For the one or two of you who don’t know the Garth-Brooks-unretires-in-Vegas back story, here it is.
Steve Wynn coaxed Brooks, the top-selling solo act in pop-music history, to perform 15 or so weekends a year at Encore by promising him a lot of money (on opening night, Brooks said, "I told Steve Wynn he couldn’t afford me. I was wrong."), a private jet at his personal disposal (so Brooks can fly back and forth to catch his kids’ weekend soccer games near his Owasso, Oklahoma, home, which he shares with his wife Trisha Yearwood and his three daughters, ages 13, 15, and 17), and a handshake deal on a five-year schedule (that either Brooks or Wynn can walk away from anytime they please).
Anyway, Brooks opened on Friday December 11 at the intimate 1,500-seat Encore theater to a sold-out crowd (all the shows are sold out so far) and it was quite a departure for both Brooks and Las Vegas.
In the first place, the show consisted of Garth, a stool, a guitar, a spotlight, a microphone and stand, and a bottle of water. The L.A. Times called it "utterly anti-Vegas … not an ounce of glitz, and that's the selling point: just Brooks -- up close and very personal.
"Absent the spit, polish, shine and special effects that typify entertainment in Vegas," the L.A. Times reviewer continued, "Brooks's show gives fans more than they could dream of, down to taking requests -- for his own and others' songs -- and openly exploring the genesis of those he did write, jumping with apparent spontaneity wherever the moment takes him."
From what we hear, the early show is exactly 100 minutes, though the late shows have been running two hours or so. They open with a tribute to the musical influence of his father, George Strait, George Jones, Merle Haggard, along with Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Jim Croce, Don Henley, and others. Of course, he sings his own hits: "The River," "In Another's Eyes," "Mr. Midnight," "Rodeo," "Shameless," and, of course, "Friends in Low Places."
The theater is so small that Brooks’ legendary interaction with the audience is even more evident, culminating in spending up to an hour taking requests. And, of course, his adoring fans know his music so well that in one show, Brooks reportedly quipped, "I didn’t have to play. I didn’t have to sing. This might be the easiest gig of my life!"
All hasn’t been perfect in Garth Brooks’ Las Vegas, though.
According to a write-up on CMT.com (Country Music Television), "Many Garth fans were sharply divided about the show. Their complaints? His dress and appearance. They felt his jeans and hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap weren't suited to a big Vegas show."
Another reviewer commented, "Dressed in jeans, a hoodie, a baseball cap, and a headset mic (some things never change), he looked more like your burly neighbor on football Sundays, breaking out the guitar in the den for a singalong after supper. The ‘living-room show’ has long deserved a Vegas comeback —- but no one thought Brooks would be the dude to try it. Or that he’d be the perfect guy to pull it off."
The other common complaint was that some fans expected a traditional Garth Brooks concert, with a rockin’ backup band and Brooks’ patented rock-star moves, "not the unexpected monologue-with-music-bits that they got."
Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted that Brooks’ guy-next-door get-up was probably "a deliberate visual to reinforce the off-the-cuff vibe and exploratory nature of the gig."
In short, it seems that some fans were disappointed by, as one wag phrased it, "karaoke night with Garth," especially after somehow acquiring the toughest ticket in town at a base price of $125. On the other hand, our impression is that they're in the minority. Diehard Garth Brooks fans get an unusually up-close-and-personal look at their favorite superstar, especially compared to the huge arenas he used to sell out regularly.
