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"It's really different, isn't it?" says country singer and East Tennessee native Kenny Chesney as he stands below one of three giant video screens and banks of massive speakers at Thompson-Boling Arena on Friday.

It's the difference that three years have made.

In 1997, Chesney hadn't had his first No. 1 country hit, and he and his band were traveling to clubs and bars, with only one bus and a merchandise trailer. The crew consisted of six band members and two technicians.

Today, Chesney has a veritable jukebox full of memorable No. 1s and Top 10 country hits, including his recent "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."

In 1999, Billboard magazine rated Chesney as the third most successful male performer in country music, just below George Strait and Tim McGraw.

Chesney travels with a full-time crew and band of 18, with an additional five for venues as large as Thompson-Boling.

They usually travel on two buses and two tractor-trailers, but there were three of each for Friday night's show.

Before his concert sound-check, the singer says he feels no special pressure in performing in his hometown.

"Actually, I'm more at ease," says Chesney, dressed in a black tour T-shirt, orange UT shorts, hiking boots and a black cap. "These people here, hopefully, are gonna love me even if I sing bad."

But Chesney isn't taking anything for granted.

After giving his good mornings to the crew and band members, he sits backstage with video director Mark Haney to work on video cues.

Haney and his crew blend footage from Chesney's music videos with live video of Chesney and the band onstage.

Chesney meticulously goes over each song, letting Haney know how much of each video he wants in on each number.

The basic set is already assembled in the stage area. The crew was able to load-in on Thursday night and put up the lights and sound equipment.

Production Manager Chip Perry is getting set lists prepared for the band and crew and coordinating all the technical aspects of the show.

"Sometimes the hardest part of this job is just getting up," Perry says.

He didn't finish Thursday night's work until 2 a.m. Friday morning.

Seven hours later he's rushing through the concrete-and-block backstage of the arena.

"Even though we had nice rooms at the hotel, we decided to just sleep on the bus," Perry says.

"You figure it will take 30 minutes to get to the hotel, and an hour total for transportation becomes a big deal on a schedule like this."

Chesney has long been an unpredictable performer onstage. He likes to ad lib, and he likes to change set lists on the numbers he'll perform.

Perry says that's part of what makes Chesney such a good performer.

However, he's worked hard to keep on target for this show.

"He's given me a consistent show for three weeks because he really wants it to be right," Perry says. "This is an important show for Kenny . This is his hometown, and there will be lots of his family and music industry people here."

Two people who are with Chesney every night on every tour are David Farmer and Tim Holt, lifelong friends who became Chesney's tour manager and merchandise director, respectively, four years ago.

"It's been incredible," Farmer says. "I can't believe how much it's changed in just the last two months. He's hot from here to California. He's on top of the world, and, luckily, he doesn't really know it yet."

Farmer says Chesney has a lot of room to grow, "but at the same time, if we don't do what we're supposed to do, we've got plenty of room to fall, too."

When Chesney takes the stage to run through the show, Farmer's and Holt's families are in the audience.

Holt's son, Tucker, 2, scampers through the aisles. David's son, Clayton, also 2, picks up a guitar and strums along.

Chesney invites Clayton onstage, and the boy strums his way through a song, sharing the spotlight.

Kenny 's father, Dave Chesney, also is in the audience. He can't believe his son's success.

"It blows my mind," says the elder Chesney, a teacher at Farragut Primary and Intermediate schools. "I still pinch myself every day."

He says he had no indication that his son would go into music.

"As a kid he was into baseball, basketball, every sport," Dave says. "He didn't get into music until he got to college."

Dave says much of his son's success comes from his determination and focus.

He recalls when he and his son attended a Chicago Cubs game in 1990:

" Kenny leaned over to me and said, 'I'm gonna sing the national anthem here someday.'"

Five years later Chesney called his dad to let him know he had achieved that goal.

With the sound-check over, Chesney plans to spend his time before the concert working out and visiting his grandmother -- whose surprise birthday party he had to miss because of a Florida concert date.

" Kenny 's the same guy he always was," his father says. "He hasn't gotten too cocky. He's passing up some other people, but he deserves it. He's worked hard for it."

Chesney's planned encore is the song "Back Where I Come From."

While he performs the song regularly, it has a special resonance on this show.

While he sings, childhood photos, some of which include Farmer and Holt, appear on the screen.

Footage of Knoxville and Luttrell are intermingled with the photos as Chesney sings the chorus:

"Back where I come from is where I'll be when it's said and done. And I'm proud as anyone, that's where I come from."

© 2000, Knoxville News Sentinel
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