http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2009/10/13/keith-urban-leads-star-studded-all-for-the-hall/

Keith Urban Leads Star-Studded 'All For the Hall'

   Headliner Keith Urban paused between songs and surveyed the audience that had packed a sold-out Sommet Center for the “We’re All For The Hall” concert.

    “I think this is officially one of the greatest open-mike nights we’ve ever seen in Nashville,” Urban said. “We’re playing for the Hall tonight. We’re the opening band for the real attractions.”

    In many ways, it was an unprecedented evening. Nine country stars took the big stage, with the show’s second half evolving into a jam session in which Urban and Country Music Hall of Fame board president Vince Gill volleyed guitar riffs back and forth in service to songs from Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.

    Proceeds from the event went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Museum Director Kyle Young said the night was “ a landmark” and “easily the biggest fundraising event in the Hall’s history.”

    And indeed, late in the evening Urban announced they're already planning to do it again next year. He said they had been inundated with requests from artists hoping to participate. "We easily could have filled two nights. Oct. 5 next year, we're going to do it all again."

    As for just how big it was, the numbers have yet to settle. Figure roughly 14,000 people paid a $25 ticket charge, and that’s $350,000. The Hall also offered “premium packages” that netted an additional $130,000. Seventy-six sponsors, including Verizon and Ford, offered services at no charge or made a donation to the museum. Caterers, car service providers, merchandisers, sound and light personnel and others contributed.
“Just the exposure alone from a show like this ... how much is that worth?” Young asked.

    Well, on Tuesday afternoon, the exposure brought twice as many tourists into the Hall of Fame than is usual on an October Tuesday. A thousand people paid the $20 admission charge, and many of them bought food and souvenirs.

    “This was my hope,” said Vince Gill, who conceived the “All For The Hall” campaign several years ago and who asked musicians at all levels — stadium-fillers and honky-tonk scufflers alike — to donate one night’s pay to the Hall of Fame. “It was my hope, but I can’t really believe it’s happening. This is a big, big payday, and times are tough. But really, it makes so much sense to me to help out the place that documents all of this music that has happened and that happens now.”

    The show itself began with Urban and his band playing an hourlong set that featured hits including “Days Go By,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and “Better Life.” Urban also brought Brad Paisley on stage for a duet on “Start A Band” and played a plaintive version of Dolly Parton’s “Coat Of Many Colors,” in what the Australian-reared singer-songwriter called “an example of the music that influenced me to go to this country.”

    After a break, Gill emerged wearing a Nashville Predators jersey, flanked by a “house band” filled with A-list players including keyboardist John Hobbs, steel guitarist Paul Franklin and bass man Michael Rhodes. Gill, the band and Urban wound up accompanying six successive acts on two-song sets, climaxing with shrieks and lightbulb flashes for Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” and “Love Story.”

    Many of the acts that played in the show's second half had opened for Urban on his 2009 Escape Together world tour. The exception was Faith Hill, who has long been a friend of Urban's and who sang "Let Me Let Go" and "Piece Of My Heart" with accompaniment from Urban, Gill and the band.

    Urban introduced Gill at the beginning of the second set, and then Gill and band did the rollicking "Liza Jane" and plaintive ballad "Whenever You Come Around." Then it was on to Little Big Town for "Fine Line" and "Boondocks."

    Lady Antebellum performed "I Run To You" and "Need You Now," while Aldean offered "Big Green Tractor" and "She's Country."“Tonight ... it’s the side of a barn: You can’t miss,” said bassist Rhodes.

    "It's really fun to do this," Gill said backstage, near a pile of musical charts he'd been studying to prep for the show. "I may never have a chance to play 'Big Green Tractor' again, but this is a blast."

    The nights "surprise" guest wasn't such a surprise after he tweeted from the Sommet Center, but those outside the Twitter world were perhaps taken aback when Bentley hit the stage and offered up "Sideways" and "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)."

    After Swift's shriek-inducing two-song set, Urban and Gill closed the night with a version of Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally."

    Aldean, who earlier in the day received his first American Music Awards nomination (for favorite male country artist, alongside Urban and Darius Rucker), was pleased to have Urban and Gill as his sidemen for the evening.

    “I’ve been a fan of Vince’s forever, so this is incredible,” Aldean said. “This is a little like having a jam band, like you did back in the bars. It’s loose, people make mistakes, but nobody cares about the mistakes.”

    Any mistakes made seemed less than significant in an evening that was a summit for contemporary country’s biggest stars, in celebration of one of Nashville’s signature institutions.

