Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
June 21, 2008
By Anthony Kuzminski
Photo's Courtesy of Cathy Piper
A little over a decade back, the golf world was shaken to its core when a young golfer named Tiger Woods appeared. It wasn’t the fact that he was winning tournaments but the ease with which he appeared to do so that left everyone in astonishment. “How could anyone be this good?” ran through the minds of anyone who laid eyes on him. There’s nothing I love greater than to watch someone who is at the best at their craft in person. Whether it’s hitting a baseball, throwing a football, hitting a golf ball, acting, running, or playing the guitar there’s something mystical about seeing a talent up close that is too good to be true. We look at them as if they hold the key to some hidden secret about life because of their supernatural abilities. We feel there’s something extraordinary about their talents; almost as if God has come down from the heavens and touched their souls for some higher purpose. This is the exact sensation I felt while watching Keith Urban recently conclude his set on the Poets and Pirates tour at Soldier Field in Chicago. After a smoldering set, it was reaching its conclusion, but not before Urban launched into an absolute and marathon version of “Somebody Like You” which melded a fanciful banjo, a sing-a-long chorus, an ever so steady backbeat and last but not least some fierce guitar fireworks by Urban. The musical muscle on this song is epic in concert…but it’s the ever so simple lyrics of wanting to be accepted that provided an intoxicating shock to the crowd; “I don’t want to take this life for granted like I used to do”. The reprise was raucous as it was rippling with the crowd eating out of Urban’s hands. As the song concluded, the stadium roared with approval wanting more. In terms of live performances, this is as good as it gets. Who would have though that this cheeky radio ready pop country number would prove to be as spiritual, epic, draining and flat out intoxicating as “Baba O’Reilly”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” or “Jungleland” in concert?. The driving performance was as awe inspiring as a hole-in-one on a golf course and I found myself thinking, “How can anyone be this good?”Shortly after 7:30 pm with the sun still brightly shining down on the Chicago lakefront, a huge high definition screen lit up and the audience soared to their feet and let out a broad daylight howl usually only reserved for Chicago Bears games. The screen featured a video of a lone troubadour in the distance. As the figure strode forward, almost as if he was about to crush the stadium in Godzilla-like fashion, the roars heightened as Keith Urban with a guitar in hand played the acoustic intro to “Days Go By”. One by one Urban’s band members arrive on stage and with the smack down of Chris McHugh’s sinewy drums the stadium was ignited as fists soared to the air. The zealous rendering of “Days Go By” found Keith Urban grasp hold of the 50,000 in attendance in what was a short, surreal and sweet 75-minute set. The Poets and Pirates tour may be very much Kenny Chesney’s concoction but his unobtrusive attitude allows for other acts to have their moment in the sun, and Urban shined like the brightest star in the sky on this night.
The beginning of the set was a full throttle affair with the swampy sweet “Where The Blacktop Ends” enthralling the crowd which was followed immediately by the stadium made anthem “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me”, the latter was an out of control inferno and even those who weren’t converted yet were awoken from their hibernation. It’s rare to see such a remarkably adept artist sweep a crowd off its feet in broad daylight, this was stadium rock at its finest. Even though Urban’s arena shows feature state of the art stage wizardry, amazingly none of it was missed; not even the intimacy of the arena show because Urban and his band rose to the occasion. Before the solo acoustic performance of the reserved and relaxed “Raining On Sunday”, Urban enlisted the help of the 50,000 in attendance to sing “Happy Birthday” to his wife Nicole Kidman who was in attendance and blushed with great intensity as the Chicago crowd serenaded her. It’s these little moments that make people fall in love with Urban and his music. Even though the three shows I have seen by him are not entirely varied, each had so many unique moments that all three are wholly unique, new and novel in their own captivating way. “I Told You So” was lean and had a vocal reception from the crowd that was rousing while “You’re My Better Half”, a sentimental ditty, proved to be charming in its organic acoustic rendering. What differentiates Urban is he’s a master of arrangements. He knows how to take a great song and weave it to his advantage, without being self indulgent and losing the audience in the process. His intro to “You Look Good In My Shirt” consists of a medley of classic and current guitar riffs that are gut-walloping even before he takes the deep dive into “Shirt” which is booming, liberating and completely etched in your mind by its concluding notes. Urban sang each verse on opposite ends of the stadium stage before the final verse where he descended into the mass of people and continued to perform as he made his way through the crowd and even went up the stairs to the lower level as he was mobbed by adorning fans who hugged, cried and even kissed him. Once again, it’s a simple moment like this that make Urban’s appeal so magnanimous. He’s married to a Hollywood starlet yet he appears to be one of us.
