Moncton, NB, Canada 08-02-08

[sodascouts]

Thanks for posting these, DF. When I get some time I will post links to them onto DHO. It's just with everything happening I haven't had the opportunity to do it myself.

[glenneaglesfan]

A nice review of the Moncton show here:

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.co...article/374094

Moncton spoiled by great concerts
Published Monday August 4th, 2008
Rod Allen

We haven't had that spirit here since 2005.

The fact that was only three years ago might suggest we are all getting a bit spoiled after an awe-inspiring performance by The Eagles out on 'the Hill' Saturday night.

Spoiled and maybe a little prideful too.

How can we not be, after every imaginable weather condition that would suggest we were all gonna drown failed to produce anything but the finest, lightest and most refreshing of mists just as the band bade us farewell with 'Desperado?'

Nonetheless, I do believe the City of Moncton and Donald Tarlton of DKD Productions can be forgiven a little 'hubris' if they think that even the weather gods now evidently believe in this city's destiny as a long-needed entertainment capital for Atlantic Canada.

Not to suggest that there aren't still a few adjustments to be made for future concerts, which seem easily accomplished on a day of total victory such as this one.

These are about reconciling concertgoing rules that were developed in the United States for crowds that are less "well behaved" -- to borrow a phrase from Eagles heart-and-soul musician Glen Frey -- than what he witnessed here.

Strict rules prohibiting the carrying-in of food, cameras or chairs seem ridiculous after passing through a check-point under which we could have easily smuggled in a roast beef dinner for six, complete with Yorkshire pudding, and particularly ridiculous after watching one clever group of fans puff up some easily-concealed inflatable chairs and watch the show in complete comfort while others sprawled in the mud.

The same can be said for the silly system of requiring fans to wait in one inordinately long line-up to buy tickets, which must be exchanged after another inordinately long line-up wait for the actual food.

And as for the music, I thought The Eagles (with the exception of the wonderful Joe Walsh) could have done a little better at verbally engaging the crowd.

But as I've stated, these and other shortcomings dwindle to nothing in the enormity of the overall Magnetic Hill Music Festival, and that includes the 'larger performance' by The Eagles.

Veteran concertgoers 'get it' when band members send out subtle signals that they want very badly to impress and entertain the crowd.

Forgoing their usual plaid shirts, Frey and the rest of the frontmen arrived like a presidential entourage right after John Fogerty in a motorcade of huge, jet-black SUVs and mounted the stage immediately, dressed to the nines in a kind of David Palmerish style with ties and dark jackets.

Every single song they played, without a flaw, reflected the same respect for the crowd.

And though he didn't actually smile as far as I know, Don Henley appeared to acknowledge the crowd's roaring approval with what I thought was a rather light facial expression which reputedly for him, passes as manic, leap-out-of-your seat joy.

So a big fat thank-you to The Eagles, the wonderful performance by Creedence Clearwater Revival creator John Fogerty, to British rocker KT Tunstall and to Canada's own Sam Roberts Band.

A big fat thank-you also to all the folks living around the rim of the Hill's natural amphitheatre, who set off a fireworks show all night long that must have cost them either a king's ransom or a pair of VIP tickets.

A big fat thank you also to (preliminary reports to the contrary) a crowd of about 55,000 people for singing along to all the songs, sometimes I'm sure loud enough to be heard in Halifax.

And the biggest, fattest thank-you of all to the Saint John couple who sat beside us and brimmed with praise for Moncton for pulling off this show.

"We should do something like this in Saint John," he told us, "except there, everybody would be infighting and arguing and it would never happen."

I don't really know anything about that and, in any case, our sister city to the west has its own fine destiny unfolding these days with a series of huge energy projects looming on the horizon.

Saturday's show makes me optimistic for all of Atlantic Canada, where all our cities seem poised for a stronger economic future.

The Metro Moncton area, which continues to reinvent itself as it has always done, is also poised to take it own unique place in that future and the Hill is a big new part of that.

Let us entertain you.

[glenneaglesfan]

Another great review, with a photo.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/373920

Eagles fans 'take it easy' at Magnetic Hill concert
Published Monday August 4th, 2008
By Alan Cochrane

MONCTON - As the opening piano notes of Desperado echoed through the foggy mist over the Magnetic Hill concert site, a sea of lighters and glow sticks rose up from the crowd of more than 50,000 to guide Don Henley home.

While the legendary Eagles singer stood motionless on the stage, singing about a cowboy who should come in from the rain and find his true love, the concert site seemed united in tranquility.

All around the stage, fans hugged each other, swayed to the beat and sang along to the somber, haunting classic that closed a two-hour performance by the Eagles.

The famous song put a lid on a long and emotional day of stomping through the mud, enduring long lines for food and washroom breaks, and enjoying a lineup of musical acts that appealed to everyone from teenagers to golden-agers.

