Garth @ Notre Dame on 10/20

[Skywise]

Yeah there are def a few new hats- probably 5-6 shirts and a hoodie too- will try to get pics once I’m in arena , not leaving entrance line

[YouSoundBitter]

I bet the merch will go fast! It's not on the site anymore.

[Brett Dale]

Following the concert on twitter, quite a few clips showing up, WOW OH WOW, HES SINGING BEATLES SONGS!!!

Cant wait for skywise report, from what I have seen, the buildup, the hype, the announcements, were worth it, this looks like it
has the makings of one of the greatest Garth concerts ever!

[Skywise]

There was a guy trying to sell a bunch of $25 shirts for 20 at end of show

[Skywise]

Setlist will be up as soon as I get back to my hotel

[Emerald Isle]

Love that he opened with All Day Long!

Did it snow during the entire show?

[randa16]

Looked like a huge mess with all the rain/snow and cold weather. Not sure why he waited to do this so late in October. I wonder if this will have an effect on the tv special

[Brett Dale]

Looked like a huge mess with all the rain/snow and cold weather. Not sure why he waited to do this so late in October. I wonder if this will have an effect on the tv special

Was watching several clips on Twitter, it seemed to be snowing a bit before the show, and it looked to be raining before, but the clips of Garth performing it seemed the rain and snowed stopped.

The crowd was still there, Garth seemed pumped!!!, people were putting clips up of Garth singing, Hey Jude and let it be, plus of course all of garth songs!!! The crowd was awesome. Overall people on twitter were calling it one of the greatest shows of their life time, apart from a couple of people who suggested he was repeating the same verse again from a couple of songs for the tv special.

As I said cant wait for skywise wrap up, this concert seems absolutely awesome!!!

[Skywise]

Love that he opened with All Day Long!

Did it snow during the entire show?

No things actually calmed down as concert was starting- spit a few times but nothing like before he went on

[Skywise]

Looked like a huge mess with all the rain/snow and cold weather. Not sure why he waited to do this so late in October. I wonder if this will have an effect on the tv special

I don’t think it will- things were actually ok snow/rain wise when concert started it was just cold

[randa16]

It looked fun. Can anyone who was there talk about the new stage setup. Did you like it in the middle of the field

[Emerald Isle]

According to setlist.fm, this is what he played tonight:

Main Set:
All Day Long
That Summer
Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House
The River
Papa Loved Mama
Two Piña Coladas
Unanswered Prayers
Night Moves
Standing Outside the Fire
Rodeo
Live Again / Let It Be / Hey Jude
Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)
The Thunder Rolls
Callin' Baton Rouge
Friends in Low Places
The Dance

Housekeeping:
She's Every Woman
The Red Strokes
Ireland
More Than a Memory
Guy Goin' Nowhere
Turn the Page
American Pie


Amazing setlist! Very impressed, actually. Would have been awesome to be there, and I hope we get some of the housekeeping songs in the TV special.

[Skywise]

It looked fun. Can anyone who was there talk about the new stage setup. Did you like it in the middle of the field

Will def post the setlist with notes, and answer quest. You had about stage etc as well as give review.... gotta sleep as I need to be back at airport in 4.5 hrs.... so it’s coming ��

[rhd13]

According to setlist.fm, this is what he played tonight:

Main Set:
All Day Long
That Summer
Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House
The River
Papa Loved Mama
Two Piña Coladas
Unanswered Prayers
Night Moves
Standing Outside the Fire
Rodeo
Live Again / Let It Be / Hey Jude
Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)
The Thunder Rolls
Callin' Baton Rouge
Friends in Low Places
The Dance

Housekeeping:
She's Every Woman
The Red Strokes
Ireland
More Than a Memory
Guy Goin' Nowhere
Turn the Page
American Pie


Amazing setlist! Very impressed, actually. Would have been awesome to be there, and I hope we get some of the housekeeping songs in the TV special.

Wow!!! Fantastic setlist. I’m just impressed he moved some things around, with “All Day Long” and even did a couple of Beatles songs. Very nice change of pace. So is “Live Again” actually “Learning to Live Again” or something else?

PS - Hope you had a blast Skywise!

[jb2sprint]

Looks like he opened up his Friday sound check to employees and students and kinda turned it into a mini-concert. I wonder if this will be a normal thing at each college campus stop. Neat opportunity for those folks.

[Skywise]

RECAP OF SHOW

Ok, here’s my review of the show..


First let’s get the incidentals out of the way.

