June 21, 2008 - Soldier Field, IL

At 9:15 PM on the Summer solstice in Chicago's Soldier Field, the lights dimmed and a lioness roar was unleashed from the 55,000 in attendance. Those who believe that a gig has to be intimate to be great have never experienced the adrenaline rush a stadium crowd can bring just like this very moment. As the stage protracted (a solid twenty rows into the crowd) Kenny Chesney rose up from beneath the stage singing "Live Those Songs", a wonderfully unblinking song drenched in nostalgia that didn't just announce his presence, but wrapped the crowd around his finger where they stayed for the entire 105-minute performance. The 23-song set was heavy on wistfulness and honky-tonk hymns which provided a convincing and perfect summer soundtrack to the diverse group of fans in attendance. Confession time; I'm not a Kenny Chesney fan. Hell, I couldn't have named you five of his songs prior to the show, I walked into it blindly. These assignments are my scariest, but also the most revealing as well. I may not have known Chesney or his music, but after the tremendous set heavy on arm waving anthems, I felt like I had just shot pool, shared a few beers and had a few discussions about life with Kenny Chesney. There is no shtick to his performance, what you see is what you get. This is precisely why he can fill stadiums with ease while more legendary rock acts struggle to fill arenas a third of the size. Stadium events are no big deal over in Europe, but they're practically non-existent here in the US. If you're lucky, an artist will occasionally play certain markets in stadiums (Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffet, Madonna), but none of them can launch a coast to coast stadium tour with prices topping out at $100 except Chesney.

At the end of the year, PR companies flood the market with end of the year lists encompassing how much money their clients made the previous year. The truth is that there is a lot of deception and finagling of figures in these releases, except Chesney's. He may never be the top grossing tour, but he's been the most attended tour every year for the last four or five summers with yearly attendance topping one-million attendees. This is a far sexier and more important statistic that total gross. It should be noted that I don't believe his tickets are cheap�not by a long shot. Priced reasonably between $50 and $100, it's not the fact that he can fill stadiums that's impressive, it's the fact he can do it every year that leaves people scratching their heads. Every musician is a sales person and how much business they drum up depends on how well they sell their shtick. Where most musicians fail is that when they hit that stage, the fan does not relate to them. They may love and adore them, but they don't feel like they can relate to them. Chesney hit the stage in a hat, jeans and a t-shirt from a local bar (Murphy's). At first I believed that Chesney had hijacked his act from the clutches of rock n' roll while cross selling a subdued Jimmy Buffet lifestyle; now I just believe he's a far superior salesman than any other rock star on the planet by merely being himself. People can not relate to the larger than life rock stars that buy multiple mansions or hip hop artists who have jewelry around their neck that costs more than most people's homes. At some point, they read about these purchases and question why they are handing over their hard earned money over to people who don't need it. However, they find Chesney and his fellow pirates and poets completely and utterly authentic. Chesney and his eight-hour music festival (12 hours if you consider the radio sponsored side stages which started at 11am) is the most sincere, captivating and unaffecting music festival out there today. I've really started to discover that it's not elitist critics who make the next generation's stars but your average person who decides with their pocket book.

Kicking off the festivities at 4pm was Luke Bryan who performed a laconic set that showcased a rising talent who could be one of the co-headliners within a few years. Performances of "All My Friends Say" and "We Rode In Trucks" delighted those in their seats. Make no mistake, get there early to catch Bryan as he's not a filler act. Gary Allen prowled the stadium stage like a veteran stadium performer he is with performances of "Right Where I Need To Be" and "Watching Airplanes". With a decade worth of albums behind him his all too limited time on stage was executed to perfection. His moves were impeccable and his rock n' roll swagger is beyond impressive. Allen is an artist who has potential crossover appeal as he doesn't just command attention but he engages the audience for not just adoration but to compliment his songs and his live set. He shows no shortage of confidence and talent and is someone to see on his own headlining jaunt. Amidst all of this male testosterone there was the girl who crashed the all-boy fraternity, Leann Rimes. Following Allen's eye-winking intense set was no easy feat, but she managed to exceed expectations in a simplified style. Appearing on stage barefoot, in short-shorts and a tank top�she roamed the entire stage with easiness. She covered Janis Joplin ("Summertime"), dug back to her teen years ("Blue") and showed everyone that she's come a long way since then on "Nothin' Better To Do", "How Do I Live", and "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine" -all of which were performed with a elevated confidence and maturity. She donned a #31 Chicago Bears jersey (worn by Nathan Vasher) for the last few tunes including a spirited and rollicking cover of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me". No one could deny her talent when she first emerged and I'm pleased to say she has matured into an artist with more than a past but a wide open future as well. Each of these acts maintained their confidence, but more importantly, none of them ever appeared to come off as more important than their audience. There was a lot of engagement between these acts and the audience than there ever should be in an arena let alone a stadium. Most rock concerts I see the first row is a solid fifteen-feet from the stage and B-stages at a solid eight to ten feet from the artist. On the Poets and Pirates tour, the extended stage and fan pits on either side provided up close interaction and a chance for those fortunate to be close enough to feel as if they were part of the show as well.

