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.

Classic Keith Urban in Cleveland

Just woke up in Cleveland after sweet dreams of last night’s concert at “the Q”. Keith was definitely right on his game and Cleveland was lovin’ him!!  And I am so glad I finally got to see Sugarland after missing them a couple times earlier this tour due to cancellations. It was a terrific night!

But it was an extra special night for even more reasons!  #1 - because I got to share this weekend with my daughter Jen, whom I see far too seldom since she is a grad student at the University of Michigan. Jen was the one who first introduced me to Keith’s music (thank you Jen!). Cleveland is just a few hours from Ann Arbor so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a little roadtrip with her. #2 - it is the last weekend before the new school year starts for me and I love to do something fun to top off the summer. Last year all my girls and I saw the Counting Crows, Sara Bareilles, and Maroon 5. Too bad we couldn’t get everyone together this time. #3 yesterday was my birthday and I can’t hardly think of anything that I would rather do on my birthday than see Keith perform! I actually got a notice from my hospital that my annual CT-scan was scheduled on my birthday (come on now - who wants to spend their birthday drinking yucky things and getting up close and personal with that big donut shaped machine!!??) So I called and told them “No way Jose! I’m going on a KURT!!

Sugarland was a great opener - they had the audience on their feet nearly the whole time and were a lot of fun. I had watched their TV special not long ago and their set last night was quite similar. They have some fun staging elements that add to their performance. I was kind of sorry that they chose not to include “Stay” - I love the way Jennifer sings that. My daughter told me their song “Night Swimming” is actually an old R.E.M. song - I hadn’t realized that.

The lines and crowds out in the lobby during the break were pretty brutal so we just barely made it back to our seats for Keith’s introductory music and the whisking away of the black curtain. We were about 6 rows beyond the end of the catwalk tonight so had a pretty nice view all evening. For some reason security remained pretty tight all night at the Quicken. They stayed in position in each aisle and continued to check tickets and turn back those who tried to move forward (except for those very front rows between the runways). I was a little sorry about that because I thought Jen might enjoy spending some time near the front stage (Mom too!). But we had a blast anyway!

Keith looked quite stunning in black on white plaid last night and dark jeans. Kind of reminded me of his highly favored black button-down shirts in the past, but short sleeved and plaid these days, Although my first shots of him singing Hit the Ground were close-ups of him with those several buttons undone, I had to back off to include his fetching stance, swinging hips and those amazing thighs keeping time with the music (first clip).Oh my! Tonight was a night for some major flippage of those bangs and lots of those sexy little body moves that make it impossible to look away. Keith is so fluid and feline when he moves. Other male country singers seem so stiff compared to him.

In Stupid Boy Keith really stretched out the “Long gone, long gone” so we were kind of holding our breath!(3rd clip) The fiery guitar solo was terrific as usual. He was all smiles and gave some lucky person a nice thumbs up in the middle of Where the Blacktop Ends (see clip). When chatting with the audience Keith mentioned several of the dives or bars where he and the Ranch had played in Cleveland in the early days. He also poked fun at the VIP boxes again tonight although without quite as much flourish as earlier.

Although I had realized that Security was sticking around more than usual before Keith made his move to the small stage, I decided to take Jen back to that location anyway, since this was her first show this tour. We made it back there by a rather circuitous route  to avoid security, but arrived to find that the stage area was surrounded by a rope and one needed a special wristband to enter (perhaps these were “general admission wristbands”?). So Jen and I were turned away but we decided to stay in a more distant position in the aisle outside of the ropes. Keith-mania came to our aid once again - as Keith slowly approached the back of the arena the excited chaos within that general admission area (with many people rushing out to approach Keith) was enough to both totally distract Security and empty some spots near to the small stage and we slipped under the rope in the confusion! Sweet success! So we got a half dozen good clips back there (with the occasional hairy head from the eventual pressing crowd). Look at those smiles and dimples in the second Making Memories segment! He ended Only You Can Love Me with an emotional “You know its true baby!” and a little  more (“My love is true.”?) - see if you can tell the last few words he sings.

We tried again to approach the front stage afterwards but our tickets were checked and we were guided back to our seats. Keith was at his best - both musically and physically in Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me (sorry that heads blocking my view lead to a premature end to my video). Tonight I noticed the video screens were lowered to their horizontal position in WWWBM - is that usually the case?? I’m usually not quick enough to catch some of the little interactions or collaborations between Keith and the guys but I did capture he and Chris R. playing the introduction to Sweet Thing. Don’t you just love the little hand gestures Keith throws into his songs?! I think it may have been during Sweet Thing when Keith accepted a gift of some sort from someone up near the stage. He certainly is a master of inserting those little behaviors or gestures with no apparent break in his performance. The guitar solo in Til Summer Comes Around was just heart-stopping, gut-wrenching - I felt just wrung out by its intensity, Wow!

No song was improvised for Cleveland, but Keith had fun hamming it up with a rhythmic introduction to Raining On Sunday. Just look at the expression on his face! He looks like the cat who ate the canary, delighted with the effect he was having on the audience. And in fact he told us “I love you Cleveland!” before he actually went into the song itself. The ROS guitar solo lent itself to more dramatic flipping of those bangs to add emphasis to what he was fingering out of that guitar.

I was so excited when Keith announced he wanted to bring out Sugarland again so that they could do a little song together. He indicated that they had only had a brief run through before the show, but they harmonized beautifully on the Eagle's tune Seven Bridges Road. What a treat!!