IT WAS FREAKING COLD…. Now…. That being said.. When I got on campus in the morning (I spent the whole day walking around campus before the show, etc.. did not go to the TY Tailgate as well, that was $65 that I didn’t want to spend…) it was sunny and maybe 50…. By the time I was waiting in line about 345 to be let in the concert, it was down to mid 40’s, and was starting to alternate between a bit of snow, and a bit of rain, but a lot of wind ( I think they said the wind gusted to about 40mph or so)..

Now, earlier in the day I saw Garth (from a few hundred feet away) inside the Rockne Gate being interviewed by I think Nancy O’Dell.

Back to entry..

We were let in about 430, due to the incoming inclement weather (I think they wanted people to be able to shelter if needed..). we were let into the seats about 500. During that half hour, I caught a bit of Garth doing a soundcheck of sorts, so I knew that we were going to get to hear Night Moves.. also heard a bit of That Summer…. Really freaking cool. It’ was very interesting to hear Garth in a more business oriented light. I mean, he was playing and moving around, but they’d start/stop/start again/try to get a louder sound, etc. and he was talking back and forth to the peeps on stage and off stage…

OK.. so we are let in, and about 15 minutes later it started raining. And temp dropped.. and it was windy. The rain wouldn’t let up for about 2 hours…. Just imagine people slowly filling in (it didn’t fill in VERY quickly, due to the weather.) and as people are getting restless about 645 or so, its snowing.. and then raining.. and snowing and wind blowing. They had to delay the concert about 45m or so due to the high wind (the PA’s couldn’t be raised to top of rigging in the wind…). Now here’s where it gets good (at least for those of us who are soaked to the bone but are still waiting patiently. There were a few people directly behind me who were yelling about Garth needing to come on stage lets go, you said 7pm…. (They obviously hadn’t been listening to the delay announcement.). Ironically enough, two of them were kicked out of the concert right before it started (like literally less than 5 min before it started) for drunken behavior (they were about to fight in the stands..)

748…. The stage is all set (PA’s raised, squeegeed off of water).. and after reminders about this being on TV, etc.. Garth came on.. no fancy entrance really, just came up from the tunnel to the corner of the stage, and up the stairs..

First Song- All Day Long….
Great song to start a show with- Honestly, it’s a great opener. I can’t say that it was PERFECT (I’ll have to watch later on CBS or my recording of it but I swear Garth mixed up the 2nd and 3rd verse….. He also only sang 2 verses of it.. but it was GREAT for an opener- a lot of energy.. (That one I have taped…) ([b] fair note- I did not record the entire show, nor videotape the entire show- #1 my body was freezing and video would have been jumpy…. Second, my lightning cable decided to want to break and I almost ran out of phone battery anyway (and hey my plane tix are on there)

The rest of the set list is just as was posted earlier. However a few notes…

After The River…. Garth had us sing a verse again- for TV.. (something about getting a shot with the phones, etc. on and hte hands clapping…)

After Two Pina Coladas…. Another TV reshoot / re sing etc.. LOVED the graphics that were around garth on the video screen (and that ND played on their graphics wall around the stadium

Garth was interacting w/ the crowd a lot, talking about being a tv show, etc.. not his normal banter.. this was kinda fun.. (and again showed him in an entertainer AND an artist’s light, along w/ the business side of things)..

Night Moves was fantastic! As he said, its’ a song he’s played forever but didn’t know if he’d ever done in a concert like this (or something to that affect)
After Standing Outside the Fire.. Another re-singing of last chorus…. I can’t wait to see how they edit that all into the special…

The Music 101 segment- interesting- it was a bit rough to be honest…. Garth will need to work on it a BIT. The first song was someone who I’d never heard of, think the whole title was something like sometimes you have to die to live again.. (Baxbie Davis?) and it led into Let it Be and Hey Jude. Those songs went really well, and both had TV ‘re sings’ and ‘re shoots’ attached to them. Some in crowd around me were not to thrilled to be singing them though , wanted to hear more Garth stuff.

Aint Going Down- we were really cold by this point, but still standing (side note- once show started.. everyone stood up (no small feat for soaked/frozen to the bone people) and never sat down for the entire show….

Talked about ‘the cowboy D’ and dropping it to a ‘minor’, and things beginning to ‘roll’, and the rain, and the thunder…. Which led of course to the thunder rolls.. GREAT performance on this one…

He mentioned how he shouldn’t say this (and the guy who I mentioned on press recap who tells garth not to say stuff etc. would be upset) but (and this was almost a direct quote..). he’s starting the North American leg (he’s saying that, yes.. does it mean Ireland coming up? Dont know- but makes sense) of this tour, he wants to finish it ‘at freaking Notre dame’

He went into Callin Baton Rouge, and his electric guitar this time was a Notre Dame guitar. (W/ ND logo- looked kinda cool)

Crowd erupted in a “let’s go Irish” chant, which was egged on by mike palmer on drums..

