Eagles Feed Thousands in Phoenix with 29 Tasty Musical Morsels
PHOENIX, Aug. 6, 2003 – If the Eagles came to America West Arena to sing for their supper last night, they deserved a banquet.
Kicking off the West Coast leg of their Farewell I Tour, the veteran band delivered 29 songs to a sell-out audience of about 14,500. The Eagles had been resting at home since they played their last date in Atlantic City on July 25. And it’s a good thing they had some downtime, because they played until 11:30 p.m. Tonight they will appear in Bakersfield.
Make no mistake about it – this was a show put on by middle-aged men who may have been hard-pressed to stay up so late. Drummer Don Henley is 56 years old; bassist Timothy B. Schmit and guitarist Joe Walsh are 55 and guitarist/pianist Glenn Frey is 54. This tour, advertised as possibly their last, was markedly different from their concerts of the 1970s. Back then their stage was uncluttered, since they performed as a five-man lineup and had little in the way of backing musicians and vocalists. Now they are augmenting many of their old classics with a brass section, synthesizer and extra percussionist. At times, the concert took on the flavor of a floorshow. During “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” Frey twice got up from his bench at the synthesizer to dance in front of the horn players.
And let’s not forget another large element of the 2003 Eagles. Steuart Smith now stands on the far left end of the stage, where lead guitarist Don Felder used to be stationed. The band fired Felder two years ago over his unwillingness to sign an agreement related to the issue of a CD box set and now Smith, who is his official “unofficial” replacement, plays almost all of Felder’s famous licks with his long, capable fingers. Indeed, it was strange to see Smith holding the double-necked electric guitar to play the haunting intro to “Hotel California.” But he surely did not disgrace himself.
Poor Frey. He does such a fine job of playing the role of front man for the band, and his banter and quips help bring the superstar musicians close to their adoring fans. But he is not nearly the singer he used to be. Back in the mid-1980s his voice changed after he had a nose job (presumably to improve his appearance for the TV acting jobs he was seeking). And now his vocal range has become extremely limited. He struggled mightily to hit the high notes in “You Belong To The City,” which was one of his monster solo hits.
Another Eagle with voice problems was Schmit, although his woes are temporary. As he stood in the spotlight to introduce “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” Schmit explained that he was home eating dinner the previous evening when he was beset by a throat affliction. He said “the Beverly Hills throat doctor” helped him recover enough to sing in Phoenix. He did well, nonetheless, and sang his other ballad, “I Can’t Tell You Why,” during the second set. While the other Eagles have updated their personal appearance with tinted hair and shorter trims, Schmit retains his late ‘60s trademark long hair. Tim, it’s definitely time for a make-over.
Walsh wore one of his signature sports coats, featuring a wild paisley pattern, and pleased the audience, as usual. He was subdued through the first eight songs, however. He seemed to wake up during the ninth (“Already Gone”) when he sparkled on a guitar solo. He followed that with a so-so rendition of “In The City.”
Most disappointing was Walsh’s uninspired work on “Walk Away.” I remember when Frey introduced him on stage as “the Bomber” in ’78, when that song was the second number in the show and Walsh played and sang it with great gusto. Now I have to wonder if Walsh has sung it too many times. He recited the words more than he sang them, and he glossed over the dynamic guitar licks that make “Walk Away” such a great rock song.
I couldn’t help think that Walsh, with his bulbous nose and slurred speech, has become the second coming of comedian Buddy Hackett. Walsh got five of his songs in the show and did a respectable job on “Turn To Stone,” “Life’s Been Good,” “Funk #49” and “Rocky Mountain Way.” In that regard, Walsh upstaged Henley, who got to sing four songs from his solo career.
Henley has the best remaining vocal cords in the band. With his gruff voice he still can hit all the high notes. But these days he fancies himself as more of a guitar strummer than a drummer. During most of his lead vocals he chose to move front-and-center, rather than stay behind the drums. He straps on a guitar, but no one can tell if his electric six-string is even turned on. It’s more of a prop than anything else. Whenever Henley vacated his drum kit, touring percussionist Scott Crago moved in to beat the skins.
At least Henley played drums on “One Of These Nights,” which was the band’s second No. 1 single in 1975. It was a terrific ending to the first set, which was followed by a 20-minute intermission.
The first set also contained the band’s recent single, “Hole In The World.” It was the only song from their forthcoming album to be included in the show.
The Phoenix audience, acting as if they were starving for an Eagles feast in the nine years since “hell froze over,” was incredibly loud and enthusiastic. They welcomed the musicians to the stage with a thunderous shout, and their sustained ovation that brought the band back for the first of three encores was nearly deafening. The crowd seemingly left satisfied – and well dressed. Sales of souvenir T-shirts and other memorabilia started hours before the show and continued well after the Eagles bowed out with “Desperado.”
Will this be the last Eagles’ final tour? I guess time will tell. While they have billed this tour as a farewell, performers like the Who and Cher did the same thing and ended up doing multiple goodbyes.
Frey quipped that the second set was “Farewell II.” And as the third encore began, he thanked the customers for their support of the Eagles through record sales and added, “I hope to see you again real soon.”
Ever the jokester, he said that Farewell VI was being planned already. “It’s going to be a big tour in the summer of 2009,” Frey chuckled. “But first we have to get through Farewell I.”
If this truly is the end of the Eagles as a concert act, at least we have a good many recordings – and our concert T-shirts – by which to remember them.
