INTERVIEWS AND REVIEWS FROM 0CTOBER

October 30, 2004
COUNTRY REVIEW | KEITH URBAN
Serenading Sweet Love (With an Occasional Dig)
By JON PARELES

f Keith Urban had arrived in the 1980's, he would have been a mild rocker: an amiable, unthreatening guitar-slinger along the lines of Kenny Loggins. Now the same kind of music is classified as country, and Mr. Urban, who is 37, has made himself a country heartthrob. Two of his albums, "Keith Urban" and "Golden Road," have sold a million copies each; he has just released his third, "Be Here" (all on Capitol).

Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia and based in Nashville since 1992, Mr. Urban sings wholehearted love songs and wears tight bluejeans; in fact, he has a love song about bluejeans, "Jeans On." On Wednesday night at the Beacon Theater, the audience was full of women who screamed with delight as Mr. Urban sang vows like "I wanna be your everything." Mr. Urban, who collaborates on writing much of his material, often portrays himself as a stock figure in current country songs: a hard-pressed guy comforted by a woman's love, whether he's had a tough day on the job or a traffic jam on the way home. He's so sensitive that when he loses someone, he actually admits, "Tonight I Wanna Cry."

His music is closer to the Midwest and California than it is to country's Southern roots, suggesting not just Mr. Loggins but also Jim Croce. In ballads, his friendly tenor takes on Croce's old bleat. For country flavor, his band sometimes adds banjo or mandolin. And every few songs, Mr. Urban steps forward as a rock lead guitarist, a good one. His power ballad "Rainin' on Sunday" echoes the slow buildup and wailing instrumental climax of Prince's "Purple Rain."

Mr. Urban made his musical allegiances clear in his choice of other people's songs: John Mellencamp's "Rumble Seat" and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," which both avoid the lovers' bromides that Mr. Urban offers in his own songs.

He does have another fixation: memories and a certain nostalgia for the present. He started his set with "Days Go By," about seizing the moment, and ended it with "These Are the Days," singing, "These are the days we will remember." But he drew the strongest squeals for a song in which, for once, there was rancor as well as romance. In "You'll Think of Me," a fingerpicking ballad Croce could have sung, he breaks up with a cheating lover - "Take your records, take your freedom" - and leaves her with a vindictive boast about her impending nostalgia: "I'll feel a whole lot better/ But you'll think of me." In his songs, a little conflict works wonders.

Concert Preview: Keith Urban's country is a balancing act
Thursday, October 28, 2004

By John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Keith Urban is looking for balance. Balance between the intellectual demands of an introspective songwriter and the realities of the newest A-list Nashville star with a hit album and headlining concert tour. Balance between being the man who got this far and the man he'll need to become in order to stay there. Balance between his Aussie accent when he talks and his Dixie diction when he sings.

"It's kind of a funny, double-edged sword," he said on the road during a tour that brings him to Pittsburgh tomorrow before a stop at the Grand Ole Opry for the CMA Awards. "I believe I keep myself in a pretty good daydreaming state most of the time. I haven't lost that; being a little disconnected so I can concentrate on the music. In the end you understand what you can and can't do."

The list of what Urban can do is impressive. Proving that 2002's "Golden Road" wasn't a No. 2 fluke, his "Be Here" CD debuted at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart. He was the opening-act high point of several high-profile tours, and his first headlining road show is drawing big crowds.

Unlike most Nashville stars, Urban writes most of his material, including nine of 13 songs on the new CD, which he co-produced. In the studio and on stage, he picks his electric guitar as well as most seasoned session players, and in concert he's got the lean jeans and wavy hair of a '70s rock star -- a definite plus for classic-rock-loving country crowds. An industry frequently lambasted for shooting itself in the foot has a slam dunk on its hands with Urban, an artist that Music Row has been grooming for years.

"I'm getting a lot of attention now," says Urban, "but if anything I'm trying to draw on what I was doing eight years ago. When I disbanded [his first American band] The Ranch, I was in a very humble place. Not confident, not sure what was going to happen. With the continued touring and record sales, it's becoming more relaxing within me. I'm getting comfortable again."

But not too comfortable for self-evaluation. With all the power of Nashville behind him, he assembled a new backing band. Three shows into the tour, he radically altered the set list.

"We're playing to such diverse audiences," says Urban. "The thoughtful songwriter crowd, the yee-haw-Friday-night crowd, the Sunday-night crowd, people who like straight country, people who like country and classic rock. We appeal to all of them, but it's hard to know how to combine those things on different nights. We're still working that out."

