Pat Green, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney

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Another long one…

Last night Lois and I saw Pat Green, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in NYC.

We don’t own any Kenny Chesney albums, and don’t know his music well at all. I have heard many times that he gives one of the greatest shows, but that alone wouldn’t have necessarily gotten me to buy tickets, especially as far in advance as we did. I believe that Kenny Chesney was the top touring artist in 2006, but for sure was the top Country touring artist then. He is currently projected to be the top Country touring artist in 2007, and the second overall, to the Police.

Regardless of whether we should have wanted to see Kenny Chesney, we both really wanted to see Pat Green and Sugarland. Lois has loved Pat Green from the first song she ever heard of his. I think he’s great too. I am nuts about Sugarland. Lois likes their music, but Jennifer Nettles grates on her a little like fingernails on a chalkboard. She appreciates the beauty and power of her voice, but can’t stand what appears to be an overly put on twang. Just listen closely to any word she pronounces that rhymes with “life”. I can’t do it justice, but it comes out like: “laaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyf”. Anyway, it doesn’t bug me in the least, nor distract from her absolute brilliance as a singer.

So, we were both instantly committed to going to this show, and we considered finding about about Kenny Chesney to be a likely bonus, rather than the actual draw to go. We bought the tickets well in advance, and tucked them away in our trusty drawer.

We walked from the apartment to MSG and got there a little before 7pm. Since the primary purpose of MSG is to house the Knicks (basketball) and Rangers (hockey), seeing a concert there can be less than ideal. We didn’t want to sit on the “floor” (though tickets were available), since it’s flat, and typically everyone in front of you stands the entire time, forcing you to stand too (keep in mind, we’re old folk). So, I purchased tickets directly opposite the stage, about 1/2 way up the arena. From a broad perspective, these are/were good seats. But, practically speaking, they are nearly a city block away from the stage (given the oval nature of the arena), so the performers look a little larger than ants.

I have written before about the group that owns MSG, Radio City Music Hall and The Beacon Theater. They run their concerts like well-oiled machines, starting with the marketing and finishing with the actual schedules of the concerts. I am incredibly impressed with everything they do. To begin with, they send two emails, spaced a few days apart, reminding you about the upcoming show, and giving details (like starting time, order that the artists will be appearing, etc.). Very nice touch.

Since they run their shows like an on-time train (if only they owned an airline!), we knew that Pat Green would be hitting the stage at exactly 7:30pm, not a minute later. Indeed, he did. He played 5 songs, and was on for just about 1/2 an hour. He was great. I didn’t recognize 3 of the 5 songs, which were likely off of his new album (Cannonball) which we own, but I haven’t listened to yet. The other two were wonderful, including his biggest hit, Wave on Wave, which he closed with. It was incredibly well done, and the audience went wild for it, singing along the entire song. He had tons of energy and was super jazzed to be in front of such a big crowd in NYC (specifically at MSG), and kept repeating that throughout his set.

After exactly a 15 minute intermission, Sugarland came on. They played for 45 minutes and played hit after hit. I knew every song, and delighted in every song. Not only do they sound great, but their energy is incredible as well, and Jennifer Nettles gives an excellent show. She dances and prances and basically engages the audience extremely well. And, of course, there’s her voice. 🙂

As good as both Pat Green and Sugarland were, to me, MSG is not nearly as good a venue to see these types of groups as the other places we typically frequent. It’s not just that it’s large, but given that it’s a sports arena, it’s gigantic, there is no carpeting, etc., so sound just bounces around the place. That forces them to really crank up the volume. Of course, while that solves some of the problems, it creates new ones, including reverberation, piercing notes, etc. It can really be quite unpleasant at times. This is no fault of the bands, nor likely even of the people working the sound board, just a fact of life in these kinds of arenas. Given how many fans Kenny Chesney has, he can’t realistically come to NYC and play a smaller venue, unless he does what The Allman Brothers Band did, and play for a few solid weeks at a place like the Beacon Theater…

For both Pat Green and Sugarland, there was a giant drape behind the stage showing the cover of their current albums. On either side of the stage was a very large screen showing the highlighted performer (live) at that time. So, even though people were small on the stage (from our seats), you could always see what the current soloist (vocal, guitar, drum, etc.) was doing, reasonably clearly. It was nicely done.

Both bands were really excellent as well, though because of the acoustics, it took effort to pick out individual instruments.

