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and Country Music yes or no... Keith Urban is neither from Nashville originally, nor is he an american inhabitant.He is actually from NewZealand, born on oct.26 1967 in Whangerei (nobody knows that place anyway) but he's been raised most of his youth in Caboolture a suburb of Brisbane in Australia. And we all know, that there is a sort of Country scene on the fifth continent. In 1990 Keith got his very first record contract, and two years later he moved to the Country Mekka Nashville indeed. Probably to be closer to the pulse of the genre. But first in 2000 Keith Urban shot up to some fame and media recognition nationwide with his selftitled soloalbum.He received several awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his excellent guitar playing.

But the reason, which has really got him to worldwide fame is not so much the music but his marrige to hollywood filmstar Nicole Kidman, who is an australian native as we all know. Within days Keith was known all over the world. The result is a world tour now named the ‚Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour’, same titel as his new album.


Pic by Dorothee Falke

Why the worldtour starts officially over here in Munich, Germany is not known to me. But fact is, that this venue here is sold out for weeks with 3.000 tickets. Sure they could have put him in a bigger venue, but both - the Zenith and the Olympichall are occupied with other events tonight. So the promoter sticks to this place, which must seem like a miniclub to Keith compared to the big arenas he plays usually in the US. On the other hand, when he was in town last time about 18 months ago, he had played only the Backstage Halle, containing 600 fans. 

The short supportslot is played by two members of his own band, so they got a double job. And then he comes and with a whole lot applause he starts his mixture of Country, pop and rockmusic. I' m pretty sure, that most people here know this guy only because of his relation to Kidman, and so they have bought the new CD. And last but not least Keith is pretty attractive and some girls get sparkling eyes and scream their heads off. 

But back to the music... The music Keith Urban and his band is offering us has not too much to do with Country music. Only the typical oral rolling voice and some riffs on the Slide and acoustic guitar give the whole performance a certain Country flair. 
Apart from that. the set is build up by many slow love songs, interrupted by some Rock'n'Roll tunes. Sometimes it's a bit stretched out too far, but fortunately not too long. Playing a few brilliant solos, Mr.Urban shows his talent a great guitarplayer as well. And he gets even more affection, by jumping into the audiance twice to hug two girls and kiss them. Back on stage again he dedicates the next soapy love song to his wife, the first dedication of three. 
Oh yes and not to forget his frequent nipping from a bottle with mineralwater. As we all know, he's been in rehab for his alcohol abuse recently. And now he wants to show that he got rid of the bad habit and is healthy and fit like a sportsshoe. Yes, one to zero for the little guy from NewZealand, who's wife is at least one head taller than him. But where love rules, this is no problem at all. 

The first gig of the worldtour tonight is very well done indeed, and I'm pretty sure the rest will be a success as well. The result by the way is - in October Keith Urban will be back again, playing - of course - the even bigger venue. There is one last thing to say, - let's pray, that he and Nicole stay happy together for a long time, and his carriere is secured. Oh and by the way, - like I mentioned before - he is a truly a great musician as well. But that comes second in this case, or doesn't it??!!!


http://www.keithurban.net


 Pic by Dorothee Falke