray curtain hid everything else. IF you could see Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak some of the time I imagine it might look something like this silky, reflective, moving-with-the-air currents curtain.

Jake Owen was just terrific as an opener. Oh so easy on the eyes, very nice moves, big smile, deep resonant voice and all songs that I enjoyed - definitely a keeper! : ) He has a stage presence that is equal to Keith’s - you will love him! He is very interactive and comfortable with the audience. Here is his new The One That Got Away. Altho initially the audience stayed put for his first 2 or 3 songs, when he broke into a more romantic tune two couples up front got up and started to slow dance right in front of the stage. Well that broke the ice and for pretty much the rest of the evening the area surrounding the stage was a free-for-all. Within a matter of minutes Jake had hundreds at his feet and he was grasping hands with as many as he could reach much of the time he was performing. I don’t know what kinds of shows he has done in the past but I imagine he must have been pretty pleased at that response at his very first show of the tour. At one point he sat at the end of the catwalk, legs dangling down, further immersed in the fans and sort of laid down or stretched out to get his head down close enough so a few fans could snap photos with him. I am looking forward to seeing him at future shows! Good choice Keith!!

During the break security briefly chased away the fans surrounding the stage (but that was short-lived). When Keith was about to begin they then switched to a “only people from the first 5 rows can come up to the stage” rule, but they eventually abandoned that as well. Keith of course is very supportive of the fans and multiple times during the evening he scolded security “ Let them come up brother!” At this show some fans even came down from the risers. I was happy to be in my protected but close-to-the-front row rather than out in the teaming masses, but eventually even the rows were invaded as other fans filled in the seats that had been emptied by the standers. Unfortunately that put a rather annoying couple in front of me who frequently blocked my view later in the evening. So the “freedom of enjoyment” Keith encourages has an up-side and a down-side depending on where you are and the behavior of the fans close to you.

The music during the break included mostly classic country and classic rock songs. When the lights dimmed and the crowd was frenzied with excitement, a few more songs were played before the show actually started. The final song (which, if it stays in this position, will become that song that will become classically conditioned to elicit that here-comes the show excitement for a long time to come) was, initially, a surprising choice. It was the Beatles’ A Day in the Life, which, in parts, is rather bleak (“I heard the news today oh no”). But perhaps what drew Keith to this song was the later line “ I love to turn you on..” because it is his goal to excite us for the evening . At that point in the song there is this build up of a musical crescendo and it was this crescendo preceded keith’s entry.

He chose an interesting starting point - he begins, a cappella, with the first line of the chorus of Put You in A Song, pausing to let the audience fill in “I love that girl” and only then does the band break in with the musical intro to PYIAS. Keith has a light-up microphone stand (in case you ever had trouble picking him out on stage - lol). He is full of energy and throughout the evening inserted a lot of “Woo’s” and big bird-like calls for emphasis in the songs. He is sticking with the v-necked dark gray tee that he has performed in lately - the fabric looks silky and comfortable (and I hope to actually feel it soon!). He has a new style of dark jeans - the fabric is slightly shiny like sharkskin - and looks somewhat harder than his old jeans (not quite so form fitting : ( than those old favorites.He is wearing a heavily studded belt with sparkly red ruby like adornments - pretty flashy! Jerry and Brian have switched sides on the stage and Danny is spending occasional time up front (and then Brian drops back).

Altho the arena felt cool when we entered, it was still humid and within 3 songs Keith was dripping wet and remained so the rest of the night. The second song was I Told You So but with a new jazzy beginning. For the next number the band began with a strong drummy cadence that did not initially bring a song to mind (another surprise beginning) during which Keith said “You guys are in a good mood tonight!” and sang a melodis opening yeah-yeah line which evolved into “do you want to sing?” and then the song became Only You Can Love Me This Way in which Keith inserted an extra “baby girl”.

Keith never mentioned if Nic might be there or not, but he did later dedicate Without You to her and did, at other times, include some extra “mama’s” which made me wonder.

Then it was time to talk to the audience a little: “How about a big hand for our good brother Jake Owen! Well, every tour has to have an opening night and this is the opening night So, firstly, before we go any further - thanks to each and every person for coming out tonight! “ Then he greeted each area of the arena and was particularly impressed by the floor’s screams in response saying, “Loud and proud!”

