Salmon Festival, Newfoundland, Canada - 7/13/13

[TimothyBFan]

I found the entire article was full of such hatred that I could not take it seriously, and I am disappointed that some people here have decided to do so & see the worst they can in the band, because of one person's bitterness that they didn't get special treatment.

The band don't 'hang out'. Why should they? Next you'll want them to share the same trailer.

First I want to say, I can't understand how you can say that "entire article was full of such hatred". Disappointment. Disenchantment. But hatred? That's pretty strong for what I read.

You can be disappointed in me all you want but I'm not alone in my feelings and from what I'm seeing, there seems to be more here that are disappointed it what happened than not. And in my case, it's more than "one person's bitterness" that makes me disappointed in the Eagles lately. There are those here that will never dare express their disappointment in them but I'm not one of those. As much as I can say I have loved the Eagles in what seems like forever, I'm also not afraid to say how disappointing some of the things that I keep hearing/seeing/reading about are to me. I just think they are becoming increasingly disappointing with some of the behavior the last few years and I refuse to believe that it's just from a few bitter reviewers or a few dissatisfied fans because we keep seeing & hearing the same things being said. Thank goodness it's not all the time but still. I just think they've forgotten how they've gotten to where they are.

I'm in no way saying this reviewer was right in everything he said (he couldn't even get the spelling of member's names correct). To me, he sounds like a reviewer who has also been a fan and when he saw their behavior at the meet and greet, he was extremely disappointed. And then when the media was moved back, it kept getting worse for him.

I will also say that I disagree with him about the key changes for their aging voices. I, for one, am just fine with that. What aging rock star is still singing the same way they did in the 70s? I can't think of any. And I think most fans are ok with that. At least we are still getting to hear the music we have enjoyed for decades. But if the artists start acting like prima donnas who can't smile for a fan (and we all have to admit that we've seen those pictures), then they are open to the ridicule and might want to step back and take a long look at where they are and how long they want to continue to do this. Just saying....

[TimothyBFan]

how hard is it to be nice & say hello to a few fans? I mean...seriously......If they can't do that much, just ONCE, for a few minutes......Is it that hard??? What does that say about how they feel about their fans? not much

Afreakingmen!!!!!!!!!

[MaryCalifornia]

This describes an extensive Meet and Greet for a contest winner at an Eagles show...maybe those who say they NEVER do M & Gs mean haven't done them recently???...

http://www.eaglesfans.com/ive-met-an...-b-schmit.html

[UK TimFan]

As for the M & G--maybe it was from a contest or something. I saw mention of it on FB prior to the show but can't remember who or where I saw it.

I doubt the Meet & Greet was a surprise. You just don't spring that on a band, especially not the Eagles.. It was a contest & it was only a few fans that won it. It was not a huge amount of people. Sounds like the whole thing took about 2 minutes, so it shouldn't be such a big deal to be nice to a few fans!

I think it was a surprise. Maybe not a last minute one but our guys don't do these. They wouldn't have agreed to it.

Knowing how fond the Eagles are of calling their lawyers for even minor transgressions, I doubt that anyone would dare to run a contest promising a M&G (even if it was just a 'have your photo taken with the Eagles') if they didn't believe that either the Eagles had agreed to it or knew it was part of the 'package' of performing at the festival.
However much of a mix-up there had been backstage with possibly the wrong town/Eagles being unaware of the M&G contest, etc, for them to act like sulky 6 year-olds is so unprofessional. Kick everybody backstage if they must - especially the ones responsible for any cock-ups - but they should not take their temper out on their fans. For the amount of money fans put into artists bank accounts being polite to fans for a few minutes in a face-to-face situation should be a small price to pay.

[sodascouts]

OK, I've read it, and here are my thoughts:

Although my first instinct is to defend the band, even I can't defend Don's lame threat to end the show because people had smartphones out. That embarrasses me as a fan. I wish someone would talk to him about it, and explain to him that such threats are not effective and only make him look like a douche. Besides, I'm sure Glenn cares too much about the band's professional reputation (and the thousands of people who've come to see them) to allow Don to storm off stage and bring the show to a halt because some of the people didn't put away their freaking PHONES, so he's bald-faced lying to boot! Ah well, nobody's perfect, I love Don anyway because he's magnificently talented and a good guy at heart.

