For years, country superstar Kenny Chesney has been one of the most popular touring acts of any genre, blurring the line between pop and

country while making his shows feel like one big party at the beach.

He continued his shtick without adding many surprises to a near-capacity crowd at a sweltering Rio Tinto Stadium Thursday, but the biggest disappointment was that his bells-and-whistles show still revealed the limitations of the newest venue in Utah, Rio Tinto Stadium.

Rio Tinto's biggest competitor in the amphitheater season is Usana Amphitheatre in West Valley City. It became clear Thursday that despite all of the problems associated with Usana Amphitheatre -- the traffic, the egress out of the parking lot, the exorbitant prices of food and drink vendors -- that it is still the better place to see a concert. Usana was built for music, while Rio Tinto was built for soccer.

The sparkling, still-impressive Rio Tinto is not alone in its problems. It is like every other stadium in the United States, where the design of the venue is usually to accomodate sports, and music is secondary. Despite great acoustics and a huge set with state-of-the-art lighting and visual elements, the stage, positioned at the far south side of the stadium, makes each performer seem so much smaller. Even someone like Bruce Springsteen, or an Old Testament prophet, would feel overwhelmed and distant in such a stadium, and that important personal communion between artist and fan is lost.

That directly contributes to the feeling that you are merely a spectator, and not a participant, in the experience that is a music concert. But, most in the audience didn't care, and stood up and danced for the duration of the 20-song, 100-minute set.

The best thing about Chesney is the way he brings the vibe of a Jimmy Buffett concert with him wherever he goes, encouraging beach balls,

alcoholism and a policy best expressed in his signature song: "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem." His tour, sponsored by Corona, is singlehandedly reviving the lime industry with songs such as "Beer in Mexico" and "Keg in the Closet."

While much of his nostalgia-based catalog is either ballads with soaring, melodramatic choruses or tropical drinking songs, he does have an easy-going charm and enthusiastic manner that took him, with his signature white cowboy hat, on many catwalks that extended into the crowd. And some songs -- such as "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven," which slyly includes the following line, "But Nobody Wants to Go Now" -- are very pleasant and easy to sing along with. He was also helped by the darkness that accompanied his show, whereas his openers were forced to compete with the burning sun and $4.50 Fiji water bottles for people's attention.

Another big disappointment is that Sugarland was forced to cancel because of singer Jennifer Nettles' vocal problems. The other openers, Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert, were given more time to make up for the absence: 40 minutes and 70 minutes, respectively.

I will still go to Rio Tinto in the future, and I am glad it is there, because competition in the summer concert season is good for both venues. I just hope that when I go to Rio Tinto in the future, I get a seat within the first 20 rows.

It's a great place to see soccer, but only barely adequate for a music show.