"Be Here" has it all. Contemplative ballads by Urban with and without talented co-writers, new songs by some of Nashville's finest, a classic rock cover (Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Country Comfort") and production ideas that are bold without losing their radio appeal.

In the studio, after finishing Urban and Monty Powell's "Days Go By," guitarist Tom Bukovac was having so much fun with the riff, he kept playing it.

"The band sort of built it back up around him," says Urban. "It's a good riff, and it felt good to do it -- so good that I started writing another song around it right there in the studio."

The result was "These are the Days," a fun yet logical extension of the original tune. The companion songs bookend a solid collection of contemporary country music.

"Still, I really struggle with the song-writing," says Urban. "It's not something that comes effortlessly. The law of averages works for me -- two months of two to three days a week with different song-writing partners. After a good week of daily song-writing, my mind tends to know what I want it to do. In the end, every artist just has to be true to himself. That's where you find your audience."

Urban catches Sox fever, catches fire
By Amy Amatangelo
Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Red Sox fever has extended Down Under, or at least to the stage patter from there. Australia native Keith Urban, who brought his first headlining tour, ``Be Here '04,'' to the Tsongas Arena in Lowell on Monday night, couldn't help but root for our hometown team. ``How about those Red Sox? Unbelievable,'' he said after opening with his most recent hit, ``Days Go By.'' He and his band even donned Red Sox caps for ``Somebody Like You'' and a cover of Tom Petty's hit ``Free Fallin'.''

     Urban clearly delighted in the freedom that comes with having top billing. Decked out in jeans and a T-shirt, he ad-libbed his way through lyrics (throwing in ``Boston,'' ``Red Sox'' and ``Massachusetts'' whenever he could). He also turned conventional radio hits such as ``Where the Blacktop Ends'' into extended jam sessions. The vibrant Urban, who is brimming with sheer vocal talent and deft with the guitar, brought an infectious energy to the stage.

     Backed by an equally talented five-man band, the sinewy Urban rocked the heck out of the hits from his three albums.He was a little bit of a chameleon - a sorrowful country star on ``Tonight I Want to Cry,'' a rock star on ``She's Gotta Be,'' an inspirational performer on ``These Are the Days,'' and a good ol' boy on ``Homespun Love.'' During that rollicking little ditty, which he referred to as a ``white-trash trailer-park rock song,'' he broke his guitar and turned even that into a lyric. ``Keep it together,'' he told the clapping crowd as his guitar was replaced.

     When Urban quieted his performance, he was still captivating. The melancholy ``You'll Think of Me,'' in which he advises an ex-girlfriend to ``take your cat and leave my sweater,'' became a spectacular therapeutic outburst.

     The theme of his ``Be Here'' album is seize the day. ``Come on Boston, get out and live your life!'' he said when he returned for an encore, ``Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me,'' while the words ``Love,'' ``Faith'' ``Believe'' and ``Now'' lighted up on the stage.

     Katrina Elam opened the show with a generic, uninspired set. The acoustics did not do the Nashville newcomer any favors as she shouted her way through ``Normal,'' ``I Want a Cowboy'' and her current single, ``No End in Sight.''

( Keith Urban at the Tsongas Arena, Lowell, Monday night.

Friday, October 22, 2004 - Keith Urban might be the only country music star who greets his audience by shouting "G'day Mates!" The New Zealand native with the Damon-esque flowing locks plays the Tsongas Arena on Monday night and is on a serious roll. His third album, Be Here, debuted atop the country charts last month and has already produced his biggest crossover hit, "Days Go By." Urban, who moved to Nashville from Oz a dozen years ago, called in from his tour bus as it motored toward a stop in Birmingham, Ala., this week.

How does a kid who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia end up a country music star? Is country big Down Under?

It was at my house. My dad and mom both loved American country music. So I grew up listening to people like Charley Pride, (Merle) Haggard, Ronnie Milsap. And then I have a brother who's two years older, and he was big into ELO, Jackson Browne, so I blended a lot of that into it as well. It was a real cross-section.

You started playing guitar when you were six years old. Any guitarists you particularly admire?

Early on, I didn't find myself seeking out certain players. I just wanted to learned certain solos that were on songs I loved. But I watched people like Reggie Young and Ricky Skaggs. Later, I really gravitated toward Mark Knopfler. But my favorite all-time is Stevie Ray (Vaughan). I've never heard anyone play like that. It's just amazing.

