Eagles Tribute Band - Hotel California

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Back in the fall, I went to see the Eagles tribute band – Hotel California. I was going to do this writeup a while back, but am just now getting around to it. I was surfing the net one day and just happened to find their website. I checked out their concert dates and it just so happened that they were scheduled to play at a county fair about 1½ to 2 hours away from me one Friday night within the next few weeks. So I decided that I needed to go check them out. I’m glad that I did. They were actually pretty good. They don’t really look or sound a lot like the real thing, but then, they don’t try to, which I appreciated. However, they still do a good job with most of the songs. There were a few songs where they actually do sound pretty close to the real thing.
I must say that I loved the set list. I really thought that they may play a short set, but I was pleasantly surprised. They actually played 20 songs, and the show was over two hours long. I sure would like to mail it to our guys and see if we could convince them to play some of these. Here is what they played:

TIE
Witchy Woman
James Dean
Lyin’ Eyes
Best of My Love
Smuggler’s Blues
TITTL
Tequila Sunrise
PEF
Those Shoes
LITFL
Already Gone
ICTYW
OOTN
Desperado
Victim of Love
RMW
Heartache Tonight
Hotel California
All Night Long

Here are some notes I made for myself.
TIE and James Dean were both done in a somewhat slower tempo. They weren’t bad, but I prefer the normal tempo for both.
Lyin’ Eyes was in a lower register than the original version – I guess not everyone can hit those high notes. However, it was the intro to this song where I thought I was going to pass out. The band member said that this was the only song the Eagles ever won a Grammy for. I gasp out loud.
Best of My Love was very well done. This was one time where the guy sounded very much like Don.
TITTL was also very good. They did the high notes at the end, but again, not as high as Randy.
PEF was really good. The guy sounded somewhat like Glenn.
ICTYW was very well done, and the guys sounded somewhat like Tim, but his voice isn’t as pretty.
They did a really good job with RMW and All Night Long. Actually, the guy does a pretty good Joe.
After the show, they signed autographs and talked to the fans. Normally, I would not have gone over to talk to them, but I felt an obligation to set them straight about the Grammy faux pas. I went up and told them that I was a hardcore Eagles fan, and politely corrected them. The guy actually wrote down HC, NKIT, and HT as I told them which other songs had won Grammys. He said to me “Yeah – I noticed you out in the audience – you knew every single word to every song.” Duh – I told them I was a hard core! I also told them about GlennFreyOnline and the message board. They said they were going to check it out.
I have to say though, there is one other thing that I am not impressed about. When back at home, I visited their website again, and I notice another aggregious mistake. On this website for an Eagles Tribute Band, they have Glenn’s name spelled as Glen. Again, I gasp out loud. I penned a polite email to them to correct it, but as of today, nothing has been done. I can't believe that a band who makes their livlihood off of Glenn's name would not know the correct spelling, and worse yet, not correct it when this was pointed out. So, I have to subtract 10 points for negligence (or should it be 20 points). :wink:

[Freypower]

Thanks for that Dreamer. I get tired of 'Glen' too. But then the last time I saw the band down here there were still people mispronouncing his surname. I was telling total strangers how to say it. :?

[glenneaglesfan]

Thanks for posting that, dreamer. It sounds an interesting experience. I like the thought that they included Smugglers Blues as well as a couple of Joe songs. Nice to see Those Shoes as well, as I would think that is not such a well known Eagles song.

Glad you got a chance to correct them on the Grammies! As for 'Glen'... :roll:

[Brooke]

Cool review dreamer! Good job on trying to set them straight, too!

I have to admit, even though I've been a hard core Eagles fan for over 30 years, it wasn't until probably HFO (and that is a debatable guess!) that I learned how to say Frey! :blush:

I had no way to find out. Hearing it on the radio it would be one way, then the other like Fri or Fra with long vowels! The dj's didn't know either! :roll:

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Yeah - that reminds me of one of the interviews with Glenn (I think one of the Media Day interviews) where they put his name up on the screen incorrectly two or three different times within a minute or so. I don't remember the exact combinations, but it's something like Glen Fry, Glenn Frye, and Glen Frey. I think they finally got it right at the very end. But, at least, the people in the interview weren't making money off of his name like this tribute band. I guess it could be argued that they are actually making money off of the Eagles name instead of Glenn's name, but still! :shock: :shock: :shock:

[EasyFeeling]

I have to admit, even though I've been a hard core Eagles fan for over 30 years, it wasn't until probably HFO (and that is a debatable guess!) that I learned how to say Frey! :blush:

Oh Brooke, you're not alone with this. I didn't know it either. :blush: :blush: Before I became a fan of the Eagles (I knew them for many years but wasn't really a fan all the time) I always thought Don is Glenn. :blush: And I didn't know much about Don and thought he is a country singer. :blush:

Great review, Dreamer. :D I was going to see an Eagles tribute band at the beginning of last year but it had been cancelled. In retrospect I didn't mind because I got to see the real band. :D :D But it would be interesting to see a tribute band.

