Keith Urban Tour 2011

Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life


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Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: New York Post
by Dan Aquilante

Kiwi cowboy proves rock is no Urban myth

IF you have any doubt that modern country music is the last refuge of classic rock, you should have been at Keith Urban's Madison Square Garden sellout Thursday.

At this show the volume was cranked to 11, the guitars were electric, there wasn't a fiddle in sight, and the Kiwi singer hardly had a hint of twang in his pipes.

Sure, there were a couple of songs that would have passed the Nashville acid test, like the encore stomp "Better Life" and the upbeat two-step "I Told You So." But what Urban played was an old-fashioned arena rock concert more Bob Seger than Bob Wills.

Keith Urban at the Garden.Urban's outfit is essentially a guitar band -- and he's the top shredder, working riffs with speed and precision.

His "Guitar Hero" skills were at their best in the fast ones such as "Days Go By," "Till Summer Comes Around" and "Once in a Lifetime." These were also the tunes that got the crowd to dance hard enough to make the concrete floor of the Garden bounce.

The show did have lulls. The worst was the sappy midtempo ballad "Only You Could Love Me This Way," which he introduced by dedicating it to his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, who attended the show. Later, Urban dedicated another song, "Thank You," to her.

The staging was simple, with a big open set, and Urban added concert excitement for those with bad seats by wandering with his guitar and doing a few tunes from the aisles and on a secondary stage at the other end of the Garden, opposite the main stage.

It was during those off-the-main-stage moments that the concert's biggest flaw was accentuated. Urban was in the back of the house singing, but his voice was coming from the speakers at the other end -- it was kind of weird.

Now that he's playing major venues like the Garden, it's time Urban spent some cash on sound worthy of his show. Besides, the fans deserve it.

Keith Urban MP3 Downloads

Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: Albany Times Union
by David Malachowski

Keith Urban/Sugarland @ TImes Union Center 10/07/09

Two acts representing the new country music rolled into the Times Union Center Wednesday night and showed where country's been, where it is, and where it's is going.

Singer/guitarist Keith Urban has become a tabloid celebrity by marrying a movie star (Nicole Kidman) and going into rehab, but on this night, he was just a singer and guitar player.

Aussie Urban came to Nashville as a guitarist before starting band The Ranch, after a modicum of success, he moved out on his own and since then, the hits keep coming.

In Albany, Urban hit the ground running with, yes, "Hit the Ground Running." Instead of a gimmicky stage set, Urban had just a long line of guitar amps onstage, to compliment the parade of vintage and custom guitars that appeared throughout the night.

He didn't just have them, he played them, well, with power and a bluesy finesse.

With one long solo, Urban strolled off stage, played his way to a small stage set in back of the soundboard, and hit the moving "Once In a Lifetime" as the crowd went crazy.

He dedicated "Making Memories of Us" to his wife, new single from Defy Gravity "Only You Can Love Me This Way" was sweet and melodic (veteran Nashville singer/guitarist Chris Rodriguez' harmony pushed it over the top), Sugarland came out for an acoustic turn on "Seven Bridges Road" that was just gorgeous, and while the yearning "Sweet Thing" and dreamy "Till Summer Comes Around" were strong, he nailed "You Look Good In My Shirt," the highpoint was the expansive open road anthem "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me"

On this night, everybody did.

He didn't exactly defy gravity, but he gave it a run for it's money.

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush offered a powerhouse set of their own.

In the past, country seemed to borrow ideas from rock shows, now it looks like it's stealing from Broadway set designers and directors. As the lights dimmed, Sugarland's musicians walked out onstage and removed umbrellas from a trunk, on cue, they opened them as they lit up, and as Nettles and Bush walked out on stage and sang "Love."

"Settlin' " and "It Happens" quickened the pace, while hit "Baby Girl" early tugged at the heartstrings.

Nettles sounded a tad strident on "Already Gone," but all the elements came together for the carefree "All I Want To Do." "Who Says You Can't Go Home" sported video footage of Lark St, and the Capital building before flashing the Yankee's logo for huge ovation.

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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Do You Love/Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Sweet Thing
Til Summer Comes Around
Raining On Sunday
Band member Intros: Snippets of Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Run To You, Ain't No Sunshine
Seven Bridges Road
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Sundown/Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life


Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Toronto Sun
by Jane Stevenson

Urban gets close to fans at ACC

Country music cutie Keith Urban Hit The Ground Running, also the name of the first song he played on Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre, and never really stopped.

Backed by the same crack five-piece band that he brought to the Phoenix in March in front of a mere 1,000 fans, spoiling yours truly in the process, Urban proved he's got what it takes to create intimacy in a venue twenty times the size.

Energy, enthusiasm and sincerity are the trademarks of an Urban show.

Touring in support of his latest album, Defying Gravity, Urban's so-called Escape Together arena tour found him getting up close and personal with his audience with three mini-catwalks taking him out into the crowd, including two which were actually ramps down onto the floor.

By the fourth song, Where The Blacktop Ends, Urban had bravely ventured down both ramps for extended guitar solos, just inches from his fans, and by the next song, You're My Better Half, he had wandered around the floor to a smaller mini stage at the very back.

"Who's got the good seats now?" he yelled, before launching into one of the evening's highlights, Once In A Lifetime, which he peppered with a bit of Stevie Nicks' Edge Of Seventeen.

Urban then took a seat and switched to an acoustic guitar for Making Memories of Us, which he dedicated to his wife-actress Nicole Kidman, who may or may not have been in the crowd, followed by Only You Can Love Me This Way.

He then fought he way back through the audience, who jostled each other to grab at him, to launch into another crowd favourite, Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me, which prompted a major sing and clap along.

Still, it was the next tune, Sweet Thing, that really got toes tapping.

The 41-year-old New Zealand-born, Aussie-based artist definitely has looks, charm and charisma to go along with his musical talents, particularly as a guitarist, as he more than demonstrated with both his electric and acoustic playing during Til Summer Comes Around and Raining On Sunday.

And whenever the camera panned to show the back of him, the audience went nuts for his rear view, so to speak.

"I'm feeling the love tonight Toronto, it's nice to be back," he said earlier in the show. "It's a special night tonight. It's the last night of our entire Canadian tour so we might play a little more tonight. You may want to call the baby sitter and tell her you might be a little late."

Later he added: "We've been coming up here for years. And you've always made us feel welcome and warm on stage. Whatever's up here in the water, just keeping drinking it cause it's great."

Still, the bit where he put on a headband, wristband and signed tennis balls and then hit them out into the crowd with a tennis racket, with the help of Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott, was a bit goofy.

Much better were the band introductions which saw three of them take a turn in the spotlight including guitarist Brian Nutter singing Vancouver rocker Bryan Adams' Run To You.

Lady Antebellum's three singers - Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood - also joined Urban for an excellent acoustic cover of The Eagles' Seven Bridges Road, which was only topped by Urban's own massive hits, Kiss A Girl and I Told You So.

And the fan video clips of them singing, leading into You'll Think Of Me, was genuinely heartfelt.

Urban also strapped on a psychedelic guitar that lit up in different colours for You Look Good In My Shirt which saw him wandering the floor again until he made his way to another small stage in the stands, followed by the downright triumphant Somebody Like You.

In a final tribute to his Canadian fans, Urban opened his encore with a snippet of Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown before an acoustic version of Tonight I Wanna Cry, which was followed by yet another barnburner, Better Life, complete with confetti.





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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: Jam Showbiz
by James Reaney

Concert Review: Keith Urban
John Labatt Centre, London, Ont. - October 1, 2009

Keith Urban's most famous fan was likely somewhere in the house.

Civic sources said Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman flew into London from the U.S. late yesterday to join her country superstar husband in downtown London. Urban's Escape Together tour's London stop attracted more than 8,800 loud and happy fans to the John Labatt Centre last night.

"I'm going to dedicate this song to my wife tonight," Urban said mid-set before launching into a lovely version of Memories are Made of Us. That comment, delivered from the secondary stage, was a possible clue to justify all the celebrity couple buzz at the arena.

"Who's got the good (seats) now?" Urban had asked a little earlier. He completed a long trek to the back of the floor, guitar in hand, after stirring huge singalongs with You're My Better Half.

With several songs and the famous extended Urban encores still to come, the star -- with his shirt strategically unbuttoned -- had shared face time on the big screens with countless happy fans. The effect was to make the headliner and the fans one big party.

Lady Antebellum opened with a fine set. The Nashville group's three singers joined Urban late in his main set for a terrific acoustic Seven Bridges Road.

Urban hit the stage with Hit the Ground Runnin' and was immediately on the catwalk. Where the Blacktop Ends was a chance to play smokin' guitar on a side ramp to the floor -- just inches from ecstatic fans.

"Are we in a singing mood, London, Ontario?" Urban asked twice. Were we? Last night was one of the great singalong concerts in the arena's history. It also capped a run of K-stars at the arena -- with Keith Urban following KISS, who pulled 8,500 fans, and the Kings of Leon, who drew more than 8,000.

Urban's fans can keep company with those rock groups' worshippers when it comes to stand up all night energy.

The Urban followers have plenty to worship. The New Zealand-born, Australia-raised country superstar has 16 No. 1 singles, five multi-platinum albums, two Grammys and many country music awards.

Kidman and Urban are one of the entertainment world's top celebrity couples. The two had been sighted together in other Canadian stops on the appropriately named tour.

John Labatt Centre management had no comment when asked about Kidman's presence.Even without that buzz, Urban had more than enough hot guitar and hits to fuel the early set excitement.

When Urban put aside his guitars for a goofy bit of fan fun as he swatted autographed tennis balls around the arena, he still showed raw power.

"I definitely need to practise my tennis," he joked as he put aside the racquet. With the stunt, Urban called to mind Rod Stewart booting soccer balls to fans from the same stage.

Like Stewart and other rockers, say Bruce Springsteen, who command arenas, Urban appears to unstoppable in concert. No wonder the star's latest CD is called Defying Gravity.

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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: Winnipeg Sun
by Darryl Sterdan

Keith Urban: Live, Playin', The Whole Crazy Thing

I could have imagined it, but I swear Keith Urban looked at me funny.

It only lasted a second. But I'm sure it was there. It was a look that said: Why is this gargantuan old dude with the weird beard standing in front of me frantically typing away on a BlackBerry while I'm singing?

And who can blame him? Thanks to what I can only presume was some sort of bizarre and colossal mistake, my reviewer tickets to Urban's sold-out show Saturday night at MTS Centre ended up being ridiculously great seats: Nearly dead-centre down front on the floor, only a couple of metres from the end of his midstage runway. Definitely within spitting distance and eye-contact range. And smack-dab in the middle of a slew of the dancing, drinking, sweating, whoo-hooing Urban cowgirls who formed the bulk of the 12,500 folks revelling in the two-hour, 20-song performance - the first of two shows in the city this weekend.

