Concert: Kenny Chesney

Last week my boyfriend and I went to Merriweather Post Pavilion to see Kenny Chesney in concert. I saw him perform years ago at the Delaware State Fair, so I was excited to see him again.
 

Unfortunately, concerts held in outdoor venues like this can be hit or miss. In a way it's cool to have the lawn seating so you can have a picnic, and you really feel like you're out in the country. But there were thousands of people on the lawn, most of whom were college-aged hicks with no manners. Most of the men (ahem, boys) were wearing camouflage baseball caps, sleeveless shirts so you could see their tattoos, and scruffy beards. The girls were wearing teeny white dresses or WAY-too-short cut-off jean shorts with cowgirl boots (and some 90's grunge made an appearance, too). By the end of the night most of these (under-aged) people were high or drunk, stumbling their way out of the venue. I think it's fair to say that we were definitely the classiest people that night, and this was just another experience that reinforced my belief to not attend concerts unless they are 21+.

But onto the music. Chase Rice was the first opener. I've seen him twice before and really like him, but his performance this time was not that great. He didn't sound too good (we guessed it was either the pollen or the booze that was bothering him), and he was completely distasteful when he asked a married woman to come on stage with him and pretend that they were naked in bed (!!!). I was glad he only played a few songs before leaving the stage. He played his main hit, "Ready Set Roll", which is my favorite of his songs (well, I'm not sure if any of his other songs have been released on the radio yet), and of course he sang a little bit of "Cruise" since he helped write it (and I'm sure he's still bitter about how popular the song is but everyone knows Florida Georgia Line for it).

Next Jake Owen came on stage. I had never seen him live before, so I was really excited to see him! I was glad that the MC from WMZQ had mentioned that Owen had gotten a haircut, otherwise I never would have recognized him! He was pretty good, and played all the songs I wanted to hear. Here are some of my favorites:

Anywhere with You
Barefoot Blue Jean Night
The One That Got Away

And then onto the main event! Chesney had such great energy and kept it up throughout the night. I was really impressed with his stage presence, and he continued to thank the crowd and the fans, which I thought was humbling and sweet. He mainly played his new stuff, like "American Kids" and "Wild Child." And although he didn't play "She's Got It All" and "Come Over", two of my favorite songs of his, he did sing a lot of them that I do like. Here's a short list:

You and Tequila
Somewhere with You
She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
How Forever Feels

*I do wish that, when he was singing the songs that are usually duets, he had one of his female backup singers sing with him. The songs just aren't the same without that female voice!

Notice that the photos I took (all of them except the top one) are taken from a screen. That's because I couldn't even see the stage when I was standing up. And when I was sitting down, then was my view:

#RUDE