Niagara Falls 08-23-11

[sodascouts]

Glad to hear you got back safe, FP! It was so surreal to finally meet you in the flesh after all these years! Pretty cool, huh?

[Freypower]

Glad to hear you got back safe, FP! It was so surreal to finally meet you in the flesh after all these years! Pretty cool, huh?

Yes.

[GlennLover]

I'm glad to hear that you are home safely as well. Still can't believe what wonderful experiences I had seeing Glenn, meeting you & sharing our experiences!

Love your sig & av!

[Koala]

Good to hear you are safe back home, FP! Can't wait to read your reviews!

[Glennsallnighter]

Hello everyone; a brief post to tell you that I'm home safely & will be back later to post my reviews. I read the other thread & thanks to everyone who posted. I have a LOT to write about.

ETA: I've now done the inevitable av & sig change; I took the av photo & that shirt is similar to his second night shirt; while the photo on the right of my sig loomed large over the 2 days. It may have to become an av. I won't now be posting any reviews until tomorrow because although I have written a lot of notes I need to get it exactly right.

Glad you too made it home safely Julie! Looking forward to your posts. I noticed as soon as I saw your av 'OMG that's just like Glenn s second night shirt! It was great meeting you too! I've been able to put faces to the names of most of my Border pals for years, but now I'm associating them with voices and personalities as well! The full package.

Oh, I've started saving up for the next one

[Brooke]

Julie, glad you are back and can't wait to read your thoughts too! Lovin' the av and sig!

[Perfect Little Sister]

Oh, I've started saving up for the next one

I need to find a better paying job.

[GlennLover]

Oh, I've started saving up for the next one

I'm going to srart saving too, as soon as I pay for this one, LOL!

[Freypower]

I will have to divide both this & the next review into two parts. Now I need to explain something here. These reviews are about Glenn. He is the focus of them. However, a lot of it will be about me & my reactions. I 'ask for your indulgence' & I will try not to let it overshadow the reviews; but it's important that you understand how incredibly significant I felt these nights were as a fan of Glenn. What I will be writing will also no longer have the spontaneity that the others were able to give you; as you know I had to wait until I came home. Anyway let's go.

First, though I was deeply excited & privileged to be there, my expectations were just for a delirious 90 minutes of all Glenn. I thought the most I could hope for was I'll Come Running Back To You, which I hadn't heard him sing at all. I had been more preoccupied with being in Canada & meeting my fellow Borderers (I will write about that in the What's Happening In Your Life thread).

After the band took the stage came the tantalising moment while he was introduced. As soon as he appeared I could see he was wearing a suit. This is the first of a series of apparently endless hopes of mine that he fulfilled. I can't say enough about how delighted I was; but I was also in a daze of gratitude so I didn't absorb much of the first two songs. I also had a very strong sense that these shows were to be 'special'.

I saw him look over to Soda, PLS & Dreamer on the left (I was in the centre). But when he acknowledged them he said something else. He talked about people who had come 'from all over the world'. I therefore felt that somehow, he knew about GA & myself, and that made me happy, but I wasn't really expecting any recognition from him (and I didn't really get it; if I did, I barely noticed).

So at last I heard The One You Love & the 'failed solo career' gag. I thought 'I hope that isn't the theme of the evening' but his face was very close to where I was & I watched him during the entire song. And then of course it was great to hear Silent Spring/Tequila Sunrise again.

Then he started talking about the plans for the Eagles' 40th anniversary and I started to think that perhaps I was going to hear him sing something I had never heard. I wanted that so desperately but didn't dare to think it could happen. He said they were going to do Buffalo Springfield's On The Way Home; ironically not a song I know very well. So I just sat & stared while he sang it. I don't think I've ever been so happy. I thought 'he'll sing that on the new Eagles DVD'! So already, far more from him than I ever thought could happen.

And then we were treated to a magnificent rendition of You Are Not Alone & he did it again - gave me something I just didn't expect.

To be continued immediately.

[Freypower]

Part 2

You all know how I've always wanted to see Glenn sing a song without a guitar. When he put the guitar down all I could think was that I was going to be privileged with I Love To Watch A Woman Dance. But of course, that is not what happened. I won't repeat what has already been said about this, except that once again, he was completely exceeding my expectations when he talked about After Hours & the songs they would be playing from it. As he walked to the mic I could have died there & then. I thought I was witnessing a seachange in his career & also in my appreciation of his talents.

So they started Route 66 & on came the charisma; finger clicking, dancing, air guitar. He was also singing brilliantly. When he finished the crowd did not know what to do, but I thought 'he did that for me. Bless him'.

So then he stood there & sang The Shadow Of Your Smile, a song I don't really know well. It was exquisite. He would keep gazing at the ceiling as he prepared for each line. His voice was rich, creamy & expressive. This was Glenn Frey the SINGER, as if I hadn't already had enough to sweep me away completely.

This has to end now, I thought, as he said 'thank you very much'. But it didn't. He said the next two songs would be more familiar, that 'I've always wanted to record this' & sang Caroline No, in a much more anguished rendition than either the original or Tim's cover version. Watching him sing the words 'break my heart' as he leaned back & threw back his head was extraordinary. He started imitating the percussionists (Scott was using brushes) & he didn't seem to mind for once standing there & watching the other musicians play.

So in my delirium I thought he might favour us with After Hours itself, but we got The Look Of Love which was beyond mesmerising perfection. How brave he was being, taking these risks; it was history & I was there to see it. He was fairly relaxed now so that he started putting his hand on the mic stand which he normally only does when he adjusts it; but here he was singing while clasping it delicately. When he sang the chorus 'I can hardly wait to hold you/feel my arms around you/how long I have waited' I thought that summed up the night. Then it got incredibly poignant, as he sang 'don't ever go. I love you so'. Quite.

The audience was now eating out of his hand & I won't say much about the rest of the set. YES, I got the 'bluesy' Smuggler's Blues. YES, I got I'll Come Running Back To You whichh was gorgeous. He got a standing ovation for Heartache Tonight & encouraged us to sing Lyin' Eyes, which was the final song; 'let me hear ya' he said, so I got a command from him as well.

I was shattered at the end of it, overwhelmed & deeply grateful to this man I love so much, & now I think I should write the next review.