Keith Urban's 75-minute set was nothing short of a miracle and showcased Urban as one of the most compelling and weighty live performers on the planet. A separate review will run in a few days showcasing Urban's set.

Kenny Chesney's set was big on monster hits and adrenaline barely taking a breather for the first half dozen numbers. "Summertime" welcomed in the summer while "Beer In Mexico" pondered the paths we take in life while "Wild Ride" with its gruff riff was delivered with jagged guitars further breaking down the walls between country music and rock n' roll. "Keg in the Closet", "Young" and "I Go Wild" are soaked in nostalgia while his 13-piece band performed each number as if it was a new creation and not a ready made hit. There are those who will ultimately stick their noses up at the clich�d lyrics and not look deeper and ultimately it's their lost. People are always seeking salvation from anything they can wrap themselves around. These songs are a lifeline to most of the 55,000 who attended this show and while other acts may be more revered and get 5-star reviews in Rolling Stone, but who could deny the power, presence and liveliness of these songs amidst the fans who were drunk on the emotionally charged set.

"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" sells a lifestyle and takes you away from a mundane existence to a place where�well there are no problems, the ultimate prescription of music. "When The Sun Goes Down" is about escapism and it was luminous amidst the Chicago skyline. In the course of nearly two-hours I witnessed such a variety of music and lifestyle anthems that it's no wonder people seek him out each summer. Taking a page from Jimmy Buffet (who also gets a shout out in "How Forever Feels"), Chesney breaks these feelings of escapism down to their simplest core and this is the brilliance of his music. Anyone can listen to his music and immediately be swept away to an alternative universe, a tough feat in this day and age. Most people listen to music to be taken away from the every day complications and I was right there with the entire stadium as I felt the Chicago breeze brush up against me, I did feel like I was in an alternative universe and at the end of the day, this is what people seek from their music; solace and support.

"Living In Fast Forward" could have come from a vintage 70's rock band with its sledgehammer opening riff while "Big Star" and its sizzling chorus was infectious and was impossible to not sing along to while "Old Blue Chair" proved to be superior to its studio counterpart. "Never Wanted Nothing More" from his most recent album Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates is an inspired song that doesn't look forward or back but is about living in the here and now. Even artists wax poetically of better times gone by and about struggles they hope to overcome and the difference between Chesney and other acts is I believe his sincerity. You could see the emotion boiling over in the severe performance. "Never Wanted Nothing More" is a masterful track if for no other reason than the eternal optimism that rings true in its lyrics and the crowd bought it hook, line and sinker.

"Shiftwork", "When The Sun Goes Down" and "Back Where I Come From", continued the avalanche of intensity. On the latter, Chesney even managed to unite the North and South sides of Chicago when he brought out Nick Swisher of the White Sox and Jim Edmonds of the Cubs. If all of this was not enough, Keith Urban joined Chesney for the Eagles "Take It To The Limit" an aural delicacy so inviting it almost makes you forget the original. I sat there right in the middle of it all in awe at the commanding presence Chesney and his band had over the audience. This isn't a fad but something far more real. How else could one pinpoint Chesney's ability to sell $50-$100 tickets in stadiums every year? In my opinion, a good song is a good song. It doesn't matter who wrote it or in what context�.as Bob Dylan once said "How does it FEEL?" Love or hate country music, it can not be denied. People who are down and out feel connected to these artists and the truth is that they feel themselves inside of these songs the same way the solemn and lonely did back in the 1970's when they discovered Bruce Springsteen. The truth is that there isn't much difference between Chesney and Springsteen. Both meld the best of their influences in a unique and distinctive way to make their live performances indefatigable, indescribable and completely draining.

I learned one definitive thing this weekend and it is why Kenny Chesney and his country music festival every year can fill stadiums at $50-$100; it's because country music acts feel privileged to be performing for their fans, whereas rock stars feel that their fans should be privileged to be in their presence. This is precisely why Kenny Chesney will fill stadiums every summer and others will watch from the sidelines in envy.