A Gleeful Keith in Cleveland

I hung around downtown Columbus until I thought the morning rush hour would be over, then moseyed towards Cleveland, stopping here and there. My Cleveland Hotel was an unusual Holiday Inn Express housed in a picturesque old bank downtown building, just a block away from Cleveland’s architecturally famous “Arcade”. Unfortunately the heat wave had Cleveland feeling like a humid oven, so I wasn’t tempted by the outdoor seating of the many restaurants on the nearby pedestrian mall.

I decided to try my luck again at another of Samsung/A,T & T’s contests at a local store the day of the show. Well, it wasn’t too local - it was way out in the burbs. I drove around a good part of Cleveland and its surrounding communities during the day and I’d have to say that the Cleveland metro area has THE worst roads of all the many cities I have visited!! Even the interstates running through town often felt like washboards! I fear that Cleveland may be going the way of downtown Detroit...

When I arrived at the A,T & T store there was a bigger crowd than the previous 2 contests I had attended (25-30 rather than 8-10). Most were sitting on the floor in a corner of the store while I wandered and looked at the various phones. At 2:00 a cab pulled up and out jumped one of Keith’s male staffers. It was at that point that one gal in the crowd said pointedly to me “You know there is a line here.” No - I didn’t realize there was a line rather than a mass of fans (I should have known that but it wasn’t obvious) - guess I shouldn’t have shopped around the store! So I joined the tail end of the mass that she pointed to. The staffer just kind of went down the line, handing out envelopes, so it looked like the end of the line would definitely be out of luck. At least one of the envelopes containing BSE passes seemed randomly distributed to a gal not far from me. The guy asked her if she was alone (and she was) - I immediately piped up that I was alone as well, in case he wanted to make us a pair, But she said she knew someone who would use the other pass. (The other BSE passes I think may have gone to the first person in line). At this contest the staffer was clever enough to ask “ If any of you who won tickets don’t actually need them, would you please give them back.” And many who had gotten envelopes did just that - and he re-distributed these envelopes to folks further down the line - including an envelope for me. So I actually won my third pair of tickets from Samsung!! - but immediately returned them to him, saying I had only been there for the chance to win a BSE and didn't need tickets.

My face must have stuck in his mind because a few minutes later when I resignedly went out to my car, he came after me and asked “Are you the person who won a BSE?” I said “Sadly no.” As he turned back to the store to find the correct person, I called out one last question “Do you have any more of those magic BSE letters?” “Sadly no” he said. “Sorry.”

So I didn’t win a BSE but I did ‘win’ with my lunch choice. During my travels I have been using the website and book called “Roadfood” to find interesting places to eat. For Cleveland one of the spots they suggested was Slyman’s for corned beef sandwichs. Growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in Chicago I developed quite a fondness for a good corned beef sandwich on Jewish rye with new pickles. When I arrived there I was surprised to see about 8 grown men literally running to the Slyman’s door. “What in the heck is going on?” I thought. It turns out that Slyman’s closes after lunch and all these guys were dreading the idea that they might miss out on their corned beef sandwich! I made it into the establishment just in the nick of time - they locked the door after me so no more people could enter and made me take my sandwich to go, rather than eating it there. But it was definitely the biggest, leanest corned beef sandwich I have ever had - nicely wrapped with an extra slice of rye. Why? Because the sandwich is so big that one can easily take out some of the corned beef and make a whole extra bulging half a sandwich and still have trouble getting your mouth around the original sandwich! (I saved a good part of my sandwich for after the concert!)

That evening I walked over to the arena trying not to sweat in the steamy weather : ). It is always a hot time at the concerts (for more than 1 reason!), but no sense working up a sweat early!

The Put You in a Song opening has changed! Keith no longer sings the mysterious sounding solo a cappella line before the band breaks into the full song. In Cleveland all the guys (except Chris of course) lined up on the front of the stage and immediately broke into the guitar intro to the rollicking PYIAS opening number. After that Keith went straight over to the right side platform for You’re Gonna Fly (no I Told You So tonight). There was a bit of right side drama: although I was in the opposite risers I noticed right away that Keith almost looked like he was going to jump off that platform into the audience! I thought to myself “Wow - is he going to sing this song from the risers like You Look Good in My Shirt??” But no, the reason he was sorely tempted to leave his platform was because he was quite upset with the security guard that was preventing the fans in the right risers from running down the steps to the foot of the platform. He shouted 2 loud “No!”’s at the security guy, but wasn’t catching his attention, so then Keith grabbed his microphone stand by its base and extended it out to “tap” the security guy on the back, yelling “Let them through brother!” All this was happening while he and the band were trying to continue to playing the song. When Keith was yelling at security, Brian scrambled to fill in the line of lyrics that Keith was not singing.

What Keith does so his fans have fun!

After Only You Can Love Me This Way, when Keith began his first hellos with a “Sounds mighty good tonight Cleveland!” and “Man, its good to be back again!” He commented that 14 years ago they played in Cleveland at Wilbert’s. “A short 14 years later and here we are! Do you remember Wilbert’s Jerry? Crazy, awesome!” He went on to tell the audience that it was their night and all about them, he acknowledged the previous interaction with “Well I think we’ve gotten all the security problems solved now. Its not rocket science - just let these people go where they want to go and have a good time!”

When Keith strolled out strumming his acoustic guitar before Silly Love Song, he improvised a bit of song:

“ Hey hey - feels good up here tonight!

Just something about playing in Cleveland

I believe!”

and then went into his little McCartney cover and Making Memories.

Tonight I had a great seat up front in line with Keith's microphone, so had to rely on the big screen to see the small stage songs. Here is a bit of You'll Think of Me on the big screen.