"That was a magic moment," said Cassie Easton of Saint John, wiping tears from her eyes and hugging her mom, Brenda. "That was so awesome, I can't believe it."

For Cassie and the more than 50,000 others gathered at the hill Saturday, it was a show reminiscent of the Rolling Stones concert three years ago. It was the latest instalment in what promoter Donald Tarlton promises will become an annual and international event.

City of Moncton parks and recreation manager Ian Fowler said he was pleased with this year's show, despite some minor problems.

He said mud on the site, communication difficulties among event staff and other "minor glitches" would be worked on as the city moves toward next year's event.

There were rumblings backstage Saturday that an announcement for the 2009 music festival could come within a few weeks.

Although final numbers weren't available Sunday, Fowler said there were more than 50,000 people at the site.

And he was happy to note that this year's concert had the highest walk-in crowd with 1,500 tickets sold at the on-site box office just before the show.

Promoters had expected a big walk-in crowd, with the weather being the deciding factor for many people who put off ticket purchases until the last minute.

Fans of the Eagles, John Fogerty, K.T. Tunstall and the Sam Roberts Band came from all over New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Newfoundland, Quebec, the southern United States and elsewhere to be part of the big party.

And aside from a few medical emergencies, a couple of fights and traffic snarls, the event went smoothly with everyone getting in and out with few delays or problems.

The biggest worry was the weather. Heavy rain fell over Moncton early Saturday morning. Grey clouds hung over the concert site through the day but never resulted in more than a light shower or mist.

At 7 p.m., as the clouds brought a light mist to the concert site, legendary performer John Fogerty rocked and blasted his way through a 90-minute set that consisted mainly of hits from his days with Creedence Clearwater Revival.

"Y'all remind me a lot of Woodstock," said Fogerty, recalling the famous festival held in upstate New York nearly 40 years ago that set the bar for outdoor concerts.

"We had a lot goin' on at Woodstock. Everybody got naked and then I went home and wrote this song," he said before launching into Who'll Stop The Rain.

The Eagles appeared on stage later without introduction, catching many people who had gone off in search of another beer, some food or a safe route to the potties off guard. They launched directly into their latest hit, How Long, from the new album Long Road Out of Eden, bringing a rousing welcome from the crowd. Dressed in dark suits, white shirts and dark ties, the Eagles and a multi-piece virtual orchestra rolled through a two-hour set of their greatest hits from a musical career spanning 40 years.

The performance was rousing, romantic and subdued. Couples caressed and slow-danced during love songs like Take It To the Limit, then stood silently and expectantly as a trumpet played the haunting introduction to Hotel California.

The crowd sang along through such well-known classics as Peaceful Easy Feeling, I Can't Tell You Why, Witchy Woman, Lying Eyes and One of These Nights.

Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit each took their turn singing lead before turning the microphone over to Joe Walsh for his '70s hits Walk Away and In The City. Henley then performed his solo '80s hit Boys of Summer, followed by The Long Run.

After Frey introduced the members of the band, Walsh returned with a video camera on his head to get the crowd going during his classic solo hit, Life's Been Good, This was followed by another Henley solo tune, Dirty Laundry, and Walsh's oldie-but-goodie Funk 49.

[glenneaglesfan]

And one more!

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.co...article/374029

Eagles create lasting Moncton memories
Published Monday August 4th, 2008
By Alan Lewis

Band relies on music, not showmanship, to rock Magnetic Hill

It was the moment that more than 50,000 people were waiting for. When the four members of the Eagles and their backing band took the stage, Magnetic Hill -- "the biggest city in New Brunswick," as Eagles member Glenn Frey referred to it -- lit up.

The band opened with all four key members -- Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt -- front and centre. Frey, Henley and Walsh each strummed guitars while Schmidt played bass for the opening track How Long. Interestingly, it was the only song played Saturday from the band's latest album, Long Road Out of Eden.

A mid-tempo acoustic tune, How Long was followed by the band's classic Take It To The Limit, which made at least one concertgoer a happy camper.

"I went to Toronto to see the Eagles in 1994, and I'm still not over the fact they didn't sing Take It To The Limit that night," says Stephanie Gaudette of Penobsquis. "I couldn't not come after going to great lengths to get there in '94. I figured they were in my backyard, I had to go. I thought then that was my one and only chance."

Gaudette got her wish on Saturday, as did thousands of others.

Even the skeptical couldn't deny the power of Hotel California, the third song in the set. Opened with a short trumpet solo, when the album cover graphic from Hotel California hit the big screen and Joe Walsh began plucking those first opening notes, the crowd went ballistic.

