garth brooks in Chicago

colmufc

So just wanted to put this out there , garth is playing 3 matinee shows as part if his 10 run show in chi town , I know 14,000 compared to 80,000 is a bit different but I still think the matinee could have worked , honestly if I had a ticket for it I'd be pissed off, anyway I was meant to be there tonight making the girlfriend happy as she could be outside of the bedroom , but I think when she finds out about the matinee shows she will flip the lid altogether
on a side note I'd love to know if the irish people that have supported garth up to now will be pissed at this , I know the matinee idea was crazy but it could have worked if show 1 started at 1pm over by 3.30 stadium empty by 4.15 open doors again at 5.45 show at 7.30 over by 10 area cleared by 11 , it could have been done

SoCal MusicLover

colmufc wrote: »

So just wanted to put this out there , garth is playing 3 matinee shows as part if his 10 run show in chi town , I know 14,000 compared to 80,000 is a bit different but I still think the matinee could have worked , honestly if I had a ticket for it I'd be pissed off, anyway I was meant to be there tonight making the girlfriend happy as she could be outside of the bedroom , but I think when she finds out about the matinee shows she will flip the lid altogether
on a side note I'd love to know if the irish people that have supported garth up to now will be pissed at this , I know the matinee idea was crazy but it could have worked if show 1 started at 1pm over by 3.30 stadium empty by 4.15 open doors again at 5.45 show at 7.30 over by 10 area cleared by 11 , it could have been done

The 5 shows in 5 nights could have worked also. The matinee idea was a bad one for several reasons. What could possibly go wrong with moving in some 50K+ out while another 50K+ waited in the "precious" Croke Park neighborhood to come in.

What could possibly go wrong with putting 80K people out in 30 degree heat during the 2 days?

And the light show would be useless during the day, and the video screens usefulness would also be non-existent.

Quit trying to place blame on Mr. Brooks. I don't fault his decision, and I'm glad he did not try to cave to the stupid system the dublin venue has in place. ireland wants to turn away people like me from traveling to the country, that's fine. I will spend my money elsewhere, such as in Copenhagen, where I decided to visit for the 1st time after the shows were pulled.

Garth Brooks will sell out every country he plays around the world, and so if he's no longer needed in ireland, I'm sure he'll be fine.

colmufc

SoCal MusicLover wrote: »

The 5 shows in 5 nights could have worked also. The matinee idea was a bad one for several reasons. What could possibly go wrong with moving in some 50K+ out while another 50K+ waited in the "precious" Croke Park neighborhood to come in.

What could possibly go wrong with putting 80K people out in 30 degree heat during the 2 days?

And the light show would be useless during the day, and the video screens usefulness would also be non-existent.

Quit trying to place blame on Mr. Brooks. I don't fault his decision, and I'm glad he did not try to cave to the stupid system the dublin venue has in place. ireland wants to turn away people like me from traveling to the country, that's fine. I will spend my money elsewhere, such as in Copenhagen, where I decided to visit for the 1st time after the shows were pulled.

Garth Brooks will sell out every country he plays around the world, and so if he's no longer needed in ireland, I'm sure he'll be fine.

I agree about the logistics of moving the people but it could be done a ban on alcohol sales inside croke park would help , I honestly could not give a crap about a 200ft screen and any light show I just want to hear the songs , the one odd stage and light show was only so it would look good when the shows were released on dvd later this year , i'm not blaming brooks but his bluff was called on more than 1 occasion and he failed to meet the calls .
honestly I don't know if he will ever play here again but I think he will but it might be a few years down the line and it may be a residence in the o2

SoCal MusicLover

colmufc wrote: »

I agree about the logistics of moving the people but it could be done a ban on alcohol sales inside croke park would help , I honestly could not give a crap about a 200ft screen and any light show I just want to hear the songs , the one odd stage and light show was only so it would look good when the shows were released on dvd later this year , i'm not blaming brooks but his bluff was called on more than 1 occasion and he failed to meet the calls .
honestly I don't know if he will ever play here again but I think he will but it might be a few years down the line and it may be a residence in the o2

The stage at Croke would be about 4 times the one for the indoor Chicago show, which means a lot more running around for Mr. Brooks. In addition to the fact the heat during the day would take a lot out of him physically. It's just a fact. It would cause heat exhaustion for some fans forced to be there during the afternoon sun as well. Again, this is a fact.

