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My journey from Knoxville to Augusta was one of ups and downs both literally and figuratively. I got a bit a of late start since I somehow had reserved my rental car for a noon pickup rather than an earlier hour. I gave my GPS my destination and let it pick my route. The day was sunny and the drive was so beautiful that I was singing to myself:
Oh the sun is shining
And this road keeps winding
Through the prettiest country
Tennessee to Georgia.... (doesn’t have quite the same ring to it)
And then I added, as Keith would:
And all the way through the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina!
(my GPS chose and eastern route rather than going to Atlanta before Augusta)
Loved driving up and down those pretty mountain roads! I had consulted Roadfood looking for somewhere in Asheville, NC for lunch. The spot I picked must cater to office folk because I discovered it was not open on weekends. SoI tried another address in a very hopping collegiate neighborhood but it was so busy I couldn’t find a place to park. I gave up and no sooner had re-set the GPS for Augusta than someone pulled out of a parking spot. I pulled in, and saw that it was in front of the Bouchon Creperie. So I had yummy crepes for lunch in a shaded brick paved courtyard - quite lovely. Thunder began rumbling as I paid my bill and by the time I left Asheville there was a veritable monsoon. It rained so hard that there was nearly zero visibility and the highway was flooded with rainwater. I and many other cars and trucks pulled off on the shoulder to wait out the storm. The gusty wind buffeted my little rental and pelted it with leafy debris and I began to wonder if this was tornado country! A little scary but it eventually stopped and I made my way to Augusta but a little later than planned. I considered venturing into the "Georgia Woods" that lined the road much of the last hour of my drive but the only place where those Georgia pines actually looked inviting were in the woods that bordered golf courses where they had trimmed off the lowest 10 feet of branches! Now if Keith were in those woods it would be a different story!
Unbeknownst to me there was one more challenge during my journey. When my GPS guided me to my hotel address I was sitting in front of a vacant lot in a rundown industrial area!! Where was my hotel?? I double checked the address, then dug out the phone number for the hotel and was told “This number is no longer in service.” Was I homeless in Augusta? I hadn’t written down the arena name and address so I couldn’t even drive there at the moment. I found the complaint number for the online hotel reservation service I use. They said they would research the problem. They called me back in a few moments and had no explanation for the hotel address problem, but gave me a different phone number and told me the hotel was located by Red Lobster, which I did remember passing. So just about an hour before show time I found the missing motel - a rather seedy place that I might not choose again - but better than being homeless!!
My Christmas presale ticket once again was an excellent center section seat in what was effectively the 3rd row. The James Brown Arena is a small arena - in fact I chose this show in part because it may be the lowest capacity arena of the tour. Although it is smaller in depth, it does have some pretty steep and high risers (more about them later). As I awaited the show I was so pleased when monkey SueAnn came over to introduce herself, followed by Mickey a few minutes later. I’m sure we have seen each other at earlier shows, but we had never met.
One thing about the James Brown Arena (and several other arenas this tour) that irked me is how uptight they are about using the elevator to get to the floor if you are not in a wheelchair or on crutches. I had looked at the arena stairs first, but half the descent had no railing to hold onto. With my funky bad knee which gives out unpredictably I am deathly afraid of long stairways if I can’t hang onto a railing. The stairway security guy actually took me to the elevator but once it traveled down to the floor level, the security guy there was absolutely uncompromising even after I explained my knee situation. His stance was “No wheelchair, no crutches --- no entry via the elevator.” (I had a similar experience in Cincy). I asked if there was a manager I could speak to and luckily just then she arrived. Happily she said “Sure- no problem.” Sheesh - not everyone who struggles with stairs or has some physical disability that causes them problems uses equipment. Do I have to carry a crutch for show??
Jake was looking cute as ever in a black shirt tonight. He is garnering more fans all the time, so there are more “Jake” signs out in the audience and more clamoring for his attention during his set. Last night he received two gifts: One gal gave him a teeshirt which he read and laughed at, but I couldn’t see what it said. Then a bit later in the show someone threw Jake a large, long, brightly colored stuffed snake. He was certainly surprised by this weird offering and wore it around his neck for a bit, commenting that it was probably near the top of the list of “weird things fans threw on the stage - right after ‘a prosthetic leg’!”
In the last few shows Jake has referred to his new album song “Alone With You” as ‘a booty song’. (I take it to mean a song about drunk girls making booty calls to him.) He mentioned that if we pre-ordered his album (to be released August 29), we would get “Alone With You” this week. (He must have an Itunes deal similar to those that Keith had.)
