sunseeker wrote:
My thoughts on the Kenny/Jimmy debate.
There will never be another Buffett..period. HOWEVER, he does not have a license on the "tropical" feeling music. Kenny is NO More a copy cat then any other trop rock artist. In fact Kenny was already a star in his own right before his music made a turn with the tropical theme. This next part I will say and duck....While Buffett may be popular and loved by us...He is not loved by the masses. Do you know how many times I have gotten the eye roll when I mention I am a parrothead? SO with that said....why would any artist want to copy him if he doesn't appeal to the masses? So why would we accuse Kenny of hoopping on the band wagon? Seems to me if he wanted to make money he would have copied some teeny bopper boy band...afterall the youth are a driving force in the economy...they have the most disposable income (momy and daddy give it to them). They certainly (most of them) don't even know who Buffett is....
I think Kenny does speak from his heart with his music. In fact his best songs in my humble opinion, are those that he actually wrote...and THEY have the tropical theme....
First, back to the original topic. Tailgates.
I've been to 4 Chesney shows in the last 3 years (and 4 JB shows).
The weekday tailgates are no comparison. Buffett Phans are in the parking lot early regardless of the day. I posted pictures earlier in the thread from a week day show in Greensboro for Chesney.
As far as the Saturday, Chesney show in Columbia, fans were there early and drinking heavily. However, with the exception of the staged events, for the most part, the Chesney tailgate was no different from a tailgate for a sporting event. Buffett Phans hands down put more thought and creativity into the sporting event.
As far as the shows, although I like KC and his music, I don't care if I see him again over the next year or two (I definitely will see Buffett as often as it is feasible) Kenny brings great energy to his shows and solid production, but it seems like he's lacking in the ability to change the show.
In Columbia, he trotted Uncle Kracker out for the 3rd time in the 4 shows that I saw and they played the same 4 song set that I saw (and liked) in Charlotte 2 years ago. This time it was stale.
Also, he uses video screens for computer generated graphics and it was the same graphics from last year's tour. Again, just not seeing anything new this year. (In fact, he took out one of the coolest things about his show, the opening. Last year they revved the crowd up with some classic 80's rock, leading into AC/DC's "You shook me all night long", then used the Kenny-Cam to follow his path from back stage up onto the stage and showed the band and all that was going on before they dropped the curtain. This whipped the crowd into a frenzy for the opening song_
In response to the sell-out of the stadiums, he did not sell out Williams-Brice. He had 44,000 there, but there was room for more.
Finally, (although I like KC and agree that others can follow JB's success) he is definitely copying Jimmy (which may be good business sense)
1. Corona sponsorship (replacing Cruzan)
2. Addition of 4 horns to the band this year
3. Parking Lot Video similar to JB's CILCIA
4. Some of his actions during the show, when you can just tell he's following the playbook.
My bottom line: I've encouraged BNers to check out a KC show for the energy and the mixture of Hawaiian Shirts and Cowboy Boots. If you like his music, his concerts are good entertainment.
Personally, I'm looking to see if his concert experiences have the same staying power as Jimmy's over the long haul. I've never left a JB show saying, "I'm done with Jimmy for a while," but I did after the last KC show that I saw.
No offense CT. Fun to se how our lifes experience paint our reality