After a 20 minute intermission, things started happening. I’m not trying to be mysterious, we really didn’t know exactly what was going on because they dropped another drape in front of the stage during this intermission, so whatever they were doing behind it, was invisible to most of the crowd. During the other down times, they played pretty good music (a very wide range, not only Country). All of a sudden, it started sounding like the band (Kenny’s) might be playing live (but a tad subdued) behind the big curtain. Not sure, but after the fact, I think not!

Anyway, they started with an interesting set of videos on the aforementioned large screens on the sides of the stage. The excitement was certainly building. Then, the video switched to a (likely) live feed labeled KennyCam. So, from backstage, you (supposedly) were seeing everything Kenny was seeing, but of course, you never saw Kenny himself. It was definitely cool, if a touch on the cheesy side as well, since it dragged out for quite a while (MSG is pretty darn big after all).

When he showed up on stage, they dropped the drape from the front, the crowd erupted maniacally. The entire stage had been transformed into a multimedia showcase. There were even larger screens (at least 4) behind and above the stage, and they were utilized to perfection! On occasion, they showed live scenes, on occasion music video style action, and on occasion just very heart-warming stills or videos of scenes that seemed to go with the current song. Truly brilliantly done.

Even though I don’t know his music (in the sense that I don’t own his albums, and therefore specifically listen to him multiple times), I recognized the vast majority of his songs (even many of the words). This is a testament to how much radio air time he gets, since Lois and I often listen to Country on XM Radio (as previously reported). I characterize most of his songs as fun, in the style and sense of Jimmy Buffet. Kenny’s sound is much larger. He has a huge band, including 4 horn players, multiple lead guitarists, and I’m reasonably sure there were two drummers on the stage as well. They were extraordinary musicians, and somehow, rose above most of the acoustics problems of the evening. Don’t ask me to explain how.

Kenny is a breathtaking performer. Pat Green and Sugarland had seemingly infinite energy, but you have to trust me when I tell you that they didn’t even come close to how much running around Kenny does on the stage. It’s 100% for the benefit of the fans. He does everything he possibly can to connect with as many individual fans as he possibly can. He shakes hands, gives high fives, etc., whenever he gets the opportunity. He never stops smiling, and seems to care deeply about the audience and their enjoyment.

As opposed to some who choose to be political on the stage (in either direction), he made one very simple statement: “There are a lot of problems in the world. We can’t possibly solve them tonight, so let’s enjoy the music and have a good time.” Amen!

I might have thought in advance that he was particularly beloved by humans of the female persuasion. I would have been wrong. The guys in our section were insane for him. Many were dancing throughout the show. All knew every word to every song, and belted them out as loudly as you can imagine. It was actually fun being surrounded by people who clearly idolize the performer they came to see. The energy was contagious in a way that both Lois and I (independently!) described as “being in a revival meeting”. It had the same kind of genuine fervor.

For me, I don’t think Kenny has such a great voice. There’s nothing wrong with it, and perhaps he missed a note here or there because of the physical energy he puts out. That said, it didn’t make the slightest difference. There was a pure joy throughout the show, that is in some ways indescribable.

I would sum it all up with one word (but you have to pick the word) 😉

Extravaganza or Spectacle

Here’s what I really think going to his concerts is all about, and I think he’s well aware of it, and his fans are too, even if it’s not conscious on their part:

A Kenny Chesney concert is an opportunity to come sing your favorite songs with Kenny himself!

Seriously, 90% of the crowd sang every word of every song with him, as loud as they could, and Kenny encouraged every bit of it, often stopping to sing and pointing the mike into the audience. It was like being invited into his living room for a sing-a-long, with 15,000 of his closest friends.

At one point he said that he had taken his gang out to the Yankee game the night before, and sat in the 10th row (the Yankees beat the Red Sox that night, in fact, they swept this week’s series). Shortly after telling that, he brought out Roger Clemens on to the stage, and then Johnny Damon. I think there was a third Yankee as well, but I didn’t catch his name. The crowd went berserk! During the song (that they sang with Kenny!), Roger pulled up his son from the crowd. It was a wild scene in the audience, and at the end of the song, they strapped a guitar to his son (who seemed a little overwhelmed), and it was as cute as you could imagine.

The encore was one of the more unusual (and fun) that I have ever seen. When they came back out, they did a fantastic number (sorry, I don’t know his music well enough to drop the right name here). After that, the band played without Kenny (a fantastic song as well, with each taking wonderful solos). Kenny spent the time thanking/saluting the crowd, and signing dozens of autographs on hats, programs, etc. He was like a machine, and the fans were eating it up. It was a true celebration of the evening between the star and his adoring fans.

So, we had a great time, and enjoyed the Kenny Chesney concert way more than either of us thought we would, in particular, in a venue that was less than perfect for music. Bravo!