Guitars, Tiki Bars and A Whole Lot of Love Tour Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban & Dierks Bentley At Xcel Energy Center April 3, 2004
387,000 sheet music titles - Shop Now!
Chesney's Blend Of Country Mixes Well It's an interesting concoction that Kenny Chesney has stirred together to make himself the biggest thing in country music right now. The Tennessee native has borrowed the boots and black hat of a Nashville cowboy, but tosses just a dash of fiddle and pedal steel into his music, instead of building his sound around classic rock riffs, strum-heavy folk ballads and a shot of tropical sunshine from the Caribbean that he now calls home.
It's a blend that went down smoothly for 16,991 fans at a packed Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Saturday night, thanks in large part to Chesney's unflagging energy. Dressed in a sleeveless T-shirt, jeans, boots and his trademark hat pulled low over his eyes, the 36-year-old Chesney sprinted about the sprawling stage throughout every up-tempo number, pausing long enough to deliver lyrics of love and the simple pleasures of everyday life that have made him middle America's darling.
While a cynic could speculate that Chesney's music is designed by the Nashville brass to pull a few different market samples under one lucrative umbrella — especially since he writes so little of his own material — such ideas are tough to hold onto during his effervescent performances. The former marketing major clearly saw a void when Garth Brooks stepped out of the spotlight, and his ebullient antics onstage are reminiscent of Brooks circa '92, leaning more upon pop-rock than traditional country.
Taking the stage to the power chords of AC/DC, Chesney started his set with a collection of songs from his breakthrough album, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems," before slipping into a medley of earlier hits. Throughout his set, he had the enthusiastic crowd singing along, accepting their adulation, undergarments and garlands of flowers like a conquering hero. And perhaps that's what he is: The kind of flamboyant showman that country fans have longed for, a salt-of-the-earth tropical cowboy who worships Jimmy Buffett and releases his inner party monster onstage. ~ By Rob Hubbard, St. Paul Pioneer Press