Not that I am complaining about my seat. Far from it; an Urban concert is one of those times when a critic can benefit from being close to the action instead of in the stands (or, heaven forbid, the high-altitude Siberia of the MTS press box). Not only do you get to be right at the centre of the gigantic arena-filling production that the New Zealand-born, Australian-raised country-pop hunk hauls from town to town; you're also close enough to appreciate the guy's impressive guitar chops (and guitar collection). And did I mention the whole stuck-in-the-centre-of-a-mass-of-happy-dancing-women thing? Hey, it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Oh yeah. Speaking of my job, here's a song-by-song review from my insanely good vantage point. And for those of you going to Sunday's show: SPOILER ALERT!

Hit the Ground Runnin': When the lights go down, the band teases the crowd to their feet by playing moody Australian outback sounds and flashing the lights from behind black curtains surrounding the stage. Then the banjo lick kicks off the song, the curtain falls and Urban and his quintet live up to the title of his latest single from this year's Defying Gravity. Urban is wearing his usual work duds: A blue-and-red plaid shirt with short sleeves (a tattoo on his bicep peeks out the bottom of the sleeve) over black jeans with a wallet chain. He's got at least a day's stubble on his chin, two gold rings in his left ear, and that famously tousled hair. Not bad for 41.

I'm close enough to read his name on the black sweatbands on his wrists, and notice his wedding band. He's playing an old double-cutaway Les Paul Jr., the first of several vintage axes he'll sport over the course of the night. And while he's obviously the centre of the action, there is indeed plenty of action. And plenty of production. Behind him and the band are five vertical hi-def video screens set between six vertical columns of blinding spots that rise up to four rows of lights spanning the stage from front to back. There's also a giant horseshoe-shaped truss over the whole affair, with six spotlight operators perched in the rigging. The stage itself has two risers at either side, a runway extending forward from the middle, and ramps at either end that descend right into the crowd. Walking in, you couldn't help but notice there's also a tiny satellite stage behind the sound board. That oughta be interesting. read more

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Premium seats for Saskatoon & Winnipeg

Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: The Leader Post
by Jeff Dedekker

Keith Urban gives fans what they want in Saskatoon

Keith Urban's detractors often accuse the Aussie superstar of playing it safe and refusing to take chances with his music but Wednesday's sold-out show at the Credit Union Centre proved one thing: Urban knows his audience.


He understands that if it's not broken, why fix it? Urban knows exactly what sells and what his fans expect from him and the 41-year-old delivered precisely that in a two-hour set featuring 20 songs. The set included 19 original songs - the exception was a cover of the Eagles' hit "Seven Bridges Road" that featured opening act Lady Antebellum. Although the show included two songs from Defying Gravity that haven't been released as singles, the remainder of the material was all top notch: 17 Top 10 singles, including eight No. 1 hits.


But the night was more than just music as Urban spun an intoxicating web that was impossible to avoid. The design featured five huge vertical television screens in addition to single rectangular screens on each the side of the stage. Add an elaborate lighting rig and Urban had all the tools necessary to fill all the whims and desires of the assembled crowd.


After starting with "Hit The Ground Runnin'," "Days Go By" and "Stupid Boy," Urban took a quick moment to acknowledge the fans throughout the venue and even took a shot at the fans sitting in the VIP boxes. Bowing towards them with an exaggerated wave of his left hand, Urban said, "Thanks for allowing us to play for you my Lords." It was an obvious plug at his regular man persona and the crowd ate it up.


Urban worked the venue like he knew every nook and cranny intimately and the effort was appreciated by the crowd. During "You're My Better Half" he nonchalantly walked down a ramp from the stage into the crowd. He made his way to the opposite end of the facility, with security personnel in tow, before settling on a smaller stage in the back.


"So who's got the good seats now?" he crowed, much to the delight of those who unexpectedly found themselves just a few feet away from the superstar.


Urban played four tunes from the new location before making his way back to the main stage. That wasn't the last of his wandering, though, as he took another stroll into the crowd during "You Look Good In My Shirt," this time ending up in the stands of the lower bowl of the venue.


Urban kept a steady banter up with the crowd, whether it was exerting the fans to sing or to thank them for spending their hard earned money on a ticket to his show. He also dedicated "Making Memories Of Us" to Nicole Kidman, his wife - they must be still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage.


An intelligent artist surrounds himself with very talented musicians and it turns out Urban is quite intelligent. His five-piece band - Chris Rodriguez, Brian Nutter, Brad Rice, Jerry Flowers and Chris McHugh - was simply outstanding. One of the night's highlights came in the encore when Rodriguez joined Urban in an acoustic version of "Tonight I Wanna Cry." It was just Urban and Rodriguez with acoustic guitars and it was magical. The number was simple yet powerful.


Lady Antebellum - Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood - kicked the night off with a strong 50-minute minute set. The band's strong suit is its tight harmonies which it displayed during "Need You Now," "I Run To You," "Love Don't Live Here" and "Lookin' For A Good Time."


The group also had the good sense to incorporate a couple of covers into their set that meshed perfectly with their style, Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer" and John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good."


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still great Edmonton show 2 seats!
Premium seats for Saskatoon & Winnipeg

Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: Edmonton Sun
by Mike Ross

Concert Review: Keith Urban

Here's a "what if?" scenario for you -- what if Bryan Adams had gone country?

He might be able to fill Rexall Place twice, like Keith Urban, whose country rockin' stylings has yielded few tunes anyone who wasn't a country fan would know --unlike Bryan Adams, whose songs are far more of a draw than he is -- and in doing so has become one of the most unlikely country superstars ever made.

Born in New Zealand, moved to Australia, then to Nashville, Tenn., reformed drug addict, happily married to Nicole Kidman, new father to a baby girl, which increases the "aww" factor in Urban's popularity exponentially, this is quite a story.

Last night's two-hour display of complimentary traits (handsome, talented, good singer, smart songwriter, decent guitarist) come together for a common cause (to make women melt) was as country as the average Bryan Adams concert, which is to say it was only country accidentally, and just as filled to the brim with romantic homilies.

Urban and his capable band opened with the upbeat Hit the Ground Running -- basically a warning that he won't take "we're through!" for an answer -- segueing gracefully into the slightly less upbeat Days Go By (a reminder that life is short) and then into the downbeat ballad Stupid Boy, an admonishment of some former cad boyfriend she's better off without.

Women near the front of the stage waved New Zealand flags (maybe Australian, hard to tell from a distance) and proffered roses, not the first or last display of female Urban-generated hysteria. Yes indeed, most if not all of Urban's material is about or directed at women. Know your target market!

Later came Once in a Lifetime, with its telling line, "Don't fear it now, we're going all the way," before getting into all the stuff about having kids and growing old together. This remains one of the best pick-up lines ever penned. The man is a master.

Small countrified trappings like a largely inaudible mandolin player who looked like Nikki Sixx or the fact everyone was wearing blue jeans did little to detract from the essential '80s-rock, balls-to-the-walls, Bryan Adams-ness of the evening.

All that was missing was a man singing about his first real six-string he bought at the five and dime in the summer of '69. Keith Urban was two years old in 1969, although the trusty "six string" appears in one of his best-loved songs, Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me, not being played until his fingers bled, but with his girlfriend, "across her pretty knee."

Much has been made of Urban's prowess on the six-string, but again he is less a real "picker" like Brad Paisley than a basic rock guitarist. At one point, he copped his best Eddie Van Halen solo and sang at the same time. You don't hear that every day.

Urban was also unafraid to take the spotlight to himself in several songs, holding 14,000 fans in rapt attention with only his voice and strumming guitar -- on heartrending love ballads, mainly.

The more obvious romantic stuff got the biggest response, of course, including a late evening rendition of You Look Good in My Shirt while draped in a Canadian flag. Real crowd-pleaser, that one. Basic message of the song: Sure, we haven't worked out our problems yet, but the sex is awesome, so let's keep trying.

Taking the metaphor to music: Keith Urban still hasn't come up with a song I'm going to remember two minutes after it's over, but his showmanship is so amazing that maybe it doesn't matter. We'll see what happens when the long honeymoon is over.

Openers Lady Antebellum sure has a new fangled, high-falutin' sound for such an a quaint name -- basically "Lady Before the Civil War," which I guess means that they're more than 150 years old and owned slaves. Well, never mind.

These good looking young singers probably picked it because it sounded cool. Or maybe Antebellum in this case refers to before the Gulf War, which may explain why all their music sounds like bad '80s pop. This, of course, is one of the hallmarks of modern country music identifiable only as such by blue jeans and perhaps a slight twang in the voice. So there's not a lot of depth here, but plenty of flash with a pair of strong singers --one male, one female -- singing smoky romantic ballads into each other's eyes when they're not frolicking around the stage to lively tunes so radio-friendly they practically hump your leg.

Faithful versions of both Boys of Summer and Hurts So Good seals the band's fate as yet another woefully unoriginal product of the Nashville hit machine. In short, they're the new Sugarland.

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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: Calgary Sun
by Lisa Wilton

Fans enjoy Urban affair

Keith Urban is more than just a pretty face.

The New Zealand-born, Australia-raised country singer has 16 No. 1 singles, five multi-platinum albums, two Grammys and a busload of country music awards to his name.

But judging by the boisterous reaction he received during his Saddledome show last night, you'd think Urban had suddenly turned into Robert Pattinson.

His good looks may have initially reeled in some fans, but Urban has the musical skills and an ear for good songs that has enabled him to remain one of country music's biggest draws for the past decade.

Urban's Escape Together World Tour -- which attracted a sold-out crowd of 13,000 people to the Dome -- featured something for everyone.

Long-time fans were happy to hear hit singles such as Somebody Like You from 2002's Golden Road and Days Go By from his 2004 best seller Be Here, as well as tracks from his latest CD, Defying Gravity.

Urban's ability to blend country and pop with a rock and roll spirit has garnered him a huge crossover audience, although the lack of traditional roots in his music means he can sometimes come across as a little too slick and polished, and in the case of his ballads, pretty bland.

But live, Urban's songs sound more dynamic and electrifying, partly because he is a supercharged entertainer and one heck of a guitar player.

Of all the current guitar-slinging country stars -- Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley etc. -- Urban is certainly the most gifted player of the bunch.

His fleet-fingered finesse is thrilling to watch.

Urban can be a show off, but it's tempered by an expressive grit and a bit of rock and roll raunch.

Wearing jeans and a red and white plaid western shirt, a constantly smiling Urban paraded back and forth across the stage and onto the protruding catwalk, encouraging the crowd to sing along.

Backed by a smoking-hot five-piece band, which included veteran Nashville guitarist Chris Rodriguez, Urban was laid-back and playful. There were a few corny staged moments, but the group still looked as if they were genuinely having fun.

The basic stage set up made it easier to focus on Urban and his band, and there was more of a light show coming from the flashing bulbs of cameras and Blackberry phones in the audience than on stage.

Urban doesn't have the strongest voice in country music, but it works for him. And last night it came across crisp and clear to the delight of his devoted local fans.

Opening for Urban was Nashville's Lady Antebellum.

Vocalists Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood and guitarist Charles Kelley were greeted warmly by the packed house. The trio's live performance was beefed up by the addition of a drummer, bassist, keyboardist and extra guitarist, who provided solid backing for Scott and Haywood's faultless vocal harmonies.

Although they've released only one album, Lady Antebellum is already a well-oiled machine.

