Garth Brooks In Concert
We saw Garth Brooks at Paul Brown Stadium and it was the best concert of my life. The last time he came through I was so disappointed that I missed it, so this time around I made a point to attend. I am usually not a fan of concerts. For one, the parking/getting in and out is always a pain in the ass. Expensive beers, long lines in the restroom, getting bumped, standing the entire time, I prefer to stay home. Where I live weather is always an uncertain, and I can’t remember too many concerts I’ve attended that didn’t rain at some point. This was no exception as the show was delayed for an hour as we all huddled in the tunnel waiting for the lightning to pass. Eventually the show started and we had a blast singing along to his songs. I know almost all of his “cowboy” songs and he played everyone I liked. It was fun.
Despite so many people being in attendance I did feel like we were just at a big sing along in a bar somewhere. I actually liked him more as a person after I saw him (not that I disliked him, I was just indifferent to it). He really tried to make the experience as personal as possible and clearly fed on the energy from the crowd. My favorite part of the show was “house-cleaning”, where he played the songs mentioned on signs that people in the audience held up. That was pretty cool as people got to hear some of their favorite B-Sides that don’t usually make the concert playlist.
The concert venue was OK. People really struggled getting into Paul Brown. They did not have enough gates open and if there was no rain delay I’d venture half the people wouldn’t have been seated by the time the show started. That was a mess. Cincinnati needs to work on that for next time. As far as a venue compared to RiverBend it is superior. RiverBend sucks – not enough bathrooms, one way in/out of the parking lot, and lousy food. I hate RiverBend. At least Paul Brown had some good food as we missed dinner.
As far as getting to the concert I hired a friend’s son to drive us down. We don’t have bus service where I live and getting an Uber or cab when 80K others are trying to do the same won’t work. Hopefully he can do that again for us as that was the way to go. Also, downtown was so alive after the show. I’ve not seen that many people out and about at the Banks before.
Even though the concert is passed I still have positive feelings about it. I would definitely see him again if he came back into town.
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