Sometime during Keith’s return from the small stage he received a rose from a fan and he climbed back on the mainstage with that rose clenched in his teeth : )

The guitar solos were as hot as the Cleveland weather. Here is Til Summer Comes Around. and Stupid Boy.

During the Kiss a Girl Singoff Keith once again got an ‘uninvited’ volunteer - the blond girl simply climbed up on stage behind the guy. I think Keith already had his eye on a tiny little girl, so he brought her up as a 4th contestant. She actually had a little giftbag with her for Keith. She of course was the darling of the night, winning the thunderous applause of the audience.

For the encore Keith donned a Cleveland jersey for Tonight I Wanna Cry and looked so cute. How does he manage to look so beautifully boyish after a stenuous and hot night of playing?

Postscript: O'Hare Airport in Chicago and the airline nearly did me in again! My flight home (Cleveland-Philadelphia-Chicago-Iowa) (bet you didn't know Philadelphia was in between Cleveland and Chicago!!) I arrived in Chicago late because the airport essentially shut down because of a massive thunderstorm. My Iowa flight was canceled for the same reason and I was told I would have to stay in Chicago until THE NEXT NIGHT before they could get me on a flight, or maybe 3:30 the next day on stand-by. Oh no!! I didn't accept their verdict however. I went to the gate and added my name to the standby list for that evening (#38 on the list!) and sat there commisurating with other delayed travelers. I don't know how or why but, when they were letting a few standbys join the flight, somehow they called my name fifth (not 38th). "BINGO!!!" I shouted and boarded the plane, getting home just several hours late instead of a whole day later.

One Killer Keith Urban Concert in Columbus!

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later - through travel snafus I all but missed the start of the Columbus concert. Only with some speeding on the highways, quick, panicked parking, and hustling the remaining blocks did I make it to the Nationwide Arena just minutes before Jake Owen came on. Much as I love Chicago, my city of birth, I hate flying through Chicago for just this reason (although lately it seems almost every one of my trips had included late flights). I did make it in the nick of time but I missed out on a planned dinner with concert buddies! : (

Tonight I was in row D which, in Columbus and several other arenas, was a super-long row spanning the entire width of the arena without aisles - a row geared to slow down or block those approaching the stage from the rear. I had a very good view much of the time but several very tall males were in front of me once the floor crowd gathered, so my apologies for the occasional heads in my videos. Here is Only You Can Love Me This Way.

Jake makes many fans happy with his constant interaction - grasping hands, waving or pointing and smiling at particular individuals, coming down off the stage a few times each show. He really made one gal’s night by leading her up onto the stage and then holding her hand and singing a verse of Don’t Think I Can’t Love You, complete with going down on his knees while he sang the last couple lines. He borrowed a sip of beer

from another happy fan. He also told the Columbus audience that, although up to now the Boston crowd had been the very best, now Columbus had taken their place as his favorite.

I guess tonight was just my night for “missing things”. Jake threw a pick right at me - it hit my palm but bounced away before I could grab it. Then Jerry threw me his wristband at show’s end and once again it hit my palm but got away before I could grab it. I must have slow reflexes!! Good thing I don’t have to rely on my reflexes most of the time to catch all the musical memories they throw my way each show!

I Told You So was deleted from the setlist! I was very hopeful that that meant we might get Raining on Sunday or some other special addition, but no - that was not the case. Maybe they have just been running a bit long with the extended Kiss a Girl antics.... Here is sweet Without You.

Keith was wearing different jeans tonight - ones with a weathered look - a few ‘paint splotches’ or white spots, a few tears. Of course it doesn’t matter what kind of jeans he wears - they always look mmm-mmm good : )

I didn't have a good view of the right platform during You're Gonna Fly, but I was close to Brian Nutter on the left platform.

I was sitting just in front of the person responsible, this show, for the traveling Monkeyville sign that is making its way to every US venue (not sure if they’ve found a way to get it to the Canadian shows). I will be taking on that task in Cincinnati, but I had my photo taken with the sign in Columbus since it was convenient.

I do enjoy seeing others’ positive reactions during the show - especially the KU newbies - but I have to admit that sometimes the drunken ones get a little wearing. One very happy (because of Keith but also because of booze) gal in front of me repeatedly, throughout the night, would turn to me and in a loud voice (while Keith was singing) would say “Oh he’s so pretty!!” I concurred : ) but didn’t always appreciate the distraction! I also feel a little guilty that I am almost happy when they fall off the chairs they have been standing on. Shame on me!

For the Kiss a Girl sing-off, as usual, the first contestant was not local, but rather from West Virginia. The next - a male was - quite proudly - from Columbus. but unfortunately only knew the first and last lines of the chorus (I wanna kiss a girl) and just held out the microphone to the singing audience the rest of the time. When he returned the mike to Keith, Keith had to say “ What the hell was that??” before he went on to #3, a Ohio girl wearing a huge pink hat edged with pink feathers. (Sorry I had such a hard time catching a shot around Keith's cameraman!)

Tonight Keith went way back to the rear curve of the risers and way up in the stands for You Look Good in My Shirt. He is brave to “go the distance” near the end of the show when the audience has been thoroughly whipped into a frenzy and is totally loving him (and wanting a piece of him!). His early trip on the floor, back to the small stage, is such a surprise and shock to most that Keith doesn’t seem to get quite as man-handled. But by the time of YLGIMS it sometimes seems that it is “No holds barred!” (literally!)

I love how, even at the end of a very strenuous, hot show, Keith is still showing his joy at performing - laying on his back on the stage with the biggest grin imaginable, alternately kicking his legs up in the air or using them to spin his body in a circle, while continuing to rip away at his guitar! The joy in that man and in his music is oh so infectious and lifts the hearts of every person in his audience.

