GARTH BROOKS ! ! !

So, when your Oklahoma bestie texts and asks if you would like to go see Garth Brooks, you say “Uhmmm, hell yeah!”……. Friday couldn’t get here  fast enough.  We headed for downtown OKC around 6 pm.  With one show at 7 and another at 10:30 we knew that parking would be a crazy mess.  Not wanting to get caught up in the traffic headache that would be exiting after the last performance we chose to park about 6 blocks away and hoof it on down to Chesapeake Arena.  We stopped by the Sheraton hotel to grab a bite to each and some much needed adult beverages before staking out our place in the ever growing line.  At 9:00 exactly we had found the end of the line and claimed our position, for the next 2 1/2 hours.  Holy hot and humid wait ! ! ! Temps that day had topped out in the high 90’s and humidity was pretty dang high, the brick and concrete held tight to the residual heat, making even leaning on the side of the building similar to sitting in an oven.  We passed the time people watching, (there were examples from every genre), and being subjected to listening to some of the weirdest conversations I’ve ever heard.  At 11:00 the line surged forward about 12 feet and then came to an abrupt halt, for what seemed like forever.  A security guard did come to the side door and say that the first concert had started late, so that was the reason for the delay.  Just as the line started moving again, a couple fire trucks pulled up followed by an ambulance.  It seems that the heat and parking lot partying had started taking its toll.  We witnessed an older gentleman being carried into a side door when a security guard noticed that his family was trying to hold him up.  Once inside the arena, the bottled water seemed to be the drink of choice for some and beer the hearty concert goer…. I made it to my seat at 11:57 and looking around, I couldn’t believe how great a view we had.  Garth hit the stage shortly after and from that moment on it was non-stop energy.  It was an amazing show!  The only time that Garth seemed to take a break was when Trisha Yearwood took the stage for a few songs.  At 2:30 the band exited the stage and Garth went center stage with his guitar and sang.  There were too many high points throughout the evening to list, but one of the best was when Garth noticed a sign in the audience that read “My husband is a musician because of you”.  Garth asked the lady’s name and then turned to the husband and asked what did he play.  The guy stated that he played guitar and sang in a band.  Well with that there was nothing Garth could do but invite him up on stage and hand him a guitar.  The guy took the stage and sang not a Garth Brooks song, but An Empty Glass by the Randy Rogers Band.  The Chesapeake Arena went crazy for this guy.  After he finished, Garth joined him for a song, and then thanked him and told him to enjoy the rest of the concert.  Oh by the way, keep the guitar….. What ! ! You could have knocked the him over with a feather, the look on the guys face was absolutely priceless.  The concert ended at 3:00 and we pulled into the driveway at 4 am…. It took forever to fall asleep and after only about 3 hours of sleep I woke up humming “I’ve got friends in low places”….. Hands down the best concert I have ever been to, and I’m not a huge Garth fan.  His energy is magically transferred to the audience and his up close and personal exchanges with the fans make it easy to see why he has been named Entertainer of the Year time after time.