Garth Brooks Kicks Nashville Shows Into High Gear
(Photo credit: Jaime Rieckhoff)
At the end of Thursday night’s opening show of Garth Brooks’ 9-show run in Nashville, we weren’t ready to leave. Sure, the concert was over and fans were heading for the exits, but we still weren’t ready to say good-bye to Garth! As cliche as that sounds, it’s true… we weren’t just left with the thought of wanting to see him in concert again, we needed to see him again! So we did what any devoted country music fan would do… we ditched our Friday night plans and headed back to Bridgestone Arena for another round of Garth mania!
The first two hours of the show were very similar to the night before, (you can read that review and see photos HERE,) with the most notable difference being that this night he included the fan-favorite “If Tomorrow Never Comes.” Being that it was “the only true weekend night” (via Garth) of the run, the crowd was L-O-U-D. Of course the crowd the night before was fantastic as well, but on Friday night, I don’t think the volume level in the arena could have gone any higher! If Thursday’s crowd was on fire, Friday’s crowd poured the gasoline. At the end of the show, although the encore was over and Garth and his band had left the stage, the fans weren’t going anywhere. Clearly this entire crowd felt the same way that we had felt the night before… they weren’t quite ready to say good-bye to Garth. So they stayed, and they cheered, and they clapped, and they screamed, and they got Garth to do something that I’ve never seen any other performer do before… he re-appeared on stage when the show was supposed to be over!
He was exhausted… his body was sweaty and his legs were wobbly… but his love for the crowd and his passion for performing wouldn’t let him quit! Garth stretched his arms out to the crowd and proclaimed “YOU WIN!” He was handed a guitar and let us know that the band was done for the night, but since we were still there, he’d still perform. It was phenominal! With just his guitar accompanying him, Garth took requests from the crowd and sang “Two Pina Coladas,” “When You Come Back To Me Again,” “Beer Run,” “Hard Luck Woman,” “The Red Strokes,” “Bella Wood” and “American Pie.” The crowd responded with an electric roar combined with an overwhelming appreciation of what we were all getting to experience.
(Photo credit: Jaime Rieckhoff)
As all good things do, eventually this night had to end. Garth, with sheer emotion, told the crowd “If you’re a parent, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Nothing, NOTHING on Earth can compare to being a Dad. But if anything can come close, this is it!” He headed for the stage exit before darting to center stage one last time, dropping to his knees with his arm stretched out wide, soaking up the last seconds of this magical evening.
After a day off on Saturday due to a Nashville Predators hockey game at the arena, Garth returned to the stage Sunday night and will continue in Nashville through Wednesday.