Keith Had Us 'Feelin' Alright' in Albany!

I had originally bought a pair of tickets for the Albany show because I expected it to be a convenient show for my oldest daughter, who works at Syracuse University, to attend with me. But it turned out that it didn’t fit her schedule : ( But since hubby would be traveling that weekend, I decided to go anyway and sold my extra ticket on the Monkeyville board.

I arrived in Albany the night before the concert and had a lovely dinner at Jack’s Oyster House just down the block from my hotel. That evening I discovered that Samsung was having one of their ticket and BSE giveaways in the morning at a store across the river from Albany in Renssalear. I had no plans (and also no car) but decided to cab out there in hopes of winning a Backstage Experience. I arrived about 90 minutes early and found 6 ambitious fans had beat me there - a couple had arrived at 5 am. It seems that word of these contests is just not getting out very well so that at the appointed time of 10 AM there were still only 8 of us!! So EVERYONE won a pair of good riser tickets and a randomly (sort of) selected person also won a pair of BSE passes. I didn’t need the tickets and tried to find someone to give them to, but had no success (what a shame!).

Maybe the Monkeyville board should keep a list of folks who would like last minute free tickets for each show.

I also “won” in another way in that I made a couple new ‘Keith-crazy” friends, Eileen and Marion. They were nice enough to take me in - giving me a ride back to Albany in their impressively decorated Keith-mobile. We stopped for a Cracker Barrel breakfast on the way, then went to the arena to pick up our will call tickets for the evening. We oggled the couple buses parked right next to the Box Office entrance and saw Jerry relaxing and catching a few rays in a lawn chair between the buses. We would have liked to stay and watch and look around more, but felt rather conspicuous in the Keith-mobile, so eventually left the Box Office parking.

Once I was down on the arena floor that evening I got to see other KU buddies (Leslie and Cindy) but missed talking to Corni who was higher up in the risers.Once again the Christmas presale came through with flying colors - 5th row seats in the center of the left side. But I actually only stayed there for Jake’s set - then moved to my friend Leslie’s seat on the aisle when she went up to the stage (I love the freedom of movement of an aisle seat).

Some of the Albany highlights:

Jake changed his setlist to include Wide Awake. and included some Albany lyrics in Starting With Me.

During his first conversation with the audience, Keith read a sign over in the left risers saying “We’ve got flowers for you.” So he called them down, meeting them halfway, to get the flowers and give them a thank you hug, then set the pretty bouquet where it could be seen, leaning it up against Chris’s drums. “Friendly town tonight!”

Here is Stupid Boy.

When Keith asked how many in the audience were from Albany the response was kind of middling in volume, so then he asked how many were from out of town and got an immense response. This was reinforced later when his Kiss a Girl contestants were all out of towners so he had to kind of fudge and pretend that a woman from PA had recently moved to NY so he could pretend to have a hometown contestant. : )

When he looked at those in the risers way in the back of the arena, He told them those up at the top by the railing looked “like they were in a treehouse” and that they should have a sign saying “No Girls Allowed”.

Keith gave one of his big squeals during Boondocks.

A Long Hot Summer nearly as hot as our weather has been.

Because I had been in Leslie’s aisle seat I headed back to the small stage at just the right time and scored an upfront, on the rail perfect viewing position for his songs there - highlight of my evening! Here is I’m In.

In Jeans On he personalized it for Albany with

“You and me, we'll go motorbike ridin' in the sun

And the wind in upstate New York”

and had fun with the song with his singing upside down from under the mike and giving us an extra deep “Feeling alright!” and plenty of flippage during the guitar interlude.

I must say that, up close, Keith’s blue jeans, although always looking so good on him, had a strange dark sheen like he had been sitting on coal dust. (Perhaps I should have offered to try to brush them off? : )

During Keith’s singing of Kiss a Girl he almost cracked himself up by changing the lyrics to:

“And she broke my heart

Broke it right in FOUR”

He had a silly little boy grin of satisfaction with his little joke and briefly paused in amusement.

Of course the Kiss-a-Girl Sing-off is always a highlight, but Keith must not have been impressed with the performances of the first 3 contestants, because he decided after the fact to bring up a fourth.

Here is Sweet Thing.

When Keith lead the audience in a round of “Yeah, yeah - whoa-ho’s” at the end of Somebody Like You, he encouraged us to “Raise the friskin’ roof!!”

During the final thank yous of the evening Keith thanked everyone for sticking around to the very end (much more so than at the last Uncasville show) rather than heading home, and then sort of added his thoughts, probably referring to the reciprocal feelings of love flowing between he and the audience, saying “You ARE home!” : )

Mohegan Magic Night #2

Mohegan Magic Night #2

(vids are slowly being added to the tube)

The second day in Uncasville was sunny and mild and I was dying to know what Keith and the guys might have planned for their leisure time. But since I didn’t, I planned to ‘see the sea’, meandering along the CT coast a bit.

Have you ever considered lobster ‘fast food’? I went to a really fun place in Noack, CT for lunch: Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough. I didn’t know what the name meant but knew I had to have fresh lobster while out east. Abbott’s is, as their website proclaims, “Hard to find, impossible to forget!” and they were right! I had to weave through the tiny side streets of this rural town, with each lane getting closer to sea level, until I finally found the Abbott’s parking lot. Although I arrived noonish - fairly early for “Sunday dinner” - the lot was already quite full. As I approached the colorful buildings I could see a long line of families on the ramps leading to the “Place your order” window. It turned out that what the “in the rough” means is that you order your lobster or other seafood at this window, pick it up at another, and then take your food to one of the many many picnic tables along the shore and out on the pier to eat!! The line moved quickly and in no time at all I had my tray with fresh clams on the half shell, lobster bisque and a gorgeous hot lobster sandwich - not the usual cold lobster salad roll, but a toasted hamburger bun piled high with large chunks of hot lobster that had been dipped in butter. Yum!! To indulge while sitting outside admiring the sun sparkling off the water, the brightly colored boats, the gentle, salty breeze was just a delight.

