Rumors were flying all Thursday (April 13) about a possible surprise Keith Urban show in Nashville. With some detective work, fans learned the secret location was at concert venue 12th & Porter after seeing a mysterious act called Little Bit of Everything (cleverly named after one of the singer’s songs) on the calendar. While several fans lined up as early as noon, others came closer to 8:15, when the doors opened for the 9 p.m. show.
The smallest venue Urban has likely played in quite some time, 12th & Porter’s capacity is 300 people. Those lucky enough to make it inside last night found themselves treated to a two-hour performance of over 20 songs.
“How this happened was, I was at home last week and I was talking about how we’re not touring right now,” Urban told the packed venue at the start of his set. “I really wanted to play and I missed playing. I said it’d be great if we could find a place to play in town. It’s been a long time since I’ve played here. I did a lot of shows here early on when we were trying to get a record deal. This is where you play. You bring the record companies in and play a set and try to get signed. If tonight goes well, I’m hoping I come out of here with a record deal.”
Urban’s wife, Nicole Kidman, was in attendance and could be seen dancing along in the balcony to her husband’s set. At one point in the evening he’d point her out to the crowd and dedicate his sentimental ballad “Without You” to her. Closing the song, he blew her a kiss.
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The country singer warned fans early on that this wasn’t a typical Urban show. Instead, he said it’s simply a band in a club. While he played many of his previous No. 1 hits including “Better Life,” “You Look Good In My Shirt,” “You Gonna Fly” “Somewhere In My Car” and “Break On Me,” he also performed several cover songs where he’d allow his band members to have the spotlight and take lead on classics like the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309 / Jenny,” Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” among others.
No Urban show is complete without a few surprises and when one girl screamed that it was her birthday he invited her up to the stage for a hug and a selfie. Another woman, Lisa Nicole, was in town for a songwriting retreat and boldly handed the singer her new CD and then asked if she could sing “We Were Us” with him. He accepted her offer and she wowed the crowd with her performance as Urban stood beside her and assisted on guitar. Later, he’d call out “Blue Ain’t Your Color” songwriter Steven Olsen to join him on stage to perform their most recent No. 1.
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Additional highlights included the bass heavy “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16″ which segued into brief covers of John Mellencamp’s “Jack & Diane” and Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” as well as jaw-dropping instrumental interludes and guitar shredding on “Even the Stars Fall 4 U.”
Playing for over two hours, Urban and his band were at ease on stage and all smiles as it was evident that they miss their time on the road.
“I’m having a killer time playing by the way,” he later said. “We should do this more often.”
The audience gave a resounding scream, in hopes that Urban will follow through on his offer.