Then up to the right side platform for “You’re Gonna Fly” followed by the little tribute insert of “Bondocks” with the video of Little Big Town on the big screen for the chorus, then Keith joined in for a couple extra “You get a line, I’ll get a pole....” segments.

Long Hot Summer was great and then the always special Stupid Boy. Even though I was wonderfully close (my Christmas presale ticket for Biloxi was 6th row center but there were no rows 1-2 in the center section, the front crowds were so dense that I didn’t always have a good line of sight for a video because of all the heads, arms and upheld cameras.

Then we got a very special lead-in - Keith sang the beginning of McCartney’s Silly Love Songs--- so nice!!! --- and then it turned into Making Memories. Sweet and romantic Keith.

Again I was surprised and baffled when I couldn’t recognize what next song the guys were leading into; it had a strong beat and Keith was leaving the stage, but it definitely wasn’t You Look Good in My Shirt. He made his way down the right aisle, through excited fans, to the small stage and only then - could it be?? yes it was!! - I recognized the song as BLUE JEANS!!! Wow - it has been a long time!! So he did a great job but sadly I could barely see the small stage from upfront and they didn’t put anything on the big screen during Keith’s first 2 songs on the satellite stage. The second song was Once in a Lifetime Love, with a special insert “And another comes along, and her name is Faith Margaret!” and then a big finish with four repetitions of the U2 line “Oh you look so beautiful tonight!”. Only when Keith sat down for You’ll Think of Me did the video cameras give us a view on the big screen. He commented from the small stage “ I gotta tell you - it feels real nice to be back on the road tonight!” His fourth and last song from the back stage was a surprising (because of the location) Days Go By using an angular very modern looking guitar. He returned to stage via the left hand aisle while the guys sang a lot of Whoa-oh-oh’s.

Then came a steamy Georgia Woods with its stunning guitar solo, with some new bits not in the album solo. I was a bit surprised that Til Summer comes was positioned next, since it too has that huge guitar solo, all be it with a very different flavor. As usual that solo really wrings me out - I even had goosebumps on my scalp!! Mercy Keith!

Then an oh-so-fun video on the big screen. We see a sunny day on a pictureesque street, birds chirping, and a sporty black car (the Mustang) pulls up to the curb. Out gets Keith, dressed for a date, carrying a bouquet of flowers and nervously making last minute adjustments to his appearance as he walks up the front walk to his date’s house.

The view is like we are peeking out the front door window watching his approach and ends with him rapping loudly on the front door and off we go to Sweet Thing!! So fun - love those little extras!! Then Keith took a moment to introduce Chris (first this year rather than last).

Then Kiss a Girl with an extra “Its such a simple thing MAMA” Of course Keith got great audience singing during this song (and all night long, for that matter) but he used the singing to lead into, with a little sing-songy twice repeated “Oh we’re in a singing mood tonight” and then “Who’s in a singing mood tonight?” drew a thunderous response. Little did we anticipate that Keith was going to bring 3 people up on stage to sing with him and compete in a sing-off of sorts. He studies the crowd gathered around the stage and (carefully) selected a young girl (maybe 9), a guy, and a little girl (maybe 5). Each in turn was asked to introduce themselves and then asked if they could sing the chorus of Kiss a Girl. The young girl belted it out with amazing ease and presence and Keith was tickled pink. The guy said he didn’t know it so Keith offered to sing with him, saying “You know your chances of winning have slimmed somewhat?” hee hee The little girl was nervous and hesitant but once Keith sang with her she did a good job. Keith had the audience applaud for each in turn and the older girl from Mobile (“Mobile in the house tonight” was Keith’s comment) won. This meant she got to sing another chorus with Keith up at the front microphone while Brian and Jerry each sang with the other two “contestants”.

Without You was backed by the video footage in the big screen with a few special changes in the song and its ending, like folllowing “it got a whole lot bigger” Keith sang “‘Cause then there were two.”

Somebody Like You was preceded by one of Keith’s “tropical bird trills” followed by a more predatory bird-like squawk. : ) It was followed by a new echo-round pitting one side of the arena against the other before the SLY closing. But it is not the show closer this year. It is followed by the Waylon Jennings videoclip that was mentioned in the news. Keith harmonized a bit with Waylon at the very end and then went immediately into Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me. The Keith introduced the rest of the band and each had a new “intro” song for us. Jerry did U2’s With or Without You, Danny did Petty’s American Girl, and Brian did AC/DC’s Its a Long Way to the Top If You Wanna Rock and Roll.