"I really didn't care if I heard Hotel California ever again," says Andrew LeBlanc of Riverview. "But hearing it live was awesome," he relented.

Don Henley took his rightful place behind the drum kit for Hotel California, arguably the band's biggest hit.

The band continued through a few other peaceful, easy tunes including I Can't Tell You Why, led by Schmidt, Witchy Woman and Lyin' Eyes.

It wasn't until Walsh led the band on his 1971 hit Walk Away that the band's set really livened up.

Walsh, the showman of the group, walked along the crowd with a camera in his hat, waving to the crowd. Those in front of the stage waved back and were broadcast on the four big screens at the site for all to see.

Walsh later issued an apology to the "young people" in the crowd.

"I have to apologize to all the young people here," he said. "You had to grow up with your parents playing this song all the time. And now you're going to hear it again!"

And with that, the band kicked into Walsh's solo hit Life's Been Good, to which many sang along.

The band also played other members' solo hits, including Henley's Boys of Summer and All She Wants To Do Is Dance.

Henley and Schmidt were all business throughout the show, with Frey doing most of the between-song banter and Walsh hamming it up with the crowd at every opportunity.

The classic hits continued with The Long Run, Funk #49 and Take It Easy along among others.

When the band kicked into Heartache Tonight, followed by Life In The Fast Lane, toward the end of their set, the crowd was singing and dancing along to every note.

For Keith McAlpine, it was his second time seeing the band. The Scotsman who now resides in Fredericton saw the group in 1977 in Glasgow, Scotland.

"They're very similar," he says, comparing the two shows which were over 30 years apart. "There wasn't a lot of chatter (at the first show), like this one, just music."

Shawn and Joanne Hearn of Fredericton also enjoyed the show.

"I didn't realize how many of their songs I knew," Joanne said just after the band finished their set, which included a long encore.

The Eagles didn't have a fancy stage show and they weren't particularly energetic or showy on stage, except for some brief moments where Walsh goofed with the crowd and Frey danced to Henley's All She Wants To Do Is Dance.

But one can't deny the songs they played or how they played them. The harmonies in Hotel California were simply stunning.

Schmidt's vocal turn on I Can't Tell You Why, almost impossibly high at times, was impressive.

Walsh showed off his guitar chops, out-guitaring Frey in a little duel midway through the show.

The band's backing band also deserves credit. If you didn't know it, you might swear you were hearing several of the tunes played over a giant stereo instead of being played by a live band.

If you wanted some great, timeless classic rock, played by pros, you wanted to be at Magnetic Hill this past weekend.

[Mrs Henley]

WooHoo thanks GEF!

[TimothyBFan]

Kind of a mixed bag of reviews I think. In one respect they seem to think they sound great but I certainly don't agree with the 1st reviewer about Don never smiling, etc... Sounds like he has to TRY to find fault for some reason. Again-I'm pretty much less than happy with the reviews.

[GlennLover]

I'll post a few short comments here as a rebuttle to the reviews & try to get back with Part 2 of my review later tonight.

Don seemed embarassed by the long, loud applause after he was introduced. He waved his drumsticks at the crowd as much as to say "stop, this is too much, I don't deserve this". His smile looked almost coy, as if he was shy (although we know he's not). He did smile other times too.

Last week at work I discovered that quite a few of my co-workers went to the concert as well. Everyone thought that they were awesome. No one had anything negative to say about their performance. Afterall, they're the EAGLES We know that thy don't talk alot to the crowd. People are there to hear their music. Probably only us die hard fans are interested in hearing them talk very much. As I said in Part 1 of my review, Glenn said that they were going to keep the chatter to a minimum so they could play as many songs as possible. I think that their agreement for the concert probably was to play for 2 hours - and play they did. They have always been criticized for being "too perfect", but as Don said on F1, "I don't see that as a bad thing, necessarily".

Anyway, EAGLES I'll be back with more later.

[Glennsallnighter]

I agree with what you say GL! Any of us who have been to the gigs know what to expect from the lads. I think some critics are trying to find excuses to be negative and make negative comments about the band. Let a real fan do a review I say!

Looking forward to your next part GL

And I love your av

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Thanks for the latest installment of your review, GL. I am so glad you enjoyed yourself. It is interesting that they included TITTL. I love the non-acoustic version of the song much better.

And gef, thanks so much for posting all of those reviews. I think some critics forget that their reviews are supposed to be all about the the band and make it more about themselves. They are trying so hard to prove that they can write - they are just too busy being literate.

[DonFan]

Don seemed embarassed by the long, loud applause after he was introduced. He waved his drumsticks at the crowd as much as to say "stop, this is too much, I don't deserve this". His smile looked almost coy, as if he was shy (although we know he's not).

Aww, how cute. I love it.

Thanks for posting your experience and all the reviews. Great reading!