Review: Garth at Sprint, Day 4

Above: Garth at Sprint on Tuesday night. File photo.

If you were one of the 17,000 or so Garth Brooks fans inside Sprint Center on Thursday, your night was memorable. If you were the lady named Jane celebrating a birthday, your evening was unforgettable: You left the place with an autographed guitar.

The fourth night of Occupation Garth was louder and rowdier than any before it. Brooks played for about two hours, shuffling the 20-song setlist he has been playing for the previous three nights. The most notable departure: "The Dance," which had been his first-set closer all week, was performed solo/acoustic in the middle of the show. That didn't diminish the crowd response in the slightest. Nothing did.

During "Friends in Low Places" the fans in the highest elevations of the arena looked like frenzied bees in a hive. Down on the floor, a young lady in the row in front of me wept she was so excited. Likewise, during "Callin' Baton Rouge," "The River" and "Summer Wind," fans from the floor to the rafters roared and cheered and danced and sang along, sometimes arm-in-arm. Until you're in the middle of a crowd like this, you can't really imagine its mania.

Less than halfway through his nine-day stay, Brooks showed some slight evidence of fatigue. Cowboys who sing probably don't like to be called "hoarse"; instead, let's say his voice sounded a bit saddle-sore. He admitted to some vocal problems, though the afflictions sounded slight and were most notable when he tried to shout between songs. Let's hope all he needs is a night's rest.

Otherwise, this was yet another memorable evening: two hours of uninterrupted electric-neon joy. Brooks bathed himself in hurricane-force cheers all night, taking armfuls of gifts away from the front of the stage.

He giveth away, too: He made one woman's decade by taking the acoustic guitar off his back, signing it with a Sharpie and handing it to her as a birthday gift. She accepted it, the way mothers handle their first-borns for the first time.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

Setlist: The Fever; Good Ride Cowboy; Two Pina Coladas; The Rodeo; Two of a Kind, Workin' On a Full House; Rodeo; The Thunder Rolls; The Beaches of Cheyenne; We Shall be Free; Unanswered Prayers; The Dance; The River; That Summer; Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old); Papa Loves Mama; In Another's Eyes (with Trisha Yearwood); More Than a Memory; Callin' Baton Rouge; Friends in Low Places. Encores: Ain't Goin' Down (Till the Sun Comes Up); medley (Bob Seger, George Strait, Randy Travis, Billy Joel).

Comments

[Mimsy]

Why is it necessary to review Garth every single day?

[DUH]

Because he's the biggest ticket in town right now. When you've got Johnny Dare, who hates country, thinking about getting tickets you have to know something amazing is happening at the Sprint Center every night.

[Tim Finn]

... for the same reason we cover the Royals on a nine-game homestand in September when they're in last place. Because 18,000 people are in the arena and because something might happen ...

[Emily]

I've gone out to the Star website every day this week to read the reviews and all the comments about the Garth concerts. I appreciate all the reviews. (not to mention, I also go out and read about the Royals games in September) Someone cares, even if you don't.

[KK]

THANK YOU for reviewing each night. As much hype that has been given about the Sprint Center, having one of the all time biggest recording artist of all time doing 9 concerts in it is a BIG DEAL.

[riskybzns]

for the simple fact that the man has been in retirement for 9 years and picked KANSAS CITY to do the shows for one reason. mimsy, its simple, if you don't care to know about it, don't read it. how hard is that to understand?

[Drew Murphy]

Finn - Thanks for covering EVERY DAY of Garth Brooks. You wouldn't be doing your job if you didn't. This is also the biggest musical event in Kansas City in a long time, so it deserves extra attention.

I saw Garth for the first time on Thursday. I was totally blown away. He kept his working class motif, while giving a KISS style performance. The guy never left the stage once, and went almost 2 1/2 hours. The highlights for me were the guitar gift, "Thunder Rolls", and the medley at the end. The end set really shows his range. Everyone else who is going - prepare to see the show of your life.

[Gary]

Someone needs to show Garth where the bathroom is located.

[DUH]

Wha-huh-huh-at?