For whatever reason the Mohegan Sun Casino seemed more crowded on Sunday. When I arrived several of their lots already had their “Full” signs lit up and I had to go up to the highest level of the large Indian Summer parking ramp to find an empty parking spot. There were masses of people waiting to descend in the parking ramp elevator to enter casino. Dinner was more seafood (raw oysters and a spicy shrimp boil) at my favorite Mohegan restaurant, the Summer Shack.

My seat was just about in same spot as the previous evening (top row of the lower risers closest to the stage), but on the opposite side. I was pleased to see that I was on the aisle, so thought I could stretch out my legs a bit more. But it turned out the aisle was so busy that wasn’t hardly possible. After Jake’s set I moved up behind the rail above me to the area where 2 individuals in wheelchairs were seated, borrowing one of the folding chairs there so I could at least be more comfortable during the break. An usher must have noticed my knee was bothering me and asked if I wanted to sit there for the show. He got his manager who signed my ticket, approving my sitting in the ADA area. So I had a greatly more comfortable seat for this show, just a little higher up, in the area that Keith had said looked like the railing of a cruise ship the night before. (I was so tickled by my companions in the handicapped area - a tiny lady who looked to be over 85 who clapped along with Keith all night from her wheelchair and a young guy whose disability, perhaps cerebral palsy, made articulation difficult, but who managed to sing along with his favorites : )

Jake’s enthusiasm doesn’t lessen even when the audience in on the sedate side - he, like Keith, seems to put his all into his songs. He amused the audience with his interaction with one woman up front. I didn’t hear what she must have said to him, but his reply was “ I can’t make out with you right now - I’m in the middle of a show. Call me afterwards.” And then followed up with “You’re not drunk are you?” and went into his new song (one of my favorites) which includes the line “You only kiss me when you’re drunk.” : )

Once again Keith’s stage crew did some loud testing of instruments and microphones during the break - not sure why. This time I certainly couldn’t attribute it to not having enough soundcheck time since it was their second night here. The music during the break went a little crazy (almost like someone was spinning a radio dial) playing just a bit of a song then moving on to another. I knew this was not intended when, at one point, they played the first couple lines of Waylon’s song that would later be in the show.

Unlike last night Better Half was gone again this evening, but I didn't know the likely reason until later in the evening. Keith looked just gorgeous on the big screen during Only You Can Love Me This Way. Although his shirt this tour usually appears grayish, sometimes on the big screen it appears deep blue, bringing out his eyes. I didn't catch OYCLMTW but here is the big screen during Making Memories.

Tonight my new seat was on solid concrete floor, so I didn’t feel the movement of the risers like last evening. But I could feel Jerry’s bass guitar during some songs (when he came up on the right side stage) resonating through the arena floor and up my folding chair!

There was new rapid-fire strumming at the end of the Stupid Boy guitar solo tonight - a shorter version of what Keith does at the end of the Georgia Woods solo.

For whatever reason, they did not show the Without You video on the big screen this evening, but instead stuck to those beautiful close-ups of Keith = mmmm.

When Keith greeted us he called out “ Good evening Connecticutt! You guys are feeling good tonight - I can tell!” And then greeting each area of the arena, he gave the folks in the rear a big “Hello!!” and after getting a particularly strong response from the left risers, with lots of “Woo!’s”, Keith imitated them “ "Whoo! My kind of crowd over there! Whoo! I love you man!!” : ) He forewarned us “We might play a bit longer than normal tonight.” : ) “Slip in a song or two that we haven’t done in a while.” (Yay!!)

When Keith came out strumming in preparation for his little Silly Love Songs segement, he asked his crew to bring up the lights a bit. I thought perhaps he was going to say he wanted to see the audience, but - no - he said “I just discovered something on the stage which I am reluctant to pick up, but I’ll give it my best.” And proceeds to pick up a bra that someone had tossed up with the neck of his guitar. “Friendly crowd tonight Uncasville.” Keith says “I’m also pretty sure that I really don’t need one. But apparently someone out there is REAL comfortable right now.” That started a trend and by the end of the show no fewer than 6 undergarments had been tossed on stage.

Then off to the small stage - here is I'm In from the center of the adoring audience.

During Sweet Thing a little girl spontaenously (or with the urging of her parents?) jumped up on stage and started dancing to the song! Keith went along with it, sort of dancing with her with some major flippage, finished off the song and gave her a hug before leading her offstage. (I didn’t think anyone underage was even allowed into a casino venue!)

When it came time for the Kiss a Girl sing-off, an exciting new change!! Keith actually came up a bit into the risers on the right side of the stage to pick one of the contestants!! I was pleased that he did not just stick to the floor crowd - makes participating an exciting possibility for a larger segment of the audience. (double yay!!)

One gal completely lost the words after a couple lines (afterwards Keith told her she'd better never go on the Singing Bee, hee hee). Tonight Keith decided it was a tie between the other 2 contestants, so brought both of them up to the front mike for the final KAG chorus. Keith even backed off when the guy put his arm around the gal and they started sang a bit like a duet, without him, but then Keith wiggled his head up into that embrace to make it a trio again. He is having so much fun with this participatory segment and everybody seems to love it!

