ALL the gory details of a week spent chasing Keith Urban
This is what I'm sending to my friends, so I'm not editing it for the sake of a message board. I don't really expect anyone to read/reply because it's too long! LOL
DAY ONE, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2004
I went to work half the day, then picked Sarah up at the airport. We had lunch at O’Charley’s, went to my house, looked at Keith pics and watched the Songwriter’s Celebration video. She even made me watch some of the Garth parts. LOL
DAY TWO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2004
Ashley from Houston booked a spur of the moment flight to Jackson on Monday because Sarah and I had an extra ticket. We picked up the Fearless Leader and then headed to Birmingham. On the way, we stopped in Meridian for lunch at Applebee’s. A Mudslide was flowing before noon (just a sip for me, I was driving!), so the waitress had to see ID. She asked what Sarah and Ashley were doing in MS and I told her we were headed to Birmingham to see Keith Urban. She said, “Who?” which was like a knife in the heart. LOL We all whipped out our fan club cards and she said, “Oh, he’s hot!” We told her he’s an incredible guitarist and performer too. Sarah said, “Let’s give her a CD,” and we had to decide which one. I’m emotionally attached to Golden Road, so it had to be Be Here.
The drive to Birmingham was relatively uneventful. We started playing a road game of Keith association. So, we had everything from the city of Fosters, AL (Fosters, Australian for beer) to trees (hey, it’s a tree… monkeys live in trees). Since Ashley had only heard a few songs from the 1991 import, we made her listen to Dodgy Pop Keith. Sarah cracked us up with the story of her roommate asking her to play “Arms of Larry” (Arms of Mary).
I am my father’s daughter. We were within spitting distance of the BJCC and I picked the wrong lane and had to get back on the highway. I cussed like a sailor because of the unplanned detour. We did get back fairly easily because all the roads were numbered, but it was really stressful to me. Then we couldn’t figure out where the hell to park. They weren’t selling parking passes for the show. We drove around several blocks in URBAN Birmingham desperately looking for a place to pee. We even considered knocking on the bus door… “Please, Mr. Urban… I gotta go!” Do you think that would work if we were all dancing around? Yeah, me either. Anyway, we even started to look for a church and, lo and behold, we found Church’s Fried Chicken.
Ashley seemed to forget nature was calling when we drove past a teacher’s union and she saw a chopper that looked like Keith’s. I’m at a stop sign in the freaking ghetto and she jumped out and zipped across the street to check it out. Apparently, Keith doesn’t have any business at the teacher’s union since it wasn’t his. Or, maybe he had to pee too. LOL We got some more directions at the Church’s and decided to park at the Sheraton because there was an Urban Meet Up planned for the sports bar. We met a LOT of fans there: Brandi, Ann, Twyla, Karen, Deena, Sharon, and more whose names I can’t remember. (Sorry, guys!)
We decided to go check out the busses and see what was going on outside. CMT had set up a booth and had cardboard cut outs of various celebs, but no Keith. Ashley groped Tim McGraw for a photo op. The host from CMT gave us all t-shirts and we didn’t even have to embarrass ourselves like some people. Later they had people singing Scarey-oke to win shirts.
We talked to one of the road guys, Joe, and Sarah asked where Keith’s bus was. He told us he couldn’t tell us that and Sarah said, “We just want to know where to be after the show.” He said he honestly had not seen Keith’s bus since Dallas. Out on the street, Ashley spotted Mark Hill and we stopped him for a moment. His wife and kid were with him, but he seemed really happy to be recognized. His little boy is just adorable.
The Birmingham show was very surreal to me. It was the smallest venue and our seats, even though they were 16th row, were amazing! The venue is set up so that all the seats are really elevated. I had an aisle seat in the middle and a great view of Keith and Katrina. Katrina played about 45 minutes and talked more than she did the other nights. She’s got a great voice, is “drop dead gorgeous,” and can yodel.
