Nashville, TN 9-18-08
Eagles deliver solid set at Sommet
By DAVE PAULSON • Staff Writer • September 19, 2008
"Check your ticket stubs," Glenn Frey of country-rock kings the Eagles told the crowd at their concert at the Sommet Center in Nashville Thursday night. "This is the Eagles 'Assisted Living' tour, and we're the Eagles - the band that wouldn't die."
Frey's self-deprecating cracks at his aging band only made the precision and stamina on display during their three-hour set all the more impressive. You could to set your watch to the well-rehearsed proceedings, sure, but the band delivered everything with finesse, power and class.
The Eagles have been touring this year in support of Long Road out of Eden - their first full studio album in 28 years - and they didn't waste any time reminding their audience of that fact. The first four songs of the band's set were from Eden, each featuring a different member on lead vocals: Frey, drummer/guitarist Don Henley, guitarist Joe Walsh and bassist Timothy B. Schmit.
While each singer held his own with the arena crowd, the most powerful moments in those first tunes came when the band's rich, unmistakable harmonies swelled to the forefront, almost as crisp and strong as those immortalized on their albums.
For a band whose history of hard-living is the stuff of rock legend, The Eagles - with three of the four members now in their sixties - remain in remarkable shape. If Frey, Henley and company didn't look quite the same as fans remember, they certainly sound like it. The heaviest hits - even the frantic "Life in the Fast Lane" - were kept in their original key at the original speed, and the band didn't miss a beat.
They soon rewarded the audience's patience through the Eden set by launching into signature tune "Hotel California," with Henley at ease in a high register and Walsh nailing the epic guitar solo.
While the Eagles have precision in spades, they're fairly static performers. Their Nashville set was song-for-song the same one they've played since starting the U.S. Eden tour in May (though Nashville did not receive a second encore, unlike other cities).
It's hard not to contrast that with Bruce Springsteen's acclaimed concert at Sommet last month, filled with surprises and spur-of-the-moment song choices. The Eagles, on the other hand, all took off their matching suit jackets at the same point in the show. The members seemed casually choreographed at points, coming in tight to trade guitar solos and sharing microphones for harmonies in all the right spots.
Still, the band came off as sincere, even charming. Walsh, in particular, was destined to steal the show, mugging for the crowd and even wearing a "helmet cam" to film the audience while performing his solo staple "Life's Been Good."
The set lost some steam following an intermission - particularly with a seemingly endless rendition of Eden's title track - but eventually picked up, closing with a string of the band's toughest tunes: "Funk #49" by Walsh's old group James Gang and "Lane" among them.
The band returned for a two-song encore of "Take It Easy" and "Desperado," which was a fitting end to a concert with few surprises but plenty of rewards.
"We read the story of the tortoise and hare," Henley told the crowd before the intermission. "And we decided a long time ago that it would be better to be the tortoise. We're still here. You're still here."
SETLIST
“How Long”
“Too Busy Being Fabulous”
“I Don’t Want To Hear Anymore”
“Guilty Of The Crime”
“Hotel California”
“Peaceful Easy Feeling”
“I Can't Tell You Why”
“Witchy Woman”
“Lyin' Eyes”
“Boys of Summer”
“In the City”
“Long Run”
INTERMISSION
“No More Walks In The Woods”
“Waiting in the Weeds”
“No More Cloudy Days”
“Love Will Keep Us Alive”
“Take It To The Limit”
“Long Road Out of Eden”
“Somebody”
“Walk Away”
“One Of These Nights”
“Life’s Been Good”
“Dirty Laundry”
"Funk #49”
“Heartache Tonight”
“Life in the Fast Lane”
ENCORE
“Take It Easy”
“Desperado”
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Originally Posted by sodascouts