You can't exactly ban the sale of alcohol, now can you. Think in realistic terms. I doubt very much the venue would be in support of that one. And what about all those waiting to attend the 6 PM show, all hanging out around Croke Park that afternoon. You think the feeble minded residents would be happy about that?

He will play ireland, because he does not want to let his true fans there down. But it won't be for another year at least, and probably will be in places other than dublin, especially after this fiasco. Places like Limerick, Cork, Killkenny, that would be glad to have him for as many shows as he wants to play.

Mr. Brooks was rewarding the irish fans with his first major shows in 15 years, and that is now gone. Chicago, U.S. will get that honor, and unfortunately those in Europe who had hoped to see him this year, will now have to wait at least until next July when he'll probably do stadiums in Europe. I'm sure ireland will be in there somewhere, although you never know. With all the vitriole directed towards him, I would not blame him if he waited another year longer than that to return.

tipptom

SoCal MusicLover wrote: »

The 5 shows in 5 nights could have worked also. The matinee idea was a bad one for several reasons. What could possibly go wrong with moving in some 50K+ out while another 50K+ waited in the "precious" Croke Park neighborhood to come in.

What could possibly go wrong with putting 80K people out in 30 degree heat during the 2 days?

And the light show would be useless during the day, and the video screens usefulness would also be non-existent.

Quit trying to place blame on Mr. Brooks. I don't fault his decision, and I'm glad he did not try to cave to the stupid system the dublin venue has in place. ireland wants to turn away people like me from traveling to the country, that's fine. I will spend my money elsewhere, such as in Copenhagen, where I decided to visit for the 1st time after the shows were pulled.

Garth Brooks will sell out every country he plays around the world, and so if he's no longer needed in ireland, I'm sure he'll be fine.

And Ireland will be fine without someone who thought he could blackmail a country and its planning laws just because he had already counted his profit from a proposed five shows.
He had 2 shows,then three,but decided this wasn't enough for Mr Greedy and anybody who believes his laughable claims that he was thinking of the fans when he cancelled the three because he was thinking of his fans is laughable.

colmufc

SoCal MusicLover wrote: »

The stage at Croke would be about 4 times the one for the indoor Chicago show, which means a lot more running around for Mr. Brooks. In addition to the fact the heat during the day would take a lot out of him physically. It's just a fact. It would cause heat exhaustion for some fans forced to be there during the afternoon sun as well. Again, this is a fact.

You can't exactly ban the sale of alcohol, now can you. Think in realistic terms. I doubt very much the venue would be in support of that one. And what about all those waiting to attend the 6 PM show, all hanging out around Croke Park that afternoon. You think the feeble minded residents would be happy about that?

He will play ireland, because he does not want to let his true fans there down. But it won't be for another year at least, and probably will be in places other than dublin, especially after this fiasco. Places like Limerick, Cork, Killkenny, that would be glad to have him for as many shows as he wants to play.

Mr. Brooks was rewarding the irish fans with his first major shows in 15 years, and that is now gone. Chicago, U.S. will get that honor, and unfortunately those in Europe who had hoped to see him this year, will now have to wait at least until next July when he'll probably do stadiums in Europe. I'm sure ireland will be in there somewhere, although you never know. With all the vitriole directed towards him, I would not blame him if he waited another year longer than that to return.

in theory I agree with what your saying ,
ya he would have a larger stage to run around ya it would be exhausting , but I'd do as much running as anyone asked if I was being paid €12m+ , what I'm really getting at is do people really care about the light show and the 200ft screen , I don't thi k many would care as long as the shows went ahead , matinee or 5 nights (which is hoe it should be) they should have gone ahead and at the end of the day owen keegan is the biggest fool of the lot

Mrs Garth Brooks

I would have pityed the people flying in for the Monday and Tuesday concerts. How would they get in for Saturday or Sunday matinee shows? Where would they stay in an already fully booked out city?

People travelling from other parts of country using buses. You have one crowd of 80000 people leaving, using buses etc etc and another coming in at the same time....This on top of other every day normal traffic.