"I'm the only lady in a band called Lady Antebellum," Scott mock complained to the crowd. "I feel like I need to sing a song for all the ladies in the audience. And with that well-rehearsed line, the band launched into the catchy single Long Gone.

Lady Antebellum -- who will release their sophomore CD, Need You Now, in November -- got the audience grooving with a couple of appropriately chosen covers, including Don Henley's Boys of Summer and John Mellencamp's Hurts So Good.

They have nothing on Urban's unbelievable energy or showmanship, but they were a fitting opener nonetheless.

Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum perform again tonight at the Saddledome. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.

ATTENDANCE 13,000 SOLD OUT

4 out of 5 stars

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Setlist

Hit the Ground Runnin'
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us (dedicated to wife Nicole Kidman)
Who Would Wanna Be Me
Sweet Thing
'Til Summer Comes Around
Raining on Sunday
Interlude (Chris Rodriguez, Brian Nutter and Jerry Flowers from the band sing)
Seven Bridges Road (Steve Young, performed with Little Big Town)
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You Look Good In My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: The News & Tribune
by Ernest Jasmin

Keith Urban review

The profoundly likable Keith Urban and talented opening act, Little Big Town, teamed up for the best country bill of 2009, witnessed by a much too small crowd of about 7,000 Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome.

For his part, Urban headlined with two joyful hours of pop-country hits, guitar heroics and a multi-media presentation slick enough to make Trent Reznor proud. But perhaps the most endearing aspect of his set was its relative lack of barriers.

Urban was close enough to touch, standing on an outcropping that jutted into the good seats as he and the band kicked off with, appropriately enough, "Hit the Ground Runnin'." The hunky star meandered around the arena, still strumming and causing an estrogen fueled ruckus as he made his way to and from a smaller stage set up behind the sound board. And he climbed several rows into section 18 to rile up fans during a late set performance of "You Look Good In My Shirt."

The set was well-paced, mostly upbeat and greatly enhanced by eye-popping visuals. A towering, five-paneled video screen stood behind (but sometimes hovered above) the band, coloring the early set with neon splashes of orange and yellow, adding a swirling, celestial backdrop to "Sweet Thing" and providing close-ups of couples making out during "Making Memories of Us," a ballad that Urban dedicated to wife, Nicole Kidman.

Urban was captivating throughout, but during some of the show's most memorable moments he let his supporting cast have the spotlight. During a late set interlude, for starters, he let members of the band show off their vocal skills, some considerable.

Guitarist Chris Rodriguez sang a bit of Motown classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Bass player Jerry Flowers went with Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" (lots of "ain't" songs.) And banjo player Brian Nutter may have proven himself the most gifted singer onstage, Urban included, as he delivered a soaring snippet of Journey's "Open Arms."

Another set highlight saw Little Big Town return to the stage to help out with Eagles hit "Seven Bridges Road." The impromptu super-group sounded fabulous despite Urban coyly confessing, "This is only the second time we've done this."

Little Big Town delivered a headliner worthy set in their own rite, powered by a driving, rock backbeat and sweet vocal harmonizing that would appeal to fans of the Dixie Chicks. Their performance included a potent cover of Fleetwood Mac's country-rock classic "The Chain" capped off by the "Boondocks," the band's ode to hailing from small town America."



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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Salt Lake Tribune
by David Burger

Urban's enthusiasm outweighs sub-par songs
Review: Country star abandons country to become rock god

Keith Urban was nominated for the Country Music Association's "Entertainer of the Year" award Wednesday morning, and Wednesday night he showed an adoring, overwhelmingly female Salt Lake City crowd why he earned the nomination.

The pop-country star with Aussie charm and a famous wife demonstrated throughout his 19-song, 2-hour set that he is one of the best guitar shredders in Nashville and a showman who will do everything short of a giving out foot massages to please his fans.

The whole spectacle, though, makes one wish his musical material was as good as his ability to be a ringmaster of one of the most visually arresting sets of the year.

With no less than 20 buses and tractor-trailers surrounding EnergySolutions Arena, the concert stage featured the most impressive light show seen in Utah for a while. Crisp, rotating high-resolution screens showcased every bead of sweat and pore on his 41-year-old face. His five-piece band, which often had Urban and four other guitar players pounding away more like a teenaged garage band than Hank Williams Sr., was hampered early on by a sludgy mix. But the sound gradually improved, in part due to many of Urban's later songs grounded in acoustic guitars. He was heard best when his clear yet unremarkable voice was accompanied by him strumming on ballads such as "You'll Think of Me" and "Making Memories of Us."

Many of Urban's upbeat, almost irritatingly life-affirming songs sound the same, but what distinguished them from one another was the way he dramatized them. He performed nearly four songs at a small stage at the other end of the arena floor, playfully chiding the crowd in the formerly front row, "Who has the good seats now?" During "You Look Good in My Shirt," he waded his way through the crowd and performed in the seats to the left of the stage, all the while playing a neon guitar. And at one point, he signed three tennis balls and whacked them into the crowd with a racket.

Urban looked to enjoy himself throughout, and who wouldn't be, playing lead guitar all night and adding three-to-four minute guitar solos to nearly every song. Wielding his guitar like he was reeling in a marlin, his guitar overpowered the meek banjos and mandolins that occasionally made appearances.

It wasn't country, but no one cared. Most rock concerts aren't as loud as Urban's show.


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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: THe Tennessean
by Peter Cooper

Keith Urban, Sugarland give the audience what it wants

Here's the thing: if you wish to disparage modern country music as a pop retread, you may do so and your arguments shall be difficult to dispute.

At the Keith Urban concert Saturday night at Sommet Center, the music from Urban and opening act Sugarland included references, either explicit or implicit, to U2, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, Katrina & the Waves (yep, Sugarland closed with "Walking On Sunshine, and, yep, Katrina & the Waves were popular well before Hurricane Katrina, or else the band name would be a particularly inexcusable kind of horrible), Nelly and other non Haggard-approved sources.

But if we set aside the notion of what is and what isn't "country" for a moment, there are some other arguments that are difficult to dispute. One is that Keith Urban can play the fool out of a guitar. Another is that Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles is a powerful and versatile singer. And another is that an arena full of fans left Saturday's show feeling quite pleased with the things they'd seen and heard.

Both acts brought deft bands. Sugarland now sports Kristian Bush's brother, Brandon, formerly of Train, on keyboards. Urban's group features multiple guitar virtuosos, including Brad Rice, formerly of remarkable North Carolina-based rock group the Accelerators. And each act played organic sets that eschewed costume changes, unless one counts switching guitars as a change of outfit.

Sugarland packed plenty of covers into the hour-and-five-minute opening set, including R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" and Michael Jackson's "Rock With You." Throughout her set, Nettles proved herself as both an actress and a singer, delivering impassioned performances (teardrops when needed, wide-eyed stares when needed) and hitting every note while Kristian Bush accompanied her with spunk and bravado and mandolin and guitar chops.

At one point, Nettles played guitar while Bush was on mandolin, and it was evident that one or the other was out of tune: More power to them, in this age of sonic trickery. The highlight of the Sugarland set came when the band moved to the front of the stage and played "Genevieve," a Nettles and Bush-penned tune that sounded like The Band in high gear.

Urban has a night's worth of hits to play, and he delivered a set heavy on originals. Raspy in his song introductions and stage banter, Urban occasionally fell out of the soundscape when singing. He also had occasion to quit singing entirely and give the vocal duties to the crowd, something that might seem irksome to someone who had paid the price of admission. NFL quarterbacks, for instance, never hand the ball to spectators and say, "You take it!" But Urban shone whenever he played electric lead guitar, and he played electric lead guitar for most of the evening.

Point of fact, he played many guitars, and all of them were beautiful. He played Gibsons and Fenders and others, and he played them hard and fast, until his sweat rolled down the faces of the instruments. Some of his screaming minions may in fact have been hollering, "Oh my heavens, is that a blond Fender Jaguar?" Hard to tell. Urban is not as idiosyncratic a player as his buddy Brad Paisley, but he is able to conjure any sound he wishes from his instruments, and his guitar mastery is the sort that is unachievable for anyone who is not both gifted and absolutely in love with music.

As for the songs... well, some of them run together and the Good Lyric Fairy (that's a description producer R.S. Field sometimes uses, though not in reference to Urban) doesn't always visit. There are people making magic in the moonlight, and there are people alive and free, and there other other places where cliches live alive and free and make magic in the moonlight. But there also is an insistence on positivity and uplift, and that insistence draws cheers from fans at every turn.

The show's production was remarkable, with five 60-foot-tall high-definition video screens and 120 computerized lighting units and a custom-built 3,500-foot stage. Urban sometimes ran to the back of the arena and sang on separate stages, crowing "Who's got the good seats now?" while those in the rear pumped their fists and those in the front thought, "Dang, I stood in line for seven dark hours so I could eat ... dirt."

The singer and his ace band delivered a hit-packed set, and Urban also let on that he was planning another Nashville appearance: On Oct. 13, he and a bevy of stars including Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean and Little Big Town will perform a benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Sommet Center. Those seats go on sale Sept. 2, but they may be pre-ordered at www.ticketmaster.com for $25. In any case, it's tough to disparage modern country music when it is benefiting the study and remembrance of classic country music. And when so many people are clapping and cheering.

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Setlist
"Hit the Ground Runnin'"
"Days Go By"
"Stupid Boy"
"Where the Blacktop Ends"
"You're My Better Half"
"Once in a Lifetime"
"Making Memories of Us"
"Only You Can Love Me This Way"
"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me"
"Sweet Thing"
"Til Summer Comes Around"
"Raining on Sunday"
"Seven Bridges Road" (with Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland)
"Kiss a Girl "
"I Told You So"
"You'll Think of Me"
"You Look Good in My Shirt"
"Somebody like You"

Encore:

"Tonight I Wanna Cry"
"Better Life"

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Cleveland Plain Dealer
by Jon Soeder

Blurring line between country and rock, Keith Urban gets up close and personal with fans in concert at The Q

Upcoming ClevelandEvents


Talk about a hands-on entertainer.

Keith Urban made not one but two trips into the near-capacity crowd that turned out for the country superstar's electrifying concert Friday night at The Q.

As he worked his way through the audience, fans -- mostly of the hyperventilating female variety -- reached out for a piece of the handsome headliner. Urban, who is married to actress Nicole Kidman, concentrated on trying to keep playing his guitar.

Toward the end of the two-hour show, he sang "You Look Good in My Shirt" from the middle of the arena.

Earlier, he set up shop on a small platform toward the rear of the venue for a set of ballads, including "Only You Can Love Me This Way" and "Once in a Lifetime." Urban revised the latter song with a few bars of the Stevie Nicks oldie "Edge of Seventeen."

Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Urban moved to Nashville in the early '90s. He considers himself a country artist, yet he puts on one of the best rock shows in the business, complete with an array of fiery guitar solos courtesy of Urban himself.

His anguished six-string soliloquy during "Til Summer Comes Around" was especially dazzling, with Urban bathed in shafts of white-hot light from above.