    “If you ever wanted to know what is special about this city, it’s here tonight,” said Mayor Karl Dean, who shook hands backstage, packed in a sea of humanity that included everyone from children (well-connected children, presumably), managers, media and the entertainers. “This is an industry coming together for a Hall of Fame that is a keeper of our history.”
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    SmartMove  

--Last edited by smartmove on 2009-10-15 00:31:51 --

I just got back from Nashville, and let me say, wow! what a great night!  Keith was having so much fun the whole night, and it was totally contagious.  He mentioned his parents and wife were all there.  Highlights were definitely when he sang Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors and when he did Start a Band with Brad Paisley.  He and Brad went out into the crowd on opposite sides and up into the stands.  Of course, Keith does this all the time, so he is very adept at playing and making his way through a screaming, grabbing, throng.  Brad, not so much.  He was so slow getting up the stands.  It was very funny!  They were both having such a good time.  

I really enjoyed watching Keith playing and singing along in the background to the other artists.  He really got into Big Green Tractor, and Taylor Swift's Love Story (that one really cracked me up.  Doesn't seem like a song he'd like!)

Dierks Bentley was all over the stage like he maybe eats a lot of sugar!  He was hard to get a picture of because he was bouncing all over the place.  He was really good, though.

The place was packed, and the crowd was very high energy.  Unfortunately, I did see lots of drunk people.  I hope they all made it home safely and weren't driving.

The only negative I can think of, is it took a really long time for them to set up the house band after Keith's set.  Like about an hour.  Hopefully, they'll figure out a way to do it quicker next time.  I really hope I can go again next year and maybe take the hubby.

     So glad you had a good time. I think it would be fun watching Keith support the other artists during the show.

   

Quote :

Dierks Bentley was all over the stage like he maybe eats a lot of sugar!  He was hard to get a picture of because he was bouncing all over the place.  He was really good, though.

    Dierks opened for Keith in Roanoke and he is a very active performer. He must have springs in his boots because he was in motion the entire time. But I liked him.

    SmartMove

Another great review shared with the forum, smartmove ... ta muchly!

Thanks treekabird for taking the time to share your "all for the hall" experience with us ... much appreciated ...

Colleen

From Monkeyville:

Bob Lefsetz Review of All for the Hall
« on: Today at 02:41:16 PM »  

         WHO WOULDN'T WANNA BE ME

         "The sun is shinin'
         This road keeps windin'
         Through the prettiest country
         From Georgia to Tennessee
         I got the one I love beside me
         My troubles behind me
         I'm alive and I'm free
         Who wouldn't wanna be me"

    Yup, inside the Sommet Center for Keith Urban's "All For The Hall" concert.

    If you haven't been to Nashville, you haven't been to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  And you're the worse for it.  You might think you don't care about shitkickers, but you're missing out on the history of America.  From slaves to the Dust Bowl to Elvis Presley's solid gold Cadillac and the history/tragedy of the Williams family.

    It's jaw-dropping.  To see the old footage of people fiddlin' and dancin'.  Watching Jimmie Rodgers sing you become an instant believer.  But what enamored me most was the video of Wanda Jackson.  Exhume her and put her on the road today.  She'd be bigger than all of the wannabes.  She didn't need no Timbaland, just her pipes.  She shimmied and shook, singing this music halfway between country and rock.  To go to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is to become a fan.

   And to insure that it lives on, can expand, do its mission properly, Vince Gill proposed every artist cough up one night of revenue for the Hall.

    Keith Urban took him up on it.

    Yes, Tuesday night at the Sommet Center, the Staples Center of Nashville, the Madison Square Garden of Music City, albeit with much worse food, some of country music's finest came out to raise money for the Hall.  Keith, Vince and all the people who'd opened for Keith over the past years.

    The show started with over an hour of Keith's hits.  Performed by him and his band of crack guitarists.  Yup, they're an army, a coalition that could triumph over any adversary merely with sound.  Keith Urban played the incredible solo at the end of "Stupid Girl".  He sat down alone and performed his roots music, Dolly Parton's "Coat Of Many Colors" on his acoustic.  And he and his band played my favorite song, "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me".

         "I got no money in my pockets
         I got a hole in my jeans
         I had a job and I lost it
         But it won't get to me"

    That's the power of music.  It crowds out all the negativity, it replaces the bad thoughts with joy and inspiration.  And when you hear Keith Urban wail on his guitar, you get the same feeling you do when Derek Trucks or Warren Haynes or even Jeff Beck pick out the notes.  This is not some hack, playing crap.  Keith Urban can play!  Actually, that's the Nashville mantra.  Go to see one of these acts.  You can't believe there are no hard drives.

         BRAD PAISLEY

    I've O.D.'ed on his sophomoric lyrics, and I believe his joint song with Keith Urban, "Start A Band", is a bit lame.  But you should hear him wail!