Keith’s show is book-ended with “These Are the Days.” I was a little worried about this coming off as cheesey, but it works for giving you the feeling of having been taken on a round trip through his emotions. The only problem is, it doesn’t lend itself to surprise encores should he feel like blowing off the curfew and jamming. Keith arrives, lowered on a platform singing an intro of “These Are the Days” and then the sheer curtain drops and they kick into “Days Go By.” Because it’s so brief, it doesn’t distract from the show kicking into high gear. The set included those two songs and Better Half, Raining on Sunday, Homespun/I Hear You Knocking, Jeans On, Your Everything, You’ll Think of Me, She’s Gotta Be, Making Memories of Us, You Look Good in My Shirt, Where the Blacktop Ends, Somebody Like You, Free Falling, Tonight I Wanna Cry, Who Wouldn’t Want to Me Me, and closes with the full These Are the Days. I love all the new songs live, even more than on the record—especially She’s Gotta Be. That’s not one of my favorites on Be Here and I was disappointed that it was being played as opposed to, say, Live to Love Another Day or Nobody Drinks Alone. However, live the song is kicking. I remember thinking that if someone just wandered in while he was playing that song, they’d never guess they were at a country concert. The man is a powerhouse on the guitar. I hope he’ll eventually let loose in the studio the way he does on stage. During Free Falling, he started to separate the out of state/in state. When the out-of-staters responded he said, “Oh, there are twelve of you. Scratch that” and moved to single/married. Then he got distracted because read a sign that said “My husband bet me 100 dollars that I couldn’t meet you. Make him pay.” So, Keith let the woman come on stage and he asked where her husband was. She said he was at home and Keith gave her the funniest look and asked how she would prove it. So the lady told her friend Elizabeth to get up there and take a photo. Keith gave the camera to someone in the front row to take a photo of all three of them. The flash didn’t work and he said, “Oh, the flash didn’t work. She’s good. Talk amongst yourselves,” and they sorted out the photo situation. He sang the line, “And I’m a bad boy,” paused and shrugged, “That’s it.” He was a bit of a bad boy during “Homespun.” There was a crazy reaction to “Making Memories of Us” when he sang the lines, “I want to sleep with you forever” and “I’ll be there to greet you with a warm wet kiss.” I had been looking forward to “Tonight I Wanna Cry” because I knew Keith would play piano for this song. It was the first encore. He comes out alone and sits down behind the keys and starts to play. The mike stand wouldn’t cooperate. It kept drooping and falling, so Keith would fix it with his left hand while keeping the melody with his right, then he’d start to play the bass with his left hand and the mike would start to droop again and he’d catch it. The tech came out and thought he stabilized it and left. Keith played with both hands for a few seconds, then it started to droop, so he caught it. Then the tech ran out with some duct tape. It was hysterical. But what amazed me was that Keith never missed a note or a word of the song. I play piano. There’s no way in HELL I could randomly pick up a bass line while juggling the microphone and singing the way he did. And he said he “dabbled” in piano “quite badly.” Hmph. I wish I was that bad at it. During “Who Wouldn’t Want to Be Me,” he gave the mike to various audience members and let them sing a line. I think he has 4 hands. The show came to a close and I felt like it had been entirely too short. Kenny Chesney’s dad was there and brought out a guitar to Keith so Keith could introduce him to the audience. I thought it was pretty funny to think of Kenny Chesney’s dad playing guitar tech to Keith. This show was the most surreal event of the trip. I had looked forward to it for so long and it was there and then it was over all too quickly. I was glad I had two more shows to look forward to seeing. I took one photo of Keith with my regular camera and the battery died. It’s okay though, my digital rocks. My pictures are incredible—and this was before I knew how to use the digital zoom.
After the show, we went to the place where we saw some of the buses. I didn’t think there was much of a chance to get to see Keith, but we were hoping. We met Steve King and Chris Rodriguez. Chris was especially friendly that night. Sarah told him, “We love you guys,” and he said, “Did you say you love my ass?” Sarah said, “No, well maybe” and turned around to check him out. They were both laughing at the misunderstanding. We made sure to tell each one of the guys that we thought they were doing a great job since some of the fans are too stuck on the old band to acknowledge that these guys are just as good. Dave Chesney came out, so I talked to him just to say I like Kenny’s music. I’m not a huge fan like I am with some other artists, but I do think Kenny’s got one of the best voices on country radio. I snapped a picture for my friend Urp who is a huge Kenny fan. We waited… and waited… and waited. Eventually, we gave up and left. I don’t think it was too soon either given that we had a 4 hour trip to make. We left at midnight.
