Listening to: Letter To Me
"Have no fear, these are nowhere near the best years of your life"
He totally was. I wouldn't have considered going solo to the concert if I had any doubts about his prowess. Musical prowess, mind.
It was funny how I came to know about his upcoming concert in London earlier in the summer. It was all down to sheer coincidence, set up by my well-timed procrastination. You know those moments - when you've been trying to concentrate and focus on the task at hand, trying to put together a report but it just ain't coming together. So, what do you do? You take a mental break.
Usually, I'd prance onto the news channels for a bit of Brexit drama or sports update, but for some reason, my fingers made a few random taps on the keyboard and I was taken to Ticketmaster's website instead.
I veni onto the events section, I vidi the list of names, and I vici the one act I've been meaning to since 2013.
Brad Paisley has been on my concert "to-go" list since the day I found out - from speaking to a colleague on his first day at work no less - that the chosen song for his first dance with his wife at their wedding was an "obscure" song by some Stetson-wearing dude.
Now, before you paint me as a nosey busybody, please know that I don't always ask married newcomers what song they'd picked for their first dance. No. I start by saying "Hello, I'm so and so. Nice to meet you, and welcome to our hospital". Then I proceed to tell them they've made the biggest mistake of their lives by coming to work here.
Only kidding.
As it happened, I overheard his conversation with another nurse whilst he was waiting to meet the manager. He was telling Nurse Goldilocks (nicknamed for her strikingly natural blond hair, obviously) that he recently got married.
"Ah, congratulations", I said.
"Thank you".
Goldilocks continued the small talk by asking more about the wedding. At some point, he overheard my conversation with another colleague.
"Mostly songs that I grew up listening to - oldies influenced by my parents, 70s Motown, 80s groove, 90s RNB, a bit of jazz and a bit of country".
"So you listen to country music too?", S said.
"Well, a tiny bit", I hastened to add.
"Ah cool. I like country music a lot. In fact I chose a country song for my first dance", he added.
"Wow. That's cool! Which song was it if you don't mind me asking?"
"She's Everything, by Brad Paisley".
***
I never thought I'd catch BP in this part of the world. I always thought I'd find myself going for his gig somewhere in the States, as part of my North American coast-to-coast trip that I've always been saying I wanted to do, and dreamt of doing, but have yet to plan for. *hands covering face in mock shame*
I missed the chance to see him in 2017 when he headlined the Country2Country event with Carrie Underwood. Now that I got a second chance, I wasn't going to miss it again. Even if it means having to go alone. I'm too old and too thick-faced to contemplate otherwise.
***
Was so hoping to add the ticket stub to my collection, but as with most things these days, the ticket was actually a 2D quagmire of blocks (QR scan code). Boooo.
***
Chris Lane started the show. I'm not too well-acquainted with this guy but I got a sense that he's a huge breakout country singer in recent times. He performed a solid 30-minute set, including Big Big Plans, a song he wrote and sang to his fiancee when proposing. Awww.
There was also a cute moment when he invited a young fan onto the stage and serenaded her with a song (the title of which I couldn't remember). From where I was seated, I didn't see her swooning. But then again, she was probably just in her early teens - maybe a bittttt too young to appreciate the fact that guys don't usually do this. Let alone in front on 20,000 people.
***
BP burst onto the stage with "Southern Comfort Zone". I am by no means a huge fan but I was glad I recognised this song. It's one of those I've heard before and had earmarked on Spotify in his catalogue of hits. Good start!
He was pitch perfect. As one would expect. Strong vocals, well-grounded showmanship with a lot of smooth strumming throughout. No gimmicks, no contrived acts, just a string of steady and naturally-poised moves. You know he's done this many, many times before..
He played several hits back to back since coming on stage, and about 20-minutes in, he performed "Then", followed by "She's Everything".
Which. I. Wasn't. Expecting. So. Early. On.
Good thing I was already recording a video clip on my camera with "Then", otherwise I would have missed the start of his most well-known tune!
Even as an uncoupled person who didn't have anyone sit next to her to share this moment with...I was in full-blown swoon mode 😍.
When it came to "My Miracle", which is his most recent hit, they put up a kiss-cam on screen as the chorus was playing. Nice to see the Brits putting their stoicism aside for some PDA 💑
A few songs later, he re-invited Chris Lane onto the stage, and they performed "I'm Still A Guy". Now, I've watched enough clips on YouTube to know that BP is quite a funny guy. So when he and Chris asked one of the fans for her phone to "take a selfie", I knew it'd be trouble. True to form, he took the photo and decided to post it on Instagram, using the said fan's account. They literally took over her IG! Poor girl was pretty embarrassed, but I think she saw the lighter side of it towards the end. I mean I'd give a million bucks for BP to post anything from my Instagram account. And I don't even have one!!!
***
A British country duo called Ward Thomas then came on as a guest act, which was a nice touch by the man himself to promote country music, and homegrown talent. Together they did a rendition of "Whiskey Lullaby". I was hoping to hear "Remind Me", but I guess Carrie Underwood's too busy.
***
Guess who wasn't too busy to show up?
I literally could not believe it when BP said his name. So too were the crowd! It was a pleasant surprise indeed. Not least because it was Keith Urban. And what was he doing in London??!! Anyway, I'm not going to complain. I paid to see one guy and saw 4 acts instead. It's beyond worth it!!!
Urban didn't perform (even though I know they recorded a duet called "Start A Band"). I guess he wasn't prepped up for vocals, but to see him play the guitar alongside Brad Paisley on two of the last songs of the night was enough. More than enough :)
Oct 12 2019 - the night I had a rendezvous with not just one, but two, married men😉. Albeit for one night only.
Still, life is good :)