What happens to your Aussie accent when you sing?

This is what I listened to growing up, and how I learned to sing. So when I open my mouth to sing, it comes out exactly how it comes out. It's the same thing that the Beatles did. They'd come up with these mumbled words "Cahn't Buy Me Love," and then when they sing it it's this Americanized "Can't Buy Me Love."

Be Here is your third album, your first since the breakthrough success of Golden Road. Is there added pressure for a rising star to follow up such a mammoth success with another one?

No, I don't think so. I really just make the record that I want to make. I can't re-create Golden Road, and I wouldn't want to. All I can do is concentrate on making the best record I can make right now. So there was no conscious effort at continuity, though I have noticed a nice continuity in the three albums I've done so far.

What type of continuity?

Just in terms of sounds, and themes and instruments that I'd like to go keep using going forward.

On the new album, you cover "Country Comfort," an old Elton John tune. Pretty poppy choice for a country singer.

Elton was all over the AM radio in Australia when I was growing up, and I always loved his melodies and lyrics. I guess there's a similarity between us, growing up somewhere else and having this love for America, but not knowing anything sort of literal about it. There's a lot of that in what Bernie (Taupin) wrote for Elton, and there's a lot of that in my songs.

Be Here hit No. 1 right away on the Billboard country charts and debuted at No. 3 on the pop album charts. This week, George Strait's Greatest Hits collection is atop the pop album charts. Is there any difference any more between country and pop?

I think country's always been on that cross-section. You go back even to the '50s, '60s, '70s. I think it's always been popular. It's always been a blurry line. I mean, look at someone like Kenny Rogers. He had all those pop songs that were hits, but was considered a country singer.

So do you consider yourself country or pop?

Country seems to be somehow the core of what I do, always. Even when it's more rock-oriented or pop-oriented, country was my first influence. It's always there.

THE REAL DEAL
Crossover star Keith Urban earns fans' hollers
By Jay Webb
Special to the Star-Telegram

It became obvious that the screaming-girl factor would be ridiculously high Saturday night at Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie when the speakers started blaring The Beatles' I Want To Hold Your Hand. Women of all ages rushed the stage a full 10 minutes before Keith Urban, the hunky Australian country singer known for his great hair, took the stage.

But when it was all over, I would have to say Urban worked for -- and deserved -- every cry that came from his predominantly female audience.

Dressed in a black T-shirt and bleach-splattered bluejeans, Urban emerged on top of the speakers, strumming the chorus to These Are the Days, which led directly into his new hit single, Days Go By. He was surrounded by rusty-looking risers and a fake wind turbine that made the stage resemble an industrial rooftop.

Urban gets a lot of critical flak for putting too much pop in his country CDs, but he made sure that new songs like You're My Better Half and old favorites like Somebody Like You and Where the Blacktop Ends included either a banjo or a mandolin, adding the mandatory twang to maintain his country cred.

Raining on Sunday started with a guitar solo that revealed Urban's often-overlooked guitar skills, and he really let loose on She's Gotta Be. Vocally, he sounded great, his hearty tenor occasionally dipping into a guttural drawl. When talking to the audience, he occasionally forgot his Australian accent, but they didn't seem to mind. They were just happy to have him point out all the homemade signs that dotted the crowd.

Urban has started to cross over into pop music with his sappy ballad You'll Think of Me, which is getting play on adult-contemporary station KVIL/103.7. Live, however, the song took a bitter turn as Urban threw in some free-form lyrics at the end and a snarl.

So, even though others may say that Urban isn't real country artist, he still has the voice, the guitar chops and the charismatic charm to entertain a packed house and to make everyone believe he's nothing less than the real deal.

Opening act Katrina Elam looked like a Barbie doll, sounded like Melissa Etheridge and apparently stole all her stage moves from Jessica Simpson. But she ended her set with a cute yodel that left most of the audience intrigued with her, if not totally sold.

GRADE: A-

OCTOBER 13TH 2004
Keith Urban - Be Here
Capitol Nashville Records
Album Review by Cheryl Harvey Hill

As I listened to this CD I found myself lost in the songs, not just the music. I love albums that draw you into the feeling and cause you to lose track of time. It isn't difficult to understand why Urban has been able to carve himself such a comfortable niche' in the hearts of music fans, of all genres, around the world. He delivers each song with so much empathy, passion and conviction. Whether the song is a slow, romantic ballad or a rollicking kick-ass tune, you find yourself drawn into the music and your emotions are pushed and prodded by lyrics that are convincingly and passionately delivered.