The well-paced performance juxtaposed "Days Go By," "You'll Think of Me," "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and other signature favorites with selections from Urban's new "Defying Gravity" album, including the recent hits "Sweet Thing" and "Kiss a Girl."

His romantic musings were sprinkled with country signifiers -- a little banjo here, a little mandolin there -- although Urban's broadly appealing songs would fit comfortably on any rock fan's playlist.

As if to underscore the point, members of Urban's rocking five-piece band wore Clash and Kiss T-shirts.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of opening act Sugarland harmonized sublimely with Urban on "Seven Bridges Road," a tune popularized by another entity that blurred the line between country and rock: the Eagles.

"From the first time we played here, we felt a real connection," said Urban, 41.

He reminisced about his early Cleveland appearances, playing for decidedly smaller crowds at Wilbert's and Dick's Last Resort.

"This is a nice change," Urban said as he surveyed 12,000 satisfied customers.

They were expertly pumped up by Sugarland, whose energetic set also stretched the boundaries of country. Fronted by down-home dervish Nettles, the group delivered "All I Want to Do" and other crowd-pleasers amid nods to Madonna, Nelly and the Emotions, as well as a smoldering cover of Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire."

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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Washington Post
by Dave McKenna

Keith Urban: Live Last Night

Upcoming Washington Area Events


You'd have to go back to Glen Campbell to find a pop-country star whose musical skills are buried any deeper in hit records than Keith Urban's.

The guy can really, really play a guitar. But while Vince Gill and Brad Paisley, Urban's peers on country's guitar-hero scene, throw a few licks into even the most mindless single to remind you of their genius, Urban usually keeps his fingers to himself in the studio.

In a live setting, however, Urban turns his inner shredder loose. At the Verizon Center on Thursday, he wore more vintage guitars onstage than Reba does gaudy outfits, and worried the strings on all of 'em.

The moody, Dire Straits-ish "Til Summer Comes Around," from his most recent CD, "Defying Gravity," is too long to ever be a country radio hit, but it gave Urban plenty of time to wail. Same with "Stupid Boy," one of the few pages in Urban's songbook where his material lives up to his talents. Urban spent the mostly instrumental second half of the song bending beautiful notes on his 1957 Les Paul Jr. (the single cutaway model, as any of Keith's many gearhead fans could tell you), which he held high and pointed away from his face, as a frat boy would position a beer bong.

Urban knows that most of the folks who nearly packed the arena care less about his guitarsenal than they do his sweet and low-aiming singles, and he and his rockcentric band gave their all to renditions of "Days Go By," "Kiss a Girl," and "Where the Blacktop Ends," songs that sound pretty much the same as each other, whether in concert or on the radio. He slowed things down to croon the pile of clichés ("roll with the punches," "always on my mind," "no one that comes close to you," etc.) that make up his recent hit ballad, "Only You Can Love Me This Way."


Only a few years ago, Urban made all the tabloids with substance-abuse problems that had him looking like a bumpkin Kurt Cobain, a guy who had all the tools and drive to get famous but lacked the emotional makeup to deal with stardom. Urban seems to have shed his demons, however. His only angry moments came out during "You'll Think of Me," a ballad that has him spewing to an unnamed ex: "Take your records/Take your freedom/Take your memories/I don't need 'em!" (Not even the records, Keith? That must have been some breakup!)

For most of the night Urban looked like he was having tons of fun, and he worked hard to make sure the mostly female audience that paid to see him got their jollies, too.

He ran into the grandstands to lead a singalong of "You Look Good in My Shirt." And before "Once in a Lifetime," he moved to a mini-stage that had been set up at the back of the arena and yelled in his charming Australian accent to the folks up front, "Who's got the good seats now?"

Technical difficulties crushed the opening set by Sugarland, the hit-making duo of Jennifer Nettles and Christian Bush. Bush fills the same role as John Oates or the oldest Jonas, just kind of along for the ride. Everything about Nettles is big. Every step, every arm gesture, even her Southern accent during the faux-naughty smash, "It Happens," was exaggerated. ("Same" is a three-syllable word for Nettles.) Whatever momentum Nettles built up through her adrenalin surplus and odd covers (REM's "Nightswimming") was derailed when the house P.A. started going out often and for long stretches. As the crowd murmured and pointed at the speakers trying to get the band's attention and generally lost interest in the performance, Nettles and Bush ran around the stage smiling, oblivious to the sonic meltdown. It happens.




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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: The Patriot News
by Kira L Schlecter

Country superstar Keith Urban wows crowd at Giant Center concert

Country star Keith Urban is the genre's reigning guitar hero, although that gets a little lost in the wake of his sensitive-guy No. 1 hits and good looks.
But the Australia native reminded everyone at Hershey's Giant Center on Tuesday night why he deserves the honor.

Supporting his latest album, "Defying Gravity," Urban -- looking trim and fit in a sparkly plaid shirt and jeans -- opened with the new track "Hit the Ground Runnin'," full of his signature punchy playing. "Days Go By" was lilting and open, played with infectious joy.

His terrific band continued to back him on a beautifully played "Stupid Boy," which exemplifies the wistfulness in much of his material. "Where the Blacktop Ends" was another early highlight, Urban leading the band in picking up the tempo, then pulling it back again at the end.

He made the first of many forays into the crowd to a small stage set up in back, where he did a delicate "Once in a Lifetime" with minimal accompaniment and a soft, airy "Making Memories of Us," which had couples slow-dancing in the aisles. His cross-gender appeal was especially evident here -- the Mr. Sensitive (for the girls) who's also a kick-behind guitar player (for the guys). Another new track, "Only You Can Love Me This Way," was set to a memorable shambling acoustic riff -- Urban's voice was especially sweet here.

Back to the stage he came, without missing a beat as he played, for a percolating and, well, sweet "Sweet Thing," which he delivered with a twinkle in his eye and a grin. Perhaps the biggest standout was yet another new track, the hauntingly atmospheric "Til Summer Comes Around," which featured a dark, syncopated guitar melody and a mournful, then blazing solo -- call it his Dire Straits moment.

Opener Jason Aldean did a fine job kicking things off, doing better on tough, beefy tracks such as "Big Green Tractor," "She's Country" and "Hicktown" that showed off his own capable band and swaggering stage presence than on ballads such as Bryan Adams' "Heaven."

But they don't call Urban the thunder from Down Under for no reason. That guitar prowess makes him stand out sharply from the rest of modern country's male stars, and he only gets better at it -- and the songs, too -- as he goes along



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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Indystar
by David Lindquist

Keith Urban dazzles at State Fair show

On the merits of charisma and technology, Keith Urban puts on a concert unsurpassed by any tour out there.
His production visited the Indiana State Fair on Saturday night, when celebratory rave-ups and aching ballads supplied a rolling dynamic that spiked and dipped throughout a two-hour performance.


It's more impressive that Urban's cutting-edge show happened at the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand, where the Beatles played 45 summers ago.

The stage is a modest slab of concrete, and the bleachers still shake when crowds get excited.
Urban's crew felt the vibration when one video camera couldn't hold a steady image -- but many other cameras captured the scene for a vivid screen 30 feet high and 45 feet wide.

Urban ventured into his packed audience to perform the end of "My Better Half" and all of "Once in a Lifetime" while standing on a platform at the base of the bleachers. He jokingly compared safety fencing for car races to the honky-tonk chicken wire seen in "The Blues Brothers" movie.

Ace musicianship allows Urban to thrive in conditions that are metropolitan or rural or both at the same time. His guitar skills are too established to sneak up on anyone, yet an understated solo within "Stupid Boy" erupted to a startling peak.

String instruments dominate his souped-up band, as three sidemen -- not counting the drum and bass rhythm section -- handle trick starts and reprises while shuffling electric guitars, acoustic guitars, banjos and mandolins among themselves.

Urban is on the road to promote current album "Defying Gravity," which can be summarized as a lighter-than-air love letter to his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, and his fans.

At least concert-opening number "Hit the Ground Runnin' " features a lyrical twist that shifts the perception from a kiss-off to a vow of dogged loyalty.

While "Only You Can Love Me This Way" and "Sweet Thing" were fluff-filled representatives of "Gravity," Urban used his guitar to make them worthwhile.

And anyone bemoaning a lack of depth should note that the tour is titled "Escape Together." Urban and this fair audience took quite a ride.



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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
by Rosa Colucci

Keith Urban wows crowd at Mellon Arena

A jubilant Keith Urban "Hit the Ground Running" -- literally -- as he opened his show at the Mellon Arena. From the very first note, Urban attacked the guitar with a determined fury that wowed the crowd who sang along to opening favorites including, "Days Go By," "Stupid Boy," and "Where the Blacktop Ends."

Speaking of those fans, they were in top form, singing along to every song and treating the star with the utmost respect as he made his way from one side of the floor to the other to a satellite stage where he delivered a mesmerizing performance of a number of songs including "Once in a Lifetime." Fans screamed in delight as Urban asked "Who has the good seats now?"

Playing every angle of the fan-friendly stage, Urban was high energy for the two-hour show that could be summed up as nothing less than a basketful of hot summer fun. Urban's joy with the audience as they sang along to such favorites as "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me," and "Sweet Thing" was just a blast to behold.

Don't be fooled -- this ain't your mama's country music and Keith Urban isn't your typical country star. He is a sexy rock god in a hip plaid shirt churning out screaming guitar solos while running across the stage with a reckless youthful abandon to be envied. All the while, he never misses a beat, a note or a chance to connect with his fans.

Urban's easy manner with the crowd was evident. He moved down the ramps into the crowd with his wireless guitar, letting the fans take pictures as he covered the entire arena floor. Later in the evening, he moved back into the crowd and played and sang right in the aisles. Somewhere, a lot of fans are thanking the wireless technology gods for that performance.

He took time during the encore to thank everyone for coming to his show in the midst of the bleakest economy since the Great Depression. He also asked the audience to applaud his road crew and band for their hard work. After the final encore of "Cry," Urban wrapped up the night with a smoking-hot "Better Life."

When the song ended, he didn't leave the stage, the house lights rose and he said his good-byes to the audience and signed autographs. Then, something I've never seen at a concert happened, a list of credits rolled on the screen, like a film, naming each and every person on his crew and their positions, from guitar techs to sound grips. It was a last big thank you and a class act from a guy whose talent was matchless only to his grace.

Keith Urban rocks -- in every way.



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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Tulsa World
by Cary Aspinwall

Urban country comes to city

Rock met up with country at the BOK Center on Friday night and threw a party.

Keith Urban and opening act Sugarland rocked the stage and thrilled a near-sellout crowd with their "Escape Together World Tour."

They may be the darlings of country radio and video, and the show featured the requisite mandolins, banjos and Fender Telecasters, Jennifer Nettles' twang and Urban's Western snap shirt - but this was more like country's trendy cousin.

Nettles, Sugarland's lead singer, set the hipster tone with her skinny jeans and motorcycle boots, and singer/guitarist Kristian Bush donned plaid pants and a fedora. They played crowd favorites and country radio smash hits such as "Baby Girl" and "All I Want to Do," but they also threw in a little R.E.M., Edie Brickell and, during their song "Everyday America," a few bars from hits by Madonna and rapper Nelly.