DAY THREE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2004
Now, getting home was an adventure in itself. The fog was so dense that it was next to impossible to see. Sarah was supposed to drive because I’m not supposed to drive at night, but she hates driving in the fog. She wasn’t comfortable and I don’t blame her one bit. If the situation was reversed and I was supposed to drive her car, I would have been freaked. We had the option of trying to find a hotel or just digging in. Since I knew we had to be at the airport within a few hours, I told them I’d drive, they’d just have to help me get on the highway. From Birmingham home is straight I-20. I felt things would be okay since the oncoming lights would be in the other lanes which were far enough away that I could put on my sunglasses and shield most of the halos and bursts. So, four hours on the road with someone who’s not supposed to drive, but we made it home alive. Praise the Lord and pass the potato salad. Ashley video’d part of the show and they kept watching part of “Homespun” over and over and squealing with delight, so I was like, “What is it!? You guys are killing me!” They had me pull over on the side of the road at 3:00 AM to watch a video. LOL It was worth the detour. Hee hee. Keith is a bad boy.
So, we collapsed into bed. 9:00 rolled around too soon and it was time to get ready, grab the last minute stuff, and get to the airport. We ate lunch at the café in the airport and then went our separate ways since Ashley had to catch her flight back to Houston and we had to get our flight to Atlanta. And it was running late! We only had about 90 minutes of layover in Atlanta, so I was getting nervous since we left 40 minutes late from Jackson. We were blessed because our arriving gate was B11 and our departing gate was B19. That plane was running a little late too. I was asleep before we even took off. I woke up with the momentum shift in take off, when the pilot said we were flying over Macon (and I thought, “Mmm…. I’m going to see Keith in Macon”), and then when we landed in Savannah. I was startled by the landing because it was pretty rough. I was like, “Huh, what? What’s going on? Where am I?” LOL
Kristi, whom I had met in Montgomery, was waiting for us at the airport with one of her friends. She was so sweet to volunteer to come get us and take us around Savannah. We dropped her friend off, went to the hotel, then went to Kasbah, a Moroccan restaurant where we met Sharon, Reg, and Randy (aka Nutty). But we got lost walking to the restaurant because we took a left when we should have taken a right and went about 10 blocks out of the way. LOL There was a belly dancer providing entertainment. I never thought I’d stick money down a woman’s underwear, but I did. There was only one guy at our table and I felt bad because she wasn’t getting any tips. First, Nutty got up and took a lesson from her. Then all the women at our table got up and took our lessons. Ah, yes… I have been belly dancing. I’m just a wild woman at heart. We spent a while talking and looking at what one of the husbands calls “porn,” in other words pictures of Keith. We went to Wal-Mart so Sarah could get some supplies to make a sign. I got some supplies too, but then decided not to do it. I figured the more signs, the less likely Keith would be to see Sarah and pick her and I didn’t want to intrude on that possibility for her. It turned out the stage was too high for him to pick anyone to come on with him.
DAY FOUR, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2004
The next day, we got to see some of Savannah. Kristi took Sarah and me to Walgreen’s to put our B-ham photos on CD. Then we met with her friends from Florida, Wendy and Marsha. We went to the Cotton Exchange for lunch. Sarah had a diet Coke with her and asked if it was okay to bring in her pop which got her ribbed by the host and the waiter. After lunch, we went out to the riverwalk and took some photos. It was funny that every time we heard a rev of a motorcycle our heads would all immediately snap to that direction. We went in a souvenir shop, then down to the market. There was a store called “The Cat House” that I thought was cute. Another store sold jewelry made of “Australian boulder opals” and the only reason we didn’t all come home with new jewelry is that they were so expensive. There’s a story behind the photo of the pigeon. Sarah and Kristi were commenting on how obese the pigeons were and I wanted to take a photo of one of them. So, I found a really big one and tried to take the picture, but it kept waddling away from me so I said, “I’m going to have to put it on fast action to take the picture of the pigeon” and they both cracked up. So that photo is “Obese Pigeon in Fast Action.” I also commented on how I was stalking the pigeon, so we named it Keith.
