Family Ties

I've had a fondness for country music from a very early age. How early? Since I was in the womb. Mam would often go up and sing these random country songs on a Saturday/Sunday evening at the local tavern (see how country we are sounding here?) and these were my first nights out - when you are in a full hall with a bag of taytos and lemonade at age 7 you take what nights out you can get. I don't know why,but I enjoyed these clichéd songs about partners leaving and your boss firing you. Melancholy stuff but these fellas (and women) could really sell the story. I did try to shake off the country bug but it wasn't happening. Where I come from,it's ingrained,in my case,embedded. I didn't have a hope.

Then later on,my brother,Lord have mercy on him came back to the house in the mid-90's with these cd's (yes,pre-digital age) of this Oklahoma lad with a Stetson. Garth Brooks. I was like "What are these?" He was like "Listen!" and put on the In Pieces album. The Red Strokes came on and you couldn't help tap your foot along to it. He had the No Fences album too which had the more popular ones like Friends In Low Places,Unanswered Prayers and the simply brilliant The Thunder Rolls. And these are great songs that stand up well,even now. I think those CDs are still at home somewhere. I must go and look for them. On my other brothers wedding video,the last song on it is The Dance and my brother is there all happy so every time I hear that,I have a small moment to myself. It's a great song regardless. I don't honestly know if he ever got to see him in 1997. If he did,he never told me.

Fast forward to my own little era and me coming back home tired and emotional and mam there still up with my sister and I just stare at them and then start to sing

"Johnny was born in a mansion, somewhere in the County of Clare
Rosie was reared by the roadside, somewhere in County Kildare
Destiny brought them together, on the road to Killorglin one day
In her bright pretty shawl she was singing,
And she stole his young heart away.."

Mam finished the song and my sister would look on in disbelief. Dad would throw in a non-committal "Go way to bed" and that's pretty much a thumbs up as I'm going to get.

Which brings us to today. Where Garth Brooks tickets went on sale and caused a mixture of pandemonium and borderline snobbery on ticket sites and social media. Honestly it was the hardest ticket I ever got. 1 hour and 40 mins of waiting had me look up and say "C'mon help me out here". You know who I was talking to.

Five minutes later,the ticketmaster app lit up and I had a ticket.

I saw snobbery on Twitter and Facebook in regards to people who committed the crime of saying they liked music or an artist that isn't "cool" or "hasn't brought out a song in donkey's years". I suppose those Monty Python tickets came out for the laugh earlier this year,then.

I'm very proud of the music that was drummed into me and with my family memories of Garth Brooks through the years,you could probably say that I have been waiting for this concert for a very,very long time.

I can't wait.