The best concert I've ever been to....

There are very few artists that I would buy tickets to see the day I return from a seven-day cruise. But when I found out that Garth Brooks would be in Charleston the day I returned to Charleston, I figured this was meant to be.

I feel like one of the best things about adulthood is being able to go to whatever concerts I want. And I certainly have! But there are a handful of artists that are on my concert bucket list that I haven't been able to see just because they haven't been on tour. Seeing Garth Brooks is something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl. So I was overjoyed when Garth announced a tour in 2014. And I waited. And waited. And waited. His show in Greensboro last year sold out in seconds and I'd almost given up. Every other week or so, I'd get an e-mail from him announcing a new tour date and he seemed to be getting further and further away. So, Charleston seemed like a special performance for me.

But I wasn't the only one that wanted to see Garth. He scheduled six shows in three days for Charleston. Thankfully, because I am old and easily tired, Brad and I had tickets to the 7 p.m. early show at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center.

We had great seats and the venue was very small with a capacity for 13,000. This gave the concert a more intimate feel. Before the show started, there was a giant "G" on the stage that rotated. A 60-second countdown came up before the show started and revealed a giant sphere where the drummer sat. Garth started with "Man Against the Machine" and I was a little concerned. I am not here for your new stuff, Garth!

Luckily, after his opening number, Garth seemed to read my mind. "When I go to a show, I want to hear the old stuff!"he yelled. And that's exactly what he did. For the next nearly three hours, I got to hear very one of my favorite Garth songs.

The songs varied in tempo and message, but the audience was enthusiastic about every bit of it. Brad and I both agreed that we'd never been to a louder concert. There were some amazing graphics that produced a rain storm during "The Thunder Rolls." After that song, Trisha Yearwood came out to sing a duet of "In Another's Eyes." Brooks took a well-deserved break while Yearwood sang, songs like, "How Do I Live" and "She's in Love with The Boy." She also had a stadium-style kiss cam and warned audience members to go grab a beer if they were at the concert with someone other than their significant others. I found this particularly amusing as Garth and Trisha didn't exactly have the most clean get together.

For his third act, Garth told us that his favorite song to perform is "Calling Baton Rouge." I've read an interview with him before where he says he always wanted a song that people recognize on the first chord. He definitely accomplished that with "Friends in Low Places"

I can't say enough about how energetic Garth is. I have a DVD of his one-man show in Vegas. It was very low-key. I was kind of expecting the same thing. But he defied my expectations by running around the stage, climbing things and keeping the audience energized. It was definitely the best concert I've ever been to. Even though I was exhausted and was still having the "rocking on a boat" feeling, I am so glad we got to go.