A Childhood Dream Came True on Las Vegas Boulevard!

Get your minds out of the gutter, people. :)

Let’s travel back in time to the fall of 1995, my fifth-grade year. Microsoft released Windows 95. Operation Desert Shield came to an end. The DVD was introduced. Pierre Omidyar founded eBay. OJ Simpson was found not guilty for the murders of his wife, Nicole, and friend, Ronald Goldman. The final Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was published. And I, Katie Peetz, got my first boom box for Christmas. Along with that boom box came my first-ever CDs (compact discs for you old folks). As a country music lover through-and-through, it was no surprise that I received several Garth Brooks albums, a Rick Trevino album, and a Reba McEntire album. Oddly enough, no one ever gave me a Trisha Yearwood album, despite the fact that I was convinced I was supposed to marry a boy in my class named Tommy because she sang a song (my all-time favorite country song, actually) about Katie and Tommy falling in love and getting married…

Anyway, fast-forward to fall of 2011. I’ve made it through twenty-six years and still LOVE Rick Trevino, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. As the departure date for our December Las Vegas weekend grew closer, we began discussing show options with Scott’s folks and aunt and uncle, our traveling companions. You cannot imagine my delight when Scott’s mom casually asked, “Hey… would you be interested in seeing Garth Brooks? I think that would be fun.” WOULD I???? I couldn’t believe my ears! I nearly peed myself out of sheer excitement at the prospect of seeing Garth Brooks in concert. I acted all casual-like, responding with something nonchalant along the lines of, “Oh, sure. That would be great. Does anyone else want to see him?” Apparently everyone else did want to see him, and before I knew it, our tickets were purchased and I was on my way to Vegas to see GARTH BROOKS – LIVE IN CONCERT AT THE WYNN!

We stepped into the theatre, a fairly intimate setting that holds only 1500 people at a time. Our seats were perfect. Our view was perfect. The guy next to me reeked of some God-awful cigar… and even that was perfect. NOTHING was going to ruin my evening with Garth Brooks. I literally vibrated in my seat, waiting for Garth to appear on stage. I don’t believe anything could have wiped the ridiculous grin off of my face. Mr. Wynn’s voice came over the loud-speaker, and as he introduced Garth Brooks, the audience went wild, myself included. I screamed; I cheered; I clapped. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming.

The show was unlike anything I could have imagined. There was no band, only Garth Brooks and his guitar. He spent the first hour of the show telling stories of his childhood, moments that helped shape him as one of the greatest country music artists ever. He played a ton of songs, too, songs that inspired him to be the singer and songwriter that he is today. I had no idea the man was so funny! Garth was so at-ease on stage. He knew he had us from the start, and he never let us down. He spent the second hour and a half playing the songs that his fans all know and love – “The River,” “The Dance,” “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” “That Summer,” “Shameless,” and so many, many more. About halfway through his set of personal songs, the unimaginable happened. He finished a song then began talking about another famous country music star, one who had a bunch of Grammys and who was an inspiration to him. AND THEN HE BROUGHT HER ON STAGE!! That’s right, Trisha Yearwood walked out on stage, and she and Garth sang a duet. And then she made me cry. I absolutely could not believe my luck. She sang, with Garth Brooks playing guitar for her, “She’s in Love with the Boy,” that song I mentioned earlier about Katie and Tommy falling in love and getting married. Oh, I’m not so naive that I still believe that song is about me, but I do love the song, and it is still my all-time favorite country music song. I just fill in the lyrics with, “Katie and Scott-y at the drive-in movie…” It was absolutely incredible. I felt like the luckiest person on earth, getting to see both Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood in concert.

One thing I loved most about the show was when Garth stopped singing for a moment and thanked us, the audience, for singing along with him. He said it’s the greatest compliment a musician can get, having an audience that knows all the words to his songs and actually wanting to sing along. I, of course, sang along with every single song he played. I had the time of my life that night. At the end of the show, Garth had us all stand up and sing along to “Friends in Low Places.” It was an epic ending to an unforgettable show. I will be forever grateful to Scott’s folks for taking us to see Garth in concert, and my only regret is that the Wynn didn’t allow us to take ANY pictures in the theatre or during the show. At least I have my ticket to prove I was there…

garth

(P.S. - I’m a lot annoyed with whatever moron at the ticket office defaced my ticket with a circle around the time and date.)