ROCK BAND UNITES OLD & YOUNG AS THE EAGLES OPEN THE NEW BOK CENTER--TULSA WORLD
The band was two full songs into its set before they blurted out "Hello, Tulsa!" But nobody needed an introduction.
As the Eagles launched into its first show of the current leg of its "Long Road out K Center arena Glenn Frey joked, "It's the Eagles Assisted Living Tour And we're the band that wouldn't die."
Denise Shook of Tulsa said the decades-long wait to see the Eagles live was well worth it. She and her husband, "lifelong Eagles fans," who often travel to Fort Worth for entertainment and sporting events, said the arena is a "great start" for Tulsa and have plans to do more in downtown.
Shook paid $20 some 30 years ago to see her first Eagles concert in Oklahoma City. "It's money well spent," she said of the $87 dollars they paid for each ticket for Saturday's show.
The legendary California act played from its canon of eternal hits, new and old, including its award-winning version of "How Long," and "Witchy Woman," "Lyin' Eyes," and even the Don Henley hit "Boys of Summer" and Joe Walsh favorite "Falling Down."
Dazzlers such as "The Long Run" were perfectly suited for this arena's acoustics: The echo, haunting harmonies, big-drum sound and bawling guitars had the capacity crowd on its feet in hand-clapping unison. Lovers danced (and wept) in the aisles to "Take it to the Limit." With more that 30 years of music history performed live, reminiscence ruled the evening.
As often happens when a longtime music act injects its newer tunes into a set list, many of those songs felt a little stilted "No More Walks in the Wood" and "No More Cloudy Days" lacked the spontaneity of the more well-traveled classics (for starters, the band played the tunes while sitting on stools), falling somewhat flat when Glenn Frey's high notes wavered.
However, Joe Walsh didn't need the spotlight in order to steal it on songs like "Guilty of the Crime." His singing may be only somewhat intelligible, but no lyrics are needed under his unerring, clarion command of the bottleneck slide. The effortless in which he played belied his talent. He was the strongest performer of the quartet.
One thing's for sure: The music's held fast with fans of these cosmic cowboys who have never dug on punk or disco. Multiple standing ovations in a crowd at least three generations strong was proof positive of that.
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Hmmm, I don't think I've ever heard the Joe Walsh favorite "Falling Down."
There are some good pics here though. Click on The Eagles, and the first half shows the venue & the fans, and the second half showcases the guys.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/slides.aspx