Lady A in Moline

Although I haven't kept up with all of their new music, I enjoyed seeing Lady Antebellum when they opened for Keith Urban and, a bit later, for Tim McGraw. So when they began their own tour I kept an eye out for a show I could make it to. When I saw that they would be coming to Moline, IL I decided that was the show for me, even though it was on a not-so-convenient Thursday night.

I bought a ticket early in the year and waited for the April date to arrive.

It was a happy coincidence when, without talking to me, my oldest daughter Jen scheduled a visit home from Rhode Island for Easter and booked the cheapest flight to Iowa that she could find - landing in Moline that very Thursday night!! When she sent me the flight info, she asked if she should rent a car for the 2.5 hours drive to Cedar Falls (since she'd arrive when Mom and Dad would be working). "No way!" I responded. "I can not only pick you up, but I'll take you to a concert before we head home if you like!" She liked and in fact invited one of her best buddies in the Quad City area who has gone to other concerts with us. I checked Ticketmaster and told Jen that it looked like only upper level seats were available at this late date, but we didn't worry too much because the Moline arena isn't that big.

And then another fortuitous bit of luck. When we firmed up our plans and I returned to Ticketmaster to purchase more tickets, suddenly Ticketmaster gave me seats in the 8th row of the lower risers mid-arena! How could this be, just days before the show?? I immediately tried to complete the purchase. But- gosh darn it - got an error message : (.

Tried again, got the same 3 seats, tried to complete the sale and Error! again!! I repeated the process a third time with the same result. Finally I decided to try to change my parameters - switching from "Ticketfast" to Will Call and (to appease the ticketmaster "gods"), added the optional $15 to join the fan club. And YES!! this time it worked, for whatever reason, so we got our 8th row seats!! Since I paid the fan club fee I decided to check the fan club site for a possible meet and greet sign up although I was pretty sure that, since the show was just a couple days away, the meet and greet sign-up had probably already taken place. The fan club site still allowed me to click on the Moline date, so I went ahead and signed up = what the heck.

Well my good luck charm was still working. About a day later I got an email saying I had won a meet and greet with Lady A!!

I couldn't head out to pick up Jen from the Moline airport until I finished teaching that day, so told Jen she would probably be stuck there for a while. She said no problem - she had her computer and was working diligently on a grant application so I could take my time. As it happens, her friend Sarah was available first, so Sarah collected Jen and they had time to catch up for a while before I got to town. Since I no longer had to rush to the airport I made a brief detour on my way to Moline to have a nice lunch with my youngest daughter Annie in Iowa City (which is right on the way). Tried to talk her into joining us in Moline but she was a stressed out grad student and felt she had to decline.

I met up with Jen and Sarah and we had a beer together at the Bent River Brewery, but then I had to head to the arena early for the meet and greet. There was a bit of complication because the box office had no meet and greet envelope for me. But I had brought along my email from the fan club and Lady A's staff member came up from the bowels of the arena to hand deliver the missing M & G wristband. I stood in line with many others for quite a while and then they finally took us back to the meet and greet room. There was no attempt to create a special atmosphere like Keith does at his backstage sessions. Instead there were just 3 stools in front of a GAC backdrop and several rows of chairs forming a semicircle (with a center aisle) in front of the stools. There were about 80 of us in attendance and I scored a seat in the second row.

A Lady A staff member told us the rules (no camera, no autographs) and briefed us on what would happen during the M & G. She then kind of preemptively answered the most frequent 'routine' questions asked at M & Gs to encourage us to come up with more unique questions.

Well that might have discouraged the fans from asking questions - when Lady A came out and opened it up for questions, initially there was silence and no hands were raised. So I raised my hand and asked if they would share a funny story from touring. (No, much as I would have liked to, I did not ask them for a "touring with Keith Urban" story!) Hillary talked about a time that they used a lift to carry them from beneath the stage up to stage level to make their grand entrance at the start of the show and the lift got stuck so that only her head was above stage level and Charles had to drag her out from the lift pit. Funnier than that, however, was the song they performed for us at the meet and greet. At the start of the M & G Lady A had told the couple little kids in the audience that they could come up front and sit on the floor if they wanted to. At least one was a very excited, perhaps 4 year old fan. When it came time for their song Hillary asked that little guy which song he wanted and he chose "Just a Kiss". But then he asked if he could come up and sit with them during the song (they said yes and got him an extra stool!). And he sang along with them and was just as cute as could be!

After the song each of us in the audience got to meet and have our photo taken alone with Lady A!! I was pretty pleased! But lordy I had never thought of myself as being particularly short (5' 7" most of my life, maybe 5' 6" now that I am older) until I met that group up close. Gosh it felt like Charles was 7 feet tall and even Hillary towered over me. In my photo it looks like I must be standing in a hole!!

By the time I got out to the arena I had missed a bit of Thompson Square's opening act, but I was there for all of Darius Rucker's set and thoroughly enjoyed all the hits I was familiar with. I must admit that some of his new songs that I did not know all sounded very much the same to me, but Darius does have an engaging stage presence.

