Review: Kenny Chesney, May 27, 2006
This is a review of last Saturday's Kenny Chesney concert that I had written for a fan site. I thought I'd post it here too, although it didn't technically happen in Nashville...
Saturday night at Columbus Crew Stadium, there was absolutely no doubt why Kenny Chesney has won back-to-back Entertainer of the Year awards.
I have been a Kenny fan and going to shows for years, and I can safely say that the May 27 Columbus stadium show was the best show that I’ve ever been to. Hands down, no other show comes close.
Our evening started with Mr. Dierks Bentley because traffic was horrendous getting to the stadium and it took us over an hour to drive 7 miles from our hotel. I am not a huge Sugarland fan, so I was not devastated that we missed them, but I didn’t want to miss Dierks. As always he was great. This was the closest I’ve been to him this year, and he is a sweetheart and a hottie.
Just like the stadium show I was at last year (D.C.), security left a lot to be desired. I saw everyone’s (OK, maybe just mine) favorite production assistant giving them the run-down before the show, so I know they knew the drill. But as always, being close to the stage for a stadium show frightened me. At one point I almost had an altercation with a woman who didn’t understand why I didn’t want her to stand on her seat and block my view of Kenny all night long.
Because security was a little willy-nilly, I was absolutely shocked when I realized how Kenny planned to enter the stage Saturday night. Alexis and I had been walking around on the floor earlier, and we saw his little Summertime stage in the back and it had steps on it. I’d had friends at Houston, so I knew that he planned to sing back there and then come up through the aisle to the front. And walk right past us. That was very cool.
The show was very high-energy, and Kenny was in a great mood. Even little glitches that would probably have annoyed him at other shows he just took in stride. I’ve seen Kenny many, many times and this was the best mood that I’ve ever seen him in. He was really on his game. He spent so much time out front that I didn’t get to see much of the other guys, but I didn’t mind that Kenny paid a lot of attention to our end of the T. And besides, he pulled out the white hat for me, and I really appreciated that. It really made my day.
Every song was so great, I honestly can’t think of that many stand-out moments. Uncle Kracker joining Kenny is always a great time for me, although the guy next to me seemed very fascinated that I was singing along word-for-word with every Kracker song. I love Kracker, and normally it’s a big surprise for me when he comes out (even when he hasn’t missed a show, I am always surprised when he shows up), but I had seen him go to lunch with Kenny earlier so I knew he was there. And I must say that I was very impressed that despite his giant cup full of whatever beverage he did not drop an f-bomb during “Cowboy.” I love the few songs that he sings with Kenny and I love their dynamic in the show. I think his on-stage antics really crack Kenny up sometimes. But, as always, I could live without Jennifer Nettles coming back out for Drift Away, especially now that she’s learned all the words. My polite assessment of Jennifer is that her voice tends to be overpowering, and I just don’t like when someone sings a song with the artist and sings so loudly overtop of him that you can’t hear him. That Kristian guy might not get a microphone, but he cracks me up.
The other highlight of the evening was “Who You’d Be Today.” Now, this is not one of my favorite songs, but I really do like it much better live than I do on the CD. I’ve said that since I saw Kenny sing it at Jay Leno in November.
Last night Kenny told us he was dedicating that song to Ryan, whose last wish through Make A Wish was to attend a Kenny Chesney concert. Unfortunately Ryan died two days before the show. During the song Ryan’s mom joined Kenny on stage and sang with him. She was crying, Kenny was on the verge of tears and I bawled like a freaking baby. I just cannot believe that Kenny did something like that. He is a very special person.
Kenny also sang “Old Blue Chair” last night, sans blue chair. I saw him sing it both nights in Dayton, but I guess he hasn’t been singing it most of the tour, so this was a very special treat. I really enjoyed it and I love how you could hear a pin drop in the arena during that song.
I go to a lot of shows, and I’ve seen a lot of great crowds in my day. And I will say, without a doubt in my mind, that the crowd in Columbus was the best crowd ever. I think Kenny could’ve honestly just stopped singing and stood there and everyone would’ve just finished the show for him. And for the most part people were well-behaved for a stadium show. I was very shocked that they let the front row up to the stage and that Kenny signed, because he didn’t do that last year at the stadiums. However, he signed for quite a while.
I can’t even explain Kenny’s disposition. Maybe it was the high of winning a huge award two years in a row. Maybe it was the energy from our crowd. Maybe it was the excitement of the first stadium show of the year. Maybe it was the magical power of his palm-leaf hat, but whatever it was, the Entertainer of the Year thoroughly entertained me last night. For two hours I forgot every problem I had, just like he asked me to. I was on a huge high after this show, and I’m thinking I might not come down until I’m in the third row in Nashville in July.