As soon as the curtains dropped and Urban began wailing on his guitar, the crowd went manic.

So is Urban a country star embraced by rock fans or a rock star embraced by country fans?

Really, most of the embracing was done by Urban's rowdy female fans, eager to touch the singer as he played his guitar while walking around the arena's floor. He headed to a small stage near the back for a short set.

"Who's got the good seats now?" Urban asked his fans.

Good-looking and thoughtful, plus guitar skills? The heavily female audience swooned.

Many got dolled up in skimpy dresses and high-heeled sandals in honor of their favorite Aussie musician, screaming "I love you!" repeatedly.

Lest they get ideas, they could see his wedding ring gleaming on the mega screens behind the main stage.

In addition to music stardom, Urban is Mr. Nicole Kidman, father to Sunday Rose, whom he's said he scheduled his tour around to make sure he had plenty of time with his family between tour stops.

But the tour itself is clearly geared toward the fans, from playing to all angles of the arena to bringing Nettles and Bush on stage to perform a special cover of "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma." (They practiced Friday afternoon.)

Urban recalled a Tulsa show years ago when he was in a band called the Ranch - and only three people showed up.

For country music and Urban's career, how things have changed.



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Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: to follow




Keith Urban MP3 Downloads

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Democrat & Chronicle
by Troy L. Smith

Blue Cross rocks with Taylor Swift, Keith Urban

Allow one of music's rising stars to introduce herself:

"Hi, I'm Taylor," announced charismatic country star Taylor Swift to a packed house at Blue Cross Arena Sunday night during the "Escape Together World Tour" featuring Swift and country icon Keith Urban.

Fans let out a huge roar as the 19-year-old Swift hit the stage with her band hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. And she was just the opening act.

Having graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and had one of the top-selling albums of the last year, Swift was easily one of the biggest openers Blue Cross had seen in recent years. Flashbulbs lit up the arena as Swift stood center stage in her sparkling dress with matching guitar before starting things off with her latest single "You Belong with Me."

For most of her one-hour set Swift lived up to the hype. What she lacks in vocal range she made up for with showmanship. Yet, she seemed most at home with slower tunes like "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Fearless." The highpoint was a beautiful version of Swift's first hit "Tim McGraw," which fans loved, applauding for several minutes after the song ended.

However, on the more up-tempo songs, Swift's backup band repeatedly drowned out the young singer's vocals. And there were a few moments that were meant to engage the crowd but completely fell flat. At one point a video of a mock interview with Swift hit the big screen as a reporter asked the singer what it was like to be headlining her first tour. Never mind the fact that she was, again, the opening act.

And about 9 p.m., it became crystal clear why Keith Urban was the headliner. While Swift may be country music's biggest crossover pop star since Shania Twain, Keith Urban is a slick haired god to hard-core country fans. The 41-year-old hit the ground running, breezing through the likes of "Days Go By" and "You're My Better Half."

At the end of the latter, Urban jumped into the crowd taking his guitar to a small stage set toward the back of the arena. "Who's got the good seats now?" Urban asked the crowd with a smirk on his face.

Urban and his band rocked out for nearly two hours. And even during rare moments when things got a little boring (mostly the ballads), Urban would bring the crowd back to life with rambunctious versions of hits like "Sweet Thing" and "Told You So."

The veteran country star also deserves props for his highly under-rated electric guitar playing, which was a highlight throughout the night.

"I had no idea Keith could play like that," said a shocked fan as concert goers exited the arena around 11 p.m.

While many of the people in attendance were likely there to see one of music's brightest young stars in Swift, it was Urban who proved to be the savvy rock star, something he's been doing for almost two decades now. Who needs Rolling Stone magazine anyway?




Keith Urban MP3 Downloads

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Philadelphia Inquirer
by Sam Adams

Country crooner brings more than a little pop

"I've never been the one to ever let my feelings show," Keith Urban sang at the Wachovia Center on Saturday night, but few things could be farther from the truth. Although he works in a genre - or, more to the point, a format - whose male practitioners generally devote themselves to songs about drinking, driving, and the life of the working stiff, Urban is a ladies' man through and through

Except for the occasional-banjo-lick-and-a-song, "Where the Blacktop Ends," about off-roading, Urban's songs tended to be more pop than country. He didn't shy away from starry-eyed ballads such as "If Ever I Could Love," or the "na na na" refrain of "Somebody Like You."

In an era where sexual innuendo has been replaced by single entendres and blunt come-ons, Urban styles himself as an old-fashioned romantic. "Kiss a Girl," the single from his new album, Defying Gravity, proclaimed his desire to make "a little magic in the moonlight." Lest that sound too racy, he clarified: "Don't want to go too far, just to take it slow."

Not surprisingly, women make up much of Urban's audience, which he plays into by frequently choosing female or female-fronted acts to open his shows. This time, the honor went to Taylor Swift, whose love stories have slightly sharper edges.

She warned potential ex-boyfriends that their misdeeds would be immortalized in a song like "Forever & Always," about her relationship with the middle Jonas brother, Joe. The Jonases wrote a song about her as well, but there is no comparison. Where their music conforms to an entertainment conglomerate's notions of adolescence, Swift channeled high-school hurt into vivid mini-narratives that had beefy guys in ball caps strumming air guitar with her.

Although she was born in Wyomissing and spent most of her childhood in Nashville, Swift styled herself as a hometown girl, taking the stage in a Phillies jersey and recalling her previous performance in the arena: "The Star Spangled Banner" at a 76ers game eight years ago. The crowd was more than happy to welcome her - the cheers that followed her breakthrough single, "Tim McGraw," were so intense that Swift was briefly stunned.

For all the score-settling, Swift's songs were remarkably anger-free. Clad in a succession of sparkly dresses, she radiated enthusiasm and confidence, with a side helping of sass. Even more than the leap in songwriting between her first album and last year's triple platinum Fearless, the change in her stage presence was startling. There were a few lapses in judgment, notably the Stomp-style oil-drum duet she performed with a female member of her backing band, a misguided attempt to add grandiosity to her songs' intimate drama.

But then, it wasn't any more ridiculous than Urban's strobing guitar, which looked as though it had been embellished with Lite Brites. At 19, Swift seems as seasoned as performers twice her age, if not nearly as quick to let her energy flag.



Keith Urban MP3 Downloads

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Boston Globe
by Marc Hirsh

Sold-out Urban show a celebration of life

When a pop musician makes it through dark times, the standard postrecovery stance is to either go more somber and introspective or take a cynical, black-humored approach. Not Keith Urban. After going through addiction, rehab, and recovery, he's just glad to have come out on the other side fully intact, and last night's sold-out concert at the TD Garden continued the country star's celebration of life and the fact that he's been given the chance to keep living it.

That's not to say that he couldn't turn the camera back on himself. But even with the aching self-castigation of a song like "Stupid Boy,'' Urban's lyrical guitar solo capped it off with something resembling ecstasy, albeit the pained kind. Those guitar heroics belied the easy categorization of the singer as a country heartthrob, and he displayed ample chops, whether slow and mournful in "'Til Summer Comes Around'' or speedy and spirited like "Where the Blacktop Ends,'' which featured a solo seemingly yanked from 1980s hair metal.

Urban probably wouldn't have been recognized as a country artist had he first appeared during that decade. Instead, he'd have been tagged a generous heartland rocker and placed maybe a rung below John Mellencamp.

It wasn't a full twang in his voice as much as a simple catch, and it made anthems like "Sweet Thing'' and "Kiss a Girl'' shimmer. "Once in a Lifetime'' found him on a stage out in the audience, playing an electric chug without the assistance of his band and not missing a beat.

Urban's career timeline being what it is, not all of his songs were informed by his recent circumstances, of course, but his demeanor certainly was. About halfway through the show, he tore into "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me'' with a joyful solo and an ebullience that couldn't be denied. It was hard to imagine anybody else that Urban wanted to be right then.

Taylor Swift's opening set underscored the sneaking suspicion that her megasuccess is a triumph of marketing over talent. From the way the music was big, loud, and empty enough to drown out her thin, marginal voice to the way she played guitar, threw her hair around, and struck poses with such mechanical dispassion that you could practically see her counting off the blocking in her head, she looked like nothing so much as a little girl playing the part of a big country star



Keith Urban MP3 Downloads

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: The Arizona Republic
by Larry Rodgers

Keith Urban drives fans wild in Glendale

The popular country duo Sugarland may have canceled as opening act, but Keith Urban had no trouble sending an arena full of fans home satisfied on Saturday, July 25.

Backed by a five-piece band that excelled at rock and country, Urban commanded the crowd at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale from the moment he hit the stage with "Hit the Ground Runnin' ," from his latest CD, "Defying Gravity."

Fans talked before the show about being disappointed that Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles had to rest her strained voice, but Urban was clearly the main attraction, and concertgoers ate his two-hour-plus set up.

Urban played a strong show in the Valley as a headliner two years ago, but he has turned things up a notch or two as an arena performer.

His guitar playing was even more jaw-dropping than last tour on such country rockers as "Where the Blacktop Ends" and power ballads like "Stupid Boy," but he also smartly balanced the pyrotechnics with more measured playing on quieter moments like "Once In a Lifetime."

With a stint in rehab two years behind him and a young daughter at home with his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, Urban beamed like a happy man throughout his set.

Wearing a plaid shirt with sleeves cut short enough to display his muscles, Urban drove various groups of female fans wild when he strode over to their parts of the arena.

Urban worked the large stage with energy, with a backdrop of five vertical video screens
that often operated as one larger view.

The Aussie-raised star walked into the crowd early in the concert, making his way to a smaller stage near the rear of the arena floor as fans reached out to touch him.

"Now, who's got the good seats?," he joked before playing a trio of tunes that included two for which he sat on a stool and strummed an acoustic guitar.

"Making Memories of Us" was played as a brisk acoustic rocker, while the new "Only You Can Love Me This Way" was one of a handful of romantic ballads nailed by Urban during the show.

He went into full rock-show mode for his raging lead on the new ballad "'Til Summer Comes Around." Fans were looking at each other and shaking their heads as he used a seafoam-colored Fender Telecaster to build the song to a climax.

But Urban became a country superstar on the power of lighter and more pop-flavored fare, and he served up plenty of it in Glendale.

The new "Kiss a Girl" and "Sweet Thing" were well-suited for getting the crowd dancing and the female fans smiling.

After the crowd sang along loudly to an encore version of "Tonight I Wanna Cry," Urban said, "That does it. I'm moving to Arizona."

Earlier, he thanked a Valley chiropractor who had treated his very stiff neck before the show. He quoted the doctor as saying, "Son, your head wasn't on straight," then added, "My dad has been telling me that for years!"

The most fun tune of the night was 2002's "You Look Good In My Shirt," a raunchy honky-tonk rocker that found Urban on runways extending into the crowd as well as galloping back to a mini-stage set up amid the seats on the side of the arena.

The crowd enjoyed a fun surprise when rising singer Sarah Buxton opened with her own brand of country-pop.

