Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ RCA Records) - After a heart-stopping mishap on the hydraulic lift being used for the entrance of Kenny Chesney's 2008
Poets &
Pirates Tour's stadium shows, where his boot was lodged between the lift and the stage for nearly 40 seconds as the lift motor kept trying to push the platform up, Chesney has been given a green light - with conditions - to play his scheduled concert stops this weekend in
Texas from the Tennessee Titans' sports medicine/orthopedic specialist.
Having played his entire 100 minute plus set at Columbia , SC 's Williams-Brice Stadium with a decided limp and tears in his eyes from the pain, Chesney resolved to hit that stage no matter what. After a series of tests with his own orthopedist in Nashville , it has been determined that he will be able to maintain his commitments.
'Dr. Elrod got that the last thing I want to do is cancel shows, but also that I don't want any kind of lasting damage… because being able to hit that stage and really rock the fans is important to me,' Chesney explained after getting word that he was good to go to Austin. 'He told me it's going to hurt - though nothing could hurt worse than Saturday I don't think - and they can give me something to deaden the pain when I get out there.
'I also have to have a doctor standing by should something give, but I'm going to tape it up and I'm going to get out there. Hearing that crowd in Columbia this weekend, they reminded me about the power people's passion for music has. You know, the way people respond to songs… that response is every bit as powerful sometimes as the songs themselves.
'All I know is I didn't want to disappoint anyone in Columbia, who'd been out in the parking lots since the day before… either going to the Next Big Star competition or just partying with their friends… and if they were having that kind of a party, I was gonna be there.'
Be there he was. Though his toes sustained most of the damage - and he is basically a hematoma from the ankle down, Chesney - who needed two shots of morphine for pain after leaving the stage - is optimistic that careful monitoring this weekend and paying attention to the wear and tear this week will return him to full flexibility and strength in a matter of weeks.
'If you want to push your limits, you have to respect what the doctors tell you,' Chesney admits. 'It was scary for a moment… you don't know what's happening and you just feel this pain. Once you're out of there, though, the crowd carries you - and given how the fans in Austin , Oklahoma City and Dallas have always been to us, they're gonna bring their best and really rock us, too.'
With 11 ACM nominations, a tour sponsorship from Corona Extra, a new single that hit the Top 10 just four weeks after its official add date and the only country tour to play stadiums, Chesney is poised to have a year to truly remember. The last thing he's gonna do is let an injury sideline him.
