Tuscaloosa, AL (Top40 Charts/ BNA Entertainment) - It's freewheeling... out of control... off the hook... When
Kenny Chesney and his band drop all the production, tear up the set-list and hit the road for a sweat-soaked barn-storming trip through the college bars of the South. In keeping with the last minute surprise and the staggered nature of what has come to be known amongst insiders as the Keg In The Closet Tour, Chesney and company will kick it all off Feb. 26th at the Jupiter Bar & Grille in Tuscaloosa ,
Alabama .
'They're always absolutely insane at the Jupiter Bar & Grille,' Chesney says of the decision to start things on the crest of the Crimson Tide. 'They set the bar pretty high... They kick us in the butt, and really get us digging into our memory bank for songs. I mean, that's the whole point of this ... play every song we know, a few we don't really remember and make up whatever we can't fake.'
From Tuscaloosa , the tour swings over to Floyd's Music Store in Tallahassee on Feb 27th, then onto the Common Grounds in Gainesville on Feb 28th. And in traditional Keg way, the ticket lotteries - POOF! - gone in a matter of moments.
'Yeah, we figured doing it in the middle of the week, it might be a little less crazy,' Chesney allowed. 'But once again, the word leaked in one of the markets, and it's total chaos. I mean, it's kinda what you get when we're onstage - and you never know who's gonna be on the mic or playing guitar, so it's all in and all keeping with what and how it is, I guess.
'You know, when you get so used to going out with all those people, all the trucks and rigging and stuff, there's no room to wiggle... and that is part of the fun of this. Out here, with all these kids who're living in the heart of music that's covered in beer and sweat and the whole college deal, anything can, and sometimes does, happen!'
Chesney, who is currently in Sports Illustrated's Swim Suit issue and was just profiled by Anderson Cooper on CBS News' Sunday night edition of '60 Minutes,' is getting ready to get serious. Rehearsals following the no hold's barred roadhouse drop'n'play will continue for his heavily anticipated Flip Flop Summer Tour - brought to you by Cruzan Rum - which sold out Boston's Gillette Stadium in 15 minutes, and is well on its way to selling out the NFL Stadiums in Seattle, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
'Nothing gets me and the band quite as in the zone as these shows,' admits the reigning and back-to-back Academy of Country Music and current and two-time Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. 'When you're falling through the air calling out Tom Petty and Bob Marley songs, as well as 'You Never Even Called Me By My Name,' well, you get full-immersed of playing in the moment pretty quick. And that's the only way to fly when you're up there rocking.'