Keith then went into the stands during You Look Good in My Shirt, giving away a guitar to a delighted fan. This song is now the last song of the set. The audience response as Keith said his first thank you and the guys waving goodbye was absolutely huge and continued for the several minutes that they stage stayed dark The encore songs were Tonight I Wanna Cry especially poignantly sung and then, after Keith apoligized for playing too long (!) and giving his usual thank yous to all involved, Better Life. After the final bow and waves good bye we (and the band I am sure) left - sated and spent. An intense and wonderful start to the tour in sweaty Biloxi!!

(videos slowly coming - I’ve had inconsistent internet access)

Keith Urban's Get Closer Tour Starts Today!

The long wait is finally over! Today is the start of the U.S. leg of Keith Urban's Get Closer Tour and I am so stoked for the opening weekend.

I headed south yesterday. My first little flight from Iowa was uneventful, although I did sit by a gal with purple eyebrows and a small red accordian. Made me think that might be a good title for author Larsson's next book (The Girl Who Played the Red Accordian...). When I was boarding my longer connecting flight to New Orleans the gate agent surprised me with an upgrade to first class! Still no meal, but at least I had a comfy seat : ) I picked up a sporty red rental car and headed straight to a hole in the wall seafood dive called Harbor Seafood not even a mile from the airport that had been recommended. It was overflowing with locals with big platters of crawfish, crabs, oysters, shrimp, and fish sandwichs. Everything looked great but I decided on crawfish which arrived bright red, steaming hot, and spicily fragrant. I worked my way through the basket (and there is a bit of work to coaxing their plump bodies out of the tight shells) and they were SO good that I had to get a second pound. I had that rosy glow feeling from sucking their spicy juices. Cooled off with a dozen oysters on the half shell and I was good to go. Good thing I had planned on dinner there because the drive to Biloxi took longer than expected. But it is always interesting exploring new territory (I have been to New Orleans and in fact honeymooned there, but had never traveled east out of the city.) Had some great ocean views, impressive bridges and a golden full moon that seemed to fill the sky.

A "Welcome to Mississippi" sign let me know I had left Louisiana. I have not been in MS for many years - not since I represented Iowa in the National Chicken Cooking Contest (really!) in Jackson, MS when I was a sweet young thing. Imagine the Mississippi Coliseum stadium with 50 full kitchens set up on the stadium floor, with the winning cooks from each state marching in to the strains of Dixie, and then the "ringmaster" drawling out a thrilling "Ladies and gentlemen you may now start cooking!" It was quite the experience! (and I won second prize!!! $4000!!)

When I climbed out of my rental car in Biloxi the humidity almost knocked me back in my seat!

Whoa! Hot hot hot and Mr. Urban isn't going to help matters!

This morning I went over to explore the arena area. I only saw 1 brown tour bus in the fenced lot and suspect that perhaps there might be underground or sheltered parking to get them out of the sun. The arena is currently surrounded by fairgrounds, ferris wheels and other rides for this week's "Summer Fair."

A Monkey had said that she heard that the special holiday presale tickets could not be picked up until after 5:00, but what the heck - I thought I'd give it a try. I've been dying to know my seat location (unspecified in the presale). It took a while to find the right entrance, but meanwhile I was treated to the sounds of Jake Owens rehearsing a couple of his songs not far away (I must have been at the stage end of the arena). When I finally found the box office they did indeed have the special presale tickets and mine was 6th row center! Hurray for the presale! It is going to be a VERY good night!

A Special Hometown Weekend

I spent the first 25 years of my life in Chicago and still get back to visit the city I love fairly often because we still have family there. While I was in graduate school at the University of Chicago one of the few things we would splurge some of our limited student finances on were some of the wonderful professional dance performances the city offered. One of our favorite troupes back then was the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. So last fall when I saw they would be performing in Chicago in May after the school year was over I excitedly recruited my Chicago-based daughter and fellow dance fan Sara to accompany me to one of their shows. They were scheduled to perform several nights but I chose a Thursday night figuring that there might be less competition for tickets and also because it wouldn't conflict with any of Sara's weekend plans. I bought a pair of tickets when they went on sale and was happy to get floor seats in the historic Auditorium Theatre.

