Every summer hundreds of concerts make their way through the Bay Area. This year, a lot of performers are looking at thousands of empty seats from the stage. It was a completely different view for Kenny Chesney when he stopped in San Francisco. The country superstar, who, these days, spends more of his free time on the beach than on a tractor, has no problem selling 40,000 seats and creating chaos at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. This year's Sun City Carnival Tour had all the trimmings, including an actual carnival right outside the massive baseball stadium.

This isn't merely a concert, this is an event, a huge party that begins in the parking lot hours before the first notes are played. The local radio station began its annual announcements in February for the July show. Throughout the crowd, fans exchange stories about the ridiculous amount of miles tacked onto their odometer to get to their seats. So, it's only fitting that the country showman can't just walk onto the stage. Even a curtain drop, revealing the superstar, wouldn't be dramatic enough. Rising up from below the stage? No, that wouldn't suffice either. When the first notes of "Live Those Songs Again," were struck the audience started swiveling it's collective head. Chesney quickly rose dozens of feet above the crazed audience, flying over them on a seat rigged to a couple of wires, and made his trek to the main stage. Only a few performers can cause the kind of frenzy Chesney does. Once his boots hit the stage the party began.

The show started with the upbeat hits that kept the audience amped up. Chesney and his band delivered the music at a frenzied pace, "Beer In Mexico," "Summertime," and "Out Last Night," were all featured in the first 30 minutes. When the band started rocking, so did the crowd. A security guard began to dance and looked the other way as a few young fans jumped the barricade and disappeared into the general admission pit, chairs were kicked out of the way and everyone was sharing their beer. Once the sleeveless Chesney emerged, the windy, cold weather was forgotten, as were the thirty dollar parking fees, the mile long bathroom lines and the last minute cancellation of opening act Sugarland. No one really cared how they would feel tomorrow, or just how much money they'd shelled out for their highly coveted ticket.

It really wouldn't have mattered how Chesney and his 11 piece band actually sounded, but, Chesney has assembled a world class group of musicians behind him. The legendary saxophonist Jim Horn resides in the horn section, and Mac McAnally (now featured more prominently after striking his own fame after recording "Down The Road," with Chesney) adds to the group as well.

There are many Chesney detractors. Yes, the bulk of his songs are about being on the beach, with a beer, watching another day slide away. Chesney is the cowboy version of Jimmy Buffet, and has the stage show of The Rolling Stones. The energy the 40-year-old Chesney expends is amazing. Never staying in one place for more than ten seconds, the rock star made sure to give all sides of the arena a good amount of face time.

As the show wound down, as it always does, with the obligatory performance of the novelty song "She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy," followed by the introspective "Don’t Blink," some fans chose to hit the exits early trying to beat the traffic mess that awaited them. Many concerts come and go, as do artists. But the five time entertainer of the year always seems to stick around. He's become more than just a country singer. When Chesney rolls into town it means summertime, tailgating, and, as Chesney likes to remind his fans, about leaving all your problems at the door and having a few hours of simple fun. When Chesney launched into "Anything But Mine," a song that reminisces of a summer gone by and that one summer love, times at the county fair and the beach, it was a perfect moment as the lights of the Ferris wheel could be seen peeking over the right field wall of the baseball park and the ocean breeze blew in. This is the reason fans flock back to the concert year after year. Kenny Chesney is truly a summertime institution.

Written by: Tyler Sobie