Garth Brooks review: Fifth night delights fans as star hints at return visit
Garth Brooks performing at Croke Park. Picture: Mark Stedman
Garth Brooks has finally played five nights in Croke Park, but there’s one artist with an Irish tour he hopes to emulate: Ed Sheeran.
Sheeran played ten nights in Ireland earlier this year, taking in Croke Park, Thomond Park in Limerick, Boucher Road Playing Fields in Belfast and Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
“I’m not sure about [Croke] Park. Ed Sheeran, I love to death. I looked at his [tour posters] and he’s got two nights somewhere, two nights somewhere, and a few nights in Croke Park but it was a full tour.”
Garth is well aware his fan base is mainly outside Dublin, as the mish-mash of accents from north, south and everywhere in between outside the stadium can attest, and he says next time (and he promises there will be a next time) he will bring his music to the masses.
“After this week of travelling, I don’t mind coming to you,” he tells a pre-show press conference.
He added he simply wants to perform in Ireland, no matter the venue. “I just love this place. I want to play here, it’s all I want to do.”
Travelling is something he’s done a lot of in recent days. His wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, estimates the couple were driven through 11 counties on their days off, which were spent exploring and appreciating Ireland.
They each have different highlights from their roadtrip. Between gigs, they were spotted taking in the sights at Glendalough, shooting hoops in University Limerick, and leading a sing-song in Dick Macks in Dingle.
For Trisha, learning about the history and ecology of Wicklow was a beautiful experience and she enjoyed a "warm and cosy" lunch at The Wicklow Heather. She said she loved "beautiful" Limerick too, while Garth said it was "fabulous to get to Limerick" and he also enjoyed his time in "gorgeous" Dingle, Co Kerry. "It's been wonderful," Trisha added.
However, they agree on one thing: the Irish people are what made their time in the country so special and Garth says their next visit to Ireland will be as tourists, not performers. “The next time we’re back here we won’t be here to play music. We’ll be back for what we did this last week. I enjoyed it.”
One question at the press conference introduced Garth to the term ‘culchie’, when he was asked if he feels more at home in the city or the country. Garth wasn’t sure at the time but it clearly weighed on his mind. He referenced it during his gig, stating: “I was asked if I identify as a ‘culchie’. I’m not from here, but you make me feel like I so belong here.”
Garth was welcomed back to Ireland like a returning hero earlier this month and he says his five-night residency in Dublin was worth the woes of 2014. Unsurprisingly, Garth’s final night in Dublin was a spectacle to delight his adoring fans, a sea of clapping cowboys.
With his documentary-makers happy with the material they gathered from Croker so far, Garth used his final night to branch off his typical setlist.
Fans were treated to his usual classics, including Friends in Low Places, The Dance and The Thunder Rolls as well as a touching duet of Shallow with his wife, Trisha, and a masterful cover of Queen in tribute to Freddie Mercury, taking in Radio Gaga, We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You.
It was a final night to remember, particularly for the man himself. During extended applause at one moment he could be heard yelling “I love this place!”
At the earlier press conference, he told the media last Sunday’s gig had been the best so far, but his second Saturday may have pipped it at the post. “I’m starting to wonder if maybe you’ve saved the best one til last?”
Through tears he declared to his audience, “I was hoping for a really good night to cap it off. I gotta tell you what I got was the best fricking night I’ll ever have. Thank you for loving me, for loving all of us. I love you!”
