Indianapolis, IN. (Top40 Charts/ RCA Records) - It has been a big summer - NFL stadiums, record crowds, special guests and his own dedicated XM internet radio station - for
Kenny Chesney and his
Poets &
Pirates Tour, so naturally shutting it down would be a matter of some pomp and a whole lot of music. After a bottle of Veuve Cliquot was popped open outside Indianapolis'
Lucas Oil Field stadium to christen the brand new NFL home, Chesney took the stage in a parking lot for an impromptu performance and interview with over 2800 fans broadcast live on his XM No Shoes Radio.
"The whole year's gone in a flash," Chesney marveled before the show. "We just started, playing our first stadium... my foot getting caught... that all just happened; now here we are, and it's over. I can't believe the shows are played, and it's time to call it quits for another summer!"
Keeping the moment alive as long as possible, Chesney and his band played their traditional 2 hours, then gave capacity audience of 50,528 an hour of covers: Tom Petty's "Jammin' Me," Alabama's "Dixieland Delight," Steve Miller's "The Joker," Lynyrd Skynrd's "Gimme Three Steps," the Eagles' "Take It To The Limit" with friend and special guest Keith Urban.
"It's that Jackson Browne song 'The Load Out'," Chesney allowed. "The line: 'Just make sure you got it all set to go, before you come for my piano...' You want every last drop of music out of the night, before you tear it down and pack it up. It felt like that when we were up there: the crowd was incredibly alive, the band was rocking, my friends were there... You didn't want the night to end."
Shortly after midnight, it did. With the notes of "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" ringing in the Colts open-roofed home, Chesney signed his last autographs, hugged his people and disappeared. For the leading Country Music Association Awards nominee, it was the end of his 7th summer of a million + fans.
"It means a lot when people spend their hard earned money to come see you... and I've always taken that notion seriously," Chesney offered. "I want the people to come see us and leave feeling better... I hope these songs stand for the things in their lives that seem pretty small, but are pretty much everything."
"Every night, when we sing Mac's (McAnally) 'Back Where I Come From You,' you can hear how much it matters to every single person out there. It was like that when we were doing small halls... and it's like that at Gillette Stadium in Boston, Soldier Field in Chicago, the Staples Center in LA or AT&T Park in San Francisco. Where you come from may be too small, too slow, too whatever, but it's your home - and that's everything. I can hear how much people mean it every night when they sing... and that's a pretty great thing to feel."
For the third year in a row, Mostly Crew - comprised of the techl people who make Chesney's show happen - played right before the 7-time Entertainer of the Year. They rocked "Sin City," "Helter Skelter" and "Rock & Roll All Night" in the full-tilt, expect-no-mercy Mostly Crew style.
