I know I keep coming back to this guy, and I know that he has now branched out into the more mainstream popular music culture, but the fact of the matter is that he is one of the best country musicians I have ever had the privilege to see. Yes I am of course talking about Keith Urban.
This man is not just a singer, but he is a real musician. He plays every instrument under the sun. I saw his concert in Acer Arena last year and let me just say…wow. I knew he played guitar but I didn’t realise that he was practically a one man band. Every now and again he would just stroll over to a new instrument and pick it up and just wow the audience over and over again. He was spectacular. And if you saw his performance with a guitar at the Arias last year, with the John Butler Trio, you would know exactly what I mean. he is just so at home with a guitar, its effortless. I can see why he got best live act by the Country Music Critics Poll (Discussed previously in “Nashville Ramblings” post).
I wasn’t always a Keith Urban fan. I bought a CD for a friends birthday once and gave it a listen before I gave it to her…then I kept it and bought her a new one. I just loved it. I couldn’t give it away. And from there I bought all the Keith Urban CD’s, even the old stuff back when he was in “The Ranch”. He is a terribly talented artist, however its only been the last few years that he ahs really achieved ‘mainstream’ success.
So when I heard he was coming to Sydney on tour, I went straight to ticketeck and, well they were sold out of course, so I went to good old eBay and bought the best tickets ever! 10th row, section A, next to the catwalk. I shook Keith Urban’s hand…twice!
Heading into the concert I was expecting a great show, but what I got far exceeded my expectations. From the very start it was loud and bright and entertaining, everything a concert should be. He entertained the crown and spoke to us on our level. He wasn’t all high and mighty but really spoke to us, like we were his friends. When an artist does that you really get drawn into the show and it makes the experience so much more personal. It takes a very talented artist to realise this and actually employ it without coming over as too cocky. He gave people the opportunity to take photos and he sang not only on the stage but half way down the catwalk (in front of me) and also at the end. This way he reached the maximum number of audience members. An he wasn’t afraid of the audience. He bent down and high fived everyone. I have been to a lot of big name popular artists concerts and this is a rare thing. Its like they are either too good or they are scared of us. Keith Urban really wasn’t. he wasn’t there for the money but to put on a show for us! That, to me, is what is so appealing about all country artists. They seem like they are working for us. Like it’s a privilege to do what they do, and they try not to take it for granted.
Not only was Keith a spectacular musician, but his band members were equally as good. And not just those backing bands that stand and do nothing, they were entertainers too (a few were actually from Keith’s old band “The Ranch”). after all, we are there to see a show, not just people playing instruments, if you wanted to see that you could go to a music shop. Here is a little snippet of the last few seconds of “Shine”. This was actually filmed at the concert I attended, and you get to see a little of what I mean when I say how amazing the concert was, and how amazingly talented hi is.
You know what was the most amazing thing though. He could sing. That right, the singer could actually sing. No lip syncing or singing off tune. It was as clear as the CD and had just as much life and emotion, if not more. That is such a rare thing these days, with artists such as Ashley Simpson and Avril Lavigne you truly being to wonder how much work is theirs and how much is fake computer generated stuff. Its really nice to know that when you buy a CD, the artist can actually sing. After all, they are meant to be singers.
Even though Keith Urban is semi-mainstream now, I really thinks he deserves it. He lugged the man hours before he was famous and he is the real thing. A musician and an entertainer. So why am I doing a blog about him if he has infact made it into the mainstream? Well firstly, because the concert was spectacular, to spectacular not to share. I have never been to its equal. And secondly, no matter how much he merges over into the pop/rock genre, he is still mostly a country music artist. He plays a banjo like no one else (and has actually inspired me to one day learn it). He embodies everything that I have been saying is ‘country’. His songs are so emotional and they tell such amazing stories, and they make people happy. I cant help but smiling when I hear “Days Go By”. There is something about it that makes you beam and makes you forget your worries and just have fun. That, to me is what country music is.
So, since this is my last topical post for this blog assignment, I thought who better to drive home my idea that country music is an amazing genre than Keith Urban. And because he has broken into the mainstream music area, he is then bringing more publicity back into country music. People can hear him and try to find bands like him and perhaps explore a little more of this less publicised genre. To me, he is sort of like an ambassador for Australian country music, here and internationally.
Finally, I found these two videos that are also from the concert I attended. They don’t really show how good Keith was but I think I am actually in the videos. I was sitting right on the catwalk, only 10 rows from the front, and as you see here, Keith walks out for a few songs in the middle of the catwalk and he stops in front of me. In this first video you can see a blonde taking photos right in front of him. I think that’s me! In the second video you only see me for a split second (on the right of the screen), but half way through the song a girl puts her arms up and screams. I was beside her and in front a bit. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed at You Tube for having these videos. Of all the places in the concert that they filmed from they happened to be behind me. that’s pretty cool!
By Jacki Tipton
In my opinion Lisa possess a country type voice and comprises lyrics and music typical of the country and folk genres. 