Whereas both Jake and Keith had commented that the Knoxville crowd was on the quiet side (“And its freaking me out a bit” Keith continued), that was definitely not the case in Augusta!! The crowd was definitely loud and supportive all night long including some of the loudest cheers and other indications of wonder at Keith’s seering guitar solos (here is the end of Raining on Sunday (with Brian doing a bit of a spin in the background) and Stupid Boy)that I have heard. Keith was loving it and expressed his gratitude to the audience at the end of the night.
Another indicator of how “into it” Augusta was was the very large number of signs present. Keith read or acknowledged quite a few during his first conversation with the audience. I personally was a bit dismayed by the many large signs in the front floor area because I too had brought a sign (but a rather puny half-poster size one) saying “This is my 100th Keith Urban concert!! Can I Get Closer?” but it was totally blocked by the larger signs in front of me. Oh well. Actually Cincy was my 100th but I forgot my sign in the hotel that night. The “winning” sign tonight was one by a bride-to-be saying that she was having her bachelorette party there at the concert. Keith brought her up on stage and chatted with her a few minutes. She said “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to meet you!!” and Keith quipped “Well apparently you’ve
Keith is having a bit of fun with a spotlight at this week’s shows, saying he wants to get a better look at the people sitting way up high and then proceeding to pick up this huge spotlight and shine it on each area of the upper risers in turn. It is a cute way to show that he is thinking about the fans no matter how far away they are sitting.
Keith stuck with the setlist he has used the last few shows which includes Raining on Sunday centerstage, I Told You So over on the right platform and You're Gonna Fly from centerstage.
I was a bit surprised by the choice of contestants for the Augusta Kiss-a-Girl Sing-off. There were 2 young people in the 2nd row in front of me- a darling 9 year old girl with long,long brown hair who said she had been practicing the song with her dad, and a somewhat older boy (maybe 12?) who was dying to be chosen. Both were with parents who were obviously invested in having their son or daughter chosen, so they came with multiple posters each to hold up during the show (“My daughter’s first ever concert....” and “Making memories with my son....”) The girl and her dad were up by the stage all night, so must have been visible and the young guy stood on his chair and waved his poster when it was KAG time. Perhaps it was just that that resulted in them not being picked. Maybe Keith prefers the more spontaneous, not planned or prepared for participations. For whatever reason these cute youngsters, who I had thought would be a shoe-in, were not selected and 3 adults were. Tonight Keith decided that there was a tie between the 2 female contestants, one of whom had ended her song with “I wanna kiss a boy” and the other with “I wanna kiss Keith Urban!”
We were again treated to some fancy finger work on the acoustic guitar before Keith went into Without You. When it was time for Keith's trip to the small stage it seemed Augusta was more than ready. Although I have been lucky in the past following right behind Keith and his bodyguard, there was just a swarm of fast moving fans trying to follow Keith here. So I ducked into one of the rows of seats leading up to the small stage to try to get out of the mad rush and still have a bit of a view of the small stage. I guess I ducked too fast, however, and caught a toe on one of the chair legs and down I went!! Luckily a nice young guy caught my right arm so I only hit the floor with one knee (ouch!) rather than both. I'm still balck and blue : ( I had to peek through heads to see the small stage songs, but had a better view once the stage ascended for You'll Think of Me.
The “snake” person had apparently brought TWO stuffed snakes to the show to give to the performers. Unfortunately that person chose to fling the snake at Keith when he was on the catwalk in the midst of playing a song (a little disruptive) so Keith kind of ducked and snuck in a reference to the movie “Snakes in a Plane” between the lyrics of his song.
Amazingly at the end of the typically strenuous show Keith actually climbed up into the UPPER risers toward the rear of the stadium for You Look Good in My Shirt. I can hardly imagine how shocked and pleased the fans up there must have been!!
Brian and Danny had to play quite a while as Keith made the long congested trip back to stage.
We had two special treats during the encore. First Keith and Jake sang Jack and Diane, with Jake more confidently involved than in Indiana. Then Keith gave us a bit of Blister in the Sun - with his acoustic guitar now rather than the piano accompaniment that he did two tours ago. He still did the usual Tonight I Wanna Cry and Better Life as well.
I’ve forgot to mention that Brian obviously has been practicing the “backbend move” and is getting pretty good (although not bending as low as experienced Keith of course). So at many shows including Augusta they (Brian and Keith) end the night, face to face, doing a dual backbend.
I managed to get one of Jerry’s picks tonight. I was close enough that I was hoping I might have a chance at one of Keith’s wristbands, but he must have gotten distracted this evening because he did not toss them out before leaving the stage. But it was an extra fine night that will keep Georgia on my mind for quite a while!
