Garth Brooks has been out of the limelight for a number of years now and not much of his music is on the radio these days. One can argue that it is almost another generation of country listeners that have taken over the airwaves.  The crowds filling the music venues of America are listening to some other form of country music that bears little or no resemblance to what Garth was singing when he retired from music in 2000.

I wondered who would come to these eight shows if there wasn’t a Church, Gilbert, Hayes, or Bentley opening for him to draw in this new wave of country fans.

Instead of any of these up and comers, Garth brought along his wife, Trisha Yearwood.  Trisha is better known these days for her cooking show on Food Network than for any recent country hits.  She too comes from a bygone era when a variety of very talented country women singers were getting their share of radio air time.

So that brings us to last evening at one of Houston’s finest music venues, Toyota Center.   At just a few minutes after 7 pm, with it still plenty light outside, the house lights dimmed quickly and THE Garth Man came out silhouetted on a large screen.  Mere seconds later he took control of the whole arena.  Literally in the blink of an eye he had the sold out crowd – that occupied every seat  within 360 degrees – eating out of the palm of his hand.  When he said scream the only question was how loud?

I had never seen Garth live before and by the time he finished his opening number, Man Against Machine, I understood what all the fuss was about and how he might just pull off eight shows!

He opened by sharing that it’d been 18 years since he was last in Houston.  Then he shouted an enthusiastic ‘Let’s rip the roof off this place!’   There were moments when it felt like it might actually happen!

To the delight of the audience, he also declared ‘When I go to a concert, I want to hear the old stuff.’  Then he proceeded to play Rodeo, Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House, The Beaches Of Cheyenne, The River, Two Pina Coladas, Papa Loves Mama, Ain’t Going Down, and Unanswered Prayers.  I think it was during Beaches that he added  ‘You’re going to have to help me get through 8 shows because I’m like 114 years old now.’  In reality he is 54, a few pounds heavier, but going strong and powering his way all around the stage.

Before kicking off The Thunder Rolls, he shared that of all the songs that get requested in emails to his people, this is the one that always gets the most attention.  With its drama and intensity, it’s easy to understand why.

For me however, eleven out of ten times, my favorite GB song is The Dance, written by my friend Tony Arata.  If you don’t know Tony’s music, I strongly suggest you check him out.  He is a brilliant songwriter and singer besides.  Garth played The Dance but not until his lovely bride Trisha Yearwood came out and joined Garth.  She came out to In Another’s Eyes, and it was beautifully done.  During the last thirty seconds of the song they continued to get closer and closer to each other until meeting face to face.  Then lips to lips as the lights faded to black.  I captured this cool moment in a few shots and you can see them in the Photo Gallery.

Trisha, sang X’s and O’s and How Do I Live, from the good ole days of country music before going into the title track of her new album Prizefighter.

Before Trisha finished her set she invited backup singer Karyn Rochelle down to sing a song she had written for Trisha.  They harmonized beautifully together.  Then Garth came back on stage and joined in and it got even better!  She’s in Love With The Boy came next and included a video ‘Kiss Cam’ stalking the crowd.  Trisha was cute and amusing when she warned fans this was going to happen and therefore ‘If you’re with a person you shouldn’t be with, this might be a good time to go to the bathroom.’  I saw several people get up??

Anyway… before Garth shut it down (only to do it all over again at 10:30pm!), he sang all the tunes you would expect including Shameless, Low Places, Much Too Young, Longneck Bottle.  He then wrapped up the encore with Standing Outside The Fire.

Garth Brooks made me a believer.  He is the real deal, and there is still hope for real country music.  Thanks Garth for restoring my faith.

Before closing I’d also like to share that Garth said he’d spoken to the folks handling entertainment for Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo earlier that day.  He told them he was very interested in coming back to play ‘one of the toughest venues on earth to play, but also one of the most fun’.  So, maybe we will see him there one day soon.  Wouldn’t that be great?! 

Until next time remember there is no time to kill.

dwc