    Brad and Keith eventually journeyed into the audience, on separate sides of the arena, shredding all the time.  They were exhausted after minutes of picking, it was hard to believe they could go on.

    And you wonder why people are country fans.

    This ain't canned music made to get laid.  Not background stuff in a bar.  This is positively foreground, it picks you up and energizes you.

    VINCE GILL

    Positively staggering.  A revelation.  I knew he could sing, but who knew he could pick?

    He started off with Pure Prairie League.  Then, I lost track.  Not completely, but he was off in this country world, before country became the new rock and we all gravitated there.

    You might think he's a crooner, but he could hold his own with any rock band out there.  Even Metallica!

    And after pointing out his wife, Amy Grant, he sang a sweet love song that converted you.  (After saying he hadn't seen her for two and a half weeks and hoped to get lucky tonight!  There may be too much religion in country music, but that doesn't mean there's not any SEX!)

    LITTLE BIG TOWN

         "I feel no shame
         I'm proud of where I came from
         I was born and raised in the boondocks"

    Can't say that's where I'm from.  But I loved that Billy Joe Royal song, does that count?

    They started off with "Fine Line".  I would have done something different from the third album, but then they lit into this hit from the breakthrough record.

         "It's where I learned about living
         It's where I learned about love"

    It's where I learned this wasn't my father's country music.  "Boondocks" resembles nothing so much as a Fleetwood Mac number.  But with one difference.  It's better than anything that concoction has done in thirty years!

    If you don't know the joy of Little Big Town, I feel sorry for you.

    FREE AND EASY DOWN THE ROAD I GO

    I don't think I've heard any song more on country radio.

    This Dierks Bentley number bridges the old and new, the ancient and the modern.  Harkens back to the country of yore, yet is still fresh and exuberant enough to sound modern.

    LADY ANTEBELLUM/JASON ALDEAN/FAITH HILL

    They all triumphed.

    But the show was stolen by someone much younger.  Someone still wet behind the ears, but wise beyond her years.

    TAYLOR SWIFT

         "You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
         It's the morning of your very first day"

    Do you remember the first day of high school?

    You thought for days what you were going to wear.  You walked into the building minding your cool.  This counted.  You had to get it right, you didn't want to ruin your reputation.  Not for the next four years.

    Taylor Swift walked on stage in a glittery silver dress and a guitar strung around her neck.  The applause, the screams were DEAFENING!

    Have you ever been at a show and been completely exhilarated, knowing that you were at the exact center of the universe, ground zero of the human experience?

    That's where we were Tuesday night, all 18,000 of us, when Taylor Swift performed.

    Not reading from a scrïpt, intelligent and schooled, Taylor started riffing.  After basking in the adulation she said what she loved about country music is that everybody got to tell their story.  And this was hers.

         "It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
         For the next four years in this town
         Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say?
         'You know, I haven't seen you around before'"

    Life.  It's full of hopes and dreams.  And victories and losses.  What gets you through is your friends and the music.

    That's the power of music.  When done right.  Too often it's done wrong.

    It's done for corporations.  For old men in suits.  It's streamlined for radio.  Made inauthentic in order to sell not only itself, but associated products.  To the point where when you hear something genuine, you exult EUREKA!

    I could analyze the changes, the lyrics.  Deconstruct the song.  But that would be missing the point.  It's the total effect.  Of a gawky, geeky girl who made it through.  To womanhood.

    Isn't that the goal?  To not drop out?  To not commit suicide?  To get to the point where you can call your own shots?

    "I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen"

    I don't know who I'm supposed to be at fifty.

    I don't own a home.  I've got no children.  And I'm gonna have to work for the rest of my life just to pay the bills.

    Somewhere along the line, I diverged.  And when I finally realized that we were on different paths, there was no going back.  I was stuck, out here, alone.  Just me and the music.

    But the music's been failing me.

    I've seen the Who perform "Tommy" at the Fillmore.

    I've seen Prince blow away the few in attendance at Flippers roller disco, performing "Dirty Mind" the night of the Academy Awards.

    I've seen music become about looks more than sound, I've seen music become a sideshow, something that makes people rich, but leaves the audience starving, turning to television and the Internet for fulfillment.

    And then I discovered Taylor Swift.  Someone who knows it's about songs, not stardom.  Someone willing to keep ticket prices cheap so her young fans have a chance to see her.  Someone who's got the ethos of a star from way back when, as opposed to the sold out creeps who tramp about today.

    Music when done right is life itself.

    Listening to Taylor Swift Tuesday night, tears came streaming down my face.  I couldn't stop them.  On one hand, I was embarrassed.  On the other I was thrilled.  Just when I'd given up, believing that everything I'd experienced previously had gone, here it was, back.

