See if Brooks remains spontaneous

The word is out, sort of, on Garth Brooks' new gig at Wynn Las Vegas.

His first shows there Dec. 11-13 somewhat defined the ground rules: that the country superstar will prowl an empty stage with an acoustic guitar, taking fan requests and covering the '70s hits of James Taylor, Bob Seger and others that inspired his amazing run of the early '90s.

But this weekend's audiences will find out if the shows remain so spontaneous or begin to take a more rooted format. "Hopefully, the show will grow and just get better and better if I just do my job," Brooks noted before the first engagement.

The first run also had a surprising number of same-day seats available through a standby line, as scalper tickets were canceled and entered back into the system. Tickets are $143 for shows at 8 p.m. today and Sunday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday in the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Call 770-7469.

-- By MIKE WEATHERFORD