Monday, August 22, 2005
Last night, I had the good pleasure of attending a Keith Urban concert at the Indianapolis state fair with my wife.
Keith Urban is a fairly famous country singer/songwriter who tours the country a good part of the year.
The weather was nice, being around 85 degrees in the afternoon, and then getting down to around 80 once the sun went down.
We sat on the tenth row, 'in the dirt' at stage left, so we had a good view of the band and of Keith.
My wife has been a pretty rabid fan of Mr. Urban for at least three years now, so this was my first time of 'seeing what all the fuss was about'.
I was pleasantly surprised.
Under a near-full moon with the stars out, we listened to 'Days Gone By' and other songs by Keith that I had heard in the car or at home when the family was at leisure.
The band was tight and seemed to enjoy playing with each other. There was a visible, good rapport between the 'mates' (Keith hails from Australia) and they really seemed to enjoy the songs they were playing.
I am of the mind, that the greatest seventies rock acts have been translated into the modern country acts such as Keith.
Time was, you could see Bad Company or 10cc play an outdoor festival, and be treated to long guitar solos, lots of jumping around and guitar changes along with excellent artist interaction with the crowd (i.e. jumping into the melee of the fans while singing and playing guitar).
Keith did this to great effect. While playing guitar solos he would jump from the stage and make his way to the crowd, playing amidst the fans who had payed a decent amount to see him.
Also he would have the crowd sing along to his songs, stopping singing so just the fans could be heard. The fans did not disappoint, as I could clearly make out the correct lyrics as they sang in the Singer's stead.
There was plenty of guitar noodling and even the occassional break into modern rock.
At one point, I was treated to Keith and the band breaking into U2's 'It's a Beautiful Day', which they played with as much fervor as the rest of their 'country' set.
For an encore, Mr. Urban played 'Free Fallin' by Tom Petty. The beat was if anything slowed up a bit, and the band once again allowed the crowd, this time in sections, sing their part.
On the drive home, noticing the near-full moon and stars once again, I felt I had experienced something special with my wife.
What more can you ask for from a 'country' concert?
Keith Urban is a fairly famous country singer/songwriter who tours the country a good part of the year.
The weather was nice, being around 85 degrees in the afternoon, and then getting down to around 80 once the sun went down.
We sat on the tenth row, 'in the dirt' at stage left, so we had a good view of the band and of Keith.
My wife has been a pretty rabid fan of Mr. Urban for at least three years now, so this was my first time of 'seeing what all the fuss was about'.
I was pleasantly surprised.
Under a near-full moon with the stars out, we listened to 'Days Gone By' and other songs by Keith that I had heard in the car or at home when the family was at leisure.
The band was tight and seemed to enjoy playing with each other. There was a visible, good rapport between the 'mates' (Keith hails from Australia) and they really seemed to enjoy the songs they were playing.
I am of the mind, that the greatest seventies rock acts have been translated into the modern country acts such as Keith.
Time was, you could see Bad Company or 10cc play an outdoor festival, and be treated to long guitar solos, lots of jumping around and guitar changes along with excellent artist interaction with the crowd (i.e. jumping into the melee of the fans while singing and playing guitar).
Keith did this to great effect. While playing guitar solos he would jump from the stage and make his way to the crowd, playing amidst the fans who had payed a decent amount to see him.
Also he would have the crowd sing along to his songs, stopping singing so just the fans could be heard. The fans did not disappoint, as I could clearly make out the correct lyrics as they sang in the Singer's stead.
There was plenty of guitar noodling and even the occassional break into modern rock.
At one point, I was treated to Keith and the band breaking into U2's 'It's a Beautiful Day', which they played with as much fervor as the rest of their 'country' set.
For an encore, Mr. Urban played 'Free Fallin' by Tom Petty. The beat was if anything slowed up a bit, and the band once again allowed the crowd, this time in sections, sing their part.
On the drive home, noticing the near-full moon and stars once again, I felt I had experienced something special with my wife.
What more can you ask for from a 'country' concert?