BTW I was happy to see that Lady A's stage set up included a catwalk that extended to mid-arena (right in front of our seats). The stage itself was a bit odd - kind of donut shaped with the rear half of the donut consisting of right and left curved stairways for the artists to descend dramatically, while the front half of the donut was the curved front of the stage. The "hole" in the center of this donut stage was a VIP fan area called The Inner Circle. This Circle probably allowed an up close view when the performers were actually on the stage, but probably had a rather poor view anytime the performers went out on the length of the catwalk.

Usually it seems that the headlining group has the best quality sound at shows, but I was not impressed with the sound Lady A's sound techs created. While the group sounded great on their big songs like Run to You and Need You Now, on more rocking songs where the band has a bigger presence, Hillary's voice did not project well and the lyrics got totally lost. In fact when they opened the show with the lead track of their new album, I didn't even recognize it for several moments (even though that is one of the tracks I play over and over in my car). Here is American Honey and Run to You (sorry about the noisy women sitting behind me who should have stayed out in the concourse since they paid no attention to the performers).

I was happy that Thompson Square and Darius got to come out for a group song towards the end of the show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az1mGpGbLsQ

Jen, Sarah and I spentt the night in Moline at the quaint Stoney Creek Inn, had a quick breakfast in the morning, then Sarah went off to her newspaper job and Jen and I headed home to Cedar Falls so I could get to my Friday classes. It was great to have some concert buddies to share a fun evening with and to start off a welcome weekend visit from Jen, who lives way to far away!

Urban Journey #1 for 2010: The Houston Rodeo

It has been 118 days since I last saw Keith perform live at Joe’s Bar in Chicago. That may not sound like a long time to most people but it has seemed like an eternity to me! Although the hour long shows and far away stage at the Houston Rodeo don’t make it an ideal venue, desperate Keith addicts jonesin’ for a fix are traveling from far and wide to this first official stop on Mr. Urban’s 2010 ‘festival tour’. Since the date coincided nicely again with my spring break, I decided to make my second annual pilgrimage to Texas (too bad there is no special Dallas House-of- Blues appearance this year).

When the Houston tickets first went on sale - no presale this year so I knew I was up against the general public - I was over-anxious and ended up buying 3 different tickets when I only needed one. Me and my bad Ticketmaster habits! But I was able to re-sell my extras - one to a New Jersey gal (as I mentioned we travel from all over to see KU) and the other to a Houstonite (funny that he had to buy a ticket from me in Iowa!).

I’m arriving a day early to be safe and will see Lady Antebellum tonight. I had a bit of concern that I might not make it to their show when my airline called at 9:00 pm last night and said my flight had been canceled. At first they suggested I drive to Cedar Rapids at 4 am to take a crack of dawn alternative flight. I was not thrilled with that prospect and asked if they would pay for a Cedar Rapids hotel that evening so I wouldn’t be on the road at 4:00. They called back and instead put me in a first-class seat at 11 am - alright!!! Cocktails and wine and a very good Turkey Caprese sandwich with fresh basil pesto mayo on ciabatta bread - guess I’ll forgive them for canceling my original flight : )

I am bubbling with curiosity about Keith’s performance. Who will he have with him? Will there be replacements for both C-Rod and Brad? Or might this have been a show that was handy or perhaps arranged before contract negotiations? What songs will Keith choose for the limited time the Rodeo allows him? Will he still include “Shirt” and make a jaunt around the arena? Will Nic and Sunday be there to take in the Livestock Show and carnival rides? 

_________

Well, it is now 12 hours later and I am back from my first night at the Rodeo. It is quite a zoo here in the stadium area. Got caught in some terrible traffic coming in from the airport. My hotel is within eyesight of the Reliant Stadium but I had to have my shuttle driver drop me at the restaurant on the corner because the streets were so congested!

They said a little over 64,000 were in attendance at tonight’s show and I think all of them are driving down the road in front of my hotel! Good thing I was hoofing it - it was a lovely evening for walking -  still close to 65 -70 degrees.

To me it seemed the Reliant stage had been improved or enlarged to include short catwalks on all 4 sides, and that the video screens looked very high definition. Sadly the sound is still “stadium sound” - not the best for us or the performers, who can’t hear much from the audience. Lady Antebellum put on a good show. They all looked good and happy. Hillary was in skin tight black jeans and an interesting black strapless top. Charles is definitely a cutie. As performers they are at a bit of a disadvantage being so new - only their hits elicit much response from an already pretty laid back rodeo crowd. I hope it won’t be an audience of quiet ‘sitters’ tomorrow!!! I am ready to sing and dance and whoop it up so Keith knows we’re there!

Houston Rodeo!!

En route to the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show to see Lady Antebellum tonight and Keith Urban tomorrow evening. Maybe I'll cross paths with Keith in the Houston airport? I'd be ever so happy to share a ride into town.

Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw Amaze Madison

I had been too long without a concert and had no hope of satisfying my KU cravings until March. When hubby was going to be gone for a weekend I decided to take a roadtrip for another combo of artists I enjoy - Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw.  I joined Lady A’s relatively inexpensive fan club in hopes of getting a better seat and bought one for the Madison, WI show. Strange thing about the Lady A presale (don’t know if this was also the case for those in the McGraw fan club)- presale tickets were offered with NO seating info! You had to order a ticket sight unseen and did not know its location until you picked it up at will call the day of the show! I hoped that what I had heard from others about the newer artists often offering good seats was true and went ahead with the purchase. The folks sitting next to me had bought their tickets in the McGraw pre-sale, so it appeared the Lady A and McGraw fan seats were intermingled.

