Sun City Carnival

I now completely understand why Kenny Chesney has been named "Entertainer of the Year" for the last four years by the ACM and CMA. He is unbelievable.



I had the amazing opportunity to go to his SLC stop in his Sun City Carnival Tour this past Thursday. It started out waiting in well over 100 degree heat (better than cold though, right?), and when we finally got in to into Rio Tinto Stadium, me and Michelle waited some more, which included hanging out in the bathroom trying to keep cool. It was ridiculous but well worth the sacrifice. When he finally started after Lady Antebellum and Sugarland, it had cooled off enough to not be miserable.

Out he came with his white cowboy hat and gray tank top...and never slowed down til the end. Kenny is pure genius. The way he writes and performs is just unreal. His live version of "I Go Back" (my favorite song) was so good I wanted to cry. The only thing that sucks in going to concerts of stars and big and with as many amazing songs as him is that you know there's no way he'll be able to perform even close to everything you want him to.

Top 5 songs (for me) he left off the setlist:

1. How Forever Feels (Really Kenny? Does 'song of the year' mean anything to you?)
2. There Goes My Life ( It was listed on every setlist I saw, just not the SLC one I guess:(...)
3. Better as a Memory (one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard)
4. That's Why I'm Here (I guess I can't expect it--so old. But sooo good.)
5. Don't Blink (Listed as his Encore, but didn't sing it)

I can't just choose 5. I'd also have loved to hear:
You Save Me
The Woman With You
Who You'd Be Today
When I Close My Eyes
the Tin Man
the Good Stuff
Shiftwork...and those are just out of his big hits.

He did say they performed "Me and You" for the first time in 6 years, which is awesome, but the thing that makes me the most upset with all of this is that for the last 5 or so songs he sang a bunch of covers with this fat guy (part of his band?) or something. Correction. The fat guy sang the last five songs with Kenny singing a random line here and there. That's weird. Last time I checked I was at Kenny's concert. Not only that, but he performed those songs with a dang Utah hat on that somebody from the audience gave him. Yes, I know that doesn't mean he's a Utah fan, and he was wearing it cause he was close to SLC. It doesn't mean that justification made it easier to cheer while staring at that red grossness.

All complaining aside, it would have been nice to hear a couple more of his songs as opposed to random ones I've never heard of. (Yet everyone else was singing along...I REALLY like country, okay?) But I really can't complain. It was the best concert by the best singer and performer in the world. Seriously.

I'm not gonna lie, he's taken over Tim McGraw's spot as my favorite singer. I just realized Tim has been dead to me for the past little while, but he's still a close second. Kenny is that good.

Seriously I can't get over it. I've listened to nothing but Kenny ever since the concert.

This is the closest video I could find of the version of 'I Go Back' he performed, but hopefully you get the idea. The intro was incredible.