*"Well I can't believe I'm sittin' here today, picking on my banjo with a big smile on my face. Writin' new words to an old school melody. Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me."

I wasn't at all surprised to receive a press release that says he is the most successful Australian male artist in the world and his third solo album Be Here has already made its mark on the USA Pop Chart (Billboard 200) with a huge #3 debut and the ARIA Chart at # 11. It went on to say that the first single released from the album "Days Go By" gives Urban his 8th consecutive top five US hit, breaking "Air Supply's" record for an Aussie artist on the US charts. The song currently sits at #1 for the fourth consecutive week giving Urban his 5th #1 chart topper in the USA.

*"Oh the sun is shinin' on down in Tennessee and right now I'm right where I wanna be. I've never felt so loved, so peaceful and so free. Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me."

Urban had a hand in writing eight of the thirteen songs on this album and he also co-produced the album. The quality and style of this CD demonstrates how much he has grown as a singer and a songwriter and clearly illustrates that his popularity is well deserved. He is as skilled at writing songs as he is as singing them and his vocal dexterity is matched by his amazing instrumental agility.

*"'Cause He put me smack dab in the middle of paradise in the heart of the city where my dreams have come alive and everything I have and everything I see is just another reminder that God's been good to me."

Although he is often accused of leaning towards "rock" music, the lyrics in songs he had a hand in writing are most definitely grounded in true "country." Just give a listen to "Days Go By," "God's Been Good To Me" and "You're My Better Half." Urban also has great wisdom when it comes to selecting songs written by others. "Making Memories of Us" is a soothing, romantic ballad written by Rodney Crowell, "Nobody Drinks Alone" is a haunting ode to lost love written by Matraca Berg and Jim Collins while "Country Comfort" was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. There are several other really good songwriters who contributed to this album but Urban seems to have found a strong writing partner in Monty Powell.

*"This golden road's been long and sometimes I've lost my way. I've been down some darkened detours, leanin' heavy on my faith. But where the devil had me chained, Lord your love done set me free. Hallelujah! God's been good to me."

Urban is probably one of the most prolific and complete entertainers in any genre of music today. He has it all. Looks, talent, charisma, compassion (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been a constant recipient of his kindness for years) and like all truly great artists, he only gets better over time. Keith Urban is like a rare diamond and each album reveals a new facet; each one reflecting greater depth and more brilliance. I would definitely agree with Urban; God has been very good to him, indeed.

*lyrics from "God's Been Good To Me" - written by Keith Urban

KEITH URBAN UPDATE

URBAN DYNAMITES DOORS
AUSTRALIAN RADIO DUCKS FOR COVER

Australian metropolitan corporate commercial radio chain programmers have been ambushed by their worst nightmare.

U.S. radio - from where they take their riding instructions - has adopted the music of expatriate Australasian country superstar Keith Urban.

Urban has topped U.S country charts on debut with fifth album Be Here.

And he has soared past rappers, rockers, hip hoppers and other radio riff raff to reach #3 on the prestige Billboard rock charts.

Be Here sold 148,000 copies in its first week of release leaving him just behind Green Day's American Idiot that debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and Nelly's Suit at #2 in its second week of release.

Urban's album pushed several major artists down the country chart.

Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying slid to #2 and Alan Jackson's What I Do to #3.

KEITH IS HUGE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Most people here know, that I get very excited when I find that another country has discovered Keith,
I have come across yet another country!...