The drive to Madison is a pretty one - winding four-lane cut through Wisconsin’s rocky (sandstone?) hills and the afternoon was bright and sunny. I couldn’t leave town until after my last class of the week, so my timing was a bit tight. I checked into my hotel and walked the half mile to the Alliant, freezing my ears because I left behind my hat. I accidentally managed to briefly “attend” the Tim McGraw backstage experience. Well, actually, I was on the wrong side of the mere curtain that screened off the event and was just 10 feet from Tim singing “Don’t Take the Girl” to his fans. Then I headed into the arena and they turned out the arena lights for the opening act just as I reached my seat. 

The Alliant Energy Center (or what used to be the Coliseum) in Madison is one of those round space-ship looking arenas - medium sized, with very shallow rise lower riser seats (almost like elevated floor seats). My will call ticket was a decent floor seat in row G of the rear floor seats. Too far and too many heads for a good view of the stage but not too far from the end of catwalk that Tim and Lady A used some of the time.

The opening act was the Lost Trailers, a band I had seen once or twice before. Not too much of their own music grabs me (partly because it is unfamiliar but also a bit twangy for my tastes), but I do enjoy their covers. This time they chose to sing my favorite Jason Mraz song “I’m Yours” and that was really fun.

Lady Antebellum had a fun prelude to their appearance on the stage. The video screens showed someone doing a Google search of “lady” and brief flashes of other “lady” related entertainers (Lady Gaga, Lionel Richie’s Lady, Styx’s Lady, Tom Jones singing She’s a Lady, etc.) before finally finding Lady Antebellum. The members of Lady Antebellum looked and sounded great. They began with “Stars Tonight” from their new album, with its concert appropriate lyrics “everybody’s singing, everybody’s screamin’. A good song, but since their album is so new I’m afraid there weren’t too many singing during that or the other new tracks they performed (besides Need You Now), but I guess that is part of the point of touring. They got a great response to all their better known songs and the crowd was on their feet throughout. They also totally rocked the audience with a terrific cover of R-O-C-K in the USA. I do wish that they would chat a little or tell a story or two to let us know them a bit. Charles did mention that they had a special guest in the audience - Bob Seeger. Hillary and Charles (what a cutie) also managed to slap quite a few hands while performing (although nothing like the number of fans that McGraw later made contact with!!). Lady A is still performing without any special staging or effects, other than moving out a piano for a couple songs. Hilliary and Charles did begin Need You Now standing on opposite ends of the crosswalk that ran from the left risers to the right risers (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CECpC4TWi48 )

 and then joined midway at the climax of the song - that was nice. They closed their set with “Run to You” during which Hillary accepted a cowboy hat from a fan. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Q5Hd41rug  Too bad the brilliant lights on them wash out the videos something awful.

A heavy canvas curtain had kept most of the stage hidden during the first two acts. During Tim’s opening they projected his enlarged shadow, with his distinctive cowboy stance and hat, on the curtain, eliciting screams even before the curtain dropped. He riled up all the ladies in the crowd by starting out with a provocative rendition of “I may be a real bad boy, but baby I’m a real good man.” I’d have to say, though, that there was much closer to an even distribution of males and females in this audience than I am used to, as well as more older couples, so the screams weren’t deafening: ) As he walked forward from the rear of the stage I thought Tim was wearing a leopard-spotted  black on white shirt, but once he came out on the catwalk I could see it was more of a multi-color seventies style shirt with flowers and stars among those spots. I must say that at first, from stage, he hardly looked like the Tim I expected. He has a pretty heavy dark beard (maybe for the film he is working on?) which really changes his appearance, especially from a distance. (I personally will be glad when the beard goes away).

Tim has an exceptionally wide, unbroken video screen this year, with a top edge that sort of stair-stepped down towards either side. Something about the screen gave it a bit of an “infinity” feel to it, like I was really looking off at the horizon. There was a catwalk that came out nearly to the center of the arena, as well as a crosswalk that paralleled the stage that allowed the performers to walk towards the risers on either side.

Tim’s second song was 1-2-3 - Like a Bird I Sing. I don’t know if his staff had scoped out the audience ahead of time, or if they had guests near the catwalk, but just a couple lines into this song Tim leans down and scoops up a tiny girl in pigtails and a pink cowboy hat from the audience who, not only seemed unruffled by this, but also vigorously sang along with him as he crouched beside her. See my brief YouTube clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVamD8hldUo

Tim then sang many favorites (Where the Green Grass Grows, Let It Go, She’s My Kind of Rain, I Like It, Back When, BBQ Tee-shirt, Just to See You Smile to mention a few. A couple times during the show Tim would sit at the end of one of the walks with his legs dangling down among his rapturous fans. He signed lots of autographs while performing  (wonder what they actually look like when he is on the move like that!). About midway in his set he brought out a stool and his guitar and a tall narrow fluttering curtain was lowered behind him. That flimsy moving curtain became kind of a translucent video screen projecting a huge somewhat ghostly image of Tim playing his guitar. See my clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rmqLRUE6Xg

