NORFOLK — Anyone who has to ask why Keith Urban was chosen as the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year has obviously not seen the country-rockin’ Aussie in concert.

At the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Saturday night he played to a full house. It was a sell-out before he received the big award and the accompanying honor of Male Vocalist of the Year.

Urban’s sweat came honestly. He is one of the hardest working performers in the business, never letting up. His energy level is amazing, as is his strong voice and his talent as an instrumentalist.

His guitar is not a prop, or an instrument to be lightly plucked. A good part of the show featured the New Zealand-born performer - his family moved to Australia when he was 6 - going skillfully crazy bamming out some wild, wild notes.

“The show bordered on rock,” said Jared White of Virginia Beach. Actually, he crossed that border with such offerings as U2’s “Beautiful Day,” Aerosmith’s “What It Takes,” and the Beatles “Get Back.”

But there was also Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” and such Urban country charters as “Where the Blacktop Ends,” “Somebody Like You” and “Rainin’ on Sunday.”

Laura Petersen of Virginia Beach appreciated everything he did. She came to the concert with a friend. “I was thinking - oh - country. I was expecting twangy, but what I heard tonight - I liked a lot.”

There was a lot to like. The light show, Urban on a trapeze above the audience landing in mid-auditorium to face the folks back there, and the double screen movies. They were awesome, a mix of The History Channel and National Geographic along with some arty shots.

But Urban was always the center of attention as he sang and played guitar, keyboards and drums.

Urban’s audience rapport is excellent. Often, he singled out individuals for some conversation, and brought a few folks - always female - on stage.

It should be noted that his show is family-friendly. One of his hits is “But For the Grace of God,” and throughout his show words such as “love” “faith” and “hope” showed up on the screen. More>>>

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posted by ADMIN @ Sunday, November 20, 2005