The Eagles rock Philips Arena

There are concerts. And then there are bucket list concerts. On the evening of October 21, 2017, I had an opportunity to attend a ‘bucket list’ concert when I attended The Eagles concert at Philips Arena.

I had seen the Eagles perform so many times on TV, YouTube, etc., that I had an image of how I wanted the performance to unfold. I know this is dangerous because rarely does a concert live up to how you imagine you want it to be. This was one of those rare exceptions.

As the time slowly approached for the band to take the stage, you could feel an electricity in the air beginning to build. When they finally took the stage, they opened with the acapella sung “7 Bridges Road”. I’ve always loved this song purely for the unabashed display of The Eagles’ ability to showcase their harmonies.

That was the beginning of what I’ve come to call a ‘2-Hour Old Folks Singalong’.

After “7 Bridges Road” the band introduced Deacon Frey to the crowd and he immediately went into his Dad’s signature song — “Take It Easy”. You could tell everyone was having ‘Glenn Frey flashbacks’ as Deacon sang. The fact that he physically resembles a young version of his Dad just added to the déjà vu moment.

The guys didn’t disappoint either — after “Take It Easy”, they rolled into “One of These Nights”, “Take it To The Limit”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Witchy Woman”, “In The City”, “I Can’t Tell You Why”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “Best of My Love”, “Lying Eyes”, “Love Will Keep Us Alive”, “New Kid In Town”, “Those Shoes”, “Already Gone”, “Rocky Mountain Way”, “Walk Away”, “Heartache Tonight”, and then they sang that other song …. Oh yeah, “Hotel California.”

For an Eagles fan, it just didn’t get any better. They did two encores and kept the fans on their feet.

I was thoroughly blown away that a bunch of 60-year old cats could sound sooooo good; harmonize sooooo well; and play sooooo tight! Steuart Smith’s and Joe Walsh’s guitars were at the top of their games. Henley’s drumming and vocals were top-notch (as usual), and Vince Gill’s addition fit like a worn glove; also, Timothy B. Schmidt held down the bass, and his vocals were still on point (“I Can’t Tell You Why” and “Love Will Keep Us Alive”).

It was one of those shows where when it ended, people didn’t want to leave; we just stood around and basked in the aura of what we had just witnessed, and fellowshipped with each other.

What a great evening! I can now put a check mark next to the box marked ‘Attended An Eagles Concert’.

The only thing missing was Glenn.

-KJ