From Eagle archives: Garth Brooks performs 5 sold-out shows at Coliseum in 1997
Editor’s note: This was published in The Eagle Nov. 13, 1997.
It sounded like a country music concert and looked like a rock ’n’ roll show, but when Garth Brooks sprang forth from the Kansas Coliseum stage Wednesday night for the first of five sold-out performances, it had the unmistakable feel of a Big Event.
“We’re just soaking up some of the atmosphere,” said Robert Mayberry of Valley Center, explaining why he and his wife, Jeannine, were waiting in the chilly weather outside the Coliseum a full three hours before show time. “As soon as they said he was going to be here, everyone seemed to be pretty hyped up about it.”
They were even hyped up about it in the Coliseum’s administrative office, which was crammed before show time with desperate ticket-seekers telling extravagant stories, vendors, security guards, reporters from radio stations that don’t even play country music, and three members of the Sedgwick County Commission who were waiting to present Brooks with a medallion bearing the county seal.
“We just want to welcome him to Sedgwick County, because we’re glad he’s here,” said Fred Ervin, public relations director for the county. He wasn’t sure what the medallion was made of, but he did say, “It’s very heavy.”
One of the harried office workers admitted that the bigger the event, the bigger the hassle, and offhand she couldn't remember any bigger hassles than a Garth Brooks show. Still, she seemed to be enjoying herself. “We’re into it. It’s show biz,” she said.
Outside in the long, long line, even the cold wind couldn’t diminish the red-hot enthusiasm for a singer who has sold more records than anyone in country music and more than all but a few superstars in other genres. Most of the audience had already spent hours waiting in line just to enter a lottery for a chance to get tickets, so a few more hours apparently wasn't a bother.
“We weren’t sure how crowded it would be, so I wasn’t going to take any chances. I love Garth,” said Shannon Zdrojewski, a North High student. “The last time he was here, I wanted to go so bad, but I waited in line forever and didn't get any tickets.”
Zdrojewski’s friend Nicole Cooley added that they were especially glad to have snagged tickets to the opening concert of the five-night because, “You never know, he might lose his voice.”
Some fans said they were drawn to the show by Brooks’ laid-back down-home brand of country music; others said they preferred the energetic uptown rock ’n’ roll theatrics. For Robin Hargis, it was a combination of both.
“He does such a variety of music. Ballads, fast songs that’ll make you get right off your feet. You can triple, you can two-step, you can line dance to it,” Hargis said. “And he’s an entertainer. He doesn’t just stand there like - now don’t get me wrong, I love George Strait, but Garth really moves around up there.”
Other fans mentioned Brooks’ apparently irresistible aw-shucks personality, which has been known to win over the most jaded cynics.
Marine Sgt. Leonard Weber, coordinator of the Marine Corps’ local Toys for Tots drive, said that Brooks always helps out with the effort at every concert stop because “his dad’s a Marine and he told him to.” Although he’s not a country music fan, Weber said that “after hearing him talk, I’m a fan of the man. Besides, his dad’s a Marine so he’s got to be OK.”
Whichever quality the fans found attractive about Brooks, they got plenty of it during his hour-and-a-half set. The show began with a swirling bank of lights and throbbing science-fiction sound effects as an announcer’s deep voice blared a rocket launch-style countdown, and finally Brooks rose up from the stage atop a white grand piano singing the hit, “Back When the Old Stuff Was New.”
As Brooks began his customary laps around the stage, the crowd roared its approval.
This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 9:50 AM with the headline "From Eagle archives: Garth Brooks performs 5 sold-out shows at Coliseum in 1997."