12vmanRick wrote:you might think it cheesy but it's Chesney. Nicole and I had a great time at Kenny's concert. Nothing like Buffett to us, nothing to compare. Totally different styles that view the island life/style a different way.
Yup! Totally agree with my brutha from anotha mutha here!
And whether the majority of folks on this site agree with it or not.. he IS the top grossing country act on tour AGAIN this year.. and no, it's not because of his ticket prices (The top avg. price this year goes to Tim & Faith with a face value in the low $90's.. where as KC's avg. is in the mid $60's.. yet, he leads the Summer numbers by a spread of $10.1 million above Tim & Faith in 2nd place.. granted he started in mid-April and Soul2Soul began in early June) so... point being, he's doin' something right!!! He's a younger performer with a younger fan base.. and knows how to target and perform to that demographic.. which is all those screaming women mentioned. You might not realize it, but the target demographic for country radio is females age 25-40. As for the volume, bigger arenas = bigger sound! It's impossible to balance the sound level for all in attendance when your playing the biggest stadiums/arenas in the country!
Guitar skills? I was skeptical of what level of acoustic player he was as well.. because in an acoustic set you really strip away all the glitz, production effects/enhancements and glamor to see the artist in a more natural & truest form. When you set up on a lone stool with just you and an acoustic guitar you can really separate the artist from the wanna be's. When Chesney played down here on the island at Hogs Breath.. I took the time to catch a portion of an all acoustic show and man, he's legit! My co-writer and I were especially critical in our critique when he played our bar the next night with his full band. While his band took a break he did another acoustic set, with us standing 6ft away, where he played a good 8-10 songs (a much longer acoustic set than you get on his regular tour) with just him and his Takamine and neither one of us found anything to truly speak negatively on.. there was no doubt remaining, he's the real deal.
As for the t-shirt cannons... Buffett doesn't own that gimmick.. in fact, a lot of acts do it and have been doing it for years. Just thinking in terms of other country artist, right off the top of my head.. Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich, Rodney Atkins.. hell, I think Garth even use to do it before he retired from the stage back in 2000.
Side Note: Also, someone mentioned something along the lines of KC having a sub-par voice and not quite measuring up to JB in vocals... son, you need your ears checked! Bubba's NEVER had a "great" voice! He's a Great songwriter, but an average vocalist! I mean, he's not tone deaf but he's definately not one to be considered for his polished vocals. Even when I was the most die hard PH, I never considered him to have great vocal ability. Sorry, but it's just my true opinion. Just my .02
Then again... pay no mind to me.. I'm a lil bias after working at Buffett Ground Zero for waaaaaaaay too long!!
No, Seriously!
SIDE NOTE: As for the pirate? That pirate was Shawn Silva.. one of the biggest music video directors out there today. They filmed it while they were down here in The Keys for Kenny's "Keg In The Closet Tour". Cruzan Rum made a good choice when they chose to sponsor the man.. hell of a partnership. Did you ever notice that the original lyrics for "Old Blue Chair" he sings 'Malibu and diet' ... that was before the Cruzan sponsorship and the "Be As You Are" album version!
I just hate seeing these type of threads on here.. it's part of the reason I stopped coming around this site! I never gave Chesney a chance initially because of all the "wannabe" name calling threads I had always seen on here when I first started posting over three years ago. Then in 2005 my buddy Jamie (fellow BNer) starting pushing his music onto me.. and I gave it a chance.. and guess what.. all the parrothead naysayers were dead wrong! He's a hell of an artist! Hell, his music is actually the reason I got back into country music after several years of stepping away from it. When I first started songwriting during the divorce, the stuff I wrote was crap.. the motivation and message were true but the way I was trying to say it wasn't. Because I was trying to be another Buffett. Finally, I had to get true to myself and my roots.. next thing I knew my writing really matured and I found the style to be country.. it's just what naturally flowed when I stopped trying to be somebody I wasn't. Sadly, it took moving to an island to discover I'm a southern hillbilly!
But thank God I did.. because now I'm off that island, on a layover back home for now and moving to Nashville in November!
My point is... if it wasn't sincere and true then KC wouldn't be able to perform and present it to the level that he does each and every night! And if it didn't feel real, then those audiences would NOT buy into it.
Second point is.. THERE IS A WHOLE WORLD OF MUSIC OUT THERE OUTSIDE OF JIMMY.. open your ears and give it a chance for Gods sake! It blows my mind how some people on here will worship singers like Sunny Jim, Jim Morris and the likes.. yet, will label certain others as "wanna be's"... I also dare say that the discrimination factor is often influenced mainly in part by the "wanna be's" level of success (which implies jealousy on certain fans part)!! Just a thought..
Kinda hypocritical dontchathink?
Bottom line is this.. Music is about expression and connecting with others. It may not always suit your taste and you may not always "agree" per se with the execution.. but the motivation behind it is always the same. To connect with an audience and touch other people lives. So it's best to at least try to respect all forms, styles, genres or artist for the simple fact that they are out there doing that. Granted, all of them may not necessarily connect with each and every one of us.. but there is always someone listening to a lyric and saying, "I feel the same way!" Or maybe they're simply being moved to the beat of the instrumental.. either way, they're connecting.. and that's what it's all about!
