Garth Brooks performed at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday night (Oct. 5), marking his first of four sold-out shows in the area. It also was his first concert since a man open fired at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday (Oct. 1) in Las Vegas.

While Brooks wasn't there when the shooting occurred, it didn't lessen the hurt and compassion he has for the country fans and community. The icon and his band and crew wore "For Vegas" T-shirts during their performance to honor the lives of the victims, showing that they are thinking of them.

"It's been a hard week," Brooks admitted to press before the show. "My sincerest hope is that these people come to laugh and smile and sing because I need it. I'm excited to get a chance to play music again and get music back in the front where it's supposed to be."

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Security measures were increased at Brooks' show Thursday night — bomb-sniffing dogs circled the venue multiple times before the concert.

In an interview with Indianapolis ABC affiliate RTV 6, Brooks explains that instead of focusing on the tragedy itself, he wants to acknowledge the heroes of the Las Vegas incident. "Extraordinary people acted that were just ordinary people," he tells the news station. "In any tragedy, heroes arise and that's what I would like to focus on."

Brooks reportedly choked up talking about the delicate approach he and his band had taken to make the show a celebration that would be respectful, in light of the massacre.

"Balancing a celebration that this band and crew have worked for really hard, put in a lot of miles, been away from their family a long time — balancing that with trying to be tasteful classy and respectful to what's going on right now in our industry will be the line we walk," Brooks says.

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