Keith went to the left risers for You Look Good in My Shirt.

And then, after You’ll Think of Me during the encore, RAINING ON SUNDAY!!! : ) : ) It almost seemed like it was a surprise to the band as well - they didn’t seem to know what what going on - they fussed with chords for a few seconds and Keith went back and said something to them, so maybe his earlier statements about playing an old song or two had been news to them earlier. I was SO happy to hear that song!!! But I was pissed that a good number of people had left before the encore and some continued to leave during the encore - so worried about getting out of the parking lot and home on a Sunday night. I hope this won’t discourage Keith from including special additions like ROS in the future!! Mohegan is not a typical crowd Keith - the Keith “family” would never leave. Who knows - we may have gotten even another extra song beyond ROS if it weren’t for those early leavers.

And, finally, after Better Life - you know the point where Keith holds up his fingers to indicate to Chris and the guys how many final guitar strums there will be? Well - tonight, a first in my experience, he held up 8 fingers and waved them at the guys a couple time, perhaps knowing that they might not believe their eyes - and finished a great night with 8 big strums! : )

He is so darned cute:

Mohegan Magic - Night #1

I was excited to go to the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT not only to see Keith and Jake, but also to see a couple of my concert buddies Nelia and Leslie. I drove down from Boston in the afternoon, but since my New London hotel was farther from the casino than I expected, I almost missed meeting my friends for a quick dinner before the show. The gambling areas of the casino are so huge that I always get lost and end up walking in circles before I find the exit point that heads out to the mall and restaurants (I actually think that was their plan when they designed the casino!). But I finally found them and downed a quick slice of pizza. Thoughtful friends that they are, they both came ready to share; Leslie gave me several primo photos she had taken of Keith (one became the calendar cover this year) and Nelia gave me a Jake Owen photo card so that I would have something for him to sign. (Shame on me for not bringing anything!) Nelia and I had both won meet and greet opportunities with Jake Owen, so had to be at the arena box office at 5:30. Jake’s current M & G is unusual in that you win a PAIR of passes, so Nelia was bringing Leslie along. I originally thought my M & G was in Boston when I could bring my daughter with, but I had misread the date. I didn’t know anyone else in Uncasville, so my extra pass went unused. A member of Jake’s staff met us at the box office and distributed the M & G stickers for us to wear on our clothes. They took us into the arena about 6:00, scanning our concert tickets on the way. As we walked to the area of the M & G we could hear Jake doing his soundcheck inside the arena (only 90 minutes before the show!!). We lined up for photos to be taken by a staff member but on our own cameras, and were told we could also request an autograph.

Jake came out of the arena, confessing that he wasn’t quite concert-ready in his baggy green cargo shorts, teeshirt and reversed baseball cap. Each person in turn went up and introduced themselves, had their picture taken with Jake, and most had him sign something - even if it was an arm or the leg of their jeans! When I went up and introduced myself I told Jake it was nice to meet him officially but that we had actually shook hands a couple times already since I had been at every show of the tour so far. His eyes widened and he gave me a big grin. I explained that school was out and so I was able to travel. Jake liked the photo card I had gotten from Nelia and addressed his autograph “To Linda”. He called over to his number one man and said “Linda has been to all of the shows!”. After my time with Jake ended (we just get a minute or two) the staff guy chatted with me a little about my concert experiences and asked if I would actually be going to all the shows this tour (no such luck!). Nelia and Leslie then each had their time with Jake and our M & G was too quickly over.

We wandered the still empty arena concourse (since it wasn’t yet 6:30) and were able to make early purchases at the merchandise booth. I also signed up to subscribe to the Sunday NY Times because they then gave you a tour teeshirt for free! (My hubby and I had actually talked about subscribing recently because a Sunday NY Times is $6 if you buy it at an Iowa newstand.)

By coincidence, my riser seat was 2 rows behind Nelia’s while Leslie’s was down on the rear floor; I have to say that, even though the Mohegan Sun is a nice small size arena, it has the most uncomfortable cramped riser seats with less leg room than any other arena I have been to. It was torture for me - ever since my knee surgery I need to be able to extend my leg to be comfortable. So I ended up perched on my folded up seat even when I might have sat elsewhere. Another thing - when everyone started rocking to songs like Days Go By, we on the risers almost felt like we were in an earthquake (because the risers were shaking so much). I think in one of my videos (YLGIMS) I was sitting perfectly still but you can see the video jumping up and down because of the movement of the risers. A little scary!

Jake had cleaned up nicely and was wearing a good looking black button down shirt for a change. The Mohegan Sun crowd was a little more sedate than usual, so he had a hard time getting them up on their feet until Barefoot Blue Jeans.

I stretched my legs out on the concourse during the break and noticed that Samsung has added a new video opportunity. Whereas previously you had the opportunity to be videotaped in front of their green screen and then you became part of the street crowd in the Better Life video, now you can create a video of yourself next to Keith singing Kiss a Girl. I am terribly unphotogenic, but gave it a whirl anyway - I haven’t seen my video yet.

Keith and the guys seem to be coming out a bit earlier lately - 8:45 rather than 9:00. I don’t know if that is by design or whether the stagecrew has just gotten their timing down so the stage is ready sooner.

Tonight Better Half was back as the third song after KAG and ITYS, with an extra “I hope you know that you are!” added at the end. Then on to Only You Can Love Me, with Chris first setting the cadence with his drums, then Jerry coming in on his bass, then Danny on his bouzouki, then Keith chimed in with Hey Connecticut - you’re in a good mood tonight!” before going into the song. Then on the final verse we got what sounded like a little slide guitar added.