We went to Johnson Square which is supposedly haunted and that’s why the Spanish moss doesn’t grow on those trees. Spanish moss is all over the trees, but none there. It is kind of weird. Kristi told us that Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in the USA and they even have “haunted tours” to show you all the ghost sites. While we were there, someone called Kristi and told her Keith had been spotted on his bike, so we decided to take off and see if we could see him. Our Keithflexes dictated that he would go to someplace scenic and since he loves the beach, that was our destination. It seemed the obvious choice and he did say during the show that he’d gone to the beach. Even knowing the odds of seeing him were slim, we had a blast! We put down the windows and cranked up Be Here. Every time the line “hand out the window in the wind” played we stuck our hands out the window and copied Keith’s motions in the video. The funniest thing was the way we would react to every motorcycle, but what took the cake was Wendy saying “Ooo!” and we looked up to realize she had just given us Keithasms (that’s when you spaz over Keith) over an old guy in an electronic wheelchair/scooter. I’m sure we puzzled another guy driving along. We were in slower traffic and as he passed, he probably clearly saw that there were five women with cameras pointed at him ready to take pictures.
We knew where Keith was staying, but thought that going to the hotel would be pushing us over the edge from random sporadic fun hopeful of a good possibility of an encounter to real stalking. We stopped at the beach to take some photos and then had to go back to the hotel to get ready for the show and meet Kristi’s friend Heather. Sarah had a Keith Crisis with her camera. Either the charger or the battery wouldn’t work properly, so she called Best Buy and she tried to get them to sell her a battery out of a display model and the salesman was really, really rude about the whole thing. She said she would pay full price and tried to explain that she really needed a charged battery. But, he finally made her mad enough that she decided to not worry about it that night and she took her regular camera instead.
Before the show, we got out all our tickets and the inevitable question was, “So, where are your seats?” Now, here’s some Keith Karma: Kristi and Heather were in row 12, seats 13 and 14. Wendy and Marsha had row 11 seats 12, 13, and 14 (one of their friends couldn’t make it). Sarah and I had row 11 seats 10 and 11. We had all bought tickets separately, but the people we just happened to hang out with all day were the people we were sitting with at the concert. It was meant to be!
But, who needs Keith Karma when we were allowed to stage rush? Yep, stage rush. I can’t say I’ve ever seen that happen at a country show before. We got separated from one another, but it was okay because we all got really great spots. I started out about 4th row a little right of center and wound up 2nd row. I met a nice girl named Angie in the crowd and we talked and she saw my camera and asked if I’d share photos with her and I told her I would. So, she asked to switch places with me because she was taller and it would give me a better shot of Keith. Well, some TB in front of me started turning her around and cutting her eyes at me with a total mad grandma look and I told her that Angie asked me to switch places and she still acted like I was committing some kind of federal offense by being next to her and occasionally bumping her. So, she got her boyfriend to get in between us and start pushing me back. I told him the same thing and Angie tried to tell him that she ASKED me to stand there. Apparently the little wench was too stupid to realize that this show had just turned into general admission and there were people behind us pushing, so of course she was going to get bumped. It’s the nature of the game. Her expression was really quite laughable—as if a harsh look would make me disappear or something. Well, since the pathetic little floozy had to get her big bad boyfriend to stand up for her Angie and I switched again because we knew they were going to go out of their way to make my experience bad and hence the photos would suffer. I really didn’t want to get into a fight and get thrown out. I’m not going to put myself in danger because some guy had the audacity to get physical with me for Keith photos or anything else. I have no idea what their combined problem was other than immense stupidity.
On the bright side, most of the people in the crowd were pretty nice. I really got a laugh out of one guy behind me. He looked around and said, “Eight thousand women and three guys! I like these odds.” Then he started talking about how cute Keith is and saying that Keith was his boyfriend. Several people commented on the pictures I was able to get since they could see them on the digital screen.