check this review out.
Keith Urban m� prvn� No. 1 album
Prid�no: 04. 10. 2004, v 23:20 Autor: Jir� Konc
   Australan Keith Urban se konecne dockal vytou�en�ho prvenstv� na albov�m country �ebr�cku. Jeho nov� album Be Here tento t�den debutovalo na 1. pr�cce hitpar�dy Top Country Albums a na tret� pozici v celkov� hitpar�de Billboard 200. Tret�ho americk�ho alba Keithe Urbana se behem prvn�ho t�dne prodalo �ctyhodn�ch 148.000 kusu kopi�. A aby toho nebylo m�lo, Urbanova nahr�vka �Days Go By� kraluje ji� ctvrt� t�den singlov�mu country �ebr�cku. Inu, kdy� se dar�, tak se dar�.
   �spech Keithe Urbana samozrejme zapr�cinil zmeny v dosavadn�m uspor�d�n� country �ebr�cku. K velk�m presunum v�ak nedo�lo. Na druh�m m�ste je Tim McGraw s albem Live Like You Were Dying, trojka patr� Alanu Jacksonovi a kolekci What I Do, na ctvrt� pr�cce je Gretchen Wilson a Here For The Party n�sledovan� sv�mi souputn�ky, duem Big & Rich s albem Horse of a Different Color na m�ste p�t�m.
   Jak u� bylo zm�neno v �vodu, i singlov� hitpar�de kraluje Keith Urban, n�sledovan� Sarou Evans a jej� p�sn� �Suds in the Bucket� na m�ste druh�m. Zat�mco prvn� dve pozice zustaly od minul�ho t�dne nezmeneny, na dal��ch dvou postech do�lo k v�mene. George Strait je se sv�m singlem �I Hate Everything� na tret� pozici, zat�mco Gretchen Wilson a tituln� nahr�vka z jej�ho alba Here For The Party jsou na m�ste ctvrt�m. Prvn� petici nejhranej��ch skladeb ve Spojen�ch st�tech uzav�r� minul� t�den �est� Alan Jackson se singlem �Too Much of a Good Thing,� co� je zat�m nejlep�� hitpar�dov� pozice pro tuto skladbu.

BE HERE REVIEW
On "Be here" (Capitol Records), Keith Urban's powerful and deeply felt follow-up to 2002's double-platinum "Golden Road" his heart and soul as a man and a musician comes through loud and clear.

"Be Here," co-produced by Dann Huff and Keith Urban himself, is music from a young man who's lived a little, loved a little and battled a couple of demons along the way. There are songs here for the good times, such as "You're My Better Half," "Making Memories of Us" and "God's Been Good To Me." And there are songs that speak to life's darker patches, like "Tonight I Wanna Cry," "The Hard Way" and "Nobody Drinks Alone."
From the driving opening track "Days Go By" (the album's first single) to the graceful reprise of "These Are The Days," "Be Here" offers the sound of a gifted singer-songwriter and world-class player embracing life and savoring the chance to play another day.

Keith Urban delivers more than ever before. While the songs sound as accessible as ever, "Be Here" is Keith Urban's most personal and deeply felt work to date. This is music for living life in the present tense. "If there was a theme to this album, it would be the big questions I ask just like anybody else: What are we doing here? What's life about?" says Keith Urban. "These days, I think more about the brevity of our time here. So it seems to me that making the most of every day is really crucial."

Keith Urban will 'Be Here'
By MICHELLE KINSEY
mkinsey@thestarpress.com mkinsey@thestarpress.com mkinsey@thestarpress.com

MUNCIE - Keith Urban has the No. 1 country album and single in the country.

