Keith Urban
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Saturday, August 16th
Three hours before showtime, Keith Urban is sitting backstage at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, contemplating the ghosts of gigs long since gone. It was at this venue in 1988 that Urban saw John ‘Cougar’ Mellencamp on his Lonesome Jubilee Tour. For Urban, it was a ‘road to Damascus moment’: born of watching Mellencamp fuse every influence he had, from zydeco to soul, into his show. The experience lit a fuse that set Urban on a trajectory to create his own sonic tapestry.
Tonight, Urban is in the middle of a three-night run at the venue, and every seat in the house is sold. The tour, dubbed High and Alive, kicks off with “Straight Line” and “Where the Blacktop Ends.” Three songs in, “Long Hot Summer” rolls around, and Urban is delivering at an energy level most rock acts barely approach during their encores. It’s also here that Urban gives us an extended masterclass on guitar. One foot on the foldback wedge, he has the audacity to hammer-on in 2025—and completely get away with it.
This tour feels different to past forays to his hometown, principally because he’s sporting a new band. The lineup are obviously all pros, but there’s a feeling that Urban is, at times, genuinely pushing himself to fly by the seat of his pants.
The new lineup consists of Pete Kuzma on keyboards, Jimmy Paxton on drums, Katie Ohh on vocals and guitar, Josh Kearney on guitar, Kevin MacIntire on bass and vocals, and newcomer Gabi Louise on fiddle. From Lake Macquarie, Louise got the call out of the blue, and a couple of weeks later she’s front and centre with Urban, matching his guitar solos with her own virtuosity. Her efforts on “Days Go By” are a standout.
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Urban leans on newer material throughout, and his takes on “Parallel Line” (with its 1970s rock sheen) and “One Too Many” (with Pink! beamed in on the big screen behind him for a duet) are highlights.
The band can turn on a dime, rocking out one minute on “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” then following Urban’s lead as he leans into the blue-eyed soul of “’Til Summer Comes Around.” It’s here we get the best laser show to hit the venue since Roger Waters last toured, as the band, on one of Urban’s best songs, morphs into a riff so heavy it edges into prog-rock. Another sonic shift comes with the introduction for “Cop Car,” which is redolent of Daniel Lanois’ work with U2 or Peter Gabriel.
As the guitars rotate, we’re reminded that the pubs and clubs of Brisbane were Urban’s own Hamburg years. This is where he did his 10,000 hours—an arbitrary figure—but the outcome, mixed with an incalculable x-factor, is in full force tonight.
On “Hometown,” Urban talks to the audience about his life in the city and surrounds—about how he lived everywhere from Toowong to Eagleby and dropped out of high school three months before graduation to pursue his dream.
A mix of “Kiss a Girl” and “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” kicks things up a gear again to full-blown arena rock, with the room lit by a disco ball as Urban and Louise shred centre stage.
Then it’s time to pass the torch of the rock ’n’ roll dream to a fan. Urban spots a sign in the crowd, and Michaela from Armidale—who’s celebrating a birthday—is soon on stage with Katie Ohh to sing Carrie Underwood’s part on “Fighter.”
As for Urban’s staging and light show, it’s par excellence. Then, almost to show he can do it all with just a spotlight and a guitar, Urban heads to the back of the venue and performs “Pink Pony Club.”
By the time the encore rolls around, it’s game over. Urban takes a fan request for a cover of David Dundas’ “Jeans On,” followed by a solo take on “Making Memories of Us.” The whole shebang closes with a full-band version of the New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give.” There’s the man’s mission statement right there. The crowd were onside from the opening bars, and they rode the wave all night. In 2025, Keith Urban stands among the very few gotta-see-’em-live-to-get-it greats who can hold an arena in the palm of his hand.