During the Boondocks interlude Keith came in particularly strongly (giving me goosebumps) and with such a strong rhythm you just had to move your body with the song. They keep the lights dimmed though when he is accompanying this or the later Waylon Jennings video, so it is a little hard to catch it on video.

At the Mohegan there is a railing above the last row of the lower risers (the row where I was sitting). The area behind that railing is used for handicapped seating. When Keith was greeting the audience he commented that the folks up there looked like they were waving from the railing of a cruise ship : )

After Stupid Boy Keith must have been noticing (like Jake) that this was a more subdued audience than usual (certainly more subdued that the over-the-top participatory Boston audience), and actually said “Its a little bit quiet tonight” in addition to his usual “Are you still with us?” question. His trip to the back stage (which was at rows 14-16) got the audience up though - with much of the floor gravitating to that location like moths to a light bulb. Keith scolded security for trying to hold back some of this rush “Security - let them through brother!” I’d like to give that back stage an up close inspection. Have you noticed in the videos of I’m In that it appears there are fans built into the stage to make Keith’s hair blow wildly during his big guitar finish on that song? I noticed tonight that one or more of the guys is accompanying Keith on the choruses of Jeans On - has that always been the case? I’m loving his big “Ha!!” exclamation after “I’m king of the road again.” He changed up the melody a bit for the final motorbiking verse and changed “got a tiger in my tank” to “got a Nascar in my garage.” Is CT a big Nascar state? Might Keith really have a Nascar in his collection?? Here is a bit of You'll Think of Me .

They have added an outrageous new special effect during the Til Summer Comes Around guitar solo. The short plastic barrier that had been placed on the end of the catwalk is now gone and a little “treadmill” or moving belt has been built into the center of the catwalk. I didn’t noticed this until during TSCA the catwalk was flooded with roiling mist and Keith appeared to be constantly WALKING during his solo (but not moving forward). Cool effect!! The applause went on for a long time after that song.

Once again 2 young ladies and a guy were selected for the Kiss a Girl competition. Keith actually approached a couple others before he got those participants but the individuals did not know the song or did not want to sing (another indicator, I think, that the Mohegan audience is a more mixed, not-all-Keithers group). (One woman actually asked “What song?” when Keith asked if she knew the song.) I appreciate Keith’s extemporaneous singing as he walks around looking for contestants. The guy that was selected told Keith that he loved him : ) and took control of the stage momentarily, asking the audience to give Keith and the band a big round of applause, after singing. He became the eventual winner. Keith was blown away by all this and ended this segment with a big “Connecticut rocks!!!”

In his final thank yous (to those up high, to those who traveled, to the road crew) and then “I just want to say one more thing - this year and last couple years have been very difficult for many people and I understand a lot of people can’t go to see as many concerts as you want to and you have to choose your concerts. To see so many people here tonight is just unbelievable. Thank you so much!” And then Keith said something that we all know to be true but have probably not heard said outright: “That’s why I give you everything I’ve got.” We know you do Keith!

For the final song Keith brought out and introduced Hunter Hayes to play with them and to feature a little of his guitar skills. It is nice the way he supports new artists.

Here is a mystery for you. After the stage had emptied and while the audience was leaving, there was a giant #1 on the big video screen. #1??

My East Coast Extravaganza

This weekend I was off to an East coast adventure while hubby would also be out of town. My oldest daughter Jen had decided that Boston was the best place for her to meet me for s show, so I was headed to the TD Garden, a venue new to me although I have been to the city of Boston a couple times. Then I would be heading to more familiar territory - the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut for the rest of the weekend. I decided to fly into Providence rather than Boston, since it was familiar and between the two concert stops.

Providence offered an additional benefit - my niece Ali is in culinary school there and is currently a ‘chef-in-training’ working as a line cook in a great Providence restaurant called Local 121, which features the freshest of local ingredients turned into creative and beautiful dishes. So I planned to visit her and sample the food of Local 121 while in town. The stars must have been in alignment this week because, completely coincidentally, my sister and brother-in-law were also visiting Ali in Providence, so we were able to have a wonderful dinner together. Ali couldn’t dine with us - she was cooking, but she did select and prepare some of our dishes and came out in her chef’s garb to say hi. I can’t even tell you how many appetizers or small plates we sampled before our main courses (mine was a fantastic almond-crusted fresh flounder surrounded by fresh steamed clams and a tarragon scented cream) before four or five desserts, but we cleaned every plate. I think it was only the classiness of the restaurant that kept us from licking the plates!

The next morning I was off to Boston, rendezvousing with Jen outside the city at Natick Mall so that both of us wouldn’t have to drive the crazy, confusing and congested streets in Boston. We drove around our rather odd Bulfinch Hotel (just 2 blocks from the Garden) looking for parking options but felt like we were risking our lives at every intersection, so gave in and paid $42 (!!!) for overnight parking. Jen was such a sport - she knows how I crave the fresh east coast seafood so, even though she’s a vegetarian, she suggested we go to the historic old Union Oyster Bar for an early dinner : ) I had my beloved raw oysters as well as steamed mussels and some chowder. We also had a couple drinks with her friend and former office-mate Jerel, but couldn’t talk Jerel into using an extra ticket we had for the show that night. Happily another of Jen’s pals was available so the ticket didn’t go to waste.

Our seats were in the 8th row of the right floor, on the right hand aisle! : ) Jen, like myself, thoroughly enjoyed Jake Owen’s opening set. Jake went down to the left side floor during Don’t Think I Can’t Love You and was captured in a long embrace for a bit. During the break the rather small front floor area began to fill. Also during the break some of Keith’s stage crew were loudly trying out the various instruments - wonder if they didn’t have a full soundcheck? By the time Keith sang a song or two several front rows in our section were nearly empty, so we moved up even closer to the 4th row : ) and Jen’s friend Arjo was able to join us. It was a perfect position for a wonderfully exciting night. Here is the Stupid Boy solo I love.

