Kenny Chesney Concert Review Bossier CityThe following Kenny Chesney Concert Review Bossier City was re-printed here with permission. Jennifer Nettles can’t dance, Dierks Bentley can’t throw and Kenny Chesney ignores stage directions. But it was OK. The country stars put on a whopper of a show at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City on Sunday before an apparent sold-out crowd. The night started sweet enough with a short but solid set by the opener Sugarland, a band that’s riding good buzz with their debut album, “Twice the Speed of Life.” Singer Nettles and the bouncy mandolin and guitar player Kristian Bush generated genuine goodwill as the “get your beer” act. Their hits “Baby Girl” and “Down in Mississippi” were buoyed by a crowd hankering to sing along -- warming up for Chesney’s parade of hits, no doubt. Nettles is a powerhouse vocalist and her pipes may well earn Sugarland its own arena tour if a forthcoming sophomore album pleases. But that “Kiss My Grits”-style hip action during “Down in Mississippi” could use a choreographer. Or two. Bentley, a rising star with charm to spare, appeared to have won over a few thousand Chesney fans. With mop-like hair, a four-day beard and the best baritone voice of the current country music crop, Bentley took to the stage after a build-up that sounded like the pre-curtain play of an AC/DC concert. But once Bentley burst on stage to a rush of white light and crept into the first few lines of “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do,” ticket-holders were relieved to hear the music return to the down-home. Like Chesney, Bentley is a performer who makes the most of the stage. From telling the crowd to raise their glasses because the drinks jokingly are on him -- or better yet, on Chesney -- to grabbing a fan’s camera and taking a self-portrait, Bentley does his best when he involves the house. “Come a Little Closer,” “So So Long” and “What Was I Thinkin’” were his standout numbers. Bentley even had enough charm to overcome a failed attempt at flinging a T-shirt to the crowd. Instead of landing in the hands of a fawning fan, it fell lifeless on the catwalk the night’s star would soon work for two hours. This brings us to the arm-flexing, shamelessly good entertainer the people had come to see. Chesney, who knows the value of a good tease, was apparently set to make his debut from behind a giant curtain. Nearly every red-blooded male in the building was staring at it because it showed a 50-foot-tall portrait of a short shorts-wearing brunette carrying a boom box. (Her oversized sex appeal likely inspired a few girlfriends to punch a few ogling boyfriends in the gut.) The music rose, the curtain dropped and, lo and behold, there was Chesney’s band. But the man of the hour wasn’t on the big stage. To instead give the fans in the back the first taste, the singer cranked out “Summertime” on a small platform near the back. The penny gallery -- or the “cheap” $54-per-seat section, rather -- loved it. After a long float over the crowd on a flying seat befitting the country king, Chesney took the main stage and ripped into his hits. Songs like “Freedom,” “Big Star” and “Beer in Mexico” got the crowd pumped, and he didn’t take a break from high-fiving and kicking beach balls until the slow treatise to parenthood, “There Goes My Life,” popped up. A litany or other hits like “Living in Fast Forward” and “Young” followed, and then came the still bizarre but oddly effective collaboration with Mr. Crossover himself, Uncle Kracker. The Detroit hit-maker hip-hopped his way on stage and helped Chesney with “When the Sun Goes Down,” which they recorded as a duet. Then Chesney helped Kracker with “Follow Me,” Kid Rock’s “Cowboy,” and Uncle Kracker’s “Drift Away.” Odd duets, for certain, but big crowd-pleasers. How does Chesney erase those dividing lines between “hillbilly rock star,” beach bum and crossover phenomenon? Like Garth Brooks, he’s a hard-working, talent-rich performer, and every time he rips into an old hit it sounds as if he were performing it for the first time. He also turns the crowd’s adoration back on the crowd, making it appear as if he’s there to reward everybody for just having a good time. Now if Chesney could just teach that Nettles gal to dance. Alexandyr Kent is a reporter for The Shreveport Times and can be reached at the following address: akent@gannett.com Article reprinted with permission.
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