I also loved watching that face and the gradual build up of emotion during You’ll Think of Me. At one point for an instant Keith had a rather Elvis like sneer of that upper lip and gave us another very powerful ending. His music had us going from one emotional extreme to the other all night. In You Look Good in My Shirt he could hardly contain his giggles and interactions with the audience - both his laughing and his moves in that song were oh so sexy. How can he - after nearly two hours hours of vigorous performing - look so damn gorgeous and delighted as he plays out in the risers?? (see clip)

I caught a couple bits of Keith and his fractured mirror guitar in Somebody Like You, but far too soon I got that dreaded flashing message “Memory Card Full” so pardon the withdrawal before the climax! During Keith’s end of the show thank yous he got good participation by his crew tonight with dozens of them showing up on stage at the appropriate moment. During Days Go By Jerry caused a bit of a commotion by heading off stage and wandering a bit among the audience in front while he played (following the lead of the master : )  )

I learned later from hubby that my daughter Sara had actually written to Keith a week or two ago, sending him what she called “a heartfelt plea” that he wish me a happy birthday at this concert. I know Keith doesn’t do that sort of thing but it was so sweet and thoughtful of her to try and make it happen. She certainly knows her mom and what would tickle me!! But it was a wonderful birthday as is - one I will be remembering!! 

A couple longer clips that I've put on YouTube:

Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me

Til Summer Comes Around

Only You Can Love Me This Way

Keith and Sugarland Singing Seven Bridges Road

You'll Think of Me

You'll Think of Me Part 2

Oh My Oh in Ohio

Oh my - there is something darned special about seeing Keith outdoors on a clear sunny day. As wonderful as that big high def screen is in darkened arenas, the daylight really brings out the wonderful colors of Keith. Today he wore a bright white tee with the interesting logo of the Rolling Stones Unicycle Club (?) on the front and Capitol Cycles on the back, a great silver studded belt, and really blue bluejeans. In the sunlight that white shirt really showed off the great tan on those muscled arms and a rosy glow in his cheeks! He obviously has been enjoying some outdoors time. And in the daylight those blue eyes never sparkled brighter – totally mesmerizing! Our man was looking particularly lean and fit and happy to be playing a gig.

Keith came on at 7:45 with little to announce his arrival (no meteors and shooting stars or beat of OIAL as in the tour). Instead he came onto stage and immediately went into Days Go By, with the DGB fan video background (again I felt like there were some news bits in the video).on HIS usual big screen (I was SO happy to see they brought it to the stadium!). I say HIS because Kenny used multiple curved screens of his own (not quite as nice as Keith’s IMHO). The crowd joined right in on the song and Keith got a great response throughout his show even though the stadium crowd was, of course, a more mixed group than the usual Keith concert. Then on to Blacktop with a couple extra “You bet ya’s” thrown in (I always liked that line!) and then Stupid Boy with its great guitar solo (which garnered special cheers and applause). Keith talked a bit about being happy to be part of the show and said that when Kenny called and invited him to play he (Keith) had said “Let me think about it yeah okay” (all in one breath) J The word was that Nicole was present in Cleveland as well although we didn’t get to see her.

Well, shame on Kenny but he still did not allow his friend Keith to use the full catwalk. As with Kenny’s last tour the runway was physically blocked past the first “T” for all the other performers. So Keith did Raining on Sunday a bit closer to the stage than usual because of that limitation. He added in an extra line after “raining on Sunday”, saying that “It’s so much better than ‘raining on Saturday’” (and we had been so glad to see that Friday’s overcast skies had given way to skies as blue as Keith’s eyes by Saturday morning!).. This was followed by a totally rocking I Told You So (no drum corps of course)., a tender MMOU and heartfelt TIWC with the usual bit of playful piano lead-in. Of course all the Keith fans were totally into these songs but the slow songs do not quite have their usual impact on some of the rowdier ‘non-fans’ in a stadium crowd.

I was also a little surprised that no microphones had been provided at the right and left ends of the stage for the performers. This didn’t stop Keith from making his usual use of the stage ends – he just had to drag a microphone from center stage with him each time he journeyed out to the far ends.

Better Life was followed by Keith congratulating Chris M – Chris is getting married tomorrow!! Keith also thanked Dave and Shelly Fry (?) for flying them all back home after the show so that they can be there for the wedding.

YTOM got a great response from the crowd, as did Keith’s classic guitar riffs leading into YLGIMS. No venturing off stage tonight and Kenny was the one who gave a guitar away to a startled young girl later in the night.

Keith paused to remind us all that we are able to come out to enjoy music together because we are free but that freedom comes at a cost, and sent out a special thank you to all those fighting for and protecting that freedom overseas and their families. He finished off his performance with WWWBM and SLY, saying during this last song that “This one is for you Baby Girl!” (I assume he was saying this to Nicole off stage).

The hour and a quarter that Keith played went by far too fast (especially after being spoiled by those long tour shows), but even Kenny only played an hour and a half – I guess that is the price of a multi-performer concert.

With the exception of the catwalk situation I was pleasantly surprised by my stadium experience. I thought the sound was great and the big screens plus side screens provided a much better view than all the outdoor concerts I have been to in the past. For some reason I had missed any mention of Gary Allen appearing at this venue so was very pleased when he opened the show (not counting the couple songs by a local band that won Kenny’s “New Big Star” contest in this area). And another unexpected treat was Jennifer Nettles showing up during Kenny’s set and singing us “Stay” and also joining in with Kenny during his “Anything But Mine” towards the end of the show. Kenny’s set was fun but left me more convinced than ever that Keith is the EOTY!

PS Another special treat was getting to meet rum tum tugger at the show!