I arrived in town on Thursday afternoon and checked into the free hotel room hubby was able to get with some of the "Hilton points" he accumulates with his business travel. Sara, who is an engineer for a firm right at Wabash and Adams, stopped by the hotel to pick me up on her walk home from work. Before we left we stopped briefly in a 24th floor lounge in the hotel to check out their happy hour appetizers. The appetizers were nothing to write home about but the view from the 24th floor, looking out across Grant Park to Lake Michigan and the small boat harbor was fascinating. Usually looking out at Lake Michigan is almost like an ocean view since it appears to go on forever. But on this day a low hanging fog front was visibly moving in from the water. When we first arrived we could see all the sailboats moored in the harbor, but in a matter of moments they and the lake were completely gone!! And gradually the ground-level fog began to eat up Lake Shore Drive and Grant Park as it moved westward. It was a really spooky sight that I had never seen before - an almost sinister sight akin to a Steven King movie since it was happening so quickly and so completely.

We then walked the couple blocks to Sara's apartment (which I had only seen photos of up to that point) and had more amazing views of the fog rolling into town. Then she and her beau Sam took me for a wonderful dinner at The Curry House. I became an immediate fan of the Chicken Momo that Sam recommended. Momos are the Indian/Pakistani/Tibetan equivalent of Chinese dumplings. These had the shape of the more familiar potstickers but were filled with a wonderful chicken curry mixture. Yum!

The Auditorium Theatre was just a few blocks away and I needed that little walk after stuffing myself with curry and naan. Approaching the theatre, which is housed in one of the famous Chicago buildings designed by Adler and Sullivan, brought back a flood of memories - not just because of the dance performances attended there back in the day, but also because my very first teaching position had been at Roosevelt University while I was writing my dissertation.

Roosevelt University is housed in the same building as the Auditorium although it has grown quite a bit since then.

When Sara and I were led to our seats in the beautiful theatre I was totally shocked to find that we were front row center for this evening. That was not what I had expected from the seating chart! All the rows of 'pit' seats indicated in the charts had been removed for the dance performances! So we literally had the best seats in the house without even realizing it. I sat back to thoroughly enjoy the experience since it certainly would probably never happen again.

The Alvin Ailey dancers were as wondrous I had remembered. Sometimes I could not help but gasp at their amazing movements and the beautiful effects the troupe created. I enjoyed each and every dance, but particularly enjoyed the 50th year anniversary performance of their famed multi-part dance Revelations (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Fix Me Jesus)

I was so happy when my sister had offered to take Friday off of work to take advantage of my visit to Chicago. She took the Metro train into town to meet me and got us tickets for an architectural boat tour. I was a bit worried that the tour might not happen, remembering the fog of the previous afternoon. But the day dawned sunny and mild and the fog had mostly retreated in he morning. The boat tour, which went both north and south down the Chicago River, was just great. A talented architecture student provide rich narration, fully educating us about the history of buildings, the styles of architecture and some of the city's interesting architectural 'dirt'. It was so much more informative than your typical boat tour and the weather was perfect for our top-deck open-air viewing. As the boat returned to its dock, however, that spooky fog was again moving into the city, hiding successively more and more of the shoreline with each hour of the afternoon. Good thing we had planned an early boat ride!

Then a quick cab to the restaurant Judi had picked for lunch. She knows my food enthusiast, gourmet cooking, Top Chef addict ways and had selected the Frontera Grill, one of the restaurants of famous chef and cookbook author Rick Bayless. We had so much fun sampling from his upscale Mexican menu and tropical drinks. I loved my ceviche trio and chicken mole enchiladas and a wonderful mixed drink made with Mexican beer rather than hard liquor.

We both left fully sated and knew that dinner better be late tonight! We left Chicago early enough to beat most of the the Friday afternoon rush hour traffic towards her home outside the city in Cary, IL.

Saturday morning Judi and I had fun shopping before I had to head back to Iowa. No, we're not clothes shoppers like some. For us a great morning shopping involves plant nurseries and gourmet grocery stores! : ) I ended up with 2 flats full of a mix of perennials and exotic annuals, then had fun exploring and making judicious travel-able purchases at Trader Joe's and a great Italian grocery store. So my visit to old Chicago could not have been better: Precious time with amily, culture, yummy food, fun shopping and good audiobooks for the hours in the car.