Today's plan was to finish up some client work and then head over to the International Dublin Writers' Festival by mid afternoon. It was opening day for the festival and the scheduled events were primarily writing workshops for attendees. I thought it would be good to stop by to check it out and meet people.
As I walked to hotel hosting the festival, I noticed a bit of a commotion at a park along the way. An iron gate surrounding the fence appeared to be covered in cowboy hats and American flags. I found it curious, but thought perhaps it was some kind of local fair.
A few blocks further and I began encountering streams of people, walking towards me, many of them wearing western style clothing and cowboy hats.
Then the light dawned....today was the last Garth Brooks Concert in Ireland.
As I made my way through the steady stream of concert goers, I stopped two young women and asked them some pertinent questions. Were they going to the concert? What time did it start? Did they know if tickets were still available?
Their answers of "Yes." "8pm." and "We have a field ticket to sell," had me ready to make a deal. That was until they explained that a field ticket was exactly that...on the field with no seating. You had to stand....for the entire concert.
We parted company with the girls suggesting that I check the concert website for ticket availability.
Thirty minutes later I'd abandoned the writers' festival, purchased a single ticket online, changed into a warm and comfy outfit (which did not include a cowboy hat) and was on my way to Croke Park with 79,999 other Garth Brooks fans.
My seat was on the side of the stage...not ideal. Thankfully there was a monstrous screen set in front of my section which made me feel as if I was front and center. It was one of a number of such screens set around the stadium.
I was equally lucky with the people sitting next to me. On my left was a nice guy from St. Louis, Doug Guilliams,Doug Guilliams, who in addition to being a great concert buddy, said he's going to order a copy of Crown Hill for his wife as a gift! On my right was a young girl from Milwaukee who is going to vet school in Dublin.
As the concert time neared, green and orange lights flooded the stage, the crowd became energized and an Irish Flag appeared on all of the massive screens. And so it began....
The concert lasted two hours and Garth Brooks never stopped moving. It was one of the best live performances I have ever seen, as much for Brooks' pure emotions as his incredible talent.
Thoughtout the night he joked with the audience, he spoke earnestly about the thrill of performing in Dublin, he reacted with joy and with tears as the crowd sang along with him...every song, every word.
At the end of the concert Brooks and the band returned to the stage with a special guest star, his wife, the talented Trisha Yearwood. The two sang a powerful duet of Lady Gaga's, "Shallow."
Then the band and Yearwood departed and the stage belonged to Brooks. He became emotional talking about the special experience of this concert night and the honor of performing at Croke Park where so many famed musicians have entertained.
Picking up his guitar he performed signature songs of some of those who have played there before him:
Billy Joel's "Piano Man." Elton John's "Rocket Man." Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect.” Don McLean's "American Pie,” singing them all as if they were his own.
And as they had throughtout the night, the devoted Dublin audience sang along with him...every song, every word.