Hard Rock Park, SC 6-03-08

[sodascouts]

DonFan, her daughter, Dreamer, her nephew and niece, and me - we all had a great time at the Hard Rock park today! More details later, but really quickly...

The set list was much shorter than normal - the guys were done in 90 minutes. Here it is:

How Long
Busy Being Fabulous
Hotel California
Peaceful Easy Feeling
I Can't Tell You Why
One of These Nights
Lyin' Eyes
Boys of Summer
In the City
The Long Run
Life's Been Good
Dirty Laundry
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Take It Easy
Desperado

They seemed to be having a great time - Glenn was wearing a grin almost the entire time. Joe was really on and the crowd loved him the most, I think. He got a standing ovation for Life's Been Good. They all sounded great.

They were NOT in the suits - Glenn wore a neon pink shirt over a black top and jeans. Don, Joe, and Tim were all in blue jeans. Don sported his trademark plaid, while Joe and Tim both wore black button-ups (Tim with a vest).

We were standing in the General Admission area and some of us didn't have the best view, but we still enjoyed ourselves. I don't regret coming one bit!

It's late so we'll give a more thorough accounting tomorrow!

[Mrs Frey]

Glenn in neon pink... Heaven help me. My heart's going crazy just thinking about that!

It's interesting that they played such a short show. Only 5 songs for Glenn ? Only 1 song for Tim?

Don't get me wrong, I love Don's solo songs, but in such a short set (for the Eagles, anyway), I would have thought they would include more Eagles classics. JMHO.

Thanks for the preview, Soda - I look forward to reading more. I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves! I'm also glad the guys themselves were enjoying it so much.

[carol7lynn]

Nancy,

Glad you made it. Looking forward to hearing more once you get a good night's sleep. Thanks for posting the set list. I'm sure your bushed. Not surprised Joe stole the show as he has been on fire lately. Would loved to have seen Glenn in that pink shirt. Way to go girl! :P

Carol-Lynn
SoCalGalNow

[DonFan]

We are three really tired ladies this morning, y'all, but we had a great time!
Where to begin.....
The park is really cool. It is still so new that some of the rides aren't open yet, but the ones that are open are great. We rode LITFL several times. It is similar to the Runaway Mine Train ride at Six Flags. The special version of the song that plays during the ride is short and doesn't include any of the verses. They played Farewell 1 in the waiting line and the end of the ride lets you out in a store, but they really didn't have any Eagles shirts that you couldn't find at a concert or at Walmart.

I will let Soda write about the Led Zepplin coaster bec I chickened out on that one, but my daughter loved it! We ate lunch at a cafe across from the amphitheater and watched the techies set up for the concert and saw part of the images from their backup screen.

They closed off the area of the park where the show was to be held in the early afternoon, and we had to line up very early to get ready for the show, about 4:30. There were already a number of hardcore fans in front of us, about 50, but we made friends with the folks around us, and the park personnel served water and sent jugglers to entertain us. We knew sound check was going on, but we couldn't get close enough to really hear or see it. But....when they finished, one of our group looked up to see Joe heading toward the LITFL roller coaster, right beside where we were waiting! The crowd cheered! Dreamer's niece & nephew actually shook Joe's hand as he passed by. Then we all watched as Joe got in the front seat of the coaster and cheered him on as he went by. That was quite a thrill.

More to come...

[TimothyBFan]

Can't wait to hear about the rest!

[sodascouts]

DonFan gave a good rundown of the pre-concert events. Joe actually came down the path THROUGH the winding General Admission line after his ride on the LITFL roller coaster, and I called out to him "You're great!" in tribute to Life's Been Good - "they write me letters, tell me I'm great."

Once we were done waiting in line, it was time to go to the amphitheater. We thought they would escort us to the amphitheater in groups to make sure no one cut in line, but they just opened the gates and let us run for it. Since the line was located a good 200 yards from the amphitheater, it was a daunting task.

Luckily, we still got a decent spot in the second row of people in general admission. The general admission area, however, is behind about 2000 "VIP" seats, so it was a bit further back than I would have hoped. Still, we were better off than the 8000 or so people mashed up behind us on that lawn. Standing room only!

The show started with How Long, to great cheering. We were shocked when they skipped right from Busy Being Fabulous to Hotel California, understanding then that we were gonna get the super-short version of the Eagles concert, even shorter than the Stagecoach Festival.

