Urban,Elam rock the Trump Taj Mahal

CECELIA FRANCISCO PHOTO/WEB EDITOR CAF722@CABRINI EDU

Blinding 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.

Abarrage 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.

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.