KEITH URBAN: MANCHESTER, UK - 03.05.22
Keith Urban
at O2 Apollo in Manchester, UK
words and photos by Andrew Giddings
Fourteen years since his last tour, Keith Urban finally returned to the UK with his ‘Speed of Now World Tour’. The Australian superstar, who earlier in the year stepped in to cover Adele’s cancelled appearance at Caesar’s Palace put on a five-star performance at the sold out O2 Apollo in Manchester.
With no warm-up act the cutting-edge show began at 8:40pm, opening with three songs which in my opinion were the perfect start - ‘Days Go By’, ‘Wild Hearts’ and ‘Long Hot Summer’. This was a phenomenal introduction and had the hugely enthusiastic crowd singing and dancing to the high tempo tracks.
The set was fantastic, with an oversized LED wall that enveloped Urban and his band giving the concert the feel of a show that deserved a much larger venue. While the familiar singalongs are the centrepiece of the show, the production is part of its mastery, as Urban uses those lights and screens to add flair and drama to his performance.
The two-hour show was a catalogue of Urban’s greatest hits including ‘Love Somebody Like You’ and ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ mixed with newer songs ‘Wild Hearts’ and ‘Nightfalls’, all of which showcased Urbans outstanding vocal range and the prowess of his guitar playing.
The music was segmented with many intimate, emotional and sometimes laugh out loud exchanges with the audience. Urban seemed to be having an enormous amount of fun throughout the show, taking time to interact with his fans either by signing a program for “Ryan, sorry, Brian” with the quote “Don’t bloody eBay this”, to asking the crowd “Naked attraction – what the hell is that all about?” and even bringing a young fan (Summer) to the stage for an impromptu selfie due to it being her first gig. This all added to the fun, relaxed and immersive environment that encompassed the whole show.
One of the most memorable parts of the concert was when Urban introduced local Manchester Buskers – ‘Rough Trade’ to the stage, the reggae three piece who Urban noticed whilst walking round the city completed a two-song set, finishing with a terrific cover of the UB40 hit ‘Red Red wine’ with Urban performing backing vocals.
Another highlight was the rendition of Urbans 2020 collaboration ‘One too Many’ with fellow international superstar ‘Pink’, who’s larger-than-life projection appeared on the enormous screens to perform the digital duet.
Aside from his own material Urban paid tribute to country icon Naomi Judd, who sadly passed away the previous week, with a short yet sincere rendition of ‘Love Can Build a Bridge’ ending the song with “rest peacefully, we love you”.
The first part of the gig concluded with two of Urban’s biggest hits to date ‘Fighter’ the hit duet with Carrie Underwood and ‘Wasted time’, both of which had the entire audience on their feet singing raucously.
For an encore Urban returned to the stage and completed his set with an acoustic version of ‘Stupid Boy’ the slowed down version of the song was a tremendous way to close out the night, and as the song ended Urban took the microphone one final time saying “You guys are off the charts tonight – Thank you so so much god bless each and every one of you, and we’ll be back real soon”.
Twenty years in the business has given Urban a truly unique and well-polished live performance, the man is at the top of his game and gives a fully immersive show that will not be forgotten quickly. From his distinctive vocals, audience interaction and the visual construction of the set, the whole performance was flawless. Let’s hope it isn’t another fourteen years before he returns with another UK tour!