    That rush of going to the show, feeling that there was no place I'd rather be.

    I don't care if you like the music.  I don't give a shit if you go to see her.  But I want to be very clear.  Taylor Swift is a SUPERSTAR!

__________________

    This is why I worry about the Entertainer of the Year Award. This man is in his fifties I believe. I think Taylor is a cute girl with talent but a long way to go before becoming a superstar. Sorry, Bob. Gonna have to disagree with you on this one.

    SmartMove

I don't think the cheers for her were any louder than they were for everyone else.  I like Taylor, but I will be pissed if she wins.  She has a long way still to go before she is worthy of that award!

The screams were not louder for her than anyone else. Bob, who hails from Santa Monica may have a daughter or was feeling particularly fatherly that night.

Taylor is good, but she doesnt deserve the entertainer of the year, not yet.

From CMT

Brad Paisley Jams With Some Australian Guitarist
Posted: October 15th, 2009 at 5:10 pm  |  By: Alison Bonaguro

    Just because Brad Paisley's all clean-cut doesn't mean all the country stars need to be. Right? But Paisley took to Twitter to take a few good-hearted jabs at Keith Urban before they took the stage together for the We're All for the Hall show to benefit Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    I don't spend a lot of time on Twitter but almost 70,000 people are following Paisley and probably got a kick out of his thread of funny remarks about Urban. Like: "Get to jam with an up N coming young Australian guitarist 2night named, um, can't remember," "Starts with a 'k' I think, anyway, he's got potential ... Karl? Kelvin? Ken? ... Rural ... rural's the last name, I'm sure of that." And then: "Feel so stupid. His name is Keith Urban. Guess he's some sort of big deal. Certainly amazingly talented, great guy. Needs a haircut though."

    But by the end of the show he got all serious, tweeting "Hope they raised a lot of money tonight. Really was a blast."
_______________

    SmartMove

Hi Smartmove ...

Don't read too much into that jibe from Brad ... Keith and he are good mates, and I'd say Keith gives his fair share of that to Brad, being an Aussie and all ... Although I do understand where you're coming from ... As a KU fan, reading anything negative about Keith is hard to take and I'd be the first to stand up in defence of anyone trying to bring Keith down ...

I honestly believe Keith has the total respect of those in American Country Music circles and his contributions for the "We're All For The Hall" concert won't do Keith's reputation any harm ...  

--Last edited by Giggles on 2009-10-17 08:51:56 --

Brad's twitter comments aren't negative. He's just joking around.

Brad is a joker and he and Keith are friends. I'm sure Keith takes it all as intended!

I was so happy to see this show come off so well. I thought they all looked to be having so much fun and what a successful night! Keith did a great job (along with Vince Gill) and it was so good to know his folks were there to see it.

Thanks for the reviews Treekabird and Smartmove....it would have been fantastic to be there!!

Quote :

Hope wrote : The screams were not louder for her than anyone else. Bob, who hails from Santa Monica may have a daughter or was feeling particularly fatherly that night. Taylor is good, but she doesnt deserve the entertainer of the year, not yet.

I so hope you're right Hope...I will be very upset if Tayor wins... she's  way too young and inexpereinced yet......but I suppose I will have to get over it if she does.......

HALF A MILLION FOR THE HALL OF FAME

http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1624470/keith-urbans-were-all-for-the-hall-concert-brings-in-500000.jhtml

Tennessean.com

Keith Urban-led Concert Is A Success for Country Music Hall
October 23, 2009

    The crowd sure enjoyed the recent Keith Urban-headed "We're All For the Hall" benefit concert, but from the more practical perspective, it also achieved its intended goal. The event has raised more than $500,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, reps from the Hall shared. That will grow, too, as funds from corporate donations are tallied and the spoils come in from an upcoming Taylor Swift guitar auction.

    "As Keith said from the stage of the Sommet Center, this was 'one of the greatest open-mike nights ever seen in Nashville,'" museum director Kyle Young said in a statement. "(The event) not only set a new standard for fundraising and event coordination, it brought together an entire community and helped us to see just what can be done by individuals when there is collective passion for a cause."

    Urban pulled together a star-stocked lineup, along with Urban and museum board of officers and trustees president and All for the Hall fundraising kingpin/creator Vince Gill, it included Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift. About 14,000 fans attended the sold-out show.

— NICOLE KEIPER
_______________

    Nice to know that this was such a success for the Hall of Fame but that Keith was behind it and made it work. Sounds like everyone had a great time, artists and fans alike. He did mention that they will be having another fundraiser next year as there were lots of artists who could not participate because of scheduling conflicts. The second time around should be a blockbuster!

    Good going, Keith!

    SmartMove