Seriously, can people not see how mad the matinee shows were for Dublin, not that I care anything for Dublin...just the fans missing out.

And as for Garth Brooks doing two shows in Chicago and why cant he have done it here crap. Guess we'll never know what he had in store for us....but it was going to be one mighty show.

I read something that the stage here in croke park had a celtic design, and he was going to have some Irish dancing crowd and all. The Americans love that kind of stuff. He was going to sell us...Im not sure how much truth was in it...But thats ok, let those dancers dance away all day long for our entertainment.

If we're going to make remarks about Chicago doing two shows and not Dublin. Why cant we have 10 concerts here as well.

colmufc

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

I would have pityed the people flying in for the Monday and Tuesday concerts. How would they get in for Saturday or Sunday matinee shows? Where would they stay in an already fully booked out city?

People travelling from other parts of country using buses. You have one crowd of 80000 people leaving, using buses etc etc and another coming in at the same time....This on top of other every day normal traffic.

Seriously, can people not see how mad the matinee shows were for Dublin, not that I care anything for Dublin...just the fans missing out.

And as for Garth Brooks doing two shows in Chicago and why cant he have done it here crap. Guess we'll never know what he had in store for us....but it was going to be one mighty show.

I read something that the stage was a celtic design, and he was going to have some Irish dancing crowd and all. The Americans love that kind of stuff. He was going to sell us...Im not sure how much truth was in it...But thats ok, let those dancers dance away all day long for our entertainment.

If we're going to make remarks about Chicago doing two shows and not Dublin. Why cant we have 10 concerts here as well.

I think your missing my point , ya I understand about all the arrangements about people travelling and personally I thi k it should have been 5 nights but I'm just trying to see if people really wanted a 200ft screen and irish dancing or did they just want to hear the man sing , i'm guessing people wanted the songs not the stage , I know it would have made f all difference to the license but it may have made it cost effective to play the 3 and 2 more in October , the police played there in October 07 and it was a great night the time of year has very little bearing as it can rain anytime of the year in ireland , I just can't help but wonder if he had not put a lot of his own money I to the stage would the gigs have gone ahead

Mrs Garth Brooks

colmufc wrote: »

I think your missing my point , ya I understand about all the arrangements about people travelling and personally I thi k it should have been 5 nights but I'm just trying to see if people really wanted a 200ft screen and irish dancing or did they just want to hear the man sing , i'm guessing people wanted the songs not the stage , I know it would have made f all difference to the license but it may have made it cost effective to play the 3 and 2 more in October , the police played there in October 07 and it was a great night the time of year has very little bearing as it can rain anytime of the year in ireland , I just can't help but wonder if he had not put a lot of his own money I to the stage would the gigs have gone ahead

He could have stood on a beer crate with his guitar and i'd be happy. I love him so much.

But Garth Brooks had all this planned for months. How do you expect him to scale it down to suit a daytime show just two weeks before concerts were to take place.

As for the three now and two in October or two any other time. He's touring the States and not mention it will a completly different performance coming backing the second time. It wouldn't have been part of his comeback special.

colmufc

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

He could have stood on a beer crate with his guitar and i'd be happy. I love him so much.

But Garth Brooks had all this planned for months. How do you expect him to scale it down to suit a daytime show just two weeks before concerts were to take place.

As for the three now and two in October or two any other time. He's touring the States and not mention it will a completly different performance coming backing the second time. It wouldn't have been part of his comeback special.

again as you even said I don't think people would care as long as they saw him , I think the scale was a joke to begin with ,the only reason was to sell a dvd box set of all 5 shows that would have made back the money for his stage and then some , if I had a ticket for Monday or Tuesday I would bot care of it was pushed back as long as it went ahead is all that matters as for his tour it seems it's not going to be released by date but rather city by city so he can sell as many dates as possible , plus his 200ft screen will fit American football stadiums o I'm sure it will be used next summer , just out of interest do you thi k he could sell a Wembley show next summer if he had done 5 in Dublin , to the best of my knowledge he is not very popular in the UK

In Lonesome Dove

colmufc wrote: »