Keith first greeted us “Hello Boston! Are you feeling good tonight?” before going into Only You can Love Me This Way and of course later sang “And I’d have never had this feeling, that I feel playing for you in Massachusetts tonight...”. A beautiful song as usual.

Then I knew it was time for You’re Gonna Fly, so I excused myself and slipped out of our row to stand immediately below Keith right platform microphone. What an incredible view!! Oh my. I am always torn - should I just sing and dance and give it my all, or should I record this moment. Tonight I could not help but record from this amazing vantage point! although I did take time to give the toe of his boot a rub for good luck! : ) Keith leaned over and slapped my hand before he left the right platform.

Back on the mainstage Keith gave another “Good evening Boston! Hell of a crowd tonight!!” He greeted each area of the arena in turn “ Yes”, he confessed “I have been down on the floor in Boston on a Friday night.” “Firstly I want to say a big congratulations to the Boston Bruins!” which elicited a huge response from the audience. He went on “ I don’t play hockey, but I do plan on trying to make you feel as good as they did that night.” (more cheering) “As you can see we have an entirely new stage this year with none of those stupid fences or security people.” Then, correcting himself, “That’s stupid fences, not to be confused with stupid security people! That’s not what I meant. I just meant that tonight is about you guys doing whatever the hell you want to do.If you want to scream or dance or cheer - whatever you want to do - have at it tonight Boston! It is your night!” (I was happy that “stand on your chairs” had been omitted from that list - thought that was a change for the good, but unfortunately it returned to the list the next night.)

Then it was time for Long Hot Summer. It was then I really noticed that the acoustics of the Boston Garden were really the worst I had experienced this tour. Very echoey. When my daughter walked further back on the floor she said she had a much harder time hearing the vocals from the back than from our seats up front. Consequently it seemed the audio guys had upped the volume (a bit too much for me) and the echos got worse. I imagine it is not easy coping with the construction of the different venues.

The small stage was set at rows 15-17 tonight. Jen and I were ready on the right hand aisle when Keith came off the stage to head back there - Jen reported a biceps squeeze and I gave his back a little rub. Front right side is a good spot! The audience loved having Keith back in their midst - I have to say that the Boston audience was totally into the whole show, matching Keith’s enthusiasm with their energy. Keith attributed their energy “It is amazing what a Stanley Cup win will do for the spirits!” but we all know that it wasn’t just the win that was creating the palpable excitement in the Boston crowd.

Keith had fun telling the story about the guy and girl to lead into Georgia Woods (“This guy thinks he’s got it all together - he knows exactly where things are going, but this girls is totally unhinging this guy completely. She is turning his world upside down, backwards and sideways - and he loves it! They are getting it on in the Georgia Woods.”). They have added (or perhaps I only just now noticed) an interesting ‘woods’ graphic constantly changing on the big screen during the performance of Georgia Woods. Keith’s guitar solo here (and throughout the night) was just astounding. (After the sweltering solo for Til Summer Comes Around, I turned to my daughter with that usually post-coital phrase “Was that good for you?” (hee hee) She just “Mother!!”ed me. : )

Jen made her way up to the very front of the front stage crowd and waved her hand furiously, volunteering to be one of the singers in the Kiss a Girl contest. (She also told me that she yelled to Keith that her mom was his stalker, but I don’t know if I believe that : } ). She wasn’t selected however. There weren’t many kids visible at the Boston audience, so Keith selected 2 young women and an enthusiastic guy. One girl was so overhwelmed that I thought she was going to hyperventilate herself into a faint!! (Keith had to sooth her a couple times “Keep it together, keep it together..” They all made valiant attempts (but shouldn’t quit their day jobs! : ) ) and the guy won the audience’s massive applause tonight.

Somebody Like You triggered some of the loudest singing of the night (altho this audience sang almost all of the time!). The You Look Good in My Shirt offstage journey took Keith high into the left sider risers. When Keith returned to stage his did some extra fancy guitar fingering on the final YLGIMS melody before saying thank you and waving the first set of goodbyes.

For the encore Keith came out in a Bruins shirt, complete with his name on the back “In case I forget who I am,” Keith quipped. It was quite a sight seeing him sing Tonight I Wanna Cry in his big shirt!

Keith gave his heartfelt thanks to all and good-naturedly mocked the folks up in the boxes before the final song of the evening, Better Life - another song where, happily, he once again visited the right side platform near me. Boy, it is going to be very hard to top my Boston show experience!!

Saturday morning we met friend Jerel for brunch at an excellent breakfast/Jewish deli place called Zaftig’s in the Brookline area near Boston. Yum - bagel and lox, whitefish, and chopped liver (satisfying a number of cravings from growing up in a Jewish neighborhood on the northside of Chicago). Then I was off to Connecticut and Jen was heading to Utica, NY for a popular running competition on Sunday. More videos coming...

Memorable Moline

I took my time checking out of my St. Louis hotel and that was almost a mistake. The interstate to Moline was rife with summer roadwork and I ended up sitting at almost a standstill for nearly 90 minutes about 15 miles out of St. Louis, with no exits or turnarounds or other escapes to be had. I barely made it to Moline in time to meet up with my daughter and sister for dinner before the show. Moline was oppressively hot and I hoped the iWireless Center would have the air conditioning cranked way up.