Life is good.
"You could say that," Urban said, chuckling through his thick accent - not a country twang, mind you, but the kind of drawl that comes from being raised on a farm somewhere in Australia.
We caught the amiable Aussie by phone recently from his home outside of Nashville. He will be kicking off his CMT Be Here '04 Tour today in Muncie.
What does he think about being here?
"I've never played in Muncie, and I figured it was about time," he said with a laugh.
Here's what Mr. No. 1 had to say about a variety of other subjects:
Keith on tour preparation
Keith and his band stepped up the rehearsals this week to prepare for the tour. "We'll have four days of production rehearsals before the Muncie show," he said.
He confessed to some pre-tour jitters. "There's a little bit of nervousness," he said. Especially this time around - this is his first headlining tour and he's heading out with a new band.
"There's a little unfamiliarity there for all of us," he said. "But I've got a really solid group of players."
He disbanded the original group less than a month ago. "It just seemed like it was time for many reasons," he said. "There certainly was no animosity with anybody or anything like that. I wish everybody in my band the best and know that they will move on to much better things."
Urban hand-picked the new line-up. "My drummer is the same drummer who played on all three of my albums," he said. The rest, he added, were well-known studio guys, with the exception of the mandolin/dobro player. He borrowed him (Chad Jeffries) from Pinmonkey.
Keith on chart watching
When asked if he watched the Billboards closely, especially since he's at the top of two charts these days, he answered, "That was hard to not notice. But I don't stay up late worrying about my chart positions."
Keith on the tour set list
Urban loves it live, and he said his set list for the Be Here Tour will "probably lean heavily on songs from Golden Road." "We'll also obviously do a handful from the new album, and a couple from the first album, including Where the Blacktop Ends and Your Everything. I might even do songs off The Ranch album."
Keith on big-time success
Urban believes that hard works pays off - specifically the time he puts in on the road. "My success comes hopefully from the amount of touring we've done. That's where the connection really comes solid for me. It's easy to hype records and this and that, but the word of mouth ... that was a big part of Golden Road. Friends turning friends on. Friends bringing friends to shows. It's a nice, organic way to go about it."
Keith on gifts
Country music fans are known for giving great gifts. But who knew country stars were gifty as well? "The coolest was a Harley Davidson Kenny Chesney bought me," he said. That brings his collection to three, which he takes with him on the road - two Harleys and a Heritage Springer custom chopper made for him by an Orlando bike shop.
Keith on riding
"I ride [my motorcycle] almost every day if the weather is good," he said. "I really like riding in towns that we haven't been in before. I like to ride around the neighborhoods, get a sense of connection to the people. That way I know what your town feels like when I hit the stage."
Keith on working with Richard Marx
He's had some interesting writing partners over the years. He worked with members of the Go-Go's on a tune for Golden Road. This time around it was Richard Marx (Don't Mean Nothing and Hold Onto the Nights). Seems the two have been friends for a few years now and often perform at each other's charity events. "But we never really sat down to write before. Then I went out to his house in Chicago one weekend, and this song Better Life started to emerge. I had my six-string banjo at his house and, well, the song wrote itself.
Keith on his fave 'Be Here' tune
"All are [my favorites] for different reasons. I was the most surprised with Tonight I Wanna Cry. I wrote that one with Marty Powell. It was the first time I played the piano for a writing session in Nashville. I did it a bit in Australia."
Songs come quickly for Urban. He has to get them out right away. "I have the attention span of a gnat," he said.
Keith on songwriting
His writing approach varies. "It's any which way imaginable, but if there was a process that I seem to favor, one that seems to be the norm for me, it's probably starting with a guitar riff or groove with the lyrics coming toward the end of the process."
Keith on the single life
"I'm too busy [for a relationship]," he said with a laugh. "It's such a cliche, but, boy, it's the truth."
Keith on country music, Australian style
"The thing that Australia lacks is video outlets and country radio," he said. "There are no significant country video channels and no significant country radio airplay. We do not have any major FM country station in any capital city. It's very difficult to get across to the mainstream. There's still an underground, hip perception of country there."
Keith on down time
He doesn't get much but says when he get some time to himself, he likes to listen to ... nothing. "Silence. There's nothing like the sound of silence. It's underrated."

Who: Keith Urban with guest Katrina Elam

Keith Urban fact file

Homeland: Caboolture, Australia

Home now: Nashville (moved to the U.S. in 1992)

Albums: Keith Urban (2000), Golden Road (2002), Be Here (2004)

Top 5 hits: 6 (including his current No. 1 Days Go By)

First No. 1 hit: But for the Grace of God

City guy or farm folk: Farm folk

First band: The Ranch

Year he went solo: 1997

Awards: Country Music Association's Horizon Award in 2001, Academy of Country Music Award's Top New Male Vocalist in 2001

'Urban cowboy' holds nothing back in kickoff concert
By MICHELLE KINSEY
mkinsey@thestarpress.com mkinsey@thestarpress.com

