On their ‘Long Goodbye’, a 17-year-old sees The Eagles for the first time
In an effort to inform school children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, they should just offer up pictures of Eagles’ singer Joe Walsh.
Way more effective than any presentation given to students. How is this guy still alive?
On Saturday night, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, a band that formed in 1971 played what they say will be their “final show” ever in North Texas. Sound like unlike the other times they broke up, this time they may actually mean it. Most of these guys are pushing 80.
You could instantly tell this was a band from the 70s, because by the second song, the more than 30,000 in attendance were all thrilled to sit down. Because a lot of them appeared to be in their 70s themselves.
The Eagles’ performed for just under two hours, playing 20 songs, ending at 10:30 p.m., most likely reaching into 90 percent of the crowd’s bedtime. This was a no-nonsense production. Video boards, eight people on stage playing various instruments, including the piano and accordion. This was an Eagles concert for Eagles fans.
Not a lot of teens here. Or college students. Or 20 somethings.
From the looks of the merch’ lines, The Eagles could have easily mailed it in and no one would have complained. They have been singing the same songs for more than 40 years, and this show felt like they were going to work.
Thanks to Instagram, The Eagles’ hits keep going for younger generations.
They opened with “Hotel California”, but the second song, “One of These Nights” was a bit of a surprise. For a bunch of older guys they could hit the high notes.
For fans of the band, the third song of the night was probably the hardest. “Lyin’ Eyes” was always performed by the late Glenn Frey. The addition of Vince Gill for this song was a nice substitute.
Give these guys credit. Most everybody on the stage was over 70, and they delivered a show where nobody left unhappy. But a lot of those people left with a song or two remaining, just to beat the traffic.
Don Henley, 78, has a presence. He talked to the audience briefly, and gave a shoutout to the air conditioner at Globe Life Field. The native Texan performed “Desperado” and “Boys of Summer” from his solo catalog; he probably could have done a solo show.
Timothy Schmit delivered the high notes. He also had the look of a guy who maybe took one, or ten, too many bottles of Ozempic.
Deacon Frey, son of Glenn Frey, sported a Texas Rangers jersey, is a solid addition to the band. He provided lead vocals, but he’s not his dad. My dad told me that his dad had an arrogance about him that the son does not possess.
Vince Gill is a great musician who can do anything with any instrument.
The one who stood out above the others was Joe Walsh. He’s 78 and looks like he’s not a day over 138. Early in the show it looked like he was chewing gum, or tobacco, or both.
He played the guitar and provided a long solo during his hit single “In the City”. He talked to the audience a few times; not sure exactly what he said. They seemed to enjoy it.
He played an extended guitar solo during “Life’s Been Good”, and then went old-school to use the “talk box” to change his voice to sound like a guitar during “Rocky Mountain Way.”
My dad was going on about something about “This is what Peter Frampton used,” but I wasn’t here for a history lesson.
The Eagles’ ended their show with Henley’s “Desperado,” before closing it out with “Heartache Tonight.”
It didn’t matter the title, everybody in the crowd knew every lyric of every song, and many people there stuck around waving goodbye to a group they have known since they were my age.
If this really is the Eagles’ last show in DFW, it was well worth staying up past bedtime.
