ONE OF the highlights of this year's Carlsberg Country Roots festival in Kilkenny is sure to be the appearance of The Garreth Brooks Experience - a note-perfect tribute to the King of Country that is fast gaining a reputation as the hottest ticket in town.
Not only does Garreth sing, play and perform exactly like his stetson-wearing hero, but he has all the man's moves down to perfection, including swinging from a trapeze and smashing up guitars. In fact, so authentic is the show that, according to Garreth (or Karl Power as he is known to his mammy), the original of the species has given it his personal seal of approval.
"I haven't actually met him in person, but his management sent over a message from Garth where he basically wished me luck and thanked me for keeping his fans happy while he's away," says Karl.
However, impersonating a superstar has its funnier moments and occasionally some people have taken it all a mite too seriously, as he explains: "We were in Cork walking along the street before a gig and this woman came up to me and said she saw me in Croke Park and thought I was brilliant. She said it was great that I was playing in Cork! She must've thought, 'He's come down in the world a bit!'. Some people would come to the show thinking it's actually the real thing and start complaining if they copped that it was Garreth, not Garth, that they were witnessing!"
Given Garth Brooks' reputation as an electrifying live performer with a mammoth stage show, it can't be all that easy duplicating it on a smaller scale. What's the hardest part about doing the show?
"To be honest, I don't find it all that hard at all," Garreth says. "The music is probably the easiest part. The most difficult bits are copying his mannerisms on stage and the way he gets into it emotionally. He sings as if his life depends on it, but it's basically an act, which is what I'm doing.
"The whole thing from start to finish is pure energy," he continues. "The only problem is people want to hear the slow stuff all the time, the soppy ballads. We start off with four or five fast numbers such as 'Ain't Going Down Till The Sun Comes Up' and 'Fever', then we go into stuff like 'What She's Doing Now' and 'If Tomorrow Never Comes'. Also 'Friends In Low Places' always sends them wild and they go mad for numbers like 'The Dance' and 'Standing Outside The Fire'."
But surely faking all that sincerity and turning on the tears at the drop of a10-gallon hat can't be all that easy to do?
"Ah, that's not fair - he's supposed to be a lovely fellow. But I don't think it's his fault, the way he comes across sometimes. Americans are so insincere in general. Besides, country music was always full of emotional, tear-jerking lyrics. That's the way the audiences like it."
As most people will be aware, Garth Brooks is particularly popular with the ladies. In fact, during his stay in Dublin, quite a few of them checked into his hotel in order to get closer to him. Has Garreth, er, benefited in any way from this phenomenon?
"There's always loads of women at the shows," he smiles, "bus loads of them in fact, but I'm happily spoken for, so I haven't been taking advantage of it."
Still only 24 (and with all his own hair), Karl Power has had quite a career to date. In fact, had things worked out differently, he might be touring the world and raking it in as lead singer of Boyzone, as he explains.
"Yeah, I suppose I've been nearly there a couple of times. I was singing in a band called Back Alley when I met Louis Walsh, who was holding auditions for this Irish version of Take That. He offered me the lead role, but I turned it down, and the rest is history. Basically, I didn't want to be a puppet on a string so I don't regret it. I'd be a lot wealthier, I suppose - but would I be happy?"
Power had been toying with the idea of going into West End Musicals when the offer to do the Garth Brooks tribute came along. "It's much the same thing," he insists. "I have to get into character for the duration of the show but I revert to being myself when I come off stage."
Are there any signs that Garth fever is waning, given that he's been relatively quiet of late on the recording-and-touring front?
"I doubt it. We have a lot of dates booked for this year and the show could probably run for years, but I don't see myself doing more tribute stuff in the future. It's time to stand out in front of the crowds in my own right. In fact Cameron Macintosh the West End impresario has expressed an interest and we're waiting for a phone call right now. So who knows? I might make the West End yet."
Meanwhile, the Garreth Brooks Experience rolls on and you can catch him and his unfeasibly large hat at the Carlsberg Country Roots Festival in Kilkenny over the Bank Holiday Weekend. n