Chesney delivered his country-fried bohemian musical fare as three wall screens showed the singer walking white sand beaches and sailing crystal blue waters.
Fans batted a dozen oversized orange balloons through the arena singing along with Chesney, "Sun in the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom. No shoes/No shirt/No problems."
Chesney's island escape appeal, combined with his hometown sentimentality, have made him a favorite of country music and pop fans everywhere. Las Vegas is no exception.
Cheers from the crowd of 9,500 were, at times, almost deafening. Small children, retirees and every age in between could be seen belting out Chesney's hits right back at him.
The well-warmed crowd was primed for Chesney after sets from openers Uncle Kracker and Rascal Flatts. All were on the same stage at Mandalay Bay just two weeks earlier while performing for the Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast. Rascal Flatts took home an award for top vocal group and Chesney was voted top male vocalist.
For his part, Chesney's voice remained strong well through the encores. Although he was recovering from acute laryngitis that forced him to cancel a Texas show six days earlier, Chesney never wavered.
The self-described chatterbox was put on strict voice rest between appearances to cure the problem. He wrote on his Web site about the ordeal: "It's me and a humidifier and lots of sleep and water. That's about it. My tour manager's hid my cell phone." Chesney did not mention the recent bout with laryngitis during Saturday's appearance.
Wearing a black hat, green muscle T-shirt and jeans, Chesney performed most of his upbeat tunes in the beginning. Such hits as "Young" and "Big Star" energized the already exuberant bunch of fans.
They were just as willing, however, to have Chesney pull at their heart strings. The chart-topping single "There Goes My Life," a song about a teen father who gives up his dreams to marry his pregnant girlfriend, had many in the crowd swaying together, lighters in hand.
Chesney grouped his other ballads together in the middle of the show, including the hits "Good Stuff" and "Don't Happen Twice."
The show progressed through hit after country hit as Chesney and his seven-piece band had fans on their feet virtually the entire show. One band member came off his feet, however, falling up some platform stairs just before his fiddle solo during the song "How Forever Feels." Chesney pointed and grinned, the fiddle player smiled back while trying to adjust his strings.
Chesney's encore set included his current hit "When the Sun Goes Down," a duet with show opener Uncle Kracker. The feel-good, Jimmy Buffett-style song brought the show full circle back to escapism, an image amplified by the giant rum bottles flanking the stage.
And if anyone did manage to make it through the show still thinking about a problem or two, don't blame Chesney -- he tried hard.
archive