At the end of eight months touring, some rockers might lose the passion for the stage.
But there was no shortage of enthusiasm, intensity and energy when Keith Urban rocked Brisbane on Friday night.
Perhaps it was because the boy from Caboolture was thrilled to back in his home state, no doubt playing for some of the same crowd who cheered him on at gigs around the South East before the big time came his way.
"We've come a long way since the Normanby Hotel," Keith told fans at the first of his two Brisbane shows. And so he has.Since leaving Australia for the USA in the early 90s, country-rock musician Keith has five mega-successful studio albums behind him and collection of Grammy wins and nominations. He calls Nashville home now, but Queensland still holds many memories for this super star.
When he looked around at the crowd and said "It's so nice to be back" you could tell he actually meant it.
Just as he meant it when he kicked off the show by belting out crowd favourite Days Go By and then settling down into a slower-paced Stupid Boy.
There was no going-with-the-motions feel to his performance, despite last night's show being the second-last in Keith's North American and Australian Escape Together tour.
And the fans - from mums and dads, nannas and screaming teenagers - were giving Keith just as much as he and his band was giving us.
Singing along to every word, Keith's male and female worshippers were up out of their seats in no time when Keith explained his concert was not one suited to a calm, civil audience.
"We beg of you to be as unruly and out of control as you can," he urged.
"Security - you just let them do whatever they want."
And some of the ladies in glittery tops and high heels certainly tried to when checkered-shirt-clad Keith made for the crowd, albiet with a few beefcake minders in tow, to take his guitar to a tiny stage in the centre of the audience where he proclaimed "Who's got the good seats now?"
The hero of the night then took a seat on a stool for a love-dedication ballad with love song Making Memories of Us, dedicated to wife Nicole Kidman.
"She couldn't be here tonight .. this is for you, baby girl," he crooned, smashing the hearts of women all around us.But Keith picked those hearts right back up with a strut through the crowd with his sparkly-strapped guitar.
He didn't just walk straight back to the stage, he did the rounds giving some a chance to pat him on the back or reach out to touch that bouncy, floppy do.I'm sure there were 20-something girls squealing "I just touched Keith Urban" as he made his way past and may or not be refusing to wash whatever part of their body that came into contact.The point of the night was, it wasn't just about Keith, it was about the fans who just kept getting treated to the power and energy of this local boy playing in his home town.
Speaking of local musos, the crowd was treated to a couple of tunes from Pete Murray who walked out on stage half-way through the gig.The pair sang Neil Young's Comes a Time, with Pete on the harmonica, then the pair shared lyrics to Murray's Opportunity before it was back to what the punters came to see.
Keith steamed into the last numbers of his set with Kiss A Girl, Somebody Like You and You'll Think Of Me - taking a another dash into the audience where he stood on someone's seat and strummed along up close and personal with his admirers.
The Australian leg began in Melbourne earlier this month and included concerts in Wollongong and Sydney.
brisbane times
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