Don went back behind the drums at this point; then, Bill Armstrong opened Hotel California with his trumpet solo wearing jeans and a cowboy hat (he was later introduced as "Billy Armstrong from Texas"). Of course once those famous guitar chords start and that iconic pink HC photo lights up the backdrop, everyone starts cheering. The VIPs in front of us didn't stand for the song, though. I think that the reason HC sometimes gets a "sedate" response is that people are still feeling mellow from the previous song and the trumpet intro, and don't shift gears too quickly.

Before PEF, Glenn made a few announcements and told a few jokes. He said, "We know you all have cell phones, so you all have cameras." [audience laughs]. "We don't mind if you take pictures, but please respect our wishes not to film our songs... they all wind up immediately on YouTube..." he paused, then grinned to take the edge off of his words. "My wife asks me, 'Where were you last night?' I tell her, 'Myrtle Beach, I swear! You can see me on YouTube!" [gets huge laugh]. "Anyway, we'd like you not to film our songs, so if you see someone next to you doing that, please ask them to stop." I think he's taken over the "YouTube = bad" duties because he can pull it off in a charming way, whereas Don comes off as grouchy, lol.

While we were afraid that due to the abbreviated setlist Tim wouldn't get to sing a song, our fears were laid to rest when we saw Glenn head over to the keyboard and Tim take center stage for ICTYW. He seemed a bit hoarse - hope he's feeling well!

When the smoky strains of OOTN started, the audience again cheered happily. The Eagles are one of those bands that can do hit after hit after hit. It's great.

Before Lyin' Eyes, Glenn intro'ed the song with, "Don and I wrote this song in two days back in the seventies. Right now, it would probably take us two months. We also wrote Desperado that week." [pause] "DAMN, we were good!" I was pleased he skipped the Plaintiff joke, I admit. While it's funny, I just get embarrassed for him when he does the same material again and again - and everyone who's bought Farewell 1 has heard it!

Don came out front again for Boys of Summer. While a few people were grumbling about the insertion of a Don solo song in such a short Eagles set, he still rocked it - despite forgetting the line about Wayfarers. When this happened, he looked over at Glenn and shrugged, while Glenn cracked up.

Since I was behind a lady with big hair, I couldn't see Tim at all, and I couldn't see Don or Glenn unless they were center stage. I had a clear shot at Joe, however, the whole night. Because of his tromp through the line earlier and also because he comes off as "regular guy who you can have some hotwings with" Joe, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand from the get-go. He NAILED the vocal, including the high notes, and did a killer guitar solo with a few different riffs from what I'm used to. I loved it!

As DF recalls, when Don came forward to talk before TLR, he said, "Hi y'all. Y'all is a word where I come from--" then he spelled it for us too. The Southern audience cheered. He said TLR not only described the Eagles but also the Hard Rock, and he talked about playing in the London Hard Rock where they gave him free cheeseburgers. He added that the Hard Rock was founded about when the song was written! He asked the audience to sing along, and we did.

The guys seemed to be in such high spirits. At one point, Glenn whispered something to Steuart, and he laughed all the way to his side of the stage. Must've been funny!

There was no intermission - straight into band intros. Glenn intro'ed the band with his usual panache, calling Richard Davis "the Blade" and calling Don his "Lifelong friend from Linden." This time, Tim intro'ed Glenn instead of him doing it himself. Glenn said when intro'ing Scott Crago that he and Scott had a "C-note" going on who would win the NBA finals. "Might as well pay me now," he called over his shoulder to Scott.

OK guys, time to check out, so the rest of the songs will come later!

[carol7lynn]

Great Review ladies. Makes me feel like I was right there with you looking through "the big hair" instead of home getting my dryer fixed!

Carol-Lynn
SoCalGalNow

[Brooke]

Wonderful ladies! Sounds like a great time was had by all! Can't wait to hear the rest!

Neon pink on Glenn? Hmmmm, was it the one from F1? Glad to see they got comfy for the occasion!

[sodascouts]

OK, here we go - Part 2!

