*Scroll down for a photo gallery of the event!*
It’s rare
enough that we get big name country music acts coming to play this side of the
pond, let alone playing an intimate show, but this year Keith Urban decided to
treat us to his first UK show in 12 years (?!) ahead of his headlining gig at
C2C. With a capacity of 2,300, the O2 Forum Kentish Town isn’t the smallest
venue, but certainly a lot more intimate than the 10x that arena shows he’s
used to playing.
Opening act
was new kid on the block Kerri Watt who, in her block coloured leotard and
white boots, exuded 60s vibes. Her musical style was certainly on the rockier
side of the country scene with songs like Cut
Me Loose, Kissing Fools, and Can’t
Catch Me, although we did have a brief interlude into more country material
with the Jessie, full of guitar
strums and storytelling lyrics. It seemed to me that she wasn’t too sure of
what to do on stage as she sang, but no doubt gigs like this and her upcoming
C2C slots will help to build her confidence in this respect.
We were no
doubt breaking all kinds of fire safety rules, crammed into the O2 Forum with
little room to breathe, but such a large crowd meant a great welcome for Keith
as he appeared in silhouette form to humungous cheers. We kicked off with Never Coming Down, Keith already showing
off his insane guitar skills, the likes of which I had only seen before with
John Mayer.
Song number
two came in with something of a throwback in the form of Days Go By, and I was surprised to see this was a song that some
concert-goers weren’t familiar with, guessing that they must have picked him up
in later albums (Ripcord being my
best, in my humble opinion!) I, for one, was thrilled that Keith picked and
chose from across his whole career.
He carried
on with Comin Home, featuring a video
clip of Julia Michaels rocking out to her part while Keith looked effortlessly
cool on stage. If there was ever a man made to perform, I think I’ve found him.
It was at this point that Keith took a moment to say hello, shouting out “London,
we finally made it back!” and indeed, it certainly had taken him longer than
expected to make it back. I only started going to concerts back in 2009, and
yet this was the very first time I was able to see him!
The intimate
setting seemed to have Keith in a more chatty mood than I imagine he’ll be at
C2C, inviting a fan who was at his last show back in 2007 on stage for a photo
and just talking free-form as he moved about the stage. It’ll be interesting to
see how this compares to Friday night’s show (the review of which will also be
posted on this blog!)
We moved on
to one of my favourite tracks, Somewhere
In My Car, it becoming completely obvious that Keith was leading the show
and could well have done it singlehandedly. Whilst some artists rely heavily on
their band members, Keith was 100% the lead guitarist and could easily have
carried the show on his own (although the band were fantastic in their own
right, as Keith made sure to highlight to us throughout the show by having each
member come forward and perform for us.)
We hit
another throwback with feel-good roadtrip song Long Hot Summer followed by the beautiful Parallel Line, which I encourage you to consider for your first
dance wedding song! We carried on with Put
U In A Song and Fly With Me,
Keith extending his arms towards the crowd to draw them in. At this point, the
rest of the band exited the stage and we were left with just Keith and his
acoustic guitar. The crowd hushed as he played Stupid Boy and Love Somebody,
Keith turning the mic towards the crowd to hear us all sing. What a special
moment!
Another
special moment occurred when Keith asked us to imagine what would happen if a
blackout hit the venue – how would we light up the stage? Cue the sea of phone
lights which did a great job of illuminating Keith and the band as we moved
onto Good Thing and the super poppy Love The Way It Hurts.
We hit
ballad city at this point with Blue Ain’t
Your Colour, which somehow provoked a few members of the audience to get
aggressive – I wasn’t aware that such a song could provoke rage in some people!
But Keith dealt very well with the scuffle by playing the calming Making Memories Of Us, practically
whispering into the microphone at one point.
I loved
hearing the super fun Droptop,
accompanied by a VT of Kassi Ashton rocking out to her part, which was followed
by Keith freezing on stage (I genuinely thought time had stopped) as we
transitioned to Cop Car. I’ll always
be impressed by this song as it’s hardly a topic that would normally inspire
great songwriting, but somehow it works!
Kerri Watt returned
to the stage to fill in for Carrie Underwood for The Fighter, during which time Keith made his way into the centre
of the crowd (what is it with artists doing that recently? Check out my reviewof Dan & Shay who did the same!) firstly for a duet with the full crowd on
that track, and then for an insane 10 minute medley of some of his greatest
hits including Kiss A Girl, Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me, You Look Good In
My Shirt, and even a bit of Post Malone’s Jackie Chan.
He stopped
to explain that since we’d given him all this time and energy to watch him
perform, he wanted to give something back, something real. This turned out to
be his very own guitar, which one lucky girl in the audience got to take home
with her! I mean, c’mon, how can you not like this guy?
I love it
when a set feels long, and by this point I felt like I’d been watching Keith
play for hours, and could easily have continued to do so for hours to come.
Back on the stage, we picked up the pace with Gone Tomorrow Here Today and John
Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 before finishing the set with Wasted Time. I don’t think I’d ever sang
or danced as much at any concert before.
Everyone
left the stage, the faint glow of a sign proclaiming ‘Keith Urban’ projected on
the back as we stamped our feet and chanted “Keith! Keith! Keith!” We jumped
into an encore of You’ll Think Of Me
and Horses, ending on a complete and
utter high. The band took a well deserved bow, and off they went to get ready
for the slew of concerts still to come. Keith, meanwhile, jumped straight off
the stage and began walking through, shaking hands and signing things. What a
man. I can’t wait to do it all again this weekend!
I hope you enjoyed today’s review! I have
loads and loads more country related content coming soon, including full
coverage of C2C (with Keith as headliner!) and plenty of interviews and
reviews. Stay tuned to @CiarasCountry on Twitter and this blog to find out
more. Thanks for reading!
Gallery
No comments:
Post a Comment