Since we were having a little gathering in Moline I had promised to bring cocktail makings in case we wanted to have a before-show drink at the hotel (the few bars near iWireless are usually packed). But the weather was SO hot that when I went to take the bag of supplies out of my trunk the bottles of vodka and rum were the temperature of hot coffee and the heavy plaster shopping bag they were in had nearly melted and stretched out and broke when I tried to lift it. Guess we’ll be counting on the restaurant for cocktails!

Daughter Annie and her friend Lucy (an Urban virgin) arrived minutes after me and we visited while we waited for my sister Judi. When nearly an hour had passed I tried calling her to see if she was caught in roadwork jams as well. Sadly not. Although we had emailed back and forth earlier in the week, I guess day of the week was never mentioned and somehow she had it marked down the concert on the wrong date on her calendar and was still at home in northern Illinois : ( (It is a constant fear of mine that I will screw up concert dates or flight dates somewhere along the line).

Annie, Lucy and I had a fun dinner in a cool and classy bar/restaurant about 3 blocks from the arena, indulging in interesting summer cocktails to help us cool off. I tried a tasty cold avocado soup and a watermelon, feta and spring greens salad that was great and my grapefruit martini was a perfect refresher. Afterwards I gave Annie an Lucy the pair of floor seats I had purchased, while I took the pair of Row 3 riser seats I had gotten in the Jake Owen presale. When I settled down in the third row of center arena seats I had a good view of all the stages. Pretty soon, however, an usher chased me out of my seat - it turns out that in Moline “Row 3” in the risers is actually the FIRST row for concerts! Better yet!!

The iWireless Center is a smaller arena, so tonight the small stage was positioned at rows 16-18. It looked to be close to being sold out.

I am liking that Jake Owen has been telling us a little bit about his day in town each time. I kind of miss Keith’s mentions of being out on the bikes or going out to a ball game that he sometimes used to share at concerts. Of course today was so darned hot they may well have hunkered down someplace air-conditioned. Tonight Jake added another new song to his setlist, as well as a different mode of presentation. He brought out a stool to sit on for a slow sweet singing of what I think must be a song from the album coming out in August, beginning " There's a place with a name called heaven..".

After Put You in A Song and I Told You So, keith strolled out slowly strumming his guitar and sang out “Feels good out here tonight Moline. Are you in a singing mood tonight Illinois? Well do it then...” and went into Only You Can Love Me This Way and later added “ And I’d have never had this feeling that I feel playing for you on a Thursday night in Moline.” There was a bit of a special ending, with Keith adding an extra “ Only you, only you, only you can love me this way!” Better Half, added to last night’s setlist right before OYCLMTW, was gone from the setlist today. Perhaps it had been a special request from someone in the meet and greet yesterday.

A live performance of a hit song is not exactly the same as that on the album or single, and that is one of the things we love about concerts. But the little extras or changes in pacing sometimes probably pose difficulties for the guys controlling the accompaniments (lights, videos, etc). I noticed today during Keith’s performance of Without You that, although he started out in synch with the video images, the shots of Sunday Rose appeared before he got to the “along comes a baby girl” line in his singing. But the crew was right on it and after an almost imperceptible pause in the video (while I expect they pressed rewind briefly), those images replayed a second time when Keith did sing that line. Someone was quick on the draw!!

When Keith paused to chat with the audience he commented that there were a lot of signs out there tonight. One in particular caught his eye: “ Is that a bedsheet you cut up? You have to bring that up - that is one of the most original signs I’ve seen.” It was a sheet with 5 holes for faces (for 4 gals, 2 on either side of the center face hole for Keith) cut into it, saying “Without you we can’t get closer.” So he brought them all up on stage and they stretched out the sheet and put their faces in place. Keith joined them in the sign and had them each introduce themselves.The crowd loved this interaction.

As Keith made his way back to the small stage virtually everyone on the floor climbed up on their chairs to watch him and remained on their chairs for the full three songs. It was quite a sight from my riser perch. In Blue Jeans tonight Keith sang the “You don’t need a thing except your negligee” variation. Here is You'll Think of Me.

I suppose every concert has been this way, but tonight in particular I noticed that the show was just a rocket ride - one great song following right on the tail of the previous one, transitions almost instantaneous, everything so carefully timed. And the guitar solos seemed particularly seering, matching the oh-so-hot weather that day. Here is Long Hot Summer. During band introductions I have noticed that the guys have been having fun singing a little back up during Danny Rader's American Girl.

Keith was probably pleased that tonight’s singing competition actually involved Illinois locals (and a little boy who didn’t know where he was from : ) ). The adult male really belted out the song (monotonically : ) and Keith yelled “Dude - you knocked it out of the park!” But naturally the darling liitle boy was the winner and was so cute singing with Keith.

Tonight the right risers were graced with Keith’s visit during You Look Good in My Shirt.

When I was leaving the arena later that night I saw Keith’s security leading the gal who won the guitar out some special doors - maybe to pack up the guitar? Or to allow her to leave the arena by a less crowded route?

When Keith came out on the catwalk with his acoustic guitar for the encore he treated us to a little “ Moline, Moline, Moline, Moline” to the tune of Jolene (too quick for me to catch on camera). During the final Better Life Keith played so vigorously that he broke a string on his guitar and had to fight with the wayward string end to be able to strum the ending on the remaining strings. When the last notes had been played and the final waves given for this excellent evening, I took advantage of my first row riser position and swung my legs over the railing and dropped to the floor (Moline has floor level exits) rather than climbing the stairs with the rest of the riser crowd. I met up with Annie and Lucy and we mosied through the park to our hotel, sharing some of the highlights of a great evening.

Here is a shot of nearly the entire floor audience standing on their chairs when Keith went back to the small stage.