Crowd estimates for the show, a free concert broadcast live on HBO, are a tad--how should we say?--elastic.
In one corner, you have Brooks, Mr. Country Superstar himself, announcing from the stage that 900,000 people were in the (open-air) house. Maybe the lights got in his eyes, or that 10-gallon hat of his obstructed the view, because in another corner, you have New York police setting the crowd size at 250,000. (Paul Simon holds the Central Park record, with 600,000 at his 1991 summer outing.)
But wait: More corners. Concert promoters projected 750,000. And don't forget the New York City parks department employee. That civil servant crunched the numbers in his head and came up with--get this--1.1 million. (The government always likes to round up, you know.)
Whatever the actual numbers (police counts are usually considered the "official" word), there's no denying Garth Brooks in Central Park was a big deal.
The city of subway-riding urbanites embraced the Oklahoma country boy, perhaps because he spoke their language: "We came here to raise some hell and have some fun!" he declared.
The 35-year-old singer--the top-selling solo artist of all-time--held court for two hours, even playing for about 15 minutes after HBO, which co-sponsored the event, turned off its cameras. Brooks drew from a wealth of hit material--"Friends in Low Places," "Thunder Rolls," etc.--leaving his set absent of new stuff from his upcoming, but now delayed, album, Sevens.
As expected, Piano Man Billy Joel "surprised" Brooks onstage. He joined him for duets on Brooks' "Ain't Going down till the Sun Comes up," and Joel's own, "New York State of Mind." The pop star returned to close the show with Brooks' on Joel's rousing, "You May Be Right."
Brooks' other special visitor was Don McLean, who helped the Hat Man with verses on McLean's sing-along classic, "American Pie." Reports that James Taylor might show were greatly exaggerated. There was no sign of that singer-songwriter.
New Yorkers were on their best behavior. Police reported only five arrests. About 50 people received treatment for ticky-tack injuries: cuts, twisted ankles and the like--far from the mayhem of Diana Ross' Gotham gig.
Even the rabid Big Apple media was subdued by Brooks. The New York Post called his performance "rock solid." Newsday compared the show to Disney's Pocahontas--a well-executed, if unchallenging, spectacle.