CEDAR FALLS -- A show may be good, but for complete satisfaction, fans require their favorite song. Without it, reviews stop at "The concert was OK, but he didn't play … "

For many Kenny Chesney fans -- even as young as 3-year-old Sami Snyder of Marshalltown -- the make-or-break tune is "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."

Apparently the reigning king of modern country music knows his subjects. Chesney played for nearly two hours Friday evening at the UNI-Dome. Then he left the stage.

Only in the encore -- as the final number -- did Chesney fire up his "Tractor." Green lights washed the stage in a hue familiar in these parts. Dierks Bentley, one of two opening acts, joined the headliner on stage.

And the crowd -- many well lubricated by Miller and Budweiser -- took their excitement to a new height on the evening.

" … Well she ain't into cars or pickup trucks. But if it runs like a Deere, man her eyes light up … "

"Awesome show," said Adam Fuelling of Dunkerton.

Sweetened for he and his wife, Cassidy, because they got in for free and they got close. The couple wound up in the pit and practically part of the H-shaped stage.

"We weren't even planning to go," Fuelling said.

But he works for Barmuda, which hosted an after-concert party for members of the tour.

Fuelling, a "big country fan," took photos at the concert but regretted narrowly missing an opportunity to shake Chesney's hand.

"He was worse than a girl," Cassidy said.

Dana Huinker and her friend Melissa Rang, both of Cedar Falls, also got in free, a reward for buying so many other concert tickets in recent months. They, however, were in the upper deck. Their seats were about five rows from the rafters in Section Q.

The girls' main interest was Sugarland, the other opening act, because they caught Chesney in the Quad Cities.

The girls' live introduction to Sugarland was somewhat diluted. Performers were barely 1/2 inch tall from Huinker's and Rang's lofty vantage. And lyrics sounded as if filtered through a bag of cotton candy. Only with an echo.

Lisa Finegan of Cedar Falls and her friend Bethany Heidemann of Marion most definitely wanted to see the main event.

"He's gorgeous. Nice butt. He looks great in those tight jeans," Finegan said.

They conceded Chesney can also sing. Finegan and Heidemann, most of all, wanted to hear the tractor song, though neither have both sides of the equation.

"No man," Finegan said.

"I do. A husband," Heidemann added. "But no tractor. He has a lawnmower."

Beer run

A draw of Bud Light cost $5. A jumbo draw of Miller Lite cost the same. In one of the mysteries of life, both fit in the same size cup.

To avoid frequent battles at crowded concession booths, some patrons quadrupled orders. With four cups to manage, about half the designated buyers opted for the two-hand, underhand serve. The other half used the double-pinch approach, though that meant immersing fingers in three friends' beers at least to the first knuckle.

Before Sugarland was midway through the first set, nature was knocking on a good many bladders. Enterprising and not particularly bashful ladies skipped serious lines of anxious women and ventured into the men's restrooms. Midway through Bentley's performance, the line on the west side stretched from the gate for Section N through -- appropriately enough -- P.

"The girls take too long," said Paula Lenaerts of Cedar Falls, shielding her eyes -- sort of -- from well-staffed urinals.

She and her colleagues developed the survival skill after attending more than a few concerts.

The fun continued under the Dome, as well.

At least one man was subdued by police. After being on the receiving end of a punch and floored temporarily by an individual who disappeared into the crowd, the man decided he did not need medical attention. And would rather resist the attention of officers. A sheriff's deputy and Cedar Falls policeman escorted the man away in handcuffs.

Ticket taker Jen Fielding has seen plenty of odd behavior. Fielding, 86, began working at McElroy Auditorium in 1951 before shows of any magnitude were invented.

"We didn't know what a concert was before that. At least not in Waterloo," she said.

The antics Friday night, while amusing, barely registered on Fielding's Weird-O-Meter. The wildest show she worked featured Willie Nelson.

"He used to give beer away," Fielding said.

With nasty results for some in the audience.

"If somebody stood up in front of them, they would stab them. They had several emergencies." Courier files show two people were taken to hospitals, one treated and relased for multiple stab wounds, after a fight during a 1984 Nelson concert at McElroy.

The primary spectacle -- the one with synchronized, rotating lights; five mammoth projection screens; electric guitars and Chesney -- pleased most who forked out at least $52.50.

Stephanie Powell , a student at the University of Northern Iowa, paid $77. Or at least someone in her family did.

"He's worth the money. He's a good show … You tell your parents that anyway," Powell said.

Besides Sugarland and Bentley, Chesney also shared the stage with Uncle Kracker. The pair worked through several songs together, including their duet, "When the Sun Goes Down."

Chesney played the UNI-Dome in 2001 and in 2004. Prior to that, he also appeared at McElroy Auditorium.

"We've played here three or four times, and it's never been better than tonight," Chesney said. "You guys are awesome."

Contact Dennis Magee at (319) 291-1451 or dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com.