"Many have cited Goldenvoice’s 2016 Desert Trip festival, which featured Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and more as setting the template for the Classic West and East shows.
The Eagles and I have been having conversations about doing something with Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan and others at some point in a festival situation long before Desert Trip,” Azoff said. “But I can’t say that Desert Trip didn’t validate the idea.”
LA Times May 2017
Desert Trip took place Oct 7, 2016 – Oct 16, 2016
Reportedly tickets sold out within 3 hours
The Classic East/West took place in July 2017
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I am wondering when these conversations between Azoff and the "Eagles" took place. The HOTE tour concluded in July 2015. Glenn was hospitalized in Oct/Nov 2015.
Clearly it took some major planning to coordinate the lineup and availability of dates.
I wonder if Glenn Frey participated in these discussions and if so whether they might have had an earlier timeframe in mind or if they had always planned for Summer 2017. Lastly, it has crossed my mind this could be what Glenn meant when he told Bernie it's not over.
Last edited by Dawn; 11-25-2017 at 12:27 AM.
"Let's burn our long johns and head west" - Glenn Frey 1948-2016
It is also possible Glenn was not part of the discussion at all since Azoff doesn't specify when those conversations took place. It might very well have been 2016. Personally I think Glenn was probably done with the mega touring. It has been said he was worn out. Perhaps he was referring to something related to HC.
"Let's burn our long johns and head west" - Glenn Frey 1948-2016
I gotta believe Glenn Frey would not do a massive tour like HOTE without serious thought and consideration. He had so much more to give and many options to continue doing what he loved without being away from home/family and exposed to all the stress factors that come attached to promotional tours on a grand scale.
"Let's burn our long johns and head west" - Glenn Frey 1948-2016
Dawn - I have to agree with you. Don gave an interview before the Classic East in which he said Glenn was exhausted and worn out after the HOTE tour ended. He stated something along the lines of "then he got the pneumonia". Had Glenn not been so exhausted and worn out, maybe he would have had a better chance of fighting off the pneumonia. I could not see Glenn doing another long tour like that.
I totally agree. IIRC after HOTE finally ended Glenn went to his home on Kauai for some R&R and became ill with some sort of infection (bacterial?) which was successfully treated in LA I believe. Bob Seger also expressed concern about Glenn being worn out when he saw him in July 2015 in Detroit. If you look at the timeline since the tour ended late July there were only a couple of months . August to October before he went into the hospital in NYC. I have also wondered if the second case of pneumonia was related to treatment (VAP?).
Even with long breaks and the best amenities money can buy being on the road is a grind. The pressure to capitalize on albums, anniversaries, documentaries, etc through touring is something all bands and artists deal with and can be quite challenging especially in this era of classic rock baby boomers with expendable income extending the length and viability of careers for musicians well into their 70s.
Last edited by Dawn; 11-26-2017 at 12:58 PM.
"Let's burn our long johns and head west" - Glenn Frey 1948-2016
"Let's burn our long johns and head west" - Glenn Frey 1948-2016