So, I did more than just show off Cleveland’s best restaurants this past weekend. I actually went to two out of the four Cleveland Garth Brooks concerts. It had been 19 years since Garth Brooks performed in Cleveland and, while he apologized for taking so long to get back here, I kind of feel like it was well worth the wait.

The ticketing for the show was all done on a “best available” model, as all tickets were the same price. On Friday night, we were in Section 222, which afforded us things like this awesome overhead view of Garth mounting the drummer’s cage during “Ain’t Going Down Til the Sun Comes Up.”

On Saturday night, we had floor seats. I don’t know how Garth and his band played two shows a night when I was exhausted just from standing for the nearly three-hour performance!

The energy and excitement from both Garth and the audience never wavered the whole evening (both evenings). We got to hear classic songs…the kind of songs that made me fall in love with country music. I must confess that I listen to a lot less country music these days because the songs just don’t speak to me in the same way. So, to hear things like “The River,” “The Dance,” “An American Girl” (Trisha Yearwood did a wonderful short set in the middle), and “Friends in Low Places” was truly a treat.

I got to bust out my real cowboy boots from Texas and draw upon my old honky tonkin’ ways…

Plus, I got to spend time with wonderful friends from both near and far. It’s nice to be reminded, especially in this age of email, Facebook, etc., that nothing really replaces face-to-face conversation and that, when it’s the right friends, picking up where you left off is effortless.

So, thanks to Garth Brooks for giving us an excuse to make a much-needed and totally amazing weekend happen. Hopefully the next one of these isn’t 19 years away!