Tim did tell us a few fun stories. His first solo acoustic number from his stool he said was the first song he learned to play on the guitar. He went on to say he had gone to a pawn shop and traded his high school ring for a used guitar “ so I could get laid.” LOL “And it worked1” LMAO “For a while anyway.” He also talked about performing for twenty years, claiming 20 years ago he was in 7th grade (see clip at my blog) - LOL. After that he then brought out the Warren Brothers to accompany him on several songs. They cracked the audience up by immediately beginning to sing the chorus from Taylor Swift’s “Tim McGraw”. Then one of them said that Tim had paid them to write that song for Taylor (LOL).  Once they got serious, Tim and they did a beautiful rendition of the Warren Brother song “Blank Sheet of Paper”. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inb6GOS2Lls

I was totally surprised later when Tim began singing Elton John’s Tiny Dancer!! See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-qK3AVBm9A  I learned later that is not something new, but it was new and unexpected for me, a latecomer to country music. Then more favorites, finally closing with one of my favorites, the inspirational “Live Like You Were Dying” (just what I am trying to do). Tim, by that point, looked cutely casual with one of his shirttails sticking out  instead of his usually carefully tucked appearance. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjSWKNe6jys  It was a great evening and temporarily eased my concert yearnings.

Postscript: I could see my hotel in the distance when I left the arena. I and many others angled across the parking lot in that direction, only to find ourselves nowhere near a cleared exit or path. So, rather than backtracking, I chose hiking across a snowy field and over a mountain of plowed snow to reach the street ---COLD piggies for sure since I had no boots!

Tim talks a little (below) and sits among fans (next after that):

Crossing Borders for Keith Urban: Terrific Toronto!

I was as excited and giddy as usual about the prospect of seeing Keith in Toronto, but also felt a bit of heartache that this would be my last show for who knows how long. I nearly had a heart attack when my first flight was slow getting into its gate and I almost missed my connection to Toronto. As I ran down the long terminal hallway at Chicago’s O’Hare, I heard them announcing over the loud speakers “Would passenger Walsh please board immediately at gate B22”. “I’m coming!!” I screamed even though I’m sure the gate personnel could not hear me.

Big city Toronto is a paradox in many ways. First - no jet-bridges for either my arriving or departing flights (what a pain dragging my suitcase down that little ladder of steps from the plane and then up two flights of stairs into the terminal!) but then my bus downtown was equipped with free high speed internet and an electric plug at every seat! Downtown skyscrapers sit in pretty close approximation to little neighborhoods where the French and English of Canada intermingle with almost ever other language imaginable.

The weather was chilly and rainy when I arrived, with low hanging clouds hiding the tops of some of the tall buildings. It didn’t look like I’d be able to admire the views from the CNN tower this weekend! I had picked my hotel for its proximity to the Air Canada Centre without really realizing what a famous and formidable bastion it was - the Fairmont Royal York takes up most of a square block. I certainly hadn’t realized that it actually connected to the ACC via underground tunnels through Union Station - which turned out to be really convenient! It was still raining Saturday night but I didn’t even have to wear a coat to go through the tunnels. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Friday night I chose the cozy environs of the hotel over venturing out in the inclement weather. The Fairmont has a bar in which many tables look out into its very busy lobby and who knows what famous couple may wander through that lobby! So first I settled there and treated myself to one of their “award-winning” cocktails. And they deserved their awards for the artistry and subtlety of their mixologist’s hand! I tried a “Pear-Cinnamon Sour” which tasted just like the essence of a juicy fresh pear with a pleasing bit of tartness, served in a martini glass topped with a cinnamon-y foam and a thin full cross-section of a Bosc pear set on its rim. Yum! It was so good and so pretty that I had to try another of their “epic” (as they call them) drinks. Being a chile lover I chose a “Mandarin Sting” made with fresh squeezed Mandarin orange juice and “hand-crushed” serrano chile. Might sound scary but it was just wonderful, with the serrano giving it a fresh, fragrant, green, herby-more- than- hot tinge to the orange juice that was so seductive. The drink was topped with a thin slice of chile this time. Good thing they gave me a great bowl of bar munchies that kept me from getting too silly. I just had a pleasant glow when I went down to the hotel’s lower level to Benihana’s. I had been to the big grill tables of Benihanas elsewhere but never realized they had a sushi bar. So forget about the grill tables - I was going for sushi, one of my food loves. Here too the chefs were truly artists as they constructed the most beautiful plates, first of 5 kinds of sashimi and then a maki roll which looked like a Chinese dragon with scales of thinly sliced avocado. Even my wasabi was pretty, garnished with the tiniest little 3/8 inch marigold.

I complemented the sushi chef and he beamed and bowed.

Saturday weather was still drippy so I took the subway (which also can be accessed from the Fairmont without going outside!) two stops down to a big mall called Eaton Centre. Browsed all the levels (bought a couple Godiva chocolates : ) and, when the rain paused, took a walk through the very international surrounding neighborhood, and had some Chinese for lunch. My fortune cookie predicted “Good fortune will come your way today,” and I hoped it was right.

