Apologies in advance for any typos/inaccuracies. It was a late night getting back to NY, but I wanted to write this all down before i forget it completely...

I’m not sure where to start, except by saying if this sounds way too fangirl-y, my apologies. I am still pretty overwhelmed by the show last night, particularly the first hour, so this may be a bit of LONG stream of consciousness, overtired ravings.

I had not seen the guys since 1996 for a variety of reasons, so I was beyond excited to see this show. I was a little concerned that I was so excited for it because I turned 50 this year and maybe this was some sort of “recapture my youth” experience, and that I was setting myself up for a bit of a disappointment.

The minute Don and Glenn walked out and sat down to sing, I knew this was my dream Eagles concert. Glenn on a stool, Don on a road box, singing Saturday Night. Don’s voice (to me) does not seem to have diminished one bit over the years. It has a different tone, but is still so crisp and clear, it just gave me chills. Glenn added some lovely harmonies and I just could not believe I was getting to experience this total and complete awesomeness. The way the stage was set up, with some amps and road boxes seemingly casually strewn around for them to sit on, and the drum kit in the corner and those fabulous mood lights really did make you feel like you were peeking in on a band just sitting around practicing some songs. It was a stunning effect.

Glenn told the story about Linda telling them about Bernie and then Bernie casually strolled out. I know you all can relate to how emotional that was. I never, ever thought I’d get to see Bernie sing those songs or play with them, and yet there he was... Big grin, playing and singing like no time had passed. It was beautiful. I love Train Leaves Here this Morning and once again, the harmonies were perfect.

Timothy came out next and looked great in a red shirt. Really happy and healthy looking. They sang a beautiful stripped down version of PEF that was so simple and true to its roots. Bernie had some nice guitar. Chills again hearing him play those parts. Glenn’s voice sounded great. It’s still a perfect song for his range and he nailed it.

Thankfully at this point people were getting settled. The only issue I had with the beginning of the show was that, because it started right at 8, people were still getting seated during the first part of the show. It was pretty distracting and drove me a little crazy, but I get that if you didn’t know the timing and format of the show, that you would never think it was going to start on time.

Then out strolls Joe. Black t-shirt and jeans, and too cool for school. I have to say, I flipping LOVE Joe Walsh. He is so effortlessly cool. Laying down those guitar licks and really bringing the crowd into it. Not that they weren’t already, but just him walking on the stage sent a huge jolt of energy through the place. Witchy Woman was fantastic.

The Doolin’-Dalton, Tequila Sunrise, Doolin’ Dalton/Desperado reprise section was my idea of heaven on a stage. Desperado is one of my favorite albums of theirs and to hear this sequence was just a dream come true. The reprise was particularly soulful and poignant.

I could not even believe what I was seeing up on stage for this entire first part of the concert. Huge kudos to them for presenting this type of show for their long-time fans. I know from the reaction of some around us that the deeper cuts were a bit lost of them (chatterboxes during Doolin’ Dalton), but to fans like me it was just such a huge gift, and I am so very grateful and lucky to have gotten to experience it. It was just something that I will never forget (even with my horrible memory).

They then went into the fabulous early hits part of the show with a really fun version of Already Gone. I found some of the video that was used (during Those Shoes in particular) a little distracting, but I thought the Already Gone video was so fun. Glenn in my dream car (red Mustang convertible), tooling across the country. It got everyone up and dancing. BOML, LE, OOTN and TITTL were all perfect. Again, Don’s voice was just so clear and soulful on BOML. And the harmonies… I never cease to be amazed by what they are doing on that stage. It’s got to be so much hard work, but they make it look effortless. I have no idea how Don can still hit the high notes at the end of OOTN, but he does. Wow. Just wow. TITTL actually made me really emotional, thinking about Randy and hoping his health is ok. It was the perfect way to end the first part of the show. That first hour was a lovely and perfect summation of their early years.

I love the way the show was structured into the two parts and think they should consider doing some type of small venue filming of the first hour of the show. Maybe something like a Live at the Artist’s Den show. The intimacy of that part of the show is a bit lost in an arena. We had what I would consider really good seats and all I kept thinking was that I’d love to see this show in someplace like the Beacon or the Tower Theater. It would be perfection.

I’m really going on far too long, so I’ll try to wrap it up.

The second part of the show was just fun, fun, fun. All the hits. You know them, you love them, you have to stand up and dance. Heavy on the Joe songs, which suits me just fine. The women in front of us, who were awesome and having so much fun, turned around at one point and said “you like Joe, huh?” Um, yeah.

Timothy’s songs were lovely. I understand what some have said about him being a little restrained on ICTYW, but he sounded great. And LWKUA was even better. He sounds fine to me and I would have never known he has had any vocal issues. He is really charming and sweet and did a little intro bit as well, so he got some spotlight time, which was nice.

Bernie came back out for TIE and again, to hear him play those guitar parts and see them all on the stage was just dream concert type of stuff for me. It was fantastic.

And to end with Desperado was just the cherry on top of a big old chocolate ice cream sundae. My favorite song, my favorite Eagle. Perfection.

Sorry if this was waaaaaaay too long. I just can’t believe the show I got to see last night. It was such an emotional journey for my friends and me. For fans like everyone on this board, it is the perfect musical journey, led by the quintessential American band. How very, very lucky I was to be able to see it. If you can possibly swing it, please do. It was incredible.