Now, to the meet'n'greet. I think this reporter might not realize that the meet'n'greet he saw - a minute with the band and a photo - is actually pretty standard. I have paid for meet'n'greets with Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham which have been like that. At one of the Stevie Nicks meet'n'greets, Don was also there. He was gracious and sweet. I was thrilled with my experience.

For all of these meet'n'greets, I knew what to expect and I was not at all disappointed. Indeed, I was grateful, and I would do it again if I had the opportunity. The reporter assumes the fans were disappointed and projects all this heartbreak onto them, but the reporter didn't actually TALK to any of these fans to ask them how they felt! If they were told it was a "photo opportunity" then, like me, they knew what to expect and, like me, may have been delighted just to get that opportunity.

As for the moving of the photographers - did you guys not read the part about the area in front of the stage being crammed with VIPs, packed in like sardines? How were they supposed to fit photographers in there, too? The Eagles were unfamiliar with the venue so they couldn't know about the logistical problem before arriving. Blame the promoters, not the Eagles.

The reporter is entitled to his opinion about the show, but I think it's pretty obvious that after getting pissed off at the band, he was looking for things to criticize. If you're determined to be displeased, you'll easily find much to dislike. However, I can tell you as a FAN - not a reporter with hurt feelings and an agenda - that the Eagles show I saw was AMAZING. Maybe they had an off night, but I seriously doubt that they were as completely worthless as this guy would have us believe.

That's my perspective - take it or leave it.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

First of all, I’ll just say that the band that I witnessed in Louisville a little over a week ago was not a bunch of cold, lifeless men just going through the motions. It seemed obvious to me that they were excited to be there and poured everything they had into their performance. The effort that went into planning and designing this tour didn’t seem to be done for an apathetic band that doesn’t care about their fans or performance. Just saying …

Having said that, I don’t think it is cool if they were disrespectful to their fans and they certainly should have been pleasant. However, by his own admission, this reviewer was not right there so it’s possible that he may have missed something. Additionally, at first he said that the band was scheduled to do a meet & greet, but then changes it to say it was only a photo op. These are definitely two different things. It sounds that this guy had some pretty unrealistic expectations. This is one of the top bands in the world, and it seems like he was a bit pissed because he didn’t receive the same treatment as he did when he was backstage earlier in the day with his beer-drinking buddies, Blue Rodeo. However, it does definitely sound like there was a lot of miscommunication and that is unfortunate, and, again, is no excuse to be rude to fans if that was, if fact, the case. No matter what the real truth is, it’s too bad if folks were disappointed. However, he even admits that his disillusionment with what he believes are egotistical megalomaniacs probably got in the way of a giving a fair assessment of the show. He makes several factual errors and even goes on to make excuses for those folks who may have enjoyed the show. If this event was truly the fiasco that this guy makes it out to be, then there may be more fallout to come. I'm going to choose to withhold my outrage for now.

[Troubadour]

Soda and Dreamer, I think your posts were very fair and balanced.

[Topkat]

The show in Louisville was a different show, and it was probably a lot better than this one. It is possible that the guys had a off night, but I do believe that this reporter didn't have any agenda or motive for what he describes here. I don't think he was expecting any backstage buddy time with the guys, but just the normal procedures that go along with being a photographer & reviewer. I mean the guy is not a first timer doing this gig.

As for the Meet & Greet or "photo op" whatever it was, they are 2 different things. The guy says that he observed it from a few feet away, so he was there. I don't know what these fans were told they were getting, but they got a 30 second picture & moved along. I would love to hear from one of these fans as to what they were told they were getting & how they felt they were treated, so maybe one of them will post something somewhere.

I don't care that the Eagles are the biggest band in the world, they can still take a few minutes to be nice to a fan....Sheesh. I know that is a lot to expect.
One fan posted something about the VIP section being oversold, & was supposed to be 2500 people, and over 5,000 were in the VIP section, so that alone can cause a fiasco.
Of course most of this is not the fault of the band, but due to poor planning and misinformation, but it does affect the experience one has at a concert..... As a whole, this is not the typical show, so I doubt this will happen again, but it's just not great to hear all this stuff.

[Prettymaid]

Having to deal with ... drunken fan girls screaming for attention must wear you down.

HH, I didn't know you and Soda went to this show, too!

[Henley Honey]

HH, I didn't know you and Soda went to this show, too!

Shhh. We weren't drunk!!