Almost show time! I was too excited to be really hungry but grabbed a cup of seafood chowder in the hotel since I didn’t know what would be open after the concert. Then I followed other concert goers through the underground shopping area, food court and Union Station until I saw the entrance to the ACC. I made it to my 10th row Seat 1 with just enough time to meet the woman who had sold me her extra ticket and chat with her family a bit. We enjoyed Lady Antebellum (I must say that although I like their own songs, I really love their performance of Mellencamp’s Hurt So Good because it really gets the crowd going). I dashed to the bathroom as they finished their set because I was hoping that during the break there might be the opportunity to move up to the stage or catwalk from row 10. Well, it didn’t happen during the break. Security seemed quite tight on my left hand aisle and there seemed to be something extra going on at this venue. Several of Keith’s top managers whom you never see out front, came down my aisle escorting quite a few gents in suits up to the stage area for a while.( Happily they did not stay ‘cause they didn’t look like a fun crowd; ) Also it seemed Keith’s crew were intentionally keeping the area by the left-hand ramp clear of standers, maybe because they had a cameraman set up in the first set of stairs of the left risers. I think they were doing some special filming all evening, including capturing some shots of Keith coming out on the catwalk for Hit the Ground at the start of the show. They also did a lot more audience shots last night. Could they be making up a special video to send out before the CMA awards? Didn’t they do that last time?

So I watched Hit the Ground from the 10th row (look at the 2nd clip catch the crazy thigh action at the very end). But then, to my surprise, once they got the shots they wanted during HTG, the crew actually came down my aisle and INVITED us to now come up to the ramp area!! So I did! And since no one had been allowed to populate that spot earlier, I scored a primo location right on the ramp edge! I was so tickled! Great views and Keith passed in front of me on that ramp no fewer than four times!

Each one of the guys came down on that runway at least once and Brad and Brian came shooting past, sliding to ramp’s bottom during Sweet Thing. Jerry and Brad also strolled down the ramp and out into the audience during the Better Life. Good fortune had indeed come my way.

Keith leapt into Days Go By with a huge shout-out “TORONTO!! Here we go!” Stupid Boy was just stunning and I enjoyed seeing Keith, as he bowed low and breathed out a big “whew” following that seering solo, followed it (while still bent over) with a big grin at the roar of approval from the audience. When he chatted with the audience afterwards he did his playful bows and kowtowing to those in the VIP boxes. During Blacktop he made his first trip onto my ramp almost paralyzing me with the dilemma of what to do! Take a photo? Just smile and greet him? Reach out and “greet him”? Well, the last impulse won out but boy he was on the move. So somehow what began as a reach to pat his arm didn’t get there in time so turned into running my hand down the back of his leg as he passed! :0

Better half signaled that Keith would be going to the satellite stage, but no way could I leave my position tonight. But I caught some good shots of the other guys, and a few of Keith on the big screens. Keith was very impressed with Toronto’s singing and told everyone they sounded beautiful after Making Memories. He also talked a little about it being the last show in Canada and how Canada has always made them feel so welcome. He concluded with “Whatever is in the water up here is working - so keep drinking it!” He added a bit of a special ending to Only You Can Love Me, taking his oh-ooo’s way up into the falsetto range. When he returned to the main stage I knew he’d be heading up my ramp again, so this time pledged to have my camera ready. I tried my best but he was was still too fast for me to catch him going by, so I ended up with a shot of him already up on stage. Foiled again : )

Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me was great although I do miss a little some of the playful interaction with band members that used to occur during that song. But that song triggers some of the very best of Keith’s moves, doesn’t it? Sweet Thing got a great crowd response and gosh, was that Keith looking over his shoulder at me again? (I can only hope) (I need a shirt that says “ Yes -it’s me AGAIN!”). Til Summer Comes Around was beautiful, but if you watch Keith closely (how can you not?) he must have been enjoying the audience because he keeps smiling during this song about heartbreak!

Tonight’s prelude to Raining on Sunday was some really pretty picking with Flamenco-like guitar flourishes - so nice! But perhaps after Til Summer Comes Around Keith had unconsciously run his hand through his hair as he sometimes does when he is warm, so for ROS he had a bit of a “bed head” - something you don’t see too often (see clip). The guys were on stage behind Keith accompanying him during the ROS closing and I just had to film them because they looked so good (see clip).

I tried to limit my videoclips because I didn’t know whether Lady A or Keith would be doing something special for their last Canadian show. Keith did bring Hilary out for his tennis ball antics. He was in green sweatband and wristbands tonight, Hilary in red. Her swings were a bit wimpy (and later in the evening she apologized to Keith “I hope I didn’t ruin your tennis game.” ; ) If you’re interested, here is a link to the lyrics of the rather naughty tennis song they have been playing during these little tennis interludes:

http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/cityofangels/thetennissong.htm

A couple extra tributes to Canadian musicians added to tonight’s show. First Brian came out with his baby blue guitar and did a new solo following his introduction - Bryan Adams’ Run to You. And then Keith chose to precede Tonight I Wanna Cry with the chorus from Gordon Lightfoot’s Sundown (I used to listen to Gordon for hours on end!).

When Keith brought Lady A out again to sing Seven Bridges Road with him I thought it was cute that Hilary was still wearing her red tennis wristband. She is probably just like any of us might be if we caught one of Keith’s wristbands at the show! She may still be wearing it right now! : )

We got to hear a little of Keith’s deep “Elvis” voice during I Told You So, when he sang “Just come on home Priscilla” like the King. In You’ll Think of Me, Keith began the emotional build up by slipping in “I’m gonna bet ya (that you’ll think of me), then he let out a bitter, sneering “And all your pathetic reasons” before he got to his impassioned “I hope when you see my face it gives you hell, it gives you hell!”