MUNCIE - Keith Urban decided to kick off his national Be Here tour Friday night in Emens Auditorium.
The fans, packed to capacity in the room, could not have been happier that he did. It was a solid evening of music from start to finish - or should we say, from Elam to Urban.
Newcomer Katrina Elam opened the show and immediately captured attention with her powerhouse vocals and sweet, down-home style.
Elam can handle ballads, country rockers - even yodeling. Her Oklahoma yodeling skills earned her a standing ovation, very rare for an opening act.
Elam introduced her first single, No End In Sight, which is a good tune but doesn't even come close to capturing this young woman's talent.
Remember her name. She's one to watch.
Being that this was the first night of the big tour, there were a few bugs to work out. Both Elam and Urban admitted they were nervous - "nervous as crap," Urban would say. And Elam's band started the wrong backing track for one of the songs at one point.
But no one seemed to mind.
Urban started his set atop a stack of amps at the back of the stage, strumming the opening to his current No. 1 hit Days Go By solo.
The screams from the audience were near-deafening. The ladies, who far outnumbered the guys at this show, love him.
Who could blame them? He's good looking, can play the heck out of a guitar and sings songs about treating women right.
And here's the cool part: Urban is about as far from a stereotypical country star these days as you can get. The Aussie was dressed in well-worn jeans and a T-shirt. His shoulder-length tousled hair was never covered with a Stetson. He definitely adds new meaning to "Urban cowboy."
Urban and his new five-piece band (he let his original band members go less than a month ago) did not hold back. The sound was tight, loud and full of energy.
Although it was clearly Urban's show, the band members had their moments to shine with some great banjo, mandolin, dobro and Hammond organ solos.
The show moved quickly and smoothly from one tune to the next. Urban covered all his bases with hits from the debut album (Your Everything, Where the Blacktop Ends, But for the Grace of God), his sophomore effort Golden Road (Somebody Like You, You Won, Raining On Sunday, You're Not My God) and his latest, Be Here.
One of the highlights was when Urban took a seat at center stage for some solo acoustic numbers that proved why this guy has the No. 1 song and album in the country. He thumped and plucked and strummed that guitar dry and his voice was pitch perfect and oozing with passion.
The band members joined him one by one until they were all on stage for the Jeans On jam session.
The audience was with him every step of the way, singing along with every tune. Urban sometimes stepped back and let the fans do the work.
After what had to be an exhausting set, Urban returned to play piano for the encore of the tender ballad Tonight I Wanna Cry. He followed that up with Tom Petty's Free Fallin' and closed the nearly two-hour set with the final track on his new album, These Are the Days.
"These are the days we will remember," he sang as neon signs placed around the modest stage light up to reveal words such as "live," "hope," "believe" and "be here."

This was certainly a night his fans will remember for a long, long time.

Posted on Sun, Oct. 10, 2004

Aussie finds a home in U.S. country music
By John Gerome
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - He hears the talk on Music Row about being the next big thing.

He tries not to listen.

"To me, I'm still this 15-year-old guy in his first garage band. That's how I feel every night when I play," says Keith Urban, the Australian whose tour was to launch Friday in Muncie, Ind., in support of his new album, Be Here. (He's scheduled to play the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on Oct. 30.)
Urban's 2002 breakthrough, Golden Road, sold two million copies and yielded four hits, including "Somebody Like You" and "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me."
The first single, "Days Go By," is already No. 1 on the country charts, and Urban is up for male vocalist of the year at next month's Country Music Association awards, alongside superstars Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and George Strait.
"There's been a very tangible buzz over the past year or year and a half that Keith Urban is a star ready to break out," said Neil Pond, editor of Country Weekly magazine. "He's a great poster boy for where country music can go and wants to go, and that is into a much broader demographic of musical integrity, sexiness and commercial success."
In rehearsal last week, Urban looked like a rock star: slight build, shoulder-length hair, scruffy jeans and black T-shirt, earring, and tattoos. His electric guitar was amped up and a little distorted (he's widely considered a virtuoso, and counts Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and Angus Young of AC/DC as influences). The drums and bass thumped at a fast, heavy clip. And when he spoke, his accent made him seem like a character from the British Invasion.

But while other pop- and rock-edged country acts often avoid or downplay the banjos, mandolins and fiddles, Urban embraces them. His musical epiphany came during a John Mellencamp concert in 1988.

"I finally saw a guy who had blended fiddle and acoustic guitar and rock drums and rural lyrics into this amazing package. Because I was thinking, 'Am I rock? Am I country?' - I don't know what the hell I am. Every time I pick up an acoustic it comes out country. Then when I pick up an electric guitar it's a little bit of the other... . John showed that you can just find your voice, whatever that is."

Urban's guitar playing sets him apart from other country hunks. Said Scott Michaels, music director at WKKG-FM in Indianapolis: "The guys who dig him, dig him for the guitar-playing, and women love to look at

FIRST CONCERT ON KEITHS TOUR TONIGHT IN MUNCIE REVIEW
review by (urbanlovinhoosier) (Rien) (Monkey Woman)
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO USE IT HERE AT KEITHURBANMATES

Katrina Elam
Katrina kicks BUTT! Y'all will love her
- she yodeled! Did about 6 or 7 songs and the crowd was really
receptive. Good for Katrina!!