"I am so glad that Sugarland decided not to do this gig," she said with a big grin early on.

Performing barefoot and in a sun dress, Buxton ventured into the aisles to dance with a fan during "Love Like Heaven."

Buxton, who co-wrote "Stupid Boy," showed off her big voice on the breakup tune "Space" and the power balled "Innocence."

"This is probably the best day of my whole life," Buxton said


Keith Urban MP3 Downloads



more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Sacramento Bee
by Dixie Reid

Keith Urban overcomes pain in the neck to rock Arco

Keith Urban said the other day in an interview with The Bee: "The best concerts I've been to give me a sense of hope. When I go to a concert, I don't want to be impressed, but I do want to be inspired."

He managed to do both Thursday night when he brought his "Escape Together World Tour" to Arco Arena.

He was nearly too hard-working, sweating (the air-conditioning seemed hard-pressed to keep up with his land-a-small-plane stage lights) when he confessed that he'd pinched a nerve in his neck before the show. As he said, "a wicked nerve."

Every breath was excruciating. And he said he would like to come back and make it up to us, properly.

Well, of course, he's welcome back anytime. It was his fourth concert at Arco since his December 2005 debut in Sacramento. The crowd in a three-quarters-packed arena adored and appreciated him -- particularly after the pinched-nerve confession.

He's well aware of how bad California's economy is, especially in a government town like Sacramento. In the telephone interview with him from his home in Nashville, he had said he knows people sacrifice something else when they buy tickets to his show.

"We really give it up to be sure they think it was a good decision," he said.

Considering that the empty seats were the least expensive ones in the place, that much of the crowd was on its feet for two hours, that folks knew the words to all his songs and happily sang along, it would seem those who showed up thought the ticket was worth the price.

As one young woman said after the show, "Keith Urban was freakin' awesome!"

With a video backdrop the size of a drive-in theater screen -- that at times showed five Keith Urbans at once, along with the two side screens, for a total of seven Keith Urbans -- the country singer-songwriter performed pages from his all-star songbook: "Kiss a Girl," "Stupid Boy," "Sweet Thing," "Days Go By" and many, many more.

What was missing this year was the C.K. McClatchy High drum and cymbal corps that helped him out with "I Told You So" twice before, and the arena-length performance catwalk that let him move through the crowd. He still moved through the crowd, with a security escort, to a small elevated platform, where he did a short set to the much-appreciated fans, who now had "front-row seats."

LeAnn Rimes, who says she and Urban were once neighbors in Nashville, opened the concert with an hour-long set. Some folks might remember that the first time she played Sacramento, at the 1996 California State Fair, was one day after her 14th birthday. She was being touted then as the modern-day Patsy Cline, and the little girl with a big voice had her first hit with a song called "Blue."

She's no Patsy, having grown into her own as a singer and songwriter. And it didn't seem odd at all when the pretty blonde in a sparkly dress launched into Johnny Cash's classic "Folsom Prison Blues," a guy's song if there ever was one. She's got the chops for it.

Unfortunately, heart-thumping bass undertones throughout most of her songs obscured her vocals.

As for Urban, except for that pesky pinched nerve -- which we didn't know about until the end -- it was a pretty flawless evening. He's a great guitar player and rocked out all night long, to the crowd's delight.

He seemed to have a good time, as did the several middle-age women waving signs suggesting they'd look good in his shirt.

Keith Urban MP3 Downloads


more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets



Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: Los Angeles Times
by Randy Lewis

Live: Keith Urban at Staples Center

The good news about Keith Urban's two-hour performance Sunday at Staples Center was that the New Zealand-born, Australia-reared Nashville resident is letting loose the kind of raw human emotion that's been all but buffed out of previous tours.

Urban delivered an anguished rendition of "You'll Think of Me," in which he riffed on the song's lyric, his voice breaking convincingly as he cried, "Why'd you have to break my heart -- didn't you know how much I loved you?"

He allowed more confusion and loss to wash over him in " 'Til Summer Comes Around," a haunting track from his latest album, "Defying Gravity," that gave him a forum to send out Mark Knopfler-esque sighs from his Stratocaster.

Granted, Urban didn't directly address his well-publicized substance-abuse relapse and recovery on that album, and the closest fans got to a peek inside his private world during Sunday's show was when he performed "Only You Can Love Me This Way."

He dedicated the song to his wife, Nicole Kidman, "who happens to be here tonight, [and] I'm very happy about that."

But the enthusiastic reception he received from the capacity crowd might be enough to convince him to continue to delve into more emotionally frank territory in the future; he could start by adding the new album's closing track, "Thank You," which cuts close to the heart, to the set list soon.

As one of country music's most skilled guitarists, Urban led his five-piece band from one workout to the next, taking the opportunity to progress through a series of appropriately varied Gibsons and Fenders, electric and acoustic.

Although the more pensive moments added depth to what's traditionally been an overwhelmingly upbeat concert experience, Urban still worked his "man of the people" gambit effectively, moving from the main stage through the crowd to a smaller second stage toward the back of the floor.


He taunted some and elicited cheers from others with his good-humored remark, "Look who's got the good seats now!" Female fans hugged and kissed him, even fondled his hair, on this trips through the arena.

The band regularly rotated in banjo and mandolin, instruments with rural roots that are key to the signature Urban sound, which routinely marries new and old, techno and traditional. It's the cornerstone of his unusually strong, two-pronged appeal as a slightly bad boy-next-door sex symbol for women and a bona fide guitar hero for the men.

Grammy Award winner Sugarland was slated to open, but concert-goers were greeted at the arena's entrance with a note stating that singer Jennifer Nettles had been ordered by her doctor to rest her voice. Enter Lady Antebellum, the Country Music Assn.'s best new artist winner, fronted by singers Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and vocalist-guitarist Dave Haywood.

Kelly has a Tim McGraw-ish Southern soul quality to his voice, and Scott is even more impressive as she channels some of Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines' feisty expressivity. That combination, especially in tandem with three-part harmonies rounded out by Haywood, has produced several catchy singles -- including the current No. 1 country hit, "I Run to You," and the group's out-of-the-gate success with "Love Don't Live Here."

The group took a couple of unnecessary (and unrevealing) detours into bar-band territory with covers of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" and John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good." Its own material is strong enough to stand up without the gratuitous nod to classic-rock past.


more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Denver Post
by Ricardo Baca

Urban a big hit, so who wouldn't wanna see him?

With the rugged good looks of a young Brad Pitt and the big arena rock hooks of an '80s-era Berlin, country music star Keith Urban owned a near-capacity crowd at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night.

The man who added the pop to country threw down a crowd-pleasing selection of songs that spanned his recorded history - diving back to his career-defining eponymous hit record from a decade ago but focusing on his new redemptive outing, "Defying Gravity."

Looking fit, wearing a chest-snuggling red-sparkle plaid shirt, Urban traversed the goliath stage with confidence and flair, unafraid to venture out to the crowd and onto an ancillary stage on the other side of the arena. Backed by a five-piece band that was competent in electric and acoustic guitar - along with mandolin and banjo - Urban's hits and B-sides alike sounded complete and full.

It helped that Urban is one of country music's finest (and, surprisingly, most soulful) electric guitar players. Urban's solo at the end of "Stupid Boy" was inspired and honest.

Among the show's highlights was the set's second song, "Days Go By," one of Urban's most likable tracks. The banjo and mandolin on "Where the Blacktop Ends" was refreshing, and it added a rootsy component to Urban's polished songs. One of his most recognizable ballads, "Making Memories of Us," was a potent moment that had the entire floor singing along with a country star who's a rock star.

Urban left a lot of the singing in "Raining on a Sunday," done solo on acoustic guitar, to the crowd. And "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" was an undeniable fun pop-country concoction, one that would win over nonbelievers.

The new "Sweet Thing" was a riotous pop-country ballad that Urban wrote in honor of his famous wife, Nicole Kidman. The upbeat song certainly hit a chord with the many twenty- and thirtysomething women there. "Kiss a Girl," another new song written for Kidman, sounded fresh and alive.

But Urban's appeal didn't stop at the women in the audience. Grown men sang along with his songs proudly, and it was obvious they were doing so out of a love for the music.



more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Dallas Morning News
by Joy Tipping

Concert review: Keith Urban thrills with energetic, generous show at American Airlines Center


Country star Keith Urban is a terrific singer, but that talent completely pales in comparison to his virtuosity as a guitarist, both electric and acoustic.

He's one of those artists you have to see live to truly appreciate - you simply can't feel the New Zealand native's energy and jaw-dropping moments of musical brilliance from the radio or listening to a song on an iPod.

At Saturday night's concert at a packed American Airlines Center, the absolute show-stopping moment came when Urban, on electric guitar, played an extended duet with Chris McHugh on drums before launching into the encore number "You Look Good In My Shirt." I closed my eyes for a minute, and I think I know now what it must've felt like to be at a Jimi Hendrix concert.

Urban also did an extended guitar lick in the rocking closing number, "Better Life" from 2004's Be Here CD. He did songs from throughout his decade-long U.S. career, including several from Defying Gravity, which was released in March: "Sweet Thing," "Kiss A Girl," and the mournful ballad " 'Till Summer Comes Along."

Another highlight was when Urban sang his hit cover of Del Rio, Texas, native Radney Foster's "Raining on Sunday" - and, surprise - out came Foster to sing it with him.

Urban seems an extraordinarily generous performer, both with his band and the audience. He sang nearly two dozen songs in the two-hour show, and gave each of his five band members a lengthy solo. At one point, he took off to the opposite end of the floor area from the stage. "Who's got the good seats now?" he asked the ecstatic back-of-the-room crowd.

The production itself was tremendously good, with crisp sound and a lot of downright brilliant videography, both live and recorded.

Jason Aldean, who brings the same kind of electric energy to the stage as Urban, made a perfect opening act, playing for about 45 minutes and closing with the irresistible girls-in-boots anthem "She's Country" from his latest CD, Wide Open.

more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Only You Can Love Me This Way
Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
If I Could Ever Love
Raining On Sunday
Kiss a Girl
I Told You So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good In My Shirt
Someone Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Quad City Times
by David Burke

Urban, Swift please i wireless Center crowd

It would take a massive show to outdo opening act Taylor Swift on Sunday night at the i wireless Center.

Fortunately, Keith Urban was up to the task.

With a rock-n-roll intensity that seldom let up throughout his two-hour set, Urban dazzled and charmed a capacity crowd of 10,500-plus in his third headlining gig in Moline.

"It took a little while, but we made it back," the 41-year-old Australian told the crowd.

Urban's dazzling rock guitar hero work was only a portion of what sold him to the audience. He made a foray into the audience for a couple of songs took him to the perimeter of the arena floor before settling on a small rear-audience stage for several songs, then returned back. Toward the end of the show, he also set up a performance spot about 10 rows up in Section 113 of the lower bowl.

Dressed in a short-sleeved plaid shirt all night, Urban's intensity was on display on the concert's video screens, with his perspiration dripping over a wooden guitar that he played most of the night.

The singer's five-piece band was top notch as well, with three of them performing snippets of songs by the late Michael Jackson - "I'll Be There," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror" - as they were introduced by Urban.