Then came FILP (it also got a re shoot later but before the encore and after the band left)..

The Dance was awesome as normal (I recorded his ‘speech part’ at the end, I think - if it’s not shaky from cold)..

Band was dismissed..

some people started leaving- obviously not rabid garth fans... and no one from the bowl was really leaving- these were floor seat people

Garth came out

Did the FILP re shoots and then went to house cleaning…. I forgot to mention- he also had us do the opening shot (they filmed it in an empty stadium first, with him saying ‘how are we ever going to fill this place up?” ) of the crowd screaming after he said ‘oh yeah!’ (Or something to that effect)

Before housecleaning started they did the ‘iconic shot’ which was the wave being done at ND.. splitting the wave going two ways, then meeting, and going around again, etc.. some were getting tired of it at this point…

Housecleaning was AWESOME! She’s Every Woman (probably 2 verses)

The Red Strokes- LOVED IT.. a verse and a chorus..

Ireland.. GREAT RENDITION. wish I could hear him do it like this (accappela) all the time.. the way he sang ‘within the emerald Isle’ at the end and held the note…. Very very cool…

More than a Memory- not BAD.. but not the BEST…. Still cool though - verse and chorus..

Guy Going Nowhere- this song kicks butt live!! Didn’t get it recorded as my battery was really staring down the end of it’s life at this point.. but he played the entire song

Turn the Page (the Inside Studio G request from. Few weeks back..). played the entire song.. it sounds AWESOME live with just him and a guitar!

He finished with American Pie- the whole song….


GREAT GREAT GREAT Show!! Loved a slightly changed song list- wonder if they’ll splice/split it up and re order it, dont’ know. It was well worth the wait. . well worth the cold, and the long (15m before I ‘veered off and re took a place in line’) wait for the shuttle bus back, worth the walk to hotel..


And my flight’s boarding.. Hope you enjoy the recap!!

[Skywise]

It looked fun. Can anyone who was there talk about the new stage setup. Did you like it in the middle of the field

oops forgot to answer this part

Loved the new stage setup. I think it will be better for the stadiums when he switches to the mariner star setup. . The stage rotated too though not too much last night- It's great in the middle of the field- Garth can def. play to the entire arena w/o issue

[Skywise]

Looks like he opened up his Friday sound check to employees and students and kinda turned it into a mini-concert. I wonder if this will be a normal thing at each college campus stop. Neat opportunity for those folks.

it is supposed to be a normal thing I think- at least if the college is ok with it. from what I heard while at ND, there were about 4000 people who showed up, and it poured for almost 90 minutes. They never moved away from show, Garth played with band for a while then came back out for a while with just him and guitar.. I'd LOVE to hear that sound check!

[nyyankfanken]

Great report Skywise!

[ElectricOutcast]

some people started leaving- obviously not rabid garth fans... and no one from the bowl was really leaving- these were floor seat people

Had the same thing happen to me, night one at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, problem was they didn't know that he was going to do a few more songs even after I tried to explain it to them, they just up and left.

[rhd13]

Thanks for the report. Hope you had fun!

[GBJR77]

I’m glad it’s different for those at the show vs those watching online or on tv. I watched both nights of Yankee Stadium, the majority of Atlanta, and now the entire ND show via mates through FaceTime. Other than American football I don’t hate anything as much as the Yankees, but that was the best “stadium” show I’ve watched. This one was horrible. The amount of stuff re-done, or forced moments for the camera, would really have left me asking for a refund.

The stage design is horrible, giving the false impression of “so many front row seats”. The complete waste of space it creates on the floor/field is shocking as well. The same price for every seat logic was ok in arenas - but horrible for the fan at a stadium. Going back later and watching clips from other views than I watched it live, some people grossly overpaid to watch a video screen in the cold.

The show I saw was void of any actual magic, heart, or even genuine “Garth moments”. It was boring, from the off-key opener (which WAS a good choice to open with, far better than the planned “road I'm on”) that really lacked a true “opening” that we’ve come to expect - through the fake “you remember the old stuff” comments that are over 10 years old. The Beatles songs (and ensuing 20 minutes trying to get a crowd recording to their expectations) were horrible. As well as sung off-key. What should’ve been a highlight, “Sometimes You Have To Die To Live Again”, was such an off-key mess that it stands a chance of no rescue or inclusion in the final broadcast. “Night Moves” with the full band was a nice change for a cover heard a million times, and a little change that takes minimal effort - but makes the show monumentally better.