So just wanted to put this out there , garth is playing 3 matinee shows as part if his 10 run show in chi town , I know 14,000 compared to 80,000 is a bit different but I still think the matinee could have worked , honestly if I had a ticket for it I'd be pissed off, anyway I was meant to be there tonight making the girlfriend happy as she could be outside of the bedroom , but I think when she finds out about the matinee shows she will flip the lid altogether
on a side note I'd love to know if the irish people that have supported garth up to now will be pissed at this , I know the matinee idea was crazy but it could have worked if show 1 started at 1pm over by 3.30 stadium empty by 4.15 open doors again at 5.45 show at 7.30 over by 10 area cleared by 11 , it could have been done

When I heard this yesterday evening about matinee shows in Chicago, I was very pissed off but sitting down after work at home with a cup of tea, a red bull and a pack of cigarettes, I mulled over this and on further reflection not so much. The situations in Dublin and Chicago are different.

When the sh1t hit the fan a few weeks ago and there was talk about matinee shows and apparently Brooks suggested this first, I took it that he meant matinee shows on monday and tuesday instead of evening time and not matinee shows squashed into the weekend. That was my interpretion of it though.

The stadium in the states has a roof slapped on top of it, so it is indoors and away from strong heat. In croker, it is open. GB himself would be able for such at croker but at the end of the day he has a band to look after.

In relation to the matinee shows suggestion at croker and from a fan point, it wasn't on to be quiet honest. People had plans and arrangements made for the monday and tuesday and telling them 3 weeks before the gigs the day and time has been moved is not on. I was due to attend today. If three weeks ago the promoter came out and said that the saturday gig was due to be moved to thursday and during the day, they would be uproar. People have jobs and for many people that kind of a change wouldn't be allowed.

colmufc

The Chicago show are in an arena 16,000 capacity , I really can't understand how the o2 was not made big enough for a possible 16,000 at least ,
but that's for a different thread I suppose

SoCal MusicLover

colmufc wrote: »

The Chicago show are in an arena 16,000 capacity , I really can't understand how the o2 was not made big enough for a possible 16,000 at least ,
but that's for a different thread I suppose

This was not about playing an indoor venue. This was about playing CROKE PARK STADIUM. The place he had performed to a couple hundred thousand fans 17 years ago. It was to be massive, not the same scale at all.

He wasn't flying over to spend 3 weeks doing shows in Ireland. It would have taken about 25 shows in an indoor venue to meet the demand. So make that 4 or 5 weeks to accomplish the same thing as over 5 nights.

And yeah, he had probably planned a DVD of the shows. Not some 5 dvd box set, it probably would have been some combo spread over the shows, a couple of songs from night 1, another pair from night 2, and so on. And why should it matter that he had that planned. There are obviously plenty of people, both who were at the show, and MANY who were not, that gladly were willing to purchase the DVD. There are plenty on the Garth message board here in the U.S. that were looking forward to the eventual dvd. That does not make him some greedy performer, as you bitterly call him. It makes him a smart business man, that gives people what they want. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy the DVD. And I'm sure the price would have been reasonable.

Of course, those who hate, will ALWAYS hate. The fans who understand will stay supportive. Garth had a no win situation, where he never should have been placed in one. He made a decision and stuck to it. The same bitter folks saying he was blackmailing would be calling him a wimp had he given into the 3 shows demand. And I'd wager that 90%+ of those couldn't care less about Mr. Brooks in the first place.

colmufc

SoCal MusicLover wrote: »

This was not about playing an indoor venue. This was about playing CROKE PARK STADIUM. The place he had performed to a couple hundred thousand fans 17 years ago. It was to be massive, not the same scale at all.

He wasn't flying over to spend 3 weeks doing shows in Ireland. It would have taken about 25 shows in an indoor venue to meet the demand. So make that 4 or 5 weeks to accomplish the same thing as over 5 nights.

And yeah, he had probably planned a DVD of the shows. Not some 5 dvd box set, it probably would have been some combo spread over the shows, a couple of songs from night 1, another pair from night 2, and so on. And why should it matter that he had that planned. There are obviously plenty of people, both who were at the show, and MANY who were not, that gladly were willing to purchase the DVD. There are plenty on the Garth message board here in the U.S. that were looking forward to the eventual dvd. That does not make him some greedy performer, as you bitterly call him. It makes him a smart business man, that gives people what they want. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy the DVD. And I'm sure the price would have been reasonable.