The show had the same set list with the exception of “Better Life.” I love this song and was so glad to see that they added it. It was the first time they’d done this song in concert. During “Homespun,” Keith did his vocal scatting thing where he would make a noise, have the audience repeat it, and do it again until finally he did some vocalizations ending with “Scooby doo” that no one could have copied. He cracked himself and the audience up. Think Steven Tyler-ish type noises. He divided us into single and married for “Free Falling” and I found myself screaming on both. I guess it’s not just the guys who forget which they are. LOL Hell, Keith Urban was 6 feet from me, how could I not scream? During “Jeans On” I had one of those eye contact and nod moments. I got my very own “chi chi.” I couldn’t believe how close I was. It was just amazing. I still have that sense of sorrow when I hear “Somebody Like You” because even though it doesn’t close the show, it closes the main set now, so you know there isn’t much left. After the show ended, the guitar tech was giving out picks and I really wanted one, but I couldn’t get one. Instead he gave me a set list. He was trying to pick between me and some guy and he picked me. Maybe I looked more desperate. Oddly enough the big bad boyfriend told me how cool it was to get a setlist after the show. I really wanted to tell him to bugger off, but I just ignored him.
After the show we talked to some people and then decided to go get something to eat. Then Sarah and Wendy decided to go hang out by the busses and I wanted to join them. I didn’t want to go eat with the people we’d met because one was a smoker and I didn’t want to be rude and refuse to sit with her, but I also had no intention of sitting in that section. Sarah and Ashley could both attest to how badly I reacted to an encounter with smoke on the way to Birmingham.
So, we went to the buses and there were really very few people there. We got to talk to Chad for a while. He’s very cute! He told us about his band Pinmonkey and I asked how many CDs he had and what label. He’s not on Capital so I asked how he hooked up with Keith and he said that Keith called him and asked him to join the tour. When I first met him I asked if he would sign the set list and he took it and said, “Cool, you scored a set list.”
Then we talked to Steve for a very long time. It had to have been at least 15 or 20 minutes. It was such a random conversation. I told him I thought they were all great musicians and asked if he was self taught or took lessons and we talked about lessons vs natural talent and I assured him I had no natural talent and he was very encouraging. I told him I hoped they would add Nobody Drinks Alone to the set just so we could hear Keith jamming on the solo at the end. We talked about the upcoming Atlanta show and how pumped they were about it. I told him I thought the Fox was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen a show and the sound was incredible. He mentioned sports and watching the Cards and being from St. Louis so I told him I hoped they’d play the Savvis Center because it had the best sound of any venue I’d been in and he was like, “Whoa, who did you go see in St. Louis?” and I told him “Bon Jovi” and he said “Cool.” Seriously, we talked about everything from sports to contact lens solution to our ages (he’s younger than me, god I feel old) and then said we’d see him tomorrow. Chris R. came around again and we spoke to him for a few minutes. He seems really friendly and kind of goofy. All three of them autographed the set list for me.
DAY FIVE, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2004
We went to IHOP for supper around 1:00 in the morning, I think, or an early breakfast, and reviewed photos and some video clips. Sarah and Wendy practically screamed at the table watching a video. It was so funny! We got some great pictures and Wendy showed me how to take video. When we got back to the room I took a shower and packed up as much stuff as I could because I knew we’d be rushed in the morning. Wendy, Marsha, and I went to Walgreen’s to make another photo CD while Kristi and Sarah went to Best Buy to get something for her camera. Unfortunately, they don’t open until 10:00 (how stupid is that?!). Our cab was waiting on us when I got back from Walgreen’s, so I loaded mine and Sarah’s stuff and waited for her. It took a while to get through security in Savannah, but the flight was fine. We had lunch at the airport and then got a shuttle to the Georgian Terrace.
Our room was great, the nicest I’ve ever stayed in. The problem was that I had booked a room for three people, yet they had given us only one king size bed. Since Jessica didn’t make it, Sarah and I decided we could deal with the one bed because we’d rather be closer to Wendy and Marsha’s room than have to switch. We hadn’t had time to shower or change when Wendy called and told us to get our asses across the street because Keith would be back on the Harley in about five minutes.
