I have grown up listening to Garth but it wasn’t until junior year of high school that I actually became fully obsessed. It all started with my first love who also happened to be long distance. Garth was our thing. “Wrapped Up In You” was officially our song. Whether we were finally together driving around his small town or I was back home sitting in class with my headphones in Garth was playing. Even though that relationship ended horribly I was left with a new relationship with Garth. When I heard Garth Brooks would be touring again I immediately called my mom and told her I was going to find a way for us to see him. Financially I wasn’t sure how though. My grandma didn’t react to well when I posted on Facebook that I would sell my car, kidney, and sister just to go see him in concert! Lets just say no one understood how badly I wanted this. At the time he hadn’t announced his Dallas date only the Houston ones. Too quickly those days came and passed and I didn’t get to go, but not too long after I heard news that he was coming to Dallas.
After enough whining, hinting, and begging my mom(who secretly also was dying to go) came up to me and said, “Talia, we are going one way or another. The day that tickets became available mom and I were sitting with our laptops ready to buy at 9:59AM. Some how through our lovely internet connection or big businesses our immediate reactions to the clock switching to 10AM were not fast enough. I almost broke down. Thanks to Craigslist and my mom and I’s savvy shopping we found tickets for a pretty reasonable price within the next hour. It had been seventeen years since Garth was in Dallas I wasn’t going to wait until I was in my 30’s for him to make it back.
That day I drove home from Austin, got all dolled up, and made the 45 minute trip to Dallas. I think I was shaking with excitement the whole day. The show ended up not starting until an hour after it was supposed too since the previous show ran over but I didn’t care Garth was way better than sleep. When the countdown finally reached zero and I first saw his silhouette I broke down. I cried for probably the first ten minutes of the show and a couple times through out. Only twice have I ever been so happy; my first Opening Ceremonies and watching the US Mens National Basketball Team in London(I cried at those too)! Throughout the whole music industry Garth Brooks is one of the most amazing performers ever! From the sincere softer songs like “The River” and “The Beaches of Cheyenne” to the fun and upbeat songs like “Callin’ Baton Rouge” and “Friends In Low Places” the concert never lost my attention. Garth finished his concert with an encore of course as he promised he would keep going if we stayed loud. His very last song was one I feel is often forgotten but I absolutely love, “Standing Outside the Fire.” If you’ve never heard it I highly recommend it. When he finally said his goodbyes, bowed, and thanked the crowd I was left stuck in place. I did not want such an amazing night to end. I left that concert around 2AM with a T-Shirt, Koozie, iPhone pictures and a memory that will last forever! IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE GARTH BROOKS, GO! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!
Great piece! Even better pictures! That’s awesome that you could experience such a concert with your mom in your hometown! Especially at AT&T stadium! I must say I’m pretty jealous, I wish I knew about that concert that weekend, I would’ve tried to go as well! It’s awesome to see people still get this excited about concerts and are this devoted to artists and music!
This post made me so happy that you finally got to see one of your favorite artists!! I have never seen him in concert and you did a great job of describing it in detail. Coming from Fort Worth, I know how cool it is to experience an event in the AT&T stadium, but i have yet been to a concert there. My favorite part is when you described you and your mom at 9:59 waiting for the tickets to come out.. I know that all too well. Thanks for sharing this awesome story!
Talia, I loved this post and I love the fact that I know another huge Garth fan. He is the best performer out there and totally deserved this year’s entertainer of the year. I think its awesome that you like “wrapped up in you” even though that’s not one of his popular songs. In my opinion, the best part about Garth’s concerts is when he sings by himself and has the crowd in the palm of his hand. It’s very rare that you meet someone our age who loves Garth as much as I do. Thank you for a great review of his concert! It was a pleasure to read!
This post is so cute and you are such a precious human (not just saying that because you’re my sorority sister). But actually I can relate so much to this post. Almost two years ago I saw George Strait’s last performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo while he was on his last tour. My dad took me to see him, and there were so many tears. I consider Garth and George to be two of the country’s best historically and presently. Although I’ve never seen Garth perform, I was completely in awe and starstruck when George performed. This post is actually really funny to me because I’ve recently become obsessed with Garth, but I found out he doesn’t sell his music on iTunes. So I made my mom go around Houston with me this weekend just to find a Garth Brooks greatest hits album. I am so incredibly jealous you got to see him on tour, and I love how persistent you were about it. Great post Talia!
I am so excited for you!!! I have always wanted to see Garth Brooks perform! I missed him when he was touring and was so sad! I got to see George Strait on his Cowboy Rides Away Tour in Houston when I was a senior in high school, and it was incredible! Garth and George are definitely the two kings of country. I am always the one on ticket duty for big concerts, so I laughed at your comment about “9:59”- there’s a lot of pressure! I don’t know Garth’s song that well, partly because he doesn’t allow his music to be sold on iTunes, so I was glad that you made some recommendations and I’m going to listen to “Standing Outside the Fire” soon! Great post!
This post is so cute! I’m an insanely HUGE Taylor Swift fan and when I saw her for the first time in concert in 2011 I bawled like a baby. I, too, got to experience that at AT&T Stadium with my mom (funny coincidence. GO MOMS!) and I can’t think of a better way to do so. I can totally relate to the frustration that comes with buying concert tickets; even when you’re on 2 hours beforehand, it is still difficult in securing them. Reading this post I could totally hear your happiness and excitement. I’m seeing Taylor for the third time in less than two weeks at AT&T Stadium and your post brought back all of the memories from the first time I saw her that I’ll get to take back with me. I’m so happy you shared this wonderful memory that you won’t ever forget (trust me), it’s so great that our favorite artists can make us feel so much. That’s why we love em.
This was a great post!! Its always exciting to get to see your favorite artist perform live, but the first time is undeniably the best. I personally have not seen Garth Brooks perform in person, but I am sure it was awesome based off what you said about it! I’m sorry that your relationship that got you hooked on Garth didn’t work out, but without that relationship you may have never found your love for him as an artist! Just an example of why everything happens for a reason. Your pictures from the concert are awesome!! It looks like he was a very entertaining performer and it looks like you were having a blast with your mom. What a fun experience! Thanks for sharing!