Why doesn't Joe do pretty songs anymore?

[sodascouts]

I was thinking about this earlier today. I remember reading a lot of reviews (critics, not fans) of shows for our guys leading up to their concert here in DC back in 2008. And typing that number in has me thinking it's been WWAAAYYYYYYY too long since they've been here. But I digress. As concert time was coming up, I read a lot reviews from other cities and our guys were highly criticized for playing songs off LROOE. Apparently fans don't want to hear the Eagles play songs they've never heard before. They come to hear the hits. Other bands can get away with that, but not bands like the Eagles. When people pay that amount of money for a ticket, they should hear the hits. The Washington Post put in a review after the concert that read exactly the same and I sent a lot of emails over it.

Of course, our guys can't win. I've read reviews from other cities more recently where they were criticized for cranking out the hits and nothing else. I guess it doesn't matter what they do, they're wrong.

Yeah, but back in 2008, they were playing NINE songs off of LROOE, one of which was 10 minutes long. I can see why some casual fans might feel that's a bit much, although I loved it.

The key is balance: not to go too far one way or the other.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

ITA Soda about the key being balance. Yes, us hardcores always love to hear the new stuff - often times, the more ... the better for us. But, as we've often said, we are not the majority of the audience. In the case of LROOE, the band started out playing that many songs, maybe to test to see how they played. As we all know, several of them were quickly dropped, and then eventually, the setlist dwindled down to only about 4 LROOE songs. I maintain that as a general rule, 4 -5 songs seems to be safe - enough to meet the expectations of those that want to hear new stuff, but not too much to lose the casual fans.

[Freypower]

It used to be that most bands toured for a new album and then played several songs from that new album along with the standard hits. If I were going to a show that had been promoted as a tour for the new album, I would expect to hear a lot of new songs. If I didn't want to hear the new album in concert, then I wouldn't have gone to that particular show. KWIM?

I don't know, being a diehard Eagles fan may make us different than casual fans, but if the casual fan has done any research at all before buying a ticket, surely they would know if there were going to be new songs played or not. And surely, with ticket prices these days, the casual fan would surely check that out before buying. So, don't be upset if the band plays songs you don't know.

Agreed.

This 'casual fan' stuff has gone way out of proportion & I don't know why these people are supposed to be more important and why they have to be catered to before real fans.

My opinion of the After Hours setlist may not be shared by many people apart from VA, but I stand by what I believe; that it was incredibly challenging and exhillarating, and I felt the same way when I heard a lot of songs from LROOE, some of which were then unceremoniously dropped the very next night, leaving us with all the usual stuff.

I don't know what to say to people who thought there were too many songs from After Hours except that I am sorry they feel that way.

Quite honestly I am not sure what the appeal of the upcoming shows in Atlantic City is with the current shortened & predicitable setlist. And please don't say 'we get to look at them'. That's all very well. I've seen that stuff often enough now. If I ever see them again I want something different just as I was lucky enough to have with Glenn.

[sodascouts]

Quite honestly I am not sure what the appeal of the upcoming shows in Atlantic City is with the current shortened & predicitable setlist. And please don't say 'we get to look at them'. That's all very well. I've seen that stuff often enough now. If I ever see them again I want something different just as I was lucky enough to have with Glenn.

The appeal for me is that I'll be seeing them in a relatively small venue, which is quite rare... not that I "get to look at them." Geez.

[Freypower]

The type of venue is irrelevant to me as I hardly have any choice. Fair enough. I knew I shouldn't have said anything.

[sodascouts]

Just try to be considerate in how you phrase your comments, FP. I'm sure you didn't mean it to sound like you were pouring contempt on the people who chose to go to AC, but that's how it came across to me.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I agree Soda. FP, even if it wasn't mean to be, your remarks come across as very judgmental. No one should feel compelled to explain why they are going to the Atlantic City show. But for the record, I am going because I want to see the band. I don't know if that's the same thing as 'we get to look at them', but if it is, then so be it. It's my time and my money so I don't feel I need to have a reason other than I want to go.

And as far as the 'casual fan stuff', I don't think the issue is because "these people are supposed to be more important and why they have to be catered to before real fans" - I think the issue is that they outnumber the hardcores by a lot ... it's kinda the concept of 'majority rules'.

[Henley Honey]

Quite honestly I am not sure what the appeal of the upcoming shows in Atlantic City is with the current shortened & predicitable setlist. And please don't say 'we get to look at them'. That's all very well. I've seen that stuff often enough now. If I ever see them again I want something different just as I was lucky enough to have with Glenn.

For me, the journey is the appeal. The anticipation, the travel, meeting new people with shared interests, and knowing that at the end of that journey I have the priviledge of seeing an always-stellar peformance from an extraordinary group of musicians. Same setlist or different setlist -- it doesn't matter to me. No two performances are the same. The energy is different, the audience is different. How the band interacts with each other and with the audience is different. Subtle changes can have an enormous effect on the overall experience. It never gets old for me.
I also realize that a 2013 tour is not guaranteed. I'd rather live in the moment and enjoy the experience to the fullest. Plus, it's just plain fun!

[luvthelighthouse]

While I will not be going to AC...if the band was close to me, I'd see them again... shortened set list and all. I just enjoy live music. To me, I listen to their CD's so much... so the concept of "what is the appeal" is lost on me. CD or live, I just like the Eagles and don't mind hearing their stuff over and over.

I would have liked to have seen Joe when he was close by, but I had something else going on. While seeing them individually certainly would be fun, I perosnally, perfer them as a group. (Except for TBS, because I just felt that was an unusal treat since he hasn't done the solo thing prior to Expando)

[TimothyBFan]

And as far as the 'casual fan stuff', I don't think the issue is because "these people are supposed to be more important and why they have to be catered to before real fans" - I think the issue is that they outnumber the hardcores by a lot ... it's kinda the concept of 'majority rules'.

I've been thinking all morning about this whole "casual fan" thing.

I guess by some people's standards (especially here on the board), I might be considered a "casual fan" since I don't see them live often or travel great lengths to do so. But, I don't consider myself that at all. I know a lot more than most people do about them, I've bought all there stuff on album, 8 track, cassette, cd, dvd, etc... I have a collection of bootlegs, posters, autographs, memorabilia, etc..... Have spent lots of money on them for almost 4 decades. But I truly believe that without the casual fan, the Eagles would be no where close to the historical band they are today. Afterall, like Dreamer says above they are the majority for sure and for a concert, it's going to take more than the "diehard" fans to fill an arena.

So I guess where I'm going with this is that I totally get where they would play what the "casual fan" wants to hear (the hits they hear on the radio and are familiar with) more than what the "diehard fan" wants to hear (the new albums we pre-order and listen to over and over again because, afterall, it is our favorite band). That's where the BIG money is coming from. Just my opinion, of course.