Needless to say, we high-tailed it down and across the street to where the buses were parked. There were already 30 or so people there and, of course, the longer we waited, the more people showed up. But, everyone was being calm and respectful. So, he came back and put the bike in the trailer and secured it. Everyone started cheering when he came up, but then we got quiet again waiting for him. When he finished with the bike, he started talking to people--not signing things or posing for pictures, but taking a few seconds with people. I was blessed to be close to where he happened to step out. I held my hand out to him and he took it. The girl beside me had asked for a hug. I said, "Thanks for everything. Can I...?" and he assumed I was going to ask for a hug, so he nodded and wrapped his arm around me and gave me a hug. He has a nice grip with his hands and gives a good tight hug which makes you think he's sincere about it. I remember clearly the smile, the amazing blue eyes, and he had a LOT of scruff. I wish that "Thanks for everything" translated into "thank you for helping me find happiness and be able to feel again," but it doesn't, so he doesn't he know what I thanked him for. Oh well. We're even. I don't know what he thanked me for either. LOL Anyway, he said, "Thank you, baby" (which is what he says to everyone) and moved on to the next person. Sarah took some shots while he was there and got that great smile captured only to have her film exposed so the coloring is awful. The sad part is that a few people down the line, these wenchbags practically jumped him, grabbed him, and he left immediately to get back on his bus. They ruined it for everyone else. You could tell he was going to take time with the fans until those girls came running up and attacked like dogs. He's not shy about taking someone's hand or giving a hug or a kiss, but it's got to be on his terms, not an ambush. It's so frustrating to see what was the smile he had at the beginning and know that the situation turned. I think it would be better to meet him in a controlled situation where there isn’t as much threat. No one could blame him for not sticking around after that ambush. His safety has to come first. For me, it wasn’t being lucky, it was being blessed because I did get that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity while it was still good. I know that he took my hand and he gave me a hug, so I’m glad that he didn’t feel threatened by me. I can’t really imagine what it’s like to be him and get off his Harley to a swarm of people who all want to meet you. I would not cope well with that situation or being famous and having people around me all the time.
Security began to put up a barricade between the crowd and the bus, so we were led to believe that he would come out and sign some autographs or meet people. They made us line up single file. He came out for soundcheck and it amounted to a three second Elvis sighting. But we waited, thinking that maybe when soundcheck was over, but he just got back on the bus… another three second Elvis sighting. Alice, the woman in charge of security was a complete nut. She was very funny and good at what she did. Sarah has a great idea, which was to sing Happy Birthday, thinking that Keith might at least stick his head out to hear it. Some guy that Alice said was his agent said that that might work, but the more I think about it, the less I think he was really Keith’s agent. We knew more than he did from talking to the band. Then, why would the agent line up with us? Well, all we got was another brief sighting as Keith went back into the venue for the meet and greet winners. Even though it was disappointing, you can’t blame him. They had had to get police for crowd control. The sheer number of people indicated that he couldn’t stop and talk to everyone and it would have only caused more problems if he started walking up the line because more people would have joined in and those that he’d already seen would have tried to follow.
Well, we went back to the room to get ready. I wore a short sleeved shirt and put one of the guitar monkey temporary tattoos on my forearm. I liked it, but if I ever got a real tattoo, it would have to be someplace not so obvious. So, we went over to the Fox and were led to our seats. These should have been the best seats we had had at any of the shows, but they turned out to be the worst. There was a drunken couple in front of us that were making out and just lewd. The seats were not as elevated as in Birmingham and there was a damn girl a few rows in front of me that kept her hands up constantly. I was thinking that she would have to get tired eventually, but I swear she must’ve been a damn aerobics instructor. The girl next to her not only kept her arms up most of the time, she was obnoxious enough to hold up her martini glass too. Yeah, that would make a great photo. Then, they would hold up their phones, as if that would make the reception any better. I took fewer pictures and used what memory was left on my first card to video Homespun. But, of course, between trying to avoid the drunks and the arms and heads and hands, it’s not a great video. I should have tried making a video at one of the other shows where I had a clear view.