I was chanting to myself “Come down this ramp, come down this ramp” as Keith was playing his light-up guitar before You Look Good in My Shirt. Hurray - he did! But once again that man was too fast for me and my camera. I almost missed him on his trip back as well but not quite : ) - got a little “Vitamin K” to tide me over!

I caught 3 picks from my runway spot - none from KU but fun just the same (although the friendly security guard next to me probably thought I was going to hurt myself diving for those little things each time they were tossed out!).

I must compliment the audience - when I replayed them singing Tonight I Wanna Cry with Keith they truly sounded like a sweet professional choir! Maybe some of you have heard of the Morman Tabernacle Choir? Well this was the Urban Tabernacle Choir and Keith’s “tabernacle” is any arena in which he plays - his “choir” automatically shows up!

Keith was sweet and gracious at the end of the show as usual. “Good God Ontario! What an amazing, amazing night! Tonight was off the hook! We had the best time playing for you guys!” and “As I mentioned this is our last show in your incredible, incredible country and you have been unbelievably good to us.” After thank yous he closed with “Be good to yourself, believe in yourself! Everything that you need is right inside you!”

Physically exhausted after standing by the ramp for two hours I collapsed back in my tenth row seat for a few moments before tackling the walk back to the hotel and was joined by several friends from the boards who were similarly pooped. Too bad we didn’t find each other earlier in the evening! We had barely sat down when security shooed us out so they could fold up the chairs! Mercy! Us ladies need to recover a bit after spending the evening with Keith!

I was surprised to find that the underground tunnels between the arena and hotel were filled with enterprising young people selling various Keith Urban souvenirs, probably without permission. Shirts, pictures, posters - all a bit different from the offerings of the official merchandise booth. I confess I bought a shirt and a 10 X 12 print - it had been such a glorious night!

My fancy hotel bar was still open, so I stopped for dessert and a nightcap while I replayed the show in my mind. Chai-scented creme brulee (yum) and a tropical drink tasting of passionfruit called Lychee Love garnished with a Lychee on the thinnest of bamboo “picks” which was twisted into a decorative knot at one end. Seemed a fitting ending to an evening of musical passion and love.

Postscript: In the morning I headed to the airport. Luckily I went 2 hours early as they recommend for international flights, because there was quite a long line to go through customs in the Toronto airport. I patiently snaked my way through the rope-separated aisles until I made it up to the desk of one of the 7 customs agents on duty. When I came into Canada they had questioned me about the purpose of my visit and now she asked again “What were you doing here in Canada?” “I went to a concert at the Air Canada Center.” I replied. “Who was playing?” she asked. “Keith Urban” I said. And she stunned me by saying “Keith Urban? He just went through here a little while ago!” and then added “All by himself.” I think she meant that he didn’t travel with an entourage - just alone, like a normal person. But I also took it to mean that Nic wasn’t with him at Customs. Although we had heard she was going to come to the Toronto show, I’m wondering if perhaps their plans changed. Although Keith dedicated MMOU to his wife, he made no mention of her being present as he often does. And from my front stage view I saw no signs of frequent glances offstage as sometimes happens when she is watching from the sidelines. And now this bit of information from the customs agent. Has anyone seen tweets or reviews mentioning Nicole-sightings in Toronto?

Heavens, how much more exciting working my way through those long customs lines would have been if I could have kept my eyes on Mr. Urban the whole way!! I came so close to a “real world” encounter.......

A few of my clips are up on You Tube:

Sweet Thing

Stupid Boy Solo

Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me

End of Somebody Like You

A Bit of Sundown Before Tonight I Wanna Cry

Tennis with Hilary and Keith Brian's New Solo

Tiny Tidbits for the Truly Addicted (very short clips):

Thanks for all the great 2009 shows Keith!!

Keith Urban Wows in Winnipeg!

I hadn’t planned on going to a Winnipeg concert primarily because I was woefully ignorant of the geography of the parts of Canada I had not visited on vacations and assumed that the cities I was unfamiliar with must be remote destinations. Shame on me! But when hubby told me he would be gone to Milwaukee for 4 days, I took another look at the location of Keith’s shows for the upcoming weekend and discovered Winnipeg was just 3 hours north of Fargo, N.D. and not all that distant from Iowa. Hubby was feeling guilty about his trip and used miles to get me an airline ticket and even reserved a hotel room just steps from the MTS Centre. I searched for a ticket, first on Monkeyville and Ebay, then on the broker sites. I found some floor row 8 seats for just a little above face value, but only sold as a pair. I went ahead and got them hoping I might find someone to purchase my extra. But with 2 shows already sold-out in Winnipeg I didn’t find anyone who needed a single. I just happened to joke with my daughter on Facebook “Betcha don’t know where Winnipeg is!” and lo and behold another Keith fan board friend replied that he certainly knew where it was since he lived there. I hadn’t made the connection between all his posts in the past and Winnipeg! Maybe he would join me for the concert!

Our plan was on-again, off-again. First he said he would be happy to use my ticket. Then he got a job offer for Saturday he couldn’t turn down. I meanwhile tried again - certainly someone could use a row 8 seat!!

