"Rock to Erase MS" Benefit Century City, CA 5-08-09

[AzEaglesFan]

On Michelle Branch's Twitter she mentions hearing Joe playing Rocky Mountain Way but it must have been at the Salt Lake City show

[Stars]

Thanks for posting the setlist, Soda-short, but sweet!

[Glennsallnighter]

Lovely pics Soda. They all look great, and again LUCKY Michelle!

[TimothyBFan]

A nice person on Twitter just told me what they played! Apparently, it was a very brief set:

No More Walks in the Wood
Take It to the Limit
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Lean on Me (with Michelle Branch)

Considering it was only 4 songs--I think it's pretty cool they did LWKUA! Lean On Me huh? Does anyone know what Michelle Branch was included with them for this and why she opened for them in SLC? I really know nothing about her and wonder where the connection is and why they even had an opening act for SLC. Have I missed this some where?

[DonFan]

From HitFix.com:

Friday night I went to "Rock for Erase MS." It's an annual fundraiser to fight multiple sclerosis started by Nancy Davis after she was afflicted with the disease nearly 20 years ago. Now in its 16th year, Rock to Erase MS (usually known as Race to Erase MS, but renamed this year because of the inclusion of performers Michelle Branch and the Eagles), has raised more than $30 million to fund treatments and research for the neurological disease. I'm no stranger to Hollywood galas from all my years at Billboard, but this event was glitzier and more well-heeled than any I'd ever attended. For example, during the live auction, someone seemingly did not blink about ponying up $275,000 for a new Lamborghini. Davis is the daughter of billionaire Marvin Davis and is the mother of famous-for-doing nothing-but-partying scions Jason and Brandon Davis.


Michelle Branch performed four tunes and then joined the Eagles for a killer version of "Lean on Me," with her and Don Henley's harmonies warming up the room. I always feel sorry for artists performing at such benefits. Most of the attendees are rude beyond belief and feel since they've already plunked down their money for the cause, there's no need for them to be polite and actually listen to the performance. The Eagles didn't help their own cause by playing three relatively unknown songs ( "Waiting in the Weeds" sounded gorgeous even if, as Henley correctly back announced it as "The one you just talked through" ) before getting the crowd going with "Take It to the Limit."


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"Waiting in the Weeds" sounded gorgeous even if, as Henley correctly back announced it as "The one you just talked through" ---
That's our Don, all right.

[sodascouts]

Thanks for posting that! Hmm, looks like our attendee either forgot a song or got it confused with another!

[DonFan]

Here's another writeup of the evening--from Spinner.com:

The Eagles donned suits and hit Los Angeles' Century Plaza Hotel on Friday, affording a rare opportunity to see the biggest-selling American band in history in a hotel ballroom. For this benefit to fight Multiple Sclerosis, the band looked to match the tone of the evening. "We wanted to do songs that were positive and full of hope," Don Henley said from the stage. "But we realized we don't have very many of them."

They managed to find a few optimistic songs from their repertoire to engage the star-studded crowd, which included Dustin Hoffman, Jewel, Kim Kardashian, Amanda Bynes and Avril Lavigne, who told Spinner she came out to support host Nancy Davis, the L.A. woman who's put the Race to Erase MS event on for the past 16 years after being diagnosed with the disease herself. A sing-along version of 'Take it to the Limit' even got a few couples dancing in between the dinner tables.

The show wrapped with opening act Michelle Branch, who said during her set, "Like so many people in this room I know a person with MS," then spoke of finding a cure for her four-year-old daughter's generation, joining the Eagles for Bill Withers' classic 'Lean on Me.'

If Henley, who chastised the crowd a bit for talking during their set, was looking for the spirit of the event, he needed look no further than the live auction before the perfomances, where one couple paid $270,000 for a custom-made Lamborghini. That is the giving spirit.

[Freypower]

So it was Bill Withers' Lean On Me, a song I love. For a change it sounds as if Don did most of the talking.

[Glennsallnighter]

Here's another writeup of the evening--from Spinner.com:


If Henley, who chastised the crowd a bit for talking during their set, was looking for the spirit of the event, he needed look no further than the live auction before the perfomances, where one couple paid $270,000 for a custom-made Lamborghini. That is the giving spirit.

Or maybe they were just anticipating the set list and decided to 'Take It To The Limit'