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When is the show at Tennessee supposed to be?

MUSIC REVIEW: Kenny Chesney

BY TOM NETHERLAND
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Jan 29, 2005


MUSIC REVIEW
KENNY CHESNEY
AT: Starr Hill on Thursday night

BENEFITING: The International Red Cross Response Fund for Tsunami Relief

CHARLOTTESVILLE Kenny Chesney sold more than a million concert tickets last year. The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year typically plays to packed arenas of more than 10,000 seats.


Yet snuggled here and there among those gargantuan shows last year, he performed a few club shows and called it his Keg in the Closet Tour.

This year's major tour won't start until March. So why not crank out another club tour in the meantime?

On a bitterly cold night Thursday, Chesney heated Starr Hill to hotter than asphalt under a hot rod's burning rubber. For more than three hours and a throat-thrashing 48 songs, the country superstar offered little by way of predictability. Befitting a tour named Keg in the Closet, the show seemed much like a frat party sans fraternity.

Chesney played as if on the fly and off the cuff. Very little country and a whole lot of rock -- this was not a typical Kenny Chesney show.

The sold-out and college-aged crowd of 450 knew little of what to expect. No set lists. Apparently no time limits. For only $10 per ticket, the show essentially constituted a gift for the fans.

Shrieks erupted when Chesney sauntered onstage about 10 o'clock in a floppy cowboy hat, blue jeans and a brown T-shirt. For the first hour or so, he stuck mostly with songs from his catalog, three or four of which he had never performed live before.

"This is the very first time I've ever sung this song live," Chesney said before singing "The Woman With You." "We've been off the road for about six months -- and so long that we've had a few hits since then."

Chalk that one up to one of many treats in store on this memorable night. Doubtless few of the many fans who traded high-fives with Chesney after a rowdy "Keg in the Closet" would disagree. Throw in hits like "Back Where I Come From," and you have quite a show.

But there was more. As Thursday night turned to yesterday morning, treats aplenty came from Chesney as he played on and on and on. The Energizer bunny has nothing on this guy.

"The drunker I get, the longer y'all are gonna stay, right?" Chesney asked while cradling a cold brew. With that said, he dusted off George Jones' classic "White Lightning." In a nod to his bar-band days, he ably covered George Strait ("The Fireman"), Kid Rock ("Cowboy"), Hank Williams Jr. ("Man to Man") and Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

There was an apropos singalong of the Steve Miller Band's "The Joker" and Jimmy Buffett's loosey-goosey "Why Don't We Get Drunk." Chesney excelled on Alabama's gentle "Lady Down on Love" and scorched Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man."

Kenny Chesney is not for everyone. His voice isn't great. His songs, to this point, pale in comparison with peers like Alan Jackson. But Chesney is fun. To wit, all concerts should prove as fulfilling as this one.

How do we find out about the dates for the shows

and Jimmy Buffett's loosey-goosey "Why Don't We Get Drunk.

Cool!
I would have loved to have heard that....along with "Back Where I Come From"

Alabama's "Lady Down on Love" is quite compelling to me!

My concern if I were Kenny would be how he could possibly top that show? Expectations for the other stops will be way high!

Tiki Bar wrote:Alabama's "Lady Down on Love" is quite compelling to me!

My concern if I were Kenny would be how he could possibly top that show? Expectations for the other stops will be way high!

he did all of those as well in Winston Salem....and I can tell you he played more then 48 songs with us....I think he definitely topped that show....he played U2, Sting, Violent Femmes, ACDC, Tom Petty, Bob Marley....the list goes on and on...

sunseeker wrote:

Tiki Bar wrote:Alabama's "Lady Down on Love" is quite compelling to me!

My concern if I were Kenny would be how he could possibly top that show? Expectations for the other stops will be way high!

he did all of those as well in Winston Salem....and I can tell you he played more then 48 songs with us....I think he definitely topped that show....he played U2, Sting, Violent Femmes, ACDC, Tom Petty, Bob Marley....the list goes on and on...

I didn't pay attention - I thought this was the same show you were at. Sounds like it'll be a treat for all of the stops!

Jan. 31, 2005: Life's been good, real good for Kenny Chesney.
Two shows in Green Bay, Wis. and a third in St. Paul all sold out in less than 2 hours - and more than 120,000 copies of his brand new "Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair" sold on the first day last Tuesday.
And Chesney also has been hitting the college bar circuit. He started by playing a club in Charlottesville, Va. and soon goes to Winston-Salem, N.C.
"There's nothing like getting out here, getting right in the faces of those kids," said Chesney. "When you're playing a college bar, there's nowhere to run; you just have to stand there and deliver. Even though we've been off for what felt like six months (actually closer to 3 1/2), I'm lucky 'cause my guys just fall right into it."
Chesney plays on the Tonight Show Tuesday night.

a1aara wrote:...more than 120,000 copies of his brand new "Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair" sold on the first day last Tuesday...

Like him or not, that's pretty impressive. I think a lot of them are parrotheads in the making - from what I've seen, most KC fans don't really listen to much Buffett (YET). And this on the heels of LTC's success, with Jimmy making an even bigger name for himself the mainstream. Get ready for the next wave of new recruits - Kenny gives them a map in his liner notes.

sunseeker wrote:for those of you who have had smart a$$ comments....Bite my left butt cheek!!! We all know you don't like Kenny and you don't need to keep telling us....I posted this thread to share my excitement with my BN buddies who happen to like his music as well as Jimmys. i personally think its pretty darn cool tht any artist would do a FOUR HOUR show in that type of setting FOR NOTHING...he got nothing but pure enjoyment from being with his fans....NOW THATS ALL i HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT...

Next time I see you, you have a deal?

That is awesome sunseeker. I am very glad you were able to stumble onto hearing Kenny in a setting like that for that long.
I'm just waiting for him to annouce when he will be in or near Maryland so I can adjust my schedule accordinglythis summer.

Once again doesn anyone know how to find out when he is playing these college shows and if anythign is in the works for boston

Tuscaloosa Alabama was great!!!! I can't believe all the songs he played and how drunk he got. The whole band by the end of the night was stubling around on stage. He played some obvious Alabama songs... "My Home's in Alabama," "Sweet Home Alabama" and a couple others. Poor thing, he had the nerve to bring a Tennessee hat out of his back pocket during "Back Where I Come From" and he got boo'ed BAD. There was 900 tickets sold and I swear 900 people in a really small bar is really hot and really loud, but I enjoyed every minute of it! ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!

CLATON SANG A FEW SONGS TOO. I COULDNT BELIEVE HOW GOOD HE CAN SING.

AND KENNY WAS SH!T FACED!!!!!

OH YEAH, AND THE JIMMY SONG HE WAS GET DRUNK AND SCREW.