In the end, those there in person will no doubt claim a smashing experience, and good on them. What they endured (and spent) to be there, I hope they do feel that way. The rest of the world will be split once the tape is edited and vocals re-recorded. I’m sure it will include all the spin of a political ad, and that’s extremely disappointing.

For me it just reinforces that the era of actual Garth shows ended a long time ago. The last tour became too stale and predictable, a trend that seems to have continued, only in a bigger scale with stadiums. If you want to see a real Garth show - a stadium is not where you’ll find it. As the bowls get bigger and gain tiers, it will only get worse. Especially when you pay even more than the last tour to sit farther away. My best hope is that this fails spectacularly and quickly, so that it can get back to being more about the fan than Garth’s ego. It has yet to happen with the music side/album releases (it keeps getting worse on that side) but I hope the live side changes.

At least I know I don’t have to worry about wasting a ton of money the next 3-4 years on this joke. The line has been crossed and the ego has gone too far. It’s tainted and ruined the experience.

Actually, given the lack of quality on the last album and the horrible joke of a song “Courage To Love” is - I don’t hold out hope for the music anymore either. Goodbye Garth. I’ll always remember you when you were talented, and hungry.

[fences2312]

Totally 100% agree with this. Triple Live is a horribly over produced gimmick, Gunslinger in my opinion is damn near unlistable, “Courage to Love” is atrocious. The Anthology is not an anthology but another way to pad the numbers. The Ultimate Collection shoulda been an Amazon playlist.

Man Against Machine gave me hope, too many gimmick songs “Mom”, “All American”, “Fish” “Send ‘em” but for the most part it’s enjoyable.

Will not purchase triple Live, I’m finished buying multiple products. Double Live, if you have the 12 covers, is the real Live anthology.

I preordered the next studio album, but this repackaging bull I’m done with. No more tours until the set list changes. I’d rather watch my DVDs.

[Brett Dale]

Thank you skywise, great wrap up.

I watched clips being uploaded to twitter and then after the show to youtube.

I think when this thing airs it will go down in History, I think it will be talked of in the same manner as Queen's show at wembley in 1986.

Out of all the Garth songs Ive seen on social media, this one tops them all.

It just blew me away, it was worth all those announcements they were giving thru the year.

As for the crowd, well hats off to ya all for standing and singing in those weather conditions.

Ya have to give garth credit, for me theres not a entertainer like him on the planet, he can still do a show like this
after 30 years in the business!!

Cant wait for the tv special.

[rhd13]

It's been fascinating to read some of the reviews/comments about this show on social media. It seems like all I see are the "extremes" out there. People are either saying that this is the greatest show they have ever seen OR that the show sucked and Garth is an ego-maniac worried about nothing but the TV special. It's hard for me to take either of those "extremes" seriously. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

I worked in country radio for several years and have literally seen over 3,000 acts perform live and been to CMA Fest 25 times (been going since I was a teenager). Very lucky to have seen my fair share of big shows over the years. It is COMMON for any TV taping that isn't being broadcast live (meaning at that very moment) to have songs performed multiple times, making sure they get the crowd shots/reactions they need, and sometimes even taping things out of order. Often times at CMA Fest they will have the hosts introduce people that aren't even there that night. A couple of times they have actually announced a "surprise" guest a couple of nights before they performed. They had to do this to get the shot they needed because both hosts were available at that moment where they might not be available on the night the particular artist they are introducing is actually performing.

My point for pointing this out is Garth is not necessarily an ego-maniac for doing this. This is normal for any TV taping. Does it make for the greatest, smoothest concert experience? No, it doesn't. I personally don't like it either, BUT this is what you call the BUSINESS side of the music business. If you go see any act in this position they are likely gong to do the exact same thing. Like I said, it has been happening for 15 years at CMA Fest. From a business perspective they are going to make sure they get what they need for it to air on TV in front of millions of people over making sure they give the people in the audience the smoothest concert experience. Right or wrong that is just the way it is. It isn't a sell out or ignoring the audience, it's doing their job.

I've always felt if I was fortunate enough to be at something that is being taped for a major television show then clearly I'm experiencing something pretty cool and unique. I've always made the decision not to get mad that a show isn't flowing how I'd like for it to and learn to just take it all in. How lucky to be at an epic show like that and get to experience something most people will only see on TV. It's not every day you get to experience something like that.