I had to get up at 4:30 am Saturday to make it to my crack of dawn flight. It was a sunny day and my travel went smoothly. Bienvenue a Winnipeg (welcome to Winnipeg) was the sign that greeted me and I was “welcomed” in a number of ways. I found the city bus went from the airport right past my hotel for a mere $2.30 Canadian. The Radisson welcomed me by saying the hotel was so full that they would have to upgrade me to a “Club” room on their 27th floor, with access to the Club Lounge snacks, beverages, appetizer hour and breakfast! Sounded great to me - especially since I was hoping perhaps certain celebrities might possibly be using those exclusive floors in this hotel so close to the arena. The hotel clerk also said that “a gentleman had been looking for me” before I arrived (and I hadn’t even let Keith know where I would be staying! ; ) ). Actually I guessed it might have been Leonard stopping in to see if he could say hi before he went on his job, and I was sorry I had missed him.

I went out exploring the neighborhhood, circling the arena looking for the buses, thinking it might be motorcycle time, but didn’t realize the arena had inside, underground parking. Then I checked out a couple possible restaurants for a late lunch. I ended up at Moxie’s, a nice if a little pricy restaurant in the MTS Centre itself. I chose a wild salmon sandwich on naan, a special “London” gin and tonic complete with lime, mint and cucumbers and one of their “mini” desserts ---sticky toffee pudding served with toasted almonds and a little ice cream. I was very happy with my choices! I stopped at the MTS Box Office to see if they might buy back my extra ticket to re-sell, but no such luck -- which turned out to be lucky. When I returned to the Radisson the desk clerks said my “male-friend” had been back and again missed me but left the message he could go to the show after all!! He also left me a phone message (in his cute Canadian accent to my Iowa ears). Oh fun! I had a “date” for the evening.

I called Leonard and he offered to take me on a bit of a personal tour of Winnipeg since we still had a few hours before showtime. It was a perfect afternoon for visiting the Forks and the near-by shops, monuments and their impressive bridge. We walked along the rivers and through the grassy park We visited the grounds of the Legislature and saw the many polar bear sculptures behind it and drove through several of Winnipeg’s neighborhoods. It was great to have someone so knowledgeable show me so much during my brief visit to his hometown! Thanks Leonard!

The MTS Centre, a fairly new medium size arena, looked a little different than earlier venues. None of the big Verizon posters of Keith or Verizon green screen booth or free guitar competition. None of the Kingsford photo displays of Keith at a BBQ and no little BBQ video once we were inside the arena. They still had the text-messaging and sending photos to the arena screens (sponsored by Mozes?) Lady Antebellum was also offering a prize pack for text messages.

Our 8th row seats were excellent with nothing but 4 feet of empty space between us and the end of the right-hand runway. Lady Antebellum were fun and I think Leonard had a little thing going on with Hilary : )! I enjoyed their inclusion of a bit of “You Shook Me” into their “Good Time” hit (see video). During the break before Keith a large crowd gathered up front around the catwalk and stage edge. I told Leonard Keith would start out the evening at the end of the catwalk. He looked at the fans gathering at the end of the walk and said “You can go up there.” And then again “You’ve got floor seats - you can go up there.” And so I did! I found a spot very close to the of the catwalk and just reveled in my wonderful view of Keith’s first 3 songs from that spot. Last night he had a lot of that sweet but devilish bad boy look about him and looked so fine moving that guitar around. I couldn’t believe my good luck and videoed like crazy - but then was crushed later to find NO record of those first 3 songs- not even a photo- when I downloaded my camera at midnight. I can’t imagine what went wrong but my camera files jump from Lady Antebellum to Blacktop. What a shame.

Keith was in a subdued dark gray with red and blue lines plaid last night, with black jeans, From a distance you might have thought he was all in black. His hair was swingy but seemed a little more styled in the back (and I did spend some time behind him and had a great view)(see clips). (Then again I didn’t spend that much time looking at the back of his head - LOL!)

During Blacktop I was distracted by flashes of skin at Keith’s waistline and the opened buttons of his shirt and even more gaping than usual (see clip) between buttons. He was feeling playful and did some of his voice changes and threw in some “Oh Mama!’s” and “Mercy!”. (I kind of echoed him softyly “Have mercy on us Keith!” because he was using all of his moves unrelentingly! Phew! I had left my catwalk spot and gone back over towards our seats in anticipation of Keith coming down the right runway during Blacktop and coming off the runway in Better Half. He didn’t disappoint !(although heads blocked some of my view of his Blacktop solo) (see clip)! When he headed out into the audience during Better Half I met him at the end of the ramp and gave his not-yet-sweaty bulging right bicep a nice rub (Leonard commented that he wasn’t interested in touching Keith - LOL).

I knew the satellite stage area was guarded and surrounded by big metal barriers (they had not let me cross the area to get to the bathrooms even before the show began) so I didn’t know whether I should bother following Keith back there. But I couldn’t resist, although I took the center aisle rather than following right behind Keith’s security. The small stage area was packed with fans - not a chance of getting to the front side of the stage. But I was relatively close to the back side and was perfectly happy to enjoy THE backside : )!! Bootylicious! Keith does make an effort to turn periodically on that stage rather than only facing the rear of the arena, so I did get to see his smiling, laughing, strumming, plucking side every so often as well. He rewarded our singing during Once in a Lifetime with a big ol’ “Oh yeah - I hear you!” . Keith dedicated Making Memories to Nic and changed up Only You Can Love Me a bit with “I’d have never had this feeling that I’m feeling playing to all of you tonight in Winnipeg!”

Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me was terrific as usual, and I didn’t realize that Keith’s backbend at the end was just a teaser preview for an even more impressive one later in the evening at the end of You Look Good in My Shirt, where he went as low as conceivably possible, then collapsed on his back and wiggled backwards on the floor, while continuing to play the closing his guitar!! (see clip)

In Sweet Thing Keith changed up the lyrics a bit to:

I held open the car door for you
Then you climbed inside and slid on over
To the other side.. i thought “I like your style!”

and, a little later, “Come on and meet me mama!”

Remember the “man in the yellow hat” in Curious George. Well my camera-work was foiled several times by the “man in the black hat” (and another with a big head). Please remove your Stetsons during the concert gents!! You’ll stay cooler and won’t block the view of all those behind you!

Oh my. Keith not only served some autographed tennis balls way back into the arena and up into the risers tonight - he did so looking quite fetching in a bright red sweatband and wristbands! He really looked like a handsome Bjorn Borg at his best.

Some pretty guitar picking (see clip)preceded the emphasized rhythmic strumming before Raining on Sunday. Keith held the last note of the first verse extra long. During the chorus, after “We'll hide under the covers all afternoon” he threw in a “I believe we will” with a rather devilish smile and tone.

Keith made use of his deep voice and a little growling in I Told You So and in the last verse added some extra emphasis:

Please just come back home

No don't say that you're sorry

And I won't say I told you so

And I won't say I told you so

BUT DAMN! I told you so!

I have to say that I believe Keith and I “shared a moment” in ITYS and perhaps a couple other moments during the evening. It seems that truly making eye contact or getting some acknowledgement is a pretty rare thing even with all the shows I have been to. After all, he has some 15,000 faces beaming at him each night (well maybe not that many that he can actually see...). But during ITYS (second ITYS clip) I’m sure he smiled right at me right beneath him, tucked between the stage and confetti cannon and waved a little hello! And I thought I saw that glimmer of recognition during a couple other songs as well. I don’t know if he might finally remember my funny face after my long urban-journey or whether it was surprise that just this evening he had been face to face with me at the catwalk, at the right edge of the stage AND at the satellite stage. Whatever - there’s nothing like that “smiling right at you” look!

I thoroughly enjoyed Keith bringing Lady Antebellum back out to harmonize on Seven Bridges Road. They set up a little differently than last time - Lady A all shared one mic, with Hilary in the middle and Keith had a second mic to himself. Maybe being close to Keith last time was a little too distracting for Hilary to do her best?! I don’t know which group best accompanied Keith on this song - Sugarland, Little Big Town, or Lady A? What do you think?

I’m trying to think what song it is, towards the end of the show, when Keith tosses the hand-held mike he has been using off the stage to one of his crew?? Is it Somebody Like You? Better Life? I forget, but Saturday night I think his aim might have been off a little. I couldn’t see exactly what happened, but when he tossed the microphone we all heard a big “clunk”.I don’t think it was the sound of the mic being dropped because I saw the crew member running backstage with the mic in hand. So maybe the microphone knocked some fan’s camera out of her hands. Or maybe a fan dropped her camera in an attempt to catch the mic? Whatever it was, Keith felt bad about it and as soon as he got back to his regular microphone stand he started mouthing “I’m sorry” and doing that lovable, apologetic tapping of his chest that he does. I guess he still didn’t feel like he made amends for whatever happened because he then went down the ramp and hugged the affected fan. I’ll have to try and get in the way of that flying microphone in the future!

Keith surprised us all (and damn, my memory card had long before given me its “memory full” message) by beginning the encore with the first two lines of the chorus of “All By Myself”, (“I don’t wanna be - all by myself) which I always think of as a Bee Gees song, and then went into Tonight I Wanna Cry. Love those little surprises!

As Keith and the guys were slapping hands and saying final goodbyes after the encore, someone lifted a tiny little girl in a frilly pink outfit up onto the stage and she approached Keith holding a cap for him to autograph. He knelt by her and gently took the cap and obliged. I would so like to see him interacting with Sunday. He has such a wonderful way with kids that are complete strangers - I can’t hardly imagine his tenderness with his own baby girl!

So Winnipeg was a special Keith Urban Road Trip for several reasons. I played my YouTube clips before each of my classes today. Wish that they could understand the lengthy euphoric pleasure each show produces - from the excited anticipation, to the heady realization of the actual concert, and then the floaty afterglow for days, which can be somewhat renewed whenever I re-live the experience through videos, recordings, photos, reading or just plain ol’ daydreams!

6 of my Keith Urban - Winnipeg clips are already up on YouTube (iowalw):

Where the Blacktop Ends
The Other Side of Keith Urban (OIAL)
Behind Keith Urban's Satellite Stage (Part 2)
Making Memories of Us
You'll Think of Me
Keith and Lady Antebellum - Seven Bridges Road

But here are some additional ones:

Country music's "Bjorn Borg" : )

My "Moment" With Keith

The remaining are "Tiny Tidbits for the Truly Addicted" : )

Keith coming off stage - I let go of my camera to give his arm a rub.

THE backbend