The 19-year-old Swift, who has been headlining most of this year with the exception of these few weeks of the Urban tour, kept her A-game in a 75-minute set. Making her entrance in a silver-tinsel-over-black minidress, Swift presumably kept many of the trappings of her headlining dates, including a pre-concert video, as well as one with NBC newswoman (and former WQAD'er) Hoda Kotb that led into her song "Forever and Always," and a costume change to a sparkly red number.

At times playing a glitter-covered guitar, Swift's lyrics are - by her own admission - about boys she's dated, tried to date or had broken up with. Two major albums in to her career, she has struck a balance between a confident stage persona and a performer who is still amazed that people are singing along with her songs. Video cameras caught her tearing up and mouthing, "Oh my God, thank you" after her first hit, "Tim McGraw." Those of us who saw her thrown onto the bill of a Rascal Flatts concert at the last minute 2 1/2 years ago remember her as part of a three-piece acoustic trio, standing in front of a curtain and visibly nervous. Those days are gone.

Getting two A-list country stars in one bill was something that the crowd definitely appreciated. With Sunday's Urban-Swift show, Kenny Chesney's return earlier this month and Brad Paisley's tour-de-force in May, country fans have definitely seen some of the best show people of the genre in 2009.

Taylor Swift Set List:

You Belong With Me
Our Song
Teardrops On My Guitar
Fearless
Forever and Always
Tim McGraw
White Horse
You're Not Sorry
Love Story
Should've Said No
Picture to Burn

more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Des Moines Register
by Sophia Ahmad

Review: Urban, Swift keep sellout Des Moines crowd involved

Take a show by country music star Keith Urban, add a sultry blond siren - country pop star Taylor Swift - and throw in a rowdy Saturday night audience, and you get a double-header big enough to be the first sellout at Wells Fargo Arena this year.

The concert, part of Urban's "Escape Together" world tour, opened with Swift, 19, riling up the crowd with an 11-song set.

Swift, whom Urban called his "soul sister," is just a teenager but proved her maturity on stage. Her songs tackled love, heartbreak and betrayal, themes ripe for some of her revenge ballads and fiery lyrics. She wove "You're Not Sorry" into a medley along with a cover of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River," complete with headbanging and some writhing on the piano bench.

Fans were in for an extra treat when Urban, 41, took the stage. A notice was posted on his official Web site four days ago saying that his newest video, "Only You Can Love Me This Way," would include footage from the Des Moines crowd.

It appeared that most of the arena knew, because the audience chorus was just as loud as Urban's sweet tenor. There were two takes of the song, with touchups in between.

Urban said he felt silly about all the fuss but he went on and thanked the crowd. "You guys are the best - thank you so much Des Moines," he said.

Like Swift's, Urban's energy was high, always dancing around stage with his guitar strapped to him. At two points during the show, he walked through the crowd to get to stages near the back of the arena. "Who's got the best seats now?" Urban asked.

Shelley Preston of Clive was among those in attendance. She took her 13-year-old granddaughter, Kalee Rinnels of Eldora, to hear Swift. Preston was there for Urban.

"I really don't have a favorite song. I like them all," Preston said.

But Kalee dished. "Her favorite is 'Kiss A Girl' - she sings it all the time."

The passing of pop and R&B superstar Michael Jackson on Thursday was fresh on Urban's mind. He introduced three of his bandmates, and each sang portions of Jackson's songs "Man in the Mirror" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" along with the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There."

Both country stars appreciated the audience.

"Mighty fine singing, Des Moines," Urban said. "It sounds awesome."

Swift felt the same: "It really doesn't matter if you didn't have friends in junior high, you have 13,000 of your closest friends in Iowa."

Close. When the final attendance numbers came in, Taylor could count on 13,620 friends.



more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Charlotte Observer
by Sarah Aarthun

Urban's wide appeal a hit in Charlotte

Keith Urban brought his Escape Together tour to Charlotte on Thursday night and did what he does best - a high-energy concert with wide appeal beyond the country genre.


Opening for Urban at Time Warner Cable Arena was country duo Sugarland, whose hour-long set rivaled the energy of Urban's. Lead singer Jennifer Nettles powered through 15 songs to the packed house, including recent singles "It Happens" and "All I Want to Do" as well as their 2006 hit "Stay," performed with believable emotion from Nettles.


Many in the audience came just for Sugarland - it was the most full I had seen the arena for an opener -- but if they left before Urban took the stage, they truly missed a great show.


While Sugarland has a distinct country twang (Nettles let her Georgia roots show as she conversed with the audience, calling one woman "Honeypot."), Urban's brand of country regularly crosses into rock territory thanks to his fast-fingered skills on the electric guitar and his guitar-heavy band. That rock-star style appeals to male fans, while the women swoon for his heartfelt ballads about love.


He provided a mix of both on Thursday, opening with the high energy "Hit the Ground Runnin'" from his latest album "Defying Gravity" and 2004's "Days Go By" before slowing things down with "Stupid Boy." It was a formula he followed throughout his two-hour set, but he's clearly at his best with his faster-paced rock songs (I found the back-and-forth between slow and up-tempo made the concert drag a bit). Highlights included "Who Wouldn't Want to be Me" and "Somebody Like You" both of which were punctuated by his elaborate stage setup - five huge HD screens that showed every drop of sweat along his brow and a massive light show timed to the music.


Perhaps the biggest thrill for the audience came when Urban ventured into the crowd (twice), popping up on a stage toward the back of the floor ("Who's got the good seats now?" he asked nearby concertgoers who rushed the area for an up-close view) and again in the lower bowl.


He seemed genuinely grateful for his fans, and I think that's what makes his shows so successful - he cares about giving back to them whether it's giving an intimate performance to fans in the cheap seats or acknowledging that disposable income for things like concerts is harder to come by.


Before he ended his two-song encore, he took a moment to give thanks.


"I know there are a lot of seriously hard times" right now, he said in a nod to the recession and the budgets many are operating under. "Thank you so much for choosing to come see us tonight."


His final song: "Better Life." The chorus: "Someday baby, you and I are gonna be the ones, good luck's gonna shine. Someday baby, you and I are gonna be the ones, so hold on, we're headed for a better life."


more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
by Amanda St. Amand

Keith Urban and Sugarland

Anyone out there who hears the name Keith Urban and thinks A, country singer or B, married to Nicole Kidman, should have seen how he dazzled a nearly full house at the Scottrade Center on Thursday night.

Urban hit the ground running with that same-titled song from his "Defying Gravity" album and didn't let up for the rest of the night as he brought his "Escape Together" tour to St. Louis. In a show that clocked in at five minutes shy of two hours, Urban delivered his signature guitar solos, mixed old and new material seamlessly and -- at evening's end -- gave a sincere thank you to fans who shelled out for a concert during the country's "seriously hard times."

Five songs into his set, Urban strolled to the back of the floor and sang "Once in a Lifetime Love" and "Making Memories of Us" from there before returning to the stage for a ripping version of "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me." Every woman's teenage fantasy of a guitar player came to life during his fabulous guitar work. There's plenty of solid musicians in country music, but Urban is certainly at the head of the class.

The five narrow video screens adorning the stage effectively highlighted Urban and his band, who gave the singer strong support all night. One of the video highlights was when the screens were used as a quasi-jukebox, playing bursts of summer songs before Urban launched into "Til Summer Comes Around."

While some singers struggle to segue from hard-charging numbers to ballads, Urban has mastered the art. From "Raining on Sunday" to "Kiss a Girl," and "I Told You So" to "You'll Think of Me," -- which, as ballads go, might have been the best-received of the 19 songs he sang all night. (Okay, "You Look Good in My Shirt" got a strong reaction, too, especially from the women.)

When Urban returned to the stage for his two-song encore of "Tonight I'm Gonna Cry" and "Better Life," he told the crowd: "You've been like a big living room for me tonight." Take that as a compliment, St. Louis.

Sugarland opened for Urban and got the crowd going with a shining 70-minute set that showed why they'll be back as headliners soon. Jennifer Nettles has some pipes, proving herself time and again on "Settlin," "Baby Girl," "Already Gone," and her powerful "Stay," which racked up about every country award out there.

Nettles and duo partner Kristian Bush, who excels on backup vocals in addition to mandolin and guitar, hit the high point during "Everyday America" when Nettles paused in the middle and said: "I'm feeling funky .. you want a remix?" and launched into takes on "Holiday" and "Hot in Herre," a tribute to St. Louis and Nelly.

Sugarland wrapped up with "Gotta Be Something More," which left the crowd wanting more, and that's probably a good way to do it.


more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets



Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009

Review: The Birmingham News
by Jerry Felts

Popular country stars Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley rock Huntsville

Country superstar Keith Urban "Hit The Ground Runnin' " Saturday night and left a capacity crowd at the Von Braun Center hoarse, sweaty and completely satisfied.

The "Escape Together World Tour" brought two of country music's hottest acts in Urban and Dierks Bentley to Huntsville. Between them they thrilled the primarily female audience with 30-plus songs, and together took a stab at The Eagles' classic "Take It to the Limit," which the duo admitted they "destroyed" a night earlier in Roanoke, Va.

Bentley, in one of only three concert dates with Urban before moving on to Brad Paisley's upcoming tour, launched the show with the title track from his latest release, "Feel That Fire," and soon after sang his current hit "Sideways."

Later he recalled performing at Sammy T's club as a rising artist and also told the audience about taking his tour mate's motorcycle for a ride through the North Alabama countryside on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Bentley closed his solid 11-song set with past hits "Every Mile a Memory," "What Was I Thinking?" and "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)."

Urban's new CD that debuted at No.1 is called "Defying Gravity," but it could have just as well been called "Defying Music Genres."

The 41-year-old is a guitar virtuoso disguised as a country star who spent a handful of tunes at various locations throughout the arena - an Urban concert tradition. "Who's got the good seats now?" he asked the crowd furthest from the main stage while performing on a smaller stage set up in front of their seats.

The 20-song set list ranged from some of his earliest as a solo artist ("Where the Blacktop Ends") to the hit singles off "Defying Gravity" ("Kiss a Girl," "Sweet Thing"). Urban's mutli-talented band, solid as always, even got to display their own vocal skills during introductions with snippets of mostly rock and pop tunes (was that really Boston's "Long Time"?).

After another awkward attempt at "Take It to the Limit," this time with Urban bungling the lyrics, things got back on track as the frenzied crowd was treated to "Kiss a Girl," the anthemic "I Told You So," a stirring version of "You'll Think of Me," the always popular "You Look Good In My Shirt," - performed on riser just in front of yours truly's seats - and "Somebody Like You."

Sweat-soaked but savoring every second of the audience's chant for an encore, Urban and mates returned to the stage to play "Better Life," drawing one final thunderous ovation.

The VBC is one of the smaller venues the "Escape Together World Tour" will hit this year, so Huntsville should consider itself lucky. The sellout crowd for Saturday night's show certainly got its money's worth.

Even those of us in attendance who don't consider ourselves country fans.

