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Henry Diltz
Garth Brooks performs during his first weekend at Encore Theater.
Published Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009 | 12:18 p.m.
Updated Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 | 12:03 p.m.
Garth Brooks, shown performing during his opening weekend at Encore Theater.
Garth Brooks, shown performing during his first weekend at Encore Theater.
How was it that Larry and Wanda “Wandaful” Johnson of Fort Collins, Colo., arrived at the seats next to mine at Saturday’s 8 p.m. performance by Garth Brooks?
Simple. They were seated at the slots earlier that afternoon at Encore. Excellent positioning.
Until then, the Johnsons had no tickets to Brooks’ show at Encore Theater. They were in town for their annual pilgrimage, their 21st, to the National Finals Rodeo at Thomas & Mack Center. They were not even staying at Encore. They got a great deal -- $263 for three nights – for a suite at Bally’s.
“And this is a really nice suite,” Larry said. He and Wandaful were at Encore for no particular reason, mostly because it’s a fancy place to play slots.
While jabbing the buttons, a woman playing next to the Johnsons unexpectedly asked, “You have any interest in Garth Brooks tickets?” Before Wandaful could screech “Scalpe-e-e-e-r!” the woman explained that she could not make the show as scheduled and was eager to shed this pair of ducats for the 8 p.m. performance.
For $50.
Total. Not $50 apiece. Fifty USD for two tickets with an after-tax and after-fee face value of $143. By comparison, $50 will get you one ticket -- one -- to “Bite” at Stratosphere.
“We'll take it!” said Larry, a distinguished gray-haired and bespectacled heavy construction contractor in Fort Collins. “We got a damn good deal!”
Often bouncing in the seats next to me, Larry and Wandaful obviously enjoyed the show, laughing and clapping through Brooks’ stripped-down, acoustic-and-storytelling showcase. As we filed out of our row, Wandaful said, “You know, we would have paid more. We would have paid $50 each.”
It warms your heart, seeing such spoiled tourists. It’s one of Brooks’ gifts to the city.
More vignettes from The Brooks Experience at Encore and Wynn, as the country music superstar unwound his near-decade-long retirement from live performances:
**
Seated in the front row were three buddies: David Whitley, David Shulman and Matt Rich. Whitley is from Charleston, S.C.; Shulman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Rich from Studio City (or, if you will, Los Angeles), Calif. I asked them how they obtained their tickets, and by happy happenstance, Shulman has already been asked this by Steve Friess in a freelance story Friess wrote for Portfolio.com.
The plan among these guys, who met online long before they knew one another face-to-face, was for Whitley and Schulman to hit the Wynn box office site the moment tickets went on sale and nab three seats for opening weekend. In a freak shot, both ticket-buyers were successfully funneled through the box office Web site and permitted to buy tickets. Both did, with Whitley (easily the biggest Brooks fan in the crew) getting three in the front row, though he wasn’t given a purchase option for 45 minutes.
The problem was now the three ticket-buyers had six tickets and no viable options to get rid of these seats aside from the Wynn option, which was for Whitley to eat the $429. After a back-and-forth with a Wynn box office rep, the trio were allowed to kick the tickets back to the hotel without being dinged for the $400-and-change, the argument that the venue would be better off taking back the tickets rather than having three empty seats in the theater and an equal number of disgruntled fans seated.
As those in the front row explained, ticket-holders were sent a letter stating they could pick up their tickets at the box office beginning at 11 a.m., at which time they would have the back of a hand stamped and be issued a wristband. Didn’t happen.
“I expected a wristband, but there aren’t any wristbands or hand stamps,” Whitley said. “I doubt that was ever going to happen.”
**
One quick line: Brooks' stage attire looks like it was purchased during a shopping spree at Flying J. But he makes it work.
**
Ron and Sue Brothen are among those who benefited from such ticket returns. Earlier in the day, the hotel made tickets sent back to the box office available for sale, and the Brothens, who hail from Columbus, N.D., simply approached the box office and asked, “Got any Garth Brooks tickets?” There were plenty available, and the Brothens purchased two for 8 p.m.
“We’ve never seen him in person,” Ron said. “He’s played in Fargo and Bismark, but we’ve never been able to make it.” The Brothens, also in town for the NFR, keep busy in the northwest corner of North Dakota, quite near Canada, with a 3,500-acre farm they tend to themselves. They grow a lot of wheat up there. It’s not a big place. According to the 2000 Census figures, the population of Columbus was 151 a decade ago.
“We’re actually pretty boring people. We’re not big music fans,” Ron said. “But we had this chance, and we couldn’t pass it up. It was easy, really.”
**
Another quick line: Brooks’ staging looks a lot like an airplane hangar, without the airplane. But he makes it work.
**
Todd Tregre walked out of the theater smiling and shaking his head. He wore a purple LSU jacket, so it wasn’t a surprise to know he’s from Baton Rouge, La. He’s seen Brooks before in venues grand and intimate.
“I saw him at a place called the Texas Club in Baton Rouge, in the late ’80s, and it was a show very much like this,” he said. “He had a band, but there was a set when he played just acoustic and took requests.” Tregre also caught Brooks about a decade later at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the LSU campus.
Todd and his wife, Dawn, were shut out online but had plans to be in Vegas this weekend anyway. They were among those who bought tickets at the counter.
“We were unsure what to expect,” Tregre said. Did he expect the star to walk out in a hoodie, jeans and a ball cap? “No. I thought he’d be in a cowboy hat, at least. But it was one of the best shows I’ve seen, ever. A lot of fun.”
