The Benores in DC!

If a picture says a thousand words, then this one says it all. Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement. If you don’t know (then you’ve been under a rock), Garth is the #1 selling solo artist of all time in all genres. In fact, when you include all bands … he is second only to The Beatles. On October 26, 2000 he announced he would go into retirement until his children were out of school. He wanted to be available for car duty, all events, and everything else they have going on as a family. When Steve Wynn courted Garth to come out of retirement Garth responded, “You can’t afford me.” To that Garth has since declared “I was wrong.” Wynn bought Garth a jet, negotiated a weekend only schedule (Friday-Sunday), and gives Garth the flexibility to get out the 5 year deal whenever he wants. Garth will be able to announce his shows is stages so that it never conflicts with his kids’ schedules. So Garth gets to do what he loves without sacrificing the lives of who he loves.

So, why am I writing about this? Garth is why I listen to country music. His rock influences, storytelling/thought provoking songs, and pure entertainer abilities has turned Country music into a completely different art form. He announced the first 5 weekends which went on sale yesterday. As you can see in the picture, he sold out of the 20 shows quickly. His last weekend of shows in this batch is the last weekend in February. So Sunday, February 28, 2010 Shantell and I will see Garth Brooks in concert. This is the very last show announced. Tickets went on sale 10:00am central time, but we did not have the opportunity to purchase them until 12:35pm. They wait time was horrendous but we got our pick of weekends. And since that is the weekend before my birthday, we thought is would we a great venue to celebrate! We are hoping to fly in late on a Thursday or early on a Friday and then return Monday evening. That will give us 3 1/2 days in Las Vegas. Although Shantell has been as far west as California, I currently live as far west as I have ever been. So going to Las Vegas has always been a dream. With all of the shows, hotels, restaurants, etc. it’s going to be a lot of fun.

There are still a ton of cities on our first time “to visit” list. Domestic cities: Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. International cities/countries: Paris (and/or southern France), London, Dublin, Jerusalem, Madrid, Tokyo, and don’t forget Australia! We also want to re-visit Miami/West Palm Beach, go to a game in Tallahassee (okay maybe more me than Shantell), New York City, Nashville, and Washington D.C. This list is not all inclusive, but it’s a start. But for now, we will soon get to cross Las Vegas off the “to visit” list … and see one of the best entertainers in any genre of music!