"The response has been humbling at the very least," he said of the turnout for his current tour. "It's been staggering. I can't tell you how impressed I am to see the people I hoped I would see again and then the other half of the arena are kids who haven't even been born yet [before his retirement] and they know every word and are singing at the top of their lungs. It's pretty neat."

How do you keep falling onstage? I don't want to give the show away, but the whole floor moves at one point in the show. When that starts to happen you start to get used to it so the speed isn't fast enough for you. Each time I've ask for the speed to be picked up, I did it once in Chicago and I bit it. And then I did it once in Lexington and I bit it. I gotta tell you, it's one of those things where I'm lucky if I don't bite it five times a night.

What was going through your mind right before your first show in Chicago? I kept looking at Trisha [Yearwood]. We're looking at each other and I said, 'Why am I scared to death right now? She goes, 'I am so nervous.' It was a good thing. You were scared to death but I swear to you 90 seconds into it you go, 'Oh, I remember this!' It just started being like a hot bath. It was just fantastic.