Chesney swings into action

And this is what fans can look forward to - Chesney emerged from under a camera stand at the back of the arena floor, stepped over a bar that was rising - and began swinging towards the stage. The trapeze is wired to go right and left and side-to-side, allowing Chesney to fly to any section of the floor he wishes.

Chesney rode low over the fans heads, high-fiving and waving, as he moved to the right, then to the left. His rig also allowed him to turn in mid-air. While starting facing the stage, by the time he landed, he faced the audience. "I knew this was something we could do," Chesney said, "it was just a matter of figuring out how to make it safe enough - because there's not a whole lot holding me up there. And, obviously because we're not on a track, but cables, there needed to be different kinds of systems in place to make it work...but the tech people we work with figured it out.

"And what's so cool about this entrance - beyond the way it feels when I'm up there flying, which is a rush - is if I want to take somebody a beer in the back of section six or whatever, I could. We're still really learning what all the swing is capable of doing (and how to do it), but just being able to literally cover the entire floor last night was insane. Even more of a rush for me than running through the crowds to get to the stage."

The set opened with She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy. "This year, I wanted people rocking from a whole different place from the moment we hit the stage," Chesney said. "What better way to say, we're gonna hit you harder than ever than to open with the song we've bringing the show to its peak with for the last several years? Cause if we're starting there, then you know, we're starting pretty high and climbing from there."

"And I gotta tell you: those fans... those fans were so loud, so live, so ready... I knew we missed the crowds and being on the road, but they made us never wanna go home. That kind of energy, to create it, to feel it, to be part of it... that, to me, is what you go to concerts for."