Of course, those who hate, will ALWAYS hate. The fans who understand will stay supportive. Garth had a no win situation, where he never should have been placed in one. He made a decision and stuck to it. The same bitter folks saying he was blackmailing would be calling him a wimp had he given into the 3 shows demand. And I'd wager that 90%+ of those couldn't care less about Mr. Brooks in the first place.

excuse me ,when did I ever say I hate him ? I don't I had tickets for last night's show ,
also there was a box set of the shows to be released along with each individual show ,
there is blame to be spread around on why these shows did not go ahead , i'm not too keen on your personal insult but Il let it slide as you obviously did not read the thread

Mrs Garth Brooks

colmufc wrote: »

excuse me ,when did I ever say I hate him ? I don't I had tickets for last night's show ,
also there was a box set of the shows to be released along with each individual show ,
there is blame to be spread around on why these shows did not go ahead , i'm not too keen on your personal insult but Il let it slide as you obviously did not read the thread

There wasn't any boxset of dvd's being released of each night. Only only one dvd being released later in the year.

Think you're getting confused with it being broadcasted live to the states.

tipptom

SoCal MusicLover wrote: »

This was not about playing an indoor venue. This was about playing CROKE PARK STADIUM. The place he had performed to a couple hundred thousand fans 17 years ago. It was to be massive, not the same scale at all.

He wasn't flying over to spend 3 weeks doing shows in Ireland. It would have taken about 25 shows in an indoor venue to meet the demand. So make that 4 or 5 weeks to accomplish the same thing as over 5 nights.

And yeah, he had probably planned a DVD of the shows. Not some 5 dvd box set, it probably would have been some combo spread over the shows, a couple of songs from night 1, another pair from night 2, and so on. And why should it matter that he had that planned. There are obviously plenty of people, both who were at the show, and MANY who were not, that gladly were willing to purchase the DVD. There are plenty on the Garth message board here in the U.S. that were looking forward to the eventual dvd. That does not make him some greedy performer, as you bitterly call him. It makes him a smart business man, that gives people what they want. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy the DVD. And I'm sure the price would have been reasonable.

Of course, those who hate, will ALWAYS hate. The fans who understand will stay supportive. Garth had a no win situation, where he never should have been placed in one. He made a decision and stuck to it. The same bitter folks saying he was blackmailing would be calling him a wimp had he given into the 3 shows demand. And I'd wager that 90%+ of those couldn't care less about Mr. Brooks in the first place.

Would love to know where the "no win"cames in to it for Garth.He had made a decision to do 3 concerts and he should have stuck to it.


I dont see what I have to be bitter about and I certainly would not have called him a wimp for doing 3 shows that he was contracted to do but I would call him a nauseating manipulator in his excuse for letting down 240,000 of his fans that he was suppose to entertain.


But you are correct to say I couldn't care less about Mr Brooks and if he ever sets foot in Ireland again.
Let him go and try and subvert the laws of some other country to suit his own greed.


Wonder would we have had the same outrage if this was a Mettalica gig.

SoCal MusicLover

Everyone has a right to be a fan of whomever they want. I agree completely with his decision.

I could not get anything for the first 3 nights, even though I was up until 4 AM trying from California. I saw the reports of how so many people could not get tickets after lining up for days in ireland, and stories about how almost every single person in Limerick was denied a ticket due to outlet screw ups.

It was not much easier securing a ticket for Monday and another for Tuesday when I tried the following week. I got a single at the very end of the Monday onsale, and then suddenly Tuesday was onsale, and I did get a ticket for that also. In May, they released tickets for Saturday & Sunday, and I bought one for Saturday's show, but it was not that great a location, I just wanted to try and see 3 shows, especially after traveling all the way from California.