Another thing about the band intros: Glenn said, “We have a new album out; it’s a big deal – it may not be a big deal to you, but it’s a big deal to us.” Then he said that everyone on the stage had either appeared on it or co-produced it. I also forgot to say in the other post that Glenn did a little “skip and jump dance of joy” after Tim introduced him.

The next song was Life’s Been Good. Joe opened it with, “I apologize to all the kids whose parents made them hate this song by playing it again and again over and over, but I’m gonna play it again anyway. This was written last century – if I can remember it – but it’s still relevant today.” He had on his baseball-cap-cam and we knew what was coming! When the song started, once again, everyone cheered loudly, and we were treated to my favorite montage of the night – the clips of Joe’s videos and some videos and photos of the other guy set to the music in a funny way. The new screens are so entertaining, especially if – like me – you were having a hard time seeing the band itself (the only “concert techno-tron” was hanging behind us for the people who were crunched up in the lawn and had no chance of seeing it otherwise). Once again, Joe nailed it and shook it up with some variations on the riffs, and at the end he got a standing ovation. A funny addition was that after the doorbell, instead of just saying once “Who is it?” he said it again and again (injecting it in the next three lines), glancing over at Glenn as if asking him – “Who IS it? WHO IS IT?!!” It was great!

When Dirty Laundry started, I looked eagerly at the screens knowing what was to come. The crowd of course loved it. I think it has been said that they have added the Rolling Stone cover to the joke magazines, but I got a kick out of it anyway. It got a lot of cheers as well.

The beginning of Funk #49 was a bit different from usual – there was no comedic parody of “dueling guitars.” Instead, after they started out together, Joe stopped, stepped back, and indicated Glenn, who went on by himself. Glenn seemed surprised but hammed it up. Afterwards, he did a little dance, as if he were thrilled with himself for “defeating” Joe! lol. Then, the song started in earnest. At this point, I focused on the screens, having gotten frustrated with trying to see around the big hair. Funk #49’s screens were also terrific, with retro animations of shooting stars to begin, and then a cartoon-esque popping up of manipulated photos of the various members in an aquatic setting. For instance, Don and Tim cartoons were “swimming,” instruments in hand, a photo of Glenn was interposed on the helmet of a cartoon diver, etc., etc. Dreamer says it reminds her of the video game for “Nemo.”

For Heartache Tonight, the big-haired lady moved and I got a full view of the band – yay! I watched the band instead of the screens this time, although the screens were cute 20’s and 30’s film clips of lovers slapping each other (the slappers were usually outraged women) although it ended with a lover’s kiss. Heartache Tonight got everyone on their feet, clapping. It was full of energy and the guys seemed to be really enjoying it (like they were all night). Joe even mouthed some of the words to the song, which is somewhat unusual for him.

Next was Life in the Fast Lane, which got extra cheers because it was the ride’s name and theme song. I wondered if they were going to mention the ride or show a photo on the screens, but they didn’t. There was a roller coaster in the montage, but it wasn’t the LITFL ride and I got the feeling it was just part of the regular screen graphics, which was still cool! Once again, Joe was shaking up the riffs, and the crowd loved it.

The band went offstage briefly in order to give the audience the opportunity to cheer them back for an encore, but didn’t stay away too long because of the time limitations. While they were gone, I did the new trick of waving my opened cell phone instead of a lighter, so that it glowed in the night with the other non-smokers’ “lighters.”

They all came back out with Glenn complimenting the crowd – “thanks for coming out” etc. Then he said they were going to do some songs that “take us back to the beginning of this band.” He launched into Take It Easy, another crowd-pleaser (as are so many of their songs). While we have criticized them for keeping the latter part of the show exactly the same as Farewell 1, you have to admit that the sequencing of those songs creates a great energy and flow. Perhaps Glenn thinks, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

Don took center stage for Desperado, and the night came to a close with everyone singing along. While I was bummed about the shorter the setlist, it was still a lovely evening and a great show. I don’t regret going at all!

A final moment: on the way out, we heard Boys of Summer blasting over the park’s loudspeakers. How appropriate!

[glenneaglesfan]

Aw, Soda,what a lovely review, and it could really transport me to a warm evening in South Carolina. It sounds as if the guys were on great form, and particularly liked your earlier reference to Joe on passing through the crowd and testing out the 'Life In the Fast Lane' for itself.

Thanks for all the details, and I'm so pleased 'y'all' had a good time!