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The much-heralded Garth Brooks TV special came and went in 60 minutes Friday night, but Garth himself played on for much of the next 36 hours.
Garth performed five sold-out concerts before Saturday ended at Los Angeles' Staples Center. A reporter for The Los Angeles Times attended all five shows, noting that each of them lasted two hours.
"This," he told viewers at home, "is your chance to be a neighbor." The TV screen periodically displayed a phone number where people could call in donations to help victims of last fall's California wildfires, 1-800-713-2065, and the production included news footage of the rubble left from the October disaster.
Garth was dressed entirely in black, fitting nine songs into the hour, opening with "The Thunder Rolls" and closing with "Friends in Low Places." At many points, the audience was nearly as loud as Garth as he ran through "The Beaches of Cheyenne," "More Than a Memory" and "We Shall Be Free." The latter song was particularly fitting, since it was inspired by the 1992 Rodney King riots in L.A. on a night Garth was in town.
Garth also brought on a couple of guests: His wife, Trisha Yearwood, joined him for "In Another's Eyes," and Huey Lewis provided duet vocals and harmonica on "Workin' For A Livin'." Both artists stuck around and did two songs each during the second show Friday night. Garth, who is officially retired from touring, has not announced any more concerts for 2008.