But there was no
argument on Saturday night when Keith Urban rocked out the Worcester, MA. DCU.
The sold-out crowd loved it! There have been many arguments
over whether his music is country or rock.
But there was no
argument on Saturday night when Keith Urban rocked out the Worcester, MA. DCU.
The sold-out crowd loved it!
Urban began the concert by rising out of a tall platform set t the back of the stage. Standing against a blank video screen that would have made most movie theatre’s envious, he appeared as a shadowy figure with hands moving across a guitar as the strains of “Once in a Lifetime Love” filled the auditorium. Urban fans were on their feet and stayed there for most of the two hour plus show.
Urban’s set continued through many of the songs on his latest CD, “Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing,” along with most of his prior hits. With very limited talking between songs, the playlist included: “Where the Blacktop Ends,” “Better Life,”“Somebody Like You,”“Fast Cars,” “Raining on Sunday,” and “Who Wouldn’t Want to Be Me.”
Leading
his band down a long runway that went the length of the arena to a small,
intimate stage, Urban launched into a quieter portion of the show with “Making
Memories of Us” and “You’ll Think of Me.”
Urban told the audience that he had been in Australia the previous day visiting his wife, actress Nicole Kidman. He had left Darwin, Australia for Sydney, on to LA and then Boston for a total of 29 hours of travel time to reach the venue. If he was jet-lagged the audience couldn’t tell! He smiled throughout the evening and seemed to feed off the energy of his fans and his terrific, talented bandmates: Chris Rodriguez, Brian Nutter, Brad Rice and old friend from the Ranch days, Jerry Flowers. Urban strutted, laughed, jumped and sent his long hair flying as he went through song after song with the crowd singing along. He even included the New England All Star Drum Line for a special chorus of “I Told You So.”
Urban is a tremendous guitar player and it was obvious during “Stupid Boy” which included a rift not available on the CD version. During “Days Go By” the screen was filled with clips of fans around the country making the waving hand gesture used by Urban in the song’s video version (part of a fan club contest). Use of a suspended camera throughout the show allowed the audience rare close-ups of the star and overhead shots that were unique to this type of live show.
The show ended on a high note with the band the audience jumping up and down to “You Look good in My shirt.” Of course there was an encore which included “Everyone.”
I have gone to about a dozen
Keith Urban concerts, the first being a 20 minute set as the opening act for
Brooks and Dunn back in 1999. Whatever you might think of his music, its clear
that he has learned much about performing since then especially while touring
with Kenny Chesney. He is a talented performer, song-writer and gifted musician
and its clear that the student may have surpassed the teacher in onstage
presence. This is a high energy, professionally supported tour with a cast of
outstanding singers and musicians to support a real country star.