Keith Urban Plays Surprise Show at Carol’s Pub In Chicago!
Cover Photo Credit: Team Keith Urban
Keith Urban spent the weekend in Chicago. First performing at Chicago’s NASCAR event on Sunday and then Monday night at a more intimate show at one of the local pubs. At 8:10 in the morning of July 8th, US99.5 radio station announced a show at Carol’s Pub for that evening. Tickets sold out within two minutes. 200 people piled into the tiny venue on a Monday night. Some drove as far as 3.5 hours and some stood outside for 3 hours without tickets in hopes they would still be let in. Keith greeted fans who showed up 2 hours before the venue even opened. Carol’s buzzed with excitement.
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He started his 2.5-hour set with an acoustic version of “Long Hot Summer” in which he messed up the words towards the end and just laughed it off. He followed up with one of his older hits “Where the Black Top Ends.” Keith’s professional career spans over 3 decades (which is longer than I’ve been alive). He picked a few songs from each time period. He got the whole bar swaying in unison during “Better Life.” I was living my childhood dreams hearing “Days Go By.” He played the newly released “Messed Up as Me,” “Straight Line,” and “Wildside.” I expected a lot of guitar solos and I got them.
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Keith is hilarious. When asking the crowd where they were from, a girl said “Here!” to which Keith replied, “No way, you live it Carol’s Pub?” He sang “One Chord Song” while there were technical difficulties. The first couple in line for the evening requested “Drop Top” and talk about a deep cut. The band had to listen to the song on Spotify to remember how to play it. Keith didn’t even remember the words and handed the microphone to the couple in the crowd.
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Maggie Baugh absolutely killed it on the fiddle and with her vocals. She carried Kassi Ashton’s part in “Drop Top” as well as during “The Fighter” and “One Too Many.” She absolutely crushed “Eye of the Tiger.” His band just looked like they were having a blast. Having multiple drummers was a bold move, but it worked. I’m more impressed that they fit all their equipment on Carol’s tiny stage.
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He closed with “Wasted Time” and threw in some Freddie Mercury action with a call and response portion. As someone who has had no desire to see Keith Urban live until the morning of this concert, I can admit he puts on a great show. He has great crowd engagement and you can tell that he loves what he does. You can catch Keith again performing with Mackenzie Porter at the Illinois State Fair on August 9th in Springfield, Illinois.
For more information on Keith Urban - https://keithurban.com
