Photos by Micah Gummel
Review by Mindy Garcia
Show Photos HERE
Keith Urban brought his “Light the Fuse” tour to the Verizon Wireless Arena. As I walked up to the doors of the Verizon Wireless Arena, I could feel the energy that was coming from inside. I knew there would be a great night of Country Music ahead of me.
Opening was Dustin Lynch a true county boy he was great, lots of energy, and really interacted with the fans getting the crows warmed up with a set that included his hits “She Cranks My Tractor,” “Cowboys and Angels,” and his new single, “Wild in Your Smile.” The highlight of his set for me was when he covered David Lee Murphy’s “Dust on the Bottle.” Now the crowd was warmed up for Little Big Town, a truly awesome performance! Everything was right on, incredible voices and sound! They seemed like they were extremely into putting on a great show for those of us lucky fans at the Verizon Wireless in Manchester NH! Little Big Town never fails to please the crown with there great stage presence They even did some great covers paying homage to The Oak Ridge Boys (“Elvira”) as they did to Fleetwood Mac (“The Chain”).
The stubble-faced Urban with his signature good looks and ever present smile just strolled out while the houselights were still up and started picking on a banjo. One by one, his band members joined him onstage for “Long Hot Summer.” Once the full band was out, the lights went down and the backdrop fell as they fully went into his first song of the night, “Long Hot Summer.” He finished his second song, “Sweet Thing,” with a killer guitar solo that got the crowd on it’s feet with a huge ovation.
Urban at his best when he alone sang a deeply emotional “Without You” engrossed in heartfelt feelings and the moment. His encore also included a solo at the piano for a medley of “But for the Grace of God,” REO Speedwagon’s “Keep on Loving You” and his hit single “Tonight I Wanna Cry.”
For the most part he shared the stage with not only his talented band members, but also Little Big Town who joined him for “You Gonna Fly” and Dustin Lynch returning for “Kiss a Girl.” About halfway through the show, he walked through the crowd to a stage in the back of the arena to join his band for a medley including The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Days Go By,” a bit of Adele’s “Rumour Has It” and “Once in a Lifetime.”
What’s not to like about Urban. He plays to his audience and he does it extremely well. He even stayed long on stage after his last song to slap as many hands as possible following a great performance sure to please all ages in the crowd. I was blown away when Keith invited two very lucky girls from New Brunswick on stage and gave them a very special memory to take home as he sang to by such a talented Musician if you get a chance be sure to catch the next shoe you will not be disappointed.
Set List
Banjo instrumental
Long Hot Summer
Sweet Thing
I Told You So
Even the Stars Fall 4 You
Stupid Boy
You Gonna Fly (Little Big Town)
Cop Car
Without You
Good Thing
Kiss a Girl (with Dustin Lynch)
Lawn Set
Medley
Won’t Get fooled again (The Who cover)
Days Go By / Rumor Has It (Adèle cover)
Once in a Lifetime
Rockin Me (Steve Miller cover)
Better Life
Some Nights (fun. cover)
Main Stage
You’ll Think of Me
Little Bit of Everything
Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me
Somebody Like You
Encore:
Keep On Loving You (REO Speedwagon cover)
Tonight I Wanna Cry
Locked Out of Heaven (Bruno Mars cover)
You Look Good in My Shirt