Garth Brooks performs at Joe's in Chicago, Monday, July 15, 2019, on the first stop of his Dive Bar ... [+]
In an era where it’s become increasingly difficult to put eyes and ears on new sounds, even veteran artists have been forced to find unique ways in which to expose their music.
Pushing his latest single “Dive Bar,” a collaboration with Blake Shelton, country superstar Garth Brooks has partnered with Seagram's 7 Crown to launch the "Dive Bar" tour, giving fans the rare opportunity to see a stadium-sized performance within the confines of an intimate venue.
Teaming up with local radio in each market to distribute the free tickets, Brooks ensures heavy airplay of the new single, minimizes scalping and guarantees a packed house chock full of super fans each night.
While the remaining six "Dive Bar" dates have yet to be announced, the tour kicked off Monday night in Chicago in front of just 400 fans at Joe’s Bar.
“We came here to just play some music. It’s all I really know,” said Brooks on stage. “As you’ll see, there’s no setlist. You’re gonna pick the setlist.”
Monday night’s performance began with a taping, sans Shelton, of “Dive Bar” for airing a few hours later on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I’m a little nervous because I think this is the first time we’ve played this song,” Brooks joked of the new single, which he’s set to perform live for the first time with Shelton when his stadium tour resumes this Friday in Boise, Idaho.
Opening night of the "Dive Bar" tour continued for about one hour and forty minutes as Brooks called on fans with signs, took requests, told the stories behind some of his biggest hits and curated his very own intro to country music class.
“Now that that’s out of the way…” said Brooks, wrapping up the taping for Kimmel, “Welcome to the official start of the "Dive Bar" tour right here in Chicago!"
Brooks, who’s sold more than 170-million albums, is one of the best selling artists ever. Following the recording for Jimmy Kimmel Live, he wasted no time getting to the hits Monday, starting with one of his biggest in “Friends in Low Places.”
Garth Brooks performs at Joe's in Chicago, Monday, July 15, 2019, on the first stop of his Dive Bar ... [+]
Brooks’ longtime 6-piece backing band is terrific, featuring additional guitar, pedal steel guitar, violin, keyboards, drums and bass from players who’ve been at his side for decades.
“I think our job tonight is to make a night that none of us forget,” said Brooks of his relationship with Monday's crowd. “We’re doing something we never get a chance to do at stadium shows,” he continued, singling out a fan in front who requested “The Red Strokes.” “Forgive me… It’s gonna suck,” he laughed, explaining how infrequently the band gets to play a song like that in front of a massive stadium crowd.
Fans filming with phones packed a stairway to the left of the stage, decorative lights strung from the ceiling added to the ambiance of the intimate performance and empty buckets of beer littered the floor as a crane cam soared overhead to capture the evening’s performance.
Brooks pointed to his right at keyboard player Dave Gant as guitarist Gordon Kennedy did the heavy lifting on “Two Piña Coladas.” “Chicago sure is my home” adlibbed Brooks, arms spread over his head before stealing the phone of a fan in front, playfully taking either video or a selfie during the performance.
If the question going into Monday’s once unthinkable small venue performance was whether Brooks could be as engaging in front of 400 as he is in front of 40,000, he answered it affirmatively in Chicago, singling out “Baton Rouge” as his favorite song to perform live. Brooks climbed to the drum riser to close the song as rapturous applause drowned out his comments following it.
Garth Brooks performs on opening night of the "Dive Bar" tour. Monday, July 15, 2019 at Joe's Bar in ... [+]
Clad in a Bob Seger t-shirt, the singer went on to single out some of his biggest influences, sending the band off for a break as he explained how artists like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis influenced not just him but the direction of country music.
Brooks put his solo spin on Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” “The Race is On” by Jones and the George Strait hit “Amarillo by Morning” amongst others.
“I grew up on a band called Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,” said Brooks, tuning his acoustic guitar.
There were no roadies doing that for him Monday in Chicago. In fact, this was a set so intimate, it was audible across the room as Brooks turned to his drummer off mic, counting in the outro as another audience sing-a-long closed a cover of “Fishin’ in the Dark.”
Without question, the evening’s most rocking moment was a rollicking take on “Ain’t Going Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up).” The violin of Jimmy Mattingly drove the well-oiled performance, Brooks ducking down behind him during the fiddle-fueled hootenanny.
“Everybody talks about stadium gigs and how cool they are,” said the songwriter. “But I’ll take the honky tonks any night,” he continued, heading for home with “The Thunder Rolls.”
“I can’t tell you how cool this has been,” said Brooks, invigorated on opening night of a tour artists of his stature rarely get the opportunity to tackle. “We kind of shot our bullets,” joked the singer figuring things out as he navigated night one without the trappings and distractions of a stadium show, a setlist or a net.
