Country superstar Keith Urban rocked Bournemouth to its core last night as his The Speed of Now tour thundered into town.
The BIC has seen its fair share of old school country stars including Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers but this is the first time I remember seeing one of the new(ish) country/rock acts here and I am so glad that I came along as this was an excellent show from start to finish.
It was an early start as there are no support acts on the tour but that just meant we had a solid two hours of one of the most entertaining artists around at the moment.
I say there were no support acts but we were treated to a family of five from Martock who were lucky enough to be called on to the stage due to their home made Keith T-shirts.
A quick chat, a bit of guitar playing some selfies that I am sure will take pride of place in their Keith Urban room at home and then it was on with the show!
It was a great bit of interaction that only took five minutes but will be remembered by the family for the rest of their lives.
Early tracks included Wild Hearts and Days which really set the tone for the rest of the evening.
The light show was excellent as was the sound which both contributed to the excitement and feel of the evening. The bass and keyboard players both had fabulous voices with the gig turning into a rave for a few minutes as we were treated to a chorus of Sweet Dreams to a club like backing track.
“How do we follow that”, Keith asked rhetorically before supplying the perfect answer by launching in to One Too Many complete with video accompaniment from the lady Pink herself.
Keith came down into the crowd for the second half of the song and stayed for a short-acoustic set including a stunning version of Adele’s Easy On Me.
Returning to the stage we were treated to an unexpected version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight which is a guilty pleasure for Keith and quite a few in the crowd judging by the sing along.
Somebody Like You was accompanied by the obligatory shot of the crowd with their phones held high before the main set ended on a high with Blue Ain’t Your Colour, The Fighter (with a video appearance from Carrie Underwood) and Wasted Time.
This was definitely a night where the only important thing was being in the here and now and forgetting everything for two hours which is exactly what Keith and the band intended. With three gigs left on the UK tour it is tempting to pop along to some more to capture that feel good vibe again.
The evening was a masterclass of musicianship and how to put on a show with a bit of everything for everyone.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here