Lori IannellaBlinding gaudy carpet lines the floors and mirrors line the top of the walls and some of the ceilings at mid-eye level neon lights guide gamblers to beeping slot machines.
A barrage of country fans, who are easy to spot due to their cowboy hats, boots and big shiny belt buckles, are weaving through crowds of senior citizens bussed up from surrounding areas to spend their nickels and quarters in hopes of hitting a jackpot.
It’s Saturday, Oct. 30th, and the main event tonight at the Trump Taj Mahal in the Mark G. Etess Arena is Australian country singer/songwriter Keith Urban.
Soon after 8 p.m., Katrina Elam took the stage to perform a 45-minute set with a good response from the crowd.
A loud recording of the Monster Mash blares over the speakers to signal the beginning of Urban’s set. It fades and Urban appears on the stages shortly after 9 p.m. by himself to sing the first part of his latest single, “Days Go By” from his newest release “Be Here.”
Urban balanced out his set, singing selections from previous albums, “Golden Road,” and self titled “Keith Urban.” He even went as far back as singing a song titled “Homespun Love” from his first band, “The Ranch.”
On the floor, 21 rows back from the stage, a security guard spends the night telling a drunken cowboy sporting jeans, a white shirt and a camouflage hat to stop dancing in the middle of the isle.
Women with big, teased-up, dyed hair strut their stuff with their dates who look as though they are trying desperately to transform themselves into Garth Brooks or George Strait.
Towards the end of his set, Urban and his band broke into a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.” During the middle of the song, he was instructing part of the audience to sing along when he lost control and the microphone he was holding out when sailing in the air and crashing to the stage.
“Wait, wait, let’s do that again, and see if I can hold on to the microphone this time.” He instructed the crowd as he laughed along with them.
By 11 p.m. Urban left the stage and the crowd filtered out of the Arena and back into the casino. Many piled out of the Atlantic City casino to trek home while some stayed behind for some more turns at the slots and a few games of poker.
Walking back to the parking lot to retrieve their car, the man in the camouflage hat hoots and hollers loudly, still dancing with his girlfriend who is just as wired and drunk as he is.
“This was awesome! The best way to spend my 21st birthday!” A passing woman said.
“Oh definitely!” Her friend said. They shared a high-five. ending their night in Atlantic City, NJ.
Posted to the Web by Lori Iannella