Saturday night at Columbus Crew Stadium, there was absolutely no doubt why Kenny Chesney has won back-to-back Entertainer of the Year awards.
I have been a Kenny fan and going to shows for years, and I can safely say that the May 27 Columbus stadium show was the best show that I’ve ever been to. Hands down, no other show comes close.
Our evening started with Mr. Dierks Bentley because traffic was horrendous getting to the stadium and it took us over an hour to drive 7 miles from our hotel. I am not a huge Sugarland fan, so I was not devastated that we missed them, but I didn’t want to miss Dierks. As always he was great. This was the closest I’ve been to him this year, and he is a sweetheart and a hottie.
Just like the stadium show I was at last year (D.C.), security left a lot to be desired. I saw everyone’s (OK, maybe just mine) favorite production assistant giving them the run-down before the show, so I know they knew the drill. But as always, being close to the stage for a stadium show frightened me. At one point I almost had an altercation with a woman who didn’t understand why I didn’t want her to stand on her seat and block my view of Kenny all night long.
Because security was a little willy-nilly, I was absolutely shocked when I realized how Kenny planned to enter the stage Saturday night. Alexis and I had been walking around on the floor earlier, and we saw his little Summertime stage in the back and it had steps on it. I’d had friends at Houston, so I knew that he planned to sing back there and then come up through the aisle to the front. And walk right past us. That was very cool.
The show was very high-energy, and Kenny was in a great mood. Even little glitches that would probably have annoyed him at other shows he just took in stride. I’ve seen Kenny many, many times and this was the best mood that I’ve ever seen him in. He was really on his game. He spent so much time out front that I didn’t get to see much of the other guys, but I didn’t mind that Kenny paid a lot of attention to our end of the T. And besides, he pulled out the white hat for me, and I really appreciated that. It really made my day.
Every song was so great, I honestly can’t think of that many stand-out moments. Uncle Kracker joining Kenny is always a great time for me, although the guy next to me seemed very fascinated that I was singing along word-for-word with every Kracker song. I love Kracker, and normally it’s a big surprise for me when he comes out (even when he hasn’t missed a show, I am always surprised when he shows up), but I had seen him go to lunch with Kenny earlier so I knew he was there. And I must say that I was very impressed that despite his giant cup full of whatever beverage he did not drop an f-bomb during “Cowboy.” I love the few songs that he sings with Kenny and I love their dynamic in the show. I think his on-stage antics really crack Kenny up sometimes. But, as always, I could live without Jennifer Nettles coming back out for Drift Away, especially now that she’s learned all the words. My polite assessment of Jennifer is that her voice tends to be overpowering, and I just don’t like when someone sings a song with the artist and sings so loudly overtop of him that you can’t hear him. That Kristian guy might not get a microphone, but he cracks me up.
The other highlight of the evening was “Who You’d Be Today.” Now, this is not one of my favorite songs, but I really do like it much better live than I do on the CD. I’ve said that since I saw Kenny sing it at Jay Leno in November.
Last night Kenny told us he was dedicating that song to Ryan, whose last wish through Make A Wish was to attend a Kenny Chesney concert. Unfortunately Ryan died two days before the show. During the song Ryan’s mom joined Kenny on stage and sang with him. She was crying, Kenny was on the verge of tears and I bawled like a freaking baby. I just cannot believe that Kenny did something like that. He is a very special person.
Kenny also sang “Old Blue Chair” last night, sans blue chair. I saw him sing it both nights in Dayton, but I guess he hasn’t been singing it most of the tour, so this was a very special treat. I really enjoyed it and I love how you could hear a pin drop in the arena during that song.
I go to a lot of shows, and I’ve seen a lot of great crowds in my day. And I will say, without a doubt in my mind, that the crowd in Columbus was the best crowd ever. I think Kenny could’ve honestly just stopped singing and stood there and everyone would’ve just finished the show for him. And for the most part people were well-behaved for a stadium show. I was very shocked that they let the front row up to the stage and that Kenny signed, because he didn’t do that last year at the stadiums. However, he signed for quite a while.
I can’t even explain Kenny’s disposition. Maybe it was the high of winning a huge award two years in a row. Maybe it was the energy from our crowd. Maybe it was the excitement of the first stadium show of the year. Maybe it was the magical power of his palm-leaf hat, but whatever it was, the Entertainer of the Year thoroughly entertained me last night. For two hours I forgot every problem I had, just like he asked me to. I was on a huge high after this show, and I’m thinking I might not come down until I’m in the third row in Nashville in July.
posted by Laura at 11:50 AM
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