PORTLAND, Ore. – Many Garth Brooks fans are raving about his Portland concerts this week but possibly none more so than Kari Heidegger.
She bought tickets just a short time before Monday night's concert and little did she know what an amazing last-minute decision that would turn out to be.
Heidegger, 26, and her cousin Haley Mann-Miller, 20, walked up to their 300-level seats about an hour before the concert was set to start and a friendly man approached them.
He asked if they knew many of Garth's songs and how long they'd been fans.
Heidegger told him she started listening to Garth about ten years ago and could still remember the words to almost all of his hits. She planned to sing along that night, as best she could.
Then the man revealed that he actually worked for the country superstar and calmly asked, "Would you like to move up to the front row?" Heidegger recalled. "Of course we said yes!"
As they moved forward, the pair marveled at what the stage looked like, so close up. They couldn't believe they were going to have such a great view of the performance.
And then the concert started and they were able to see Garth's every move – his emotions, his trademark smiles, even the sweat on his brow.
"To be inches away from him the entire time was crazy amazing," Heidegger said. "I've never been that close to a stage before. I was taking pictures and videos."
She was so close, in fact, that Garth could reach out and touch her. Which is exactly what he did.
"Half way through the concert, I was holding up my phone and taking a video of the song, "That Summer" - one of my favorites - and he grabbed my phone," she said. "He just starting taking a video."
Garth sang into her phone and then spun it around for a "video selfie" with the two young women.
"All the girls around us were going crazy," Heidegger recalled.
The video only lasted about 30 seconds but it's had the pair reeling for days.
"It was by far the best experience I've ever had," Heidegger gushed.
Garth is known for his interaction with fans and down-to-earth style. Heidegger said she would've ranked his concert the best she'd ever attended even without the special surprise. But now the experience will be etched in her mind forever – and her cellphone.
"I shared the video on Facebook," she said. "Everyone wants to see it."
She also shared some special advice for anyone who might be thinking about buying a last-minute ticket to see Garth's final Portland performance on Thursday:
"I would never pass it up! He puts on the best show. He is a great performer," she said. "And get to your seat early because you never know what could happen..."
NOTE: In her "video selfie" with Garth Brooks shown above, Heidegger is the woman in the middle, with long, dark hair and a shirt with a zig-zag design. Her cousin is on the right wearing a dark shirt with flowers.
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