KEITH Setlist:
Start of concert, he's up on a riser at back of stage way up high and
it starts with acoustic chorus of These Are the Days with smoke,
minimal lighting for a silhouette effect.
Played just the chorus, not the verses
Segued into Days Go By
Better Half
As the band started playing Raining on Sunday, he was at the back of
the stage and "sucked down a whole bottle of water" before it was his
cue to start singing lol
Raining on Sunday
You Won with a loong intro with other guitar players
You're Not My God (she made a note that towards the end he growled
the "grin" - mmm hehe!); kinda improved near end of that one - "I
don't need MTV/reality tv" type stuff during improv
You Look Good in My Shirt - screamed out "HELL YEAH" in opening note
hehe! And did the tongue thing that no one can keep up with at the
end of the song
Steve King on piano playing after that, she couldn't figure it out
what song, sounded like Beatles' "Get Back"
Then Keith acoustic
Homespun Love - "he got tickled" because everyone was SCREAMIN' and
he laughed halfway through the song; he went looooow bass near the
end "Never heard him sing that low before ever!"
I Hear You Knocking
Your Everything - funny (she says I have to tell y'all this): There
was a guy down front that yelled out "I love you Keith" and Keith
busted up laughing in the song, then a girl off to the side said "I
love you Keith" and he told her "I love you too baby" and went back
into song; just that the guy making him laugh in the song was funny
hehe!
But for the Grace of God - there is no fiddle in the new band, so
this was a new arrangement that she'd never heard before. It started
acoustic with the bass player, bass drum + snare right next to him;
partway through, the banjo and dobro came and joined in. Audience
sang it; because he was sitting down and not standing, he couldn't do
the mic thing like he usually does, the mic was on a stand in front
of him and he just swung the mic back and forth for the audience to
sing
Then part of Maroon 5 "She Will Be Loved"
Jeans On
You'll Think of Me
She's Gotta Be - re: guitar solo at the end -
Where the Blacktop Ends - near the end the whole band just like froze
and started back again, kinda threw everyone off but they knew what
they were doing heh
Somebody Like You
ENCORE
Tonight I Wanna Cry - sat in centre of stage and played piano
big red light fixture like
something out of a restaurant or something to light him up at the
piano. JUST him and the piano, eventually drum phased in near the
end. He "played his little heart out"
Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me - SCREAMED "I'm a free man" at the end. You
GO, Keith!
Ended on These Are the Days - full song. At the end he yelled out "GO
OUT AND LIVE YOUR LIFE"
Other stuff I know y'all wanna know!

Keith himself
He was "ON HIS GAME TONIGHT"! Laughed whole concert, even during
serious songs like YTOM he was grinning ear to ear - having the time
of his life!

Wearing - army green [tight] t-shirt, she couldn't read what it said
because she was too far back and he kept moving (blurry in binoculars
hehe); looked just normal - flared jeans ("probably wearing the
Diesels because of the flair"), brown boots. Anyone still worried
over that stupid marriage rumour - he was not wearing a ring (just
like we all knew in our guts anyway!). Still scruffy! Looking "mighty
good" she says; you can tell he's been working out
And now... THE NEW BAND!
Interaction with the band was AWESOME! He traded licks with Chris R.
in one song. In another one, Keith was in the centre of stage, turned
to the guy playing banjo (Chad?) and kinda shook his head to tell him
to come here; Chad hesitated, Keith stopped playing just quickly
enough to wave him over to come play beside him. Aww!!
She says everyone's naysaying about lack of chemistry is wrong (not
her words, I don't remember exactly how she phrased it) - he was
right in with the other guys playing and they all ROCKED!
Making a real effort to bring band together and mesh and work
together. GREAT tonight - there were a couple things that were
'different', but not BAD.
There is no fiddle player (hence the new arrangement for BFTGOG);
she's not sure if this is the final band.
It's a 5-piece - guitar, bass, dobro/banjo, drums, Steve King (still
has accordian hehe!)
They were really playing well togeter, she was very impressed and
thinks everyone's fears will be put to rest as soon as they see for
themselves!

The Monkey
She noted this: The monkey in the background isn't just a big cutout
anymore, it has been printed on huge curtain thing, kinda
speckled(?). So still there, just different.
Hanging from ceiling at the end of "These Are the Days", words
started lighting up individually: hope, love, believe, maybe faith.
(This is where I started getting goosebumps!)

In short: "It was incredible" - followed by much squealing, giggling,
and other fangrrly euphoria.

Oh yeah ... did I mention the marquee outside the arena said this
show was SOLD OUT! *bounces* We should all be very proud of our Keith
tonight - and he should be proud of himself, too.