Photo Gallery Keit Urban @ Huntsville

more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: The Charleston Gazette
by Roger Lilly

Urban takes Civic Center by storm

Keith Urban and the Zac Brown Band stomped into Charleston Thursday night with the power and intensity of the thunderstorms that preceded their arrival. High energy was definitely the theme of the evening.

The Zac Brown Band came to town to tout their new CD, "The Foundation," which proved that the six-member group could absolutely nail it in the studio. But could they bring it to the stage?

The answer is an unqualified YES.

The suprisingly large workweek crowd was treated to well-written songs that featured tight arrangements, towering vocals and precise instrumentation.

ZBB left it all on the stage as they ran through renditions of "A Different Kind Of Fine," "Whatever It Is" and "Don't do a Thing." "Where The Boats Leave From" played off a Caribbean beach beat and had the appreciative audience bouncing in their seats.

They next attempted "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." Many bands cover Charlie Daniels; few can do him well. Even fewer do him justice.

Count Zac Brown Band among the latter.

"Toes," "Chicken Fried" and "Free" topped off an excellent set.

If ZBB keeps this up, it won't be long before they're back to headline at the Civic Center.


After an intermission that was a little too loud and a lot too long, Keith Urban and his five bandmates hit the ground running with a song from his new CD, "Defying Gravity," called "Hit The Ground Running" followed closely by the red-hot "Days Go By."

"Stupid Boy" ended with its signature blazing guitar solo and "Where The Blacktop Ends" provided the first chance for a power sing-a-long.

During "You're My Better Half," Urban bravely played his way through the adoring crowd to set up shop in the back by the cheap seats. It was there that he belted out "Once In A Lifetime" followed by "Making Memories Of Us."

Urban showcased three songs from the new CD before returning to "Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me."

He didn't seem to get many arguments.

So in the end, is he an urban myth or an urban legend?

You won't go wrong by choosing the latter.



more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

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Keith Urban Tickets




Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Keith Urban Merchandise 2009


Review: Daily Collegian
by Katie Sullivan

Urban brings excitement, die-hard fans to BJC performance

When the ushers sent giddy fans back to their designated seats Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, audience members rolled their eyes and reluctantly complied.

But when Keith Urban saw that security was asking fans not to get closer to the stage and requesting they clear the aisles, he quickly took action.

"We're not going to riot," Urban said. "Nobody's going to fall off their damn chair."

And with that, security stepped back and the floor goers rushed to the stage, cheering and singing along with the man in the tight plaid shirt and form-fitting blue jeans.

"He was fabulous as always," said Kimberly Tinker, 41, a Baltimore resident who came to the concert with her mother, Barbara Webster, 59.

People like Tinker and Webster made up a majority of the somewhat older audience, but young and old alike seemed to enjoy the longer than two-hour Urban performance.

Kristen Gephart, who works in Penn State's Lubert building, was with two of her girlfriends for her bachelorette party. She said the concert was something fun the girls could do together before she ties the knot.

"We all love country and Keith Urban, so it's perfect," Gephart, 22, said.

Local folk rock band The Rustlanders, who replaced Sugarland as Urban's opening act, was met with sporadic applause. Then the crowd of about three-fourths of the 10,000 maximum occupancy for this show rose to its feet when the curtains parted and Urban appeared on stage.

Sugarland dropped out of the show because of its lead singer's illness, but some audience members said the absence of the band couldn't put a damper on Urban's performance.

Kim Wadforth, a nursing home employee and member of Urban's official fan club, drove all the way from Ontario, Canada to attend her 39th Urban concert.

Wadforth said it didn't matter who opened for Urban as long as she got to see him perform, even if it was for the second, third or fourth time that week.

"I'm just so excited to see Keith," Wadforth said. "We're on a week long KURT, Keith Urban Road Trip."


more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

Find Keith Tickets All Shows 2009 ...
Keith Urban Tickets



Setlist

Hit the Ground Running
Days Go By
Stupid Boy
Where the Blacktop Ends
You're My Better Half
Once in a Lifetime
Making Memories of Us
Standing Right in Front of You
Til Summer Comes Around
Sweet Thing
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
If Ever I Could Love
Raining on Sunday
Kiss A Girl
I Told you So
You'll Think of Me
You Look Good in My Shirt
Somebody Like You

Encore:

Tonight I Wanna Cry
Better Life

Review: Hartford Courant
by Thomas KIntner

Dynamic Keith Urban Charms At Mohegan Sun

For all his success translating high-polish studio work into a steady stream of hits, Keith Urban might be even more accomplished in live settings that show off his considerable chops and charm.

The 41-year-old Australian began a two-night stand - and his summer tour - Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville with a captivating performance.

Backed by a five-piece band, Urban bounded into the show with "Hit the Ground Runnin.'" His guitar playing, like his songs, was slick without being disposable, whether on the driving "Days Go By" or applying decorative wailing to the oversized ballad "Stupid Boy."

Urban showed his natural dynamism on "You're My Better Half," but his singing was slightly ragged in the slow-burn "'Til Summer Comes Around" and the amiable "If Ever I Could Love."

Urban descended into the audience on several occasions, including a trip to a small stage at the rear of the room for the pulsating "Once in a Lifetime." He reacted to a sign in the crowd by asking a couple celebrating their 25th anniversary to join him, and he further enhanced the moment by altering his set list to play "Making Memories of Us."

Urban blew through the mandolin-tinged "Kiss a Girl" and made plentiful hay with the feisty "You Look Good in My Shirt" and an airy blast through his closer, "Somebody Like You." He wrapped himself comfortably around an acoustic encore of "Tonight I Wanna Cry," then ended the two-hour party with the soaring "Better Life."

With second-billed Sugarland a late scratch due to singer Jennifer Nettles' viral tonsil condition, Jason Aldean filled in as the show's opener.

more coverage and videos at:
Keith Urban Tour Blog 2009

No Frills Tour Dates 2009

March 18 Dallas, TX House of Blues
March 24 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
March 27 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues
March 30 Chicago, IL Joe's Sports Bar
April 1 New York, NY Webster Hall
April 3 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts



Setlist:

Days Go By
You're My Better Half
Stupid Boy
I Told You So
Til Summer Comes Around
Kiss A Girl
Making Memories of Us
Only You can Love me This Way
Sweet Thing
You Look Good In My Shirt
Rainin on Sunday
You'll Think of Me
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
Somebody Like You

Tonight I wanna Cry
Better Life

*setlist unconfirmed ... I pieced this together from several reports so if you have additions or corrections please add a comment below in feedback section.

Keith Urban opened his No Frills mini tour last night at the Dallas House of Blues, he played a set of about 90 minutes in duration which included four songs from his new "Defying Gravity" album ... Sweet Thing, Kiss A Girl, Till Summer Comes Around, and Only You Can Love Me This Way.

No Frills Tour Dates 2009

March 18 Dallas, TX House of Blues
March 24 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
March 27 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues
March 30 Chicago, IL Joe's Sports Bar
April 1 New York, NY Webster Hall
April 3 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts

Find Keith Tickets, All Shows
Keith Urban Tickets 2009



Setlist

Days Go By
You're My Better Half
I Told You So
Stupid Boy
Sweet Thing
You Look Good In My Shirt
Making Memories of Us
You'll Think of Me
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
Somebody Like You

Review: Entertainment Weekly
by Whitney Pastorek

Keith Urban whoops it up at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is up and running in the ol' hometown, and I made my traditional pre-SXSW visit to Reliant Stadium on St. Patrick's Day, joining 60,000 green-clad Texans and my gratuitous-turquoise-jewelry-laden mother to pet cows, watch chicks hatch, eat foods God never intended (today: baked potato smothered in brisket), cheer on some steer wrestlers, and cap it all off with a performance from country music superstar Keith Urban.

First time seeing the Aussie in person, though I've long enjoyed his hyper style -- I like how he's always at a banjo-pickin' clip, it's real jaunty -- and I heartily endorse his thetan-free marriage to Nicole Kidman, who we discovered was in the building tonight when he opened "Making Memories of Us" with a dedication to her. Cue gasps and heads turning left and right, as though Nicole Kidman would be just hanging out behind the bull chutes in a bedazzled vest and pink Ropers for all to see. She wasn't. But follow me after the jump anyway, as Keith Urban did something tonight that I've never seen another rodeo performer try -- and yes, that does include Garth Brooks, George Strait, and late-80's-era Huey Lewis. Suspense!

Save for the usual drunk B.F.F. girls swaying arm-in-arm with Bud Lights held high, most in attendance stayed seated for Urban's hour-long greatest-hits set, and recent chart-topper "Sweet Thing" was the only nod he made to the upcoming release of Defying Gravity. This was basically a warmup gig for his his summer tour, and since most rodeo guests struggle somewhat with the 50 yards of soul-crushing, bull-ridden dirt between the rotating stage and the nearest audience member, I'll forgive Urban's rocky start: a lackluster "Days Go By" drifted into a flubbed "You're My Better Half," and no one was singing when he asked them to. The great Irish fiddle of "I Told You So" picked things up a bit, but it was the always-moving "Stupid Boy" when he settled in, bending and caressing his guitar to elicit sounds as passionate as his vocals, flipping his pick through his fingers like a poker chip. His guitar prowess is, as promised, completely staggering live -- yet, in my opinion, nothing I saw tonight was anywhere near as self-indulgent as live guitar prowess tends to be. Perhaps this is because he was singing and soloing simultaneously, or perhaps the floppy hair and all the whooping make it seem effortless. (Note to John Mayer: Maybe try whooping more?)

Finally, in conclusion, and to sum up, this was a decent performance that wouldn't be memorable save for one unbelievable moment of showmanship: At the top of "You Look Good In My Shirt," Keith Urban went rogue, climbed down from the stage, and began to jog a lap around Reliant with a cameraman, guitar tech, and mic stand-toting roadie huffing along beside him. I am still not sure how he managed to get through the entire song without everything collapsing into chaos, but his routine went something like, "play guitar, grab mic from stand, sing verse, high-five crowd, put mic back in stand, play guitar, duck head to accept strings of St. Patty's Day beads from fans, hand guitar to tech in order to climb the railing of stands and bury self in pile of screaming girls, reclaim guitar over top of railing, have audience member hold mic, sing more, hand guitar back, climb through railing and flip to ground, resume running..." My mother and I -- with easily 30 rodeos between us -- cannot remember another performer ever taking off on a tear like that. It was legitimately exhilarating, and once he returned to the stage, disentangled himself from a wad of shiny green necklaces, and sat down for the passionate yet restrained double punch of "...Memories" and "You'll Think of Me," it was enough to convince me that one of these days, I need to see this guy work a room that didn't just host a calf scramble.

Were any of you H-town PopWatchers there this evening? What did you think? Anyone care to report from one of the other acts HLSR has hosted? Like, how were the Jonas Brothers? And because ACM fan voting just opened, and I know this will start a fight: Who's your entertainer of the year, Urban or Chesney? I'm not saying I've got an opinion. I just wonder if Chesney would have run that lap.

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Keith Urban Tickets 2009



Setlist
Haven't located a setlist yet for this show, if you attended or have the setlist please add as a comment in feedback.

Review: to follow

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