**
Another quick line: Brooks would not have been more comfortably attired if he walked out wearing fuzzy slippers and a housecoat. But he makes it work.
**
George and Elizabeth Pendragon of Ventura, Calif., are huge Brooks fans -- except for George. “She got me into his music,” George said after the 8 p.m. performance.
“I have seen him 14 times,” Elizabeth said. The two attended the Fire Relief Concert in Los Angeles in January 2008, which was Brooks’ most recent concert before Friday’s opening performance at Encore. The two were joined by in-laws Judy Southland and Lyle Rice of Buena Park, Calif. The consensus review was that Brooks, who once suited up for the San Diego Padres in spring training, knocked it out of the park.
“It was all him, all the time,” Rice said. “I just wish he’d played more of his own music instead of playing so many songs by other singers.”
Maybe next time. There are 300 shows to go before Brooks returns to the road in full force, in 2014. But until then, the world comes to him -- and to Las Vegas.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.
So, were there any empty seats? Since 2/3 of the people you identify bought their tickets on the day of the first show, I assume you mean that 2/3 of the original ticket purchasers didn't want to see the show, which should translate to 20% of the seats being empty. Did you ask anyone at Beyonce how they got their tickets, or any other show you've covered for that matter?
No empty seats at the 10:30 show last night....
You wrote, "It warms your heart, seeing such spoiled tourists. It's one of Brooks' gifts to the city" about the couple that received two tickets from a stranger for $50. I fail to see how that is a gift from Garth Brooks since ticket prices were set at over $140. I'm not a Brooks fan, but it sounds like this good old boy is taking Steve Wynn for a ride. Use of an airplane to go back and forth to be with his family, a show with no production value other than a wireless microphone. Sounds lazy to me. At least if somebody pays $140 for a production show on the strip they can have the peace of mind that the $ paid is going to pay the salaries of the many performers and crew members. The folks at South Point must be laughing at Wynn right now since they are booking Country artists at a fraction of the price and probably don't need to provide a private jet so they can get home for a kid's soccer game.
Too bad there are some people that can't appreciate true talent. What a nice change to see a BIG time performer come down to his fans level, last night Garth gave his guitar to one fan, he seemed like a very fun and humble man. HE has earned my respect, his loves his family but also doesnt want to leave his passion for music and performing. We loved the show! we would see him again in a heartbeat. Garth we loved the show, keep up the good work!!!
Flew to Vegas from Olympia, WA and attended Garth's Friday night show:
The Encore Theater is beautiful - great place to see a show.
Bought tix online - waited for 2 hours for 2 seats. GARTH in VEGAS - the possibilities were endless. Thought the first show would be a BIG deal. We couldn't have been more surprised and disappointed with the show. After all the hype and buildup, and after paying $143 per ticket, we are still scratching our heads in disbelief.
Nearly empty stage. Garth barely gave the audience a "hello" before starting his first cover song. Wore baggy Carrharts, dirty Romeos (or similar), hooded sweatshirt, and baseball cap. Looked so sloppy it could have been a mid-afternoon soundcheck. Seemed uncomfortable and unprepared.
Wireless headset mic sounded cheap - it popped and cracked and sounded thin all night.
Made jokes about being older, more forgetful, out of shape, a soccer dad, and "this is what happens after several years of retirement." This is $143 in Vegas??
While there were a few moments of excitement, the overall emotion of the evening was confusion and boredom. Stumbled musically many times, forgot words, stopped and restarted a few songs to find the correct key, and admitted that he doesn't always play guitar on his songs. He laughed it off and asked the audience to forgive him, but I found myself repeatedly thinking this is not a $143 Vegas show. He acted like a local bar singer, but I heard 8-10 better performers during NFR week in Vegas. Can't think of any other Vegas Headliner that would present themselves this way. Seemed like he wasn't committed to it - as if he didn't really want to be in Vegas - it was a quick paycheck before he jumped back on new private jet and went home to Oklahoma.
This was a chance for Garth fans to see him put on a great show in an intimate setting. It should have been an amazing opportunity, but instead was a disappointment.
Highlight was Trisha Yearwood sing "Walkaway Joe." They sound really good together. I know she wasn't feeling well, so unfortunately, they only did one song together.
Show lasted less than 2 hours with encore, and half the show was cover tunes. I really hope he comes up with a better Las Vegas show for his fans soon. This is something I would expect to see in a small club in Seattle for $20. Please, Garth - this is not a $143 Las Vegas Headliner ticket from the biggest selling solo artist in music history.
so i thought they were reporting that all of his shows sold out in 20 minutes
Brooks has indicated he'll play these dates to ramp up to a planned world tour in 2014. So they're a little like watching an athletic team's training camp. Basically, Wynn audiences are paying $143 a pop to watch Brooks get back into road shape..... I pulled this from The California Chronicle
I'm not going to argue with the reviews good or bad, its just a different point of view on the same thing. Personally I expected to be bored and leave in 15 min. I hate shows. Our crew said see ya soon when we went in. 2 1/2 hrs later I came out floored rather than bored. I thought it was a helluva show. I thought the bare bones/low maintenance/sloppy dress was intentional to make it like a jam session back in Garth's bar in OK where he took requests for tips. Isn't that what he said? But then you get the focus 100% on his talent cause there are no fancy boots, hats, cowboy shirts, band, stage, pyrotechnic distractions. It is just whatever talent that dude has with his voice and a guitar. I that it was different, cool and intimate. I can see where people expecting a production value show would be disappointed though. But then again I don't put on a suit to go shoot craps.
Brooks is not a country singer by any stretch of the imagination. It is an insult to true country singers to suggest that he is. Remember Chris Gaines?