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.
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