Keith Urban in Monticello: A True Artist At His Best [PHOTOS]
Some performers are unparalleled singers. Some can play a mean guitar. Some excel at working the crowd. Very few can do them all well. That's why Keith Urban is a superstar with a track record of success few can match. Saturday night, he treated a MASSIVE Great Jones County Fair crowd to every facet of his expertise.
Frankie Ballard took to the stage first in front of a very large and very ready crowd in Monticello. Frankie tore through his hits including "Young and Crazy," "Sunshine and Whiskey," and "Helluva Life." The three songs were all recorded on the same day (December 4, 2012) according to Billboard. They all three would become number one songs. After professing his love of Elvis Presley since he was a young boy, Frankie played a trifecta of hits from the late musical icon before wrapping up his 45-minute set.
Approximately 30-minutes later, Keith Urban embarked on two hours of non-stop energy and fun. Keith was a full 30-minutes into his set before he seemingly took the time to breathe and tell the Jones County Fair crowd, "It took four years, but we're back!" WAS HE EVER.
Early on, he did take time to tell the crowd, "We're two songs in and it feels like it's 107 degrees out here. I LOVE it!" Keith had played in a torrential downpour the night before in Wisconsin and mentioned at one point how happy he was it wasn't raining. A cheer went up from everyone, happy that for once (perhaps it only seems that way) there was no rain threat for a big show at the fair.
Keith covered hits from John Michael Montgomery (Sold) and the Georgia Satellites (Keep Your Hands To Yourself with Frankie Ballard). Mostly, though, he pumped out his own chart-toppers, one after another. There are plenty to choose from in an illustrious 18-year career that shows no signs of slowing. Urban somehow worked the Jones County Fair itself into no less than three songs... and not just those three words, either. He brought a woman from Fairfield, Iowa to the stage and called her sleeping husband on her cell phone, much to the delight of the sellout crowd. Keith left the main stage to play on a smaller one, directly in front of the hillside bleachers north of the grandstand...
Keith Urban did one more thing. He led what had to be the largest sing along in America Saturday night. The sheer volume of the crowd singing back to him was incredible and it wasn't just one song. It seemed like EVERY SINGLE ONE. Early in the show, Keith said "You guys are singing insane out there. It's magical." Indeed it was, Keith Urban, and you were the magician.
[via Billboard]