All that said, I agree completely with Mr. Brook's decision. Had I not seen the Saturday release of more tickets, I would have only had for the 2 shows proposed to be canceled. What if I had planned my trip around those shows? What if I had been from ireland, and on a budget, and was only coming for the Monday show? If those shows had been canceled, there is a 100% certainty that any seats still available for the 3 other shows would disappear in seconds, and the prices for the resale of tickets would triple to meet the demand of the Monday & Tuesday ticket holders suddenly left with nothing.

If he did not before, Garth now realizes that sometimes you have to do what you feel is right, even if it ticks off some people that don't approve. It happened in the U.S. to the Dixie Chicks & Bruce Springsteen because of voicing their political opinions, and they don't regret it. They could not compromise what they felt was right. And Mr. Brooks is right, the system is what is screwed up, and if it's a system that's supported over there, then that's fine. Garth was not willing to go along with that system, so he pulled out. The benefits to the irish economy would have been significant. Not economy altering, but still quite significant. As would the goodwill generated.

The opposite happened, and there are now people like myself, who once would have eagerly returned to ireland after experiencing this entertainment highlight, but now feel the exact opposite. And even though like with Bruce Springsteen here in the states, Garth Brooks will find plenty of support worldwide on his tour, so that even with less people attending his eventual numerous ireland shows, it will be more a blip than anything else.

I don't know Garth Brooks personally, although I have met and conversed with him on a couple of occasions, true fact. He seems like a decent human being, and a gentleman, so I would find it incredibly difficult to believe that this hasn't hurt him emotionally. You don't retire for 15 years, then offer your first live concerts to kick off a 3 year world tour, to a particular venue, only to have it diminished, which is what was done here.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

Well obviously there is something wrong with a system that finds a council official phoning a promoter just three weeks before concerts are set to take place, to inform them that that the city has decided to only license two of them. Particularly when they were due to be attended by 160,000 people, many of whom had booked hotels, flights etc. Surely consideration should have been paid to what sort of chaos was about to ensure, and perhaps they should be allowed to go ahead and fix what resulted in them arriving at such a juxtaposition, given that fact that the production of these shows was well underway, with regards to logistics and that entails, such as equipment shipments, staff accommodation arrangements etc.

An independent review seems to be on the cards now and it should reveal just who it was that was telling the truth at the Oireachtas hearings: Keegan and Keogan or Pauric Duffy (Croke Park director general) Peter McKenna (stadium director) and Peter Aiken. Would be very interested to hear the recorded minutes from the statutory meetings, which DCC's John Downey attended (the only member of DCC to attend all meetings). Whatever happens though, hopefully, a two tier event licensing system will be brought into place, in which the first part will be needed by promoters before they can start selling tickets. Perhaps issued only after applicants partake in mandatory pre license application consultations.

With regard to Brooks' ultimatum that he would only do five concerts or none. I genuinely feel that he would have done the three if he was not treated so poorly. Without getting into who's story is closer to the truth, regarding what was communicated throughout the statutory process and what wasn't, just the mere fact that three weeks before your long awaited comeback (to which tickets had been sold to for over five months) you get an 11th hour phone call telling you that only three of those five concerts will now to take place, due to planning restrictions, and then when you show disappointment, are then told that well maybe you can have four, but only if you guarantee to do them.. well, it's all a little slap stick now isn't it and would have no doubt come across as amateur at best, and downright unprofessional at worst and so I feel it was that aspect of things more than anything else which resulted him saying it was all five or nothing. The fact that Keegan stated at the hearings that tokenism played a part in him feeling four was okay, but five was not, surely tells us the kind of tone that would have been more than evident to Brook's management down the phone on July 2nd:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyQu3sXX_cI

At the end of the day, the fans have been robbed of something quite historic. It would have been amazing and even as someone who is not a fan of his, I feel that much was patently obvious. It was an honour for him to choose Croke Park and Ireland for these concerts and I think his fans will of course know and appreciate that, but of course, that is all scant consolation, as even if he does return, the concerts will inevitably be hollowed and tarnished by all that has occurred, which of course is a shame. I really hope any of you that do go to the Chicago shows, or indeed to any other shows throughout the tour, take his advice and fly an Irish flag as high as you can to show him his Irish fans still want him to play here again at some point, so they can attempt, perhaps in vain, to try and reproduce something close to the electric atmosphere that there undoubtedly was back in '97:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGY379S5duw