The concert itself was spectacular! This was definitely the most excited audience and you could tell the band was feeding off of that. People were just nuts the whole night, the screaming and cheering, and singing along was constant. Even the album tracks go over like they were big hits. The sound was perfect, the best of any of the venues. The set list was the same as the night before. I had seen Steve outside and he stopped to talk to us and I asked if there were going to be any surprises and he said that it was the same set. Still, it was only the 2nd performance of Better Life, so there was more to it than the Birmingham show. Chad and Chris also stopped and spoke when they saw us. Chad reached out and patted my arm and said, “Hey, you made it! Enjoy the show.” Wendy had to stop Chris and he apologized for not recognizing her. We were all floored by that. Wendy told him that that was going to happen a lot with fans and to not feel bad about it. Um, where was I? People were completely mad the whole night and Keith was on fire. His solo in She’s Gotta Be took things to a new level. He commented on the Fox being the most beautiful place he’d ever played (Jon said the same thing in 1994). At the end of the show he told everyone that they were all invited back to his place for a party. He said “I’m staying at the (makes sounds like the mike is going in and out) hotel and I’m personally staying in room (makes sounds like mike is going in and out) –87. Did you get that?”
I don’t mean to offend fans of “country music,” but the man is a rock star. He’s got that level of charisma and that kind of energy as a performer. He can hold an audience in the palm of his hand and where he leads, we will follow. What comes across on stage carries over off stage in the way people react to him.
For instance, after the show, I happened to go out the side door and wound up in a throng of people. Throng? Okay, let’s try mob. No less than 300 people were crammed onto that sidewalk. It was jam packed from one end to another and down onto the next block. I would really estimate that there were 500 people waiting outside for one of those three second Elvis sightings. There was a girl climbing on an iron gate to get a better view, people were on the roof, and people were making frantic phone calls saying they were going to get to meet Keith. Wendy and I had found each other after the show and we told the people around us that there was no way given the size of the crowd. You just about couldn’t go anywhere because of the mass of people. My phone had died because I called Karen and Jessica to let them hear some of the show, so I couldn’t get a hold of Sarah to let her know I was going back to the room. I didn’t see a point in staying. With that kind of mob, I figured they would have put Keith in a van and left. My feet were killing me and I wanted to go back and write some things down.
DAY SIX, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2004
When Sarah, Wendy, and Marsha got back we ordered pizza. So, here we are in a fancy hotel and we had to eat pizza off of Kleenex because our kitchen that had a stove, sink, microwave, and refrigerator had no plates or even napkins. LOL Yep, we’re high class!
We crawled into bed around 3:00 AM. Sarah had a wake up call arranged for some ungodly hour of the morning, I think 7:30, because Keith was going to be on Breakfast with the Arts on A&E. When the phone rang neither of us answered it. I’m surprised they didn’t call back. It’s a good thing I had set my phone alarm for 9:00. We jumped up and got ready and checked A&E and Keith hadn’t been on yet, so we went to Wendy and Marsha’s room and we all watched the acoustic set and interview he did for them. It was a fitting way to end our Keith extravaganza. When the show ended, we had to immediately take off to catch the shuttle to the airport. Getting through security wasn’t as bad as it was in Savannah (and nothing compares to Atlantic City last year). We flew back to Jackson. Sarah asked if we could stop at Wal-Mart so she could get her film developed and I was going to order some prints from my digital, but wound up only able to get the CD made, but that’s a different story. We went to my house and had a late lunch, then back to Wal-Mart to get the photos. Then we went back to my house to crash. We watched the Be Here special and The View and went to bed.
DAY SEVEN, MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2004
I dropped Sarah off at the airport around 10:00 and went back to Wal-Mart to get some reprints made. I took hundreds of photos, so I haven’t printed them all yet, but I am THRILLED with what I have printed. I love my digital camera! I picked out one from each show to put in frames. I also finally found some of the Keith merchandise I’ve heard others talk about. I noticed too that they had Be Here displayed as their number one seller. I was going to go to work for half a day, but decided I’d do better to just recover and try to do some laundry and stuff. So, that was it… my whirlwind week was over. I can’t wait to see Keith again next month.
Becky
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10-27-2004, 09:58 PM
I'm speechless. Your poor fingers!!