[sodascouts]

Thanks for posting this review, dreamer! I agree, they really do need to make the effort to spell Glenn's name right on their site. That's just disgraceful.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Soda and I were actually discussing this on our recent trip about how the guys "marketed" themselves. I don't think its a big surprise that many people don't know the names of the individual band members or even if they know the name, they may not be able to spell it or pronounce it correctly. I remember reading the stories in another thread about how we became Eagles fans about how many of us didn't know their names or even if we did know the names, we didn't realize they were in the Eagles.

There are many bands where most people know who the members are. Of course, almost everyone can name all four Beatles. However, while almost everyone knows the Eagles, I don't think a lot of casual fans can name all the members, past or present. I also don't think this is an accident. I believe they planned it like this in order to maintain some anonymity.

[glenneaglesfan]

That's so true, dreamer. I'd add that in most of the biggest bands there are only one or two members who are pre-eminent and therefore people know who they are. For instance, how many people could name all the members of Fleetwood Mac? The Eagles tried to keep equality and anonymity at the start, and even Glenn admitted when he started his solo career that maybe they should have had a few less animal skulls and more pictures of themselves on the album covers!

Over here, it's natural to pronounce Frey as 'Fray', as that is how we spell and pronounce 'grey' (gray in the US).

[Brooke]

There's another tribute band in Branson! This reviewer thought they were really good!

http://www.bransoncourier.com/branson-entertainment/eagles-tribute-take-it-to-the-limit-759.html

[Marco]

I prefer the Official Band and not the tribute Bands

[Brooke]

I prefer the Official Band and not the tribute Bands

I do too, Marcox! But, sometimes you have to take what you can get!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I forgot to reply to this earlier. I totally agree with you, Brooke. These tribute bands have their place. Of course, it is not like seeing the real band, but they do provide some entertainment value, especially when the real band is idle and fans aren't able to see them.

[janisjoplin]

I never thought I'd get to see the Eagles live - but luckily for me I did see them in Birmingham , England last year - I went both nights wooo hooo.

However, I can't remember how many years ago now, maybe 5, an Eagles tribute band came to Jersey - band called Talon - and I must admit they were excellent. When they came here they had a female playing with them who was amazing - played all sorts of instruments.

I got a chance to talk with the band after the gig too.

I know a lot of people poo-poo tribute bands but when you live on a little island with a population of approx 80,000 you're not going to get the major bands over here. Heck, our population could fit into Wembley Stadium. And whilst I'm having a moan I'll just mention that our island often gets fog bound so there's no planes in or out - one Christmas I couldn't get away for 3 days end of rant LOL

[zermie]

On the subject of tribute bands, a few weeks ago I saw

The tequila sunrise band play a show in my home state of Va and they were great ! check out their web site for audio and video clips, the only downside was that they didnt perform any Henley-Frey solo material but did do some Walsh solo stuff (RMW, ITC, ANN)

[glenneaglesfan]

Jj, I've seen adverts for Talon in my local area, and didn't think to try and see them. If they tour here again, I'll make more effort. Join the club with the fog. How many times does Plymouth airport grind to a halt?!

Zermie, I'll use this as an opportunity to welcome you to The Border. I hope you will have some fun here, and take a chance to look at the affiliated sites. 8)

[sodascouts]

Welcome Zermie, glad to see you!

There's no tribute bands around where I live, and I'd love to see one. Sure, it's not the real thing, but it's still lots of fun to hear the Eagles songs and have a good time singing along.

[zermie]

thanks GEF and Soda, I've been meaning to join the chat here, I have a few interesting glenn stories to share, I promise not to cause too much trouble.

[Marco]

Welcome Zermie,
Can You tell me something about this tribute band (Tequila Sunrise)

[zermie]

the best thing I can tell you is to check their website, they have many audio and video clips:
type in, one word, tequilasunriseband dot com and check out their audio and video clips, they are an US based band, playing small music halls, casinos and state fairs.

[Molly]

Thanks for the link and steering me to your review, dreamer. I missed this the first time around.

Sounds like you handled all the dirty work by correcting the errors and I can just sit back and enjoy.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Well - I think you'll enjoy yourself Molly, even if they haven't taken the time to fix Glenn's name on their website. :headscratch: Hopefully, they won't repeat the mistake about the grammys. It will also be interesting to see if the setlist changes. Have fun and let us know how you like it.