Cold country

Crowd endures elements to see Kenny Chesney up close

By Jenna Mink JMINK@HERALD-LEADER.COM

Ice and snow sliced the air Friday, covering downtown streets and sidewalks. But the line of people that stretched down a West Main Street sidewalk didn't budge.

"I cannot feel my toes," said Karen Walker, a Lexington native. "My hair is soaking wet, and I can't stop shivering."

Roughly 350 people huddled outside The Dame on Friday as they waited for officials to let them into the Kenny Chesney performance. Chesney chose The Dame to host one of the seven intimate performances of an unusual spring concert tour for the headline act.

Tracie Simpson of Lexington stepped out of the "intense" performance for some mid-concert fresh air. She said Chesney looked fresh after some time off.

"He was having a lot of fun and joking," said Simpson.

Before the concert, many thought the wait was too long.

"It's after 8 and it's sleeting and we were supposed to get in at 8 p.m.," Linda Sawyer said. "We love Kenny Chesney, but they're being jerks."

The line started shuffling inside the bar about 8:15 p.m.

Gerry Ahrens hoped the cold outside wouldn't creep in. "I just hope it's not too cold for him to take his shirt off for the crowd," Ahrens said.

Even before the doors opened, the line moved as people rubbed their hands, ducked their heads and grabbed their ears to protect themselves from the ice that battered down. Strangers squeezed under blankets that workers from The Dame tossed to the crowd.

Deana Litzendorf, from Cleveland, Ohio, had waited outside The Dame since 10 a.m. Friday. "We're ready to get in there," Litzendorf said. "We wanted to be the first to get in."

Litzendorf said she had been freezing for hours. "It was worth it, though," she said.

Like Litzendorf, many concert-goers, even those from Lexington, had never visited The Dame. They ventured there Friday for one reason: to see Chesney.

"It's pretty incredible that he's playing in a bar in Lexington," Randy Kearns said.

Krista Browning of Detroit crouched at the end of the sidewalk, blowing into her folded hands. She said she was a huge fan of Chesney, but not the weather.

"I'm mad at him for making me sit out in the snow."

But some locals who attended the show were Dame regulars.

Jessica Rosenberg and three friends waited inside Buster's, a bar next to The Dame, until the line shortened. Rosenberg said she visits Buster's and The Dame most Fridays. Both bars are slated to be demolished to make way for a high-rise hotel, something that bothers Rosenberg.

"I think it's going to kill a big part of (the Lexington) nightlife," she said.

Alex Brooks handed fliers to the line of concert-goers promoting the preservation of the bars. "If (Kenny Chesney) were to do this next year," Brooks said, "he wouldn't have anywhere to do it."