[GBJR77]

The show was not sold as a “taping experience” - and people deservedly should be disappointed if they were seeking a proper show. Especially when sold at full price, and advertised as a proper show. The people that sold out that show are not at fault for the decision to later make it a “taping experience” and were robbed of the actual experience they signed up for. In contrast, Texas Stadium at the time WAS sold that way, and another reason they had an extra “free” day to get all the tv shots. Void of extra dates this time, they could’ve utilized the soundcheck. Yankee Stadium had one moment, the running around the ramps, that was done twice. That’s it. A show they knew they were recording. This one had every other song that needed another shot. From the failed attempts at the wave, to the end of Hey Jude repeated 8 different times, to the staging of the lights for The River, the Pina Coladas reaction.....it just keeps going. If you can’t get the reactions you “need” the first time - then up your game and do a better job entertaining. Don’t make the crowd do the job they have paid you stupid sums of money to do.

I’ve been party to quite a few tapings myself, and only recall once that something was setup or redone, at a show. That was only done because the equipment failed during the first song.

The problem with Garth, is that he doesn’t need these staged moments. He has enough already in a normal live show. For me, at a time I’ve already hit my limit with his crap, it just gives more weight to how produced and groomed his image has become to stroke his ego.

You know, the best specials he has had have been the live ones anyway - the Coast 2 Coast shows, all live with various degrees of weather interruptions, were great to watch. The KC show I was at, just as great. That’s what should’ve been done here. The energy and immediacy of actually being live brings authenticity that is lacking in the pre recorded specials.

[Brett Dale]

Yeah garth doesnt need to do reshoots, his shows are awesome as is.

Garth's had four tv specials that weren't live? This is Garth Brooks, This is Garth Brooks 2, Ireland and back. Yankee stadium??

Im guessing there was no re shoot during the concerts for TIGB? (was it three concerts)
For TIGB2, was it the day after the concerts people came just for the tv reshoot. (three concerts plus reshoot)
Also for his croke park concert was their was no reshoots during the concert?


I guess if its industry practice that is all cool, but Garth doesnt need reshoots, his shows are brilliant and they dont need that type of stuff.

[rhd13]

The show was not sold as a “taping experience” - and people deservedly should be disappointed if they were seeking a proper show. Especially when sold at full price, and advertised as a proper show. The people that sold out that show are not at fault for the decision to later make it a “taping experience” and were robbed of the actual experience they signed up for. In contrast, Texas Stadium at the time WAS sold that way, and another reason they had an extra “free” day to get all the tv shots. Void of extra dates this time, they could’ve utilized the soundcheck. Yankee Stadium had one moment, the running around the ramps, that was done twice. That’s it. A show they knew they were recording. This one had every other song that needed another shot. From the failed attempts at the wave, to the end of Hey Jude repeated 8 different times, to the staging of the lights for The River, the Pina Coladas reaction.....it just keeps going. If you can’t get the reactions you “need” the first time - then up your game and do a better job entertaining. Don’t make the crowd do the job they have paid you stupid sums of money to do.

I’ve been party to quite a few tapings myself, and only recall once that something was setup or redone, at a show. That was only done because the equipment failed during the first song.

The problem with Garth, is that he doesn’t need these staged moments. He has enough already in a normal live show. For me, at a time I’ve already hit my limit with his crap, it just gives more weight to how produced and groomed his image has become to stroke his ego.

You know, the best specials he has had have been the live ones anyway - the Coast 2 Coast shows, all live with various degrees of weather interruptions, were great to watch. The KC show I was at, just as great. That’s what should’ve been done here. The energy and immediacy of actually being live brings authenticity that is lacking in the pre recorded specials.

I’m not saying you are wrong. I actually agree with a lot of your points. I think it should just be “captured” not reshot and not trying to plan out a “moment” which he is clearly guilty of doing. I’m all for legit criticism. I do that some myself. I guess there’s just been such an abundant of negative stuff on here lately. Some of that is deserved (like the move of Double Live and Triple Live in the Anthology). At the same time, there are still a lot of good things happening for Garth fans. Just feels like the joy is being sucked out of being here. I get the frustration though. I feel it sometimes too.

[YouSoundBitter]

I would just turn it into a positive instead of being so negative. Awesome concert plus you got to be an extra on a TV...Besides, did you have anywhere else to be Saturday night?

[Garthmedic]

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