Urban’s credibility comes from his lineage musical upbringing that is vast, wide and varied. There are numerous country influences, but his watershed moment came in 1988 when John Mellencamp visited Australia on the The Lonesome Jubilee tour. Ironically, if Jubilee were released today it would probably be on country radio, but what I love most about Urban is he merely writes songs and records them in their best possible arrangements without trying to be something he’s not. His immense vernacular of music keeps him sharp and diversified allowing for him to be a standout. Instead of following trends, he’s creating them and even when he borrows from others, he reminds us why we fell in love with music in the first place, no easy feat. The fact he doesn’t get trapped within the walls of any specific genre is a triumph in itself.
If one were to dismiss Urban on the basis of a few of his radio hits and good looks, I tell them to listen to two specific songs; “Stupid Boy” and “You’ll Think of Me”. The weighty “Stupid Boy” is a complex and picturesque world weary ballad with an unexpected raw intimacy. You don’t feel as if you’re listening to a song but you yourself are in the middle of the hurricane. The pained crescendo of the latter half is accompanied by a weeping vocal delivery that is more than just a proficient performance; it cuts like a knife through your soul. The incandescent “You’ll Think of Me” is a song that had a very slow evolution for me. It now crawls under my skin and haunts me every time I hear it. We’ve all had those relationships that end in devastation and even though our mind tells us it’s all going to be OK, our heart tells us something else. “You’ll Think of Me” is the ultimate sign off and urges you to move forward. This song has as much soul as Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up” or the Beatles “Let It Be”. It wallops not just your mind, but your heart as well reminding you that life indeed can go on and ultimately you’re better off without that person. I wish this song was around for my teen years. I recently sent a friend of mine a YouTube clip of this song and I consider this friend to have truly illustrious tastes in music and he doesn’t enjoy country music much at all. The email I got back from him read, “This guy’s good…really good.Last fall, Keith’s Greatest Hits was released with little fanfare; however, don’t be surprised if this disc takes on mythic and epic proportions in years to come. It’s truly one of those albums that are all killer and no filler. It reminds me of the Eagles or Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits discs where you instantly feel a connection to the extensive catalog in one sitting. Even though I consider myself a writer, I often find myself fumbling words in expressing the power of Urban’s stage presence. As good as his albums are they don’t do him justice. I hope one of these days he decides to release an larger-than-life live disc, along the lines of KISS’ Alive! of Frampton Comes Alive, where the best of Urban’s albums would be represented in a more organic light. If there’s any act on the planet that could pull it off in this day and age, it’s Urban even if it was available exclusively at shows or as a download. There’s a larger than life quality to each of his performances that leave you winded at the end of the show. I want to re-live that experience not just through a DVD, but in my car and iPod as well.
During his performance of “Better Life”, I turned around to see the stadium’s reaction and 50,000 people were on their feet and there was nothing but a sea of teeth, as the smiles on everyone’s faces were impossible to erase. This performance exuded pure unadulterated joy and transported the entire crowd to another world where all felt right. Seeing this many people engaged in broad daylight is no simple feat, but Urban managed it with ease despite him not being the headliner. The few who were unaware of Urban’s staggering stage presence walked away with a vivid visual they won’t soon forget. Keith Urban is not just a pretty face who got to where he is based on luck. If you’ve been seeking out a performer who leaves you mentally and physically exhausted where both band and fan are drained, then look no further, you’ve found someone to love as Urban is one of the five best live acts on the planet at this moment in time. You will find you questioning yourself as you think; “How can anyone be this good?”
