Eagles' Long Road To The Hollywood Bowl

I first saw the Eagles in concert in 1972. They opened up for Procol Harum at the Santa Monica Civic and it was obvious they were going to be big stars. Four talented guys singing four-part harmonies on catchy hits like "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling," effortlessly combining country music with rock and roll. I saw them many more times in the 70s, the decade they eventually embodied. Opening for Yes at the Long Beach Arena, headlining a New Year's Eve show at the Shrine (their first show with Joe Walsh as a guest guitarist) all leading up to their incredibly successful "Hotel California" tour. Since then "Their Greatest Hits" has become the biggest selling album of all time, and they've split up and reformed while adding and subtracting members. Their "Hell Freezes Over" show at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium in 1994 was a incredible celebration of their body of work, both as a group and solo performers. It was great to see them back together again.

In April of 2010 the Eagles played their first set of shows at the Hollywood Bowl. It was hard to believe they'd never performed at the historic concert hall. Because if there's any place their music belongs, its Hollywood, city of dreams. The kind of stuff they've written about since 1972 and of course, not all those dreams come true. "Don and I wrote that song in a little apartment two blocks from here," Glenn Frey said about "Witchy Woman." Later he related the inspiration behind the hit "Lyin' Eyes." It came from hanging out at the notorious Dan Tana's bar in the 70's and watching the pretty women do their thing with often disastrous results. In the songs of the Eagles, everyone has dreams, but as that song concludes we find out "your new life didn't change things. Your still the same old girl you used to be."

It was good to see the Eagles as the same old band they used to be, although much more polished than they were in their heyday. Joe Walsh is now a senior member (in more ways than one!) of the band and contributed with his rowdy guitar playing and sense of humor on solo hits like "Walk Away," "Funk 49" and "Life's Been Good." The latter was played while videos and photos of the band in the 70s were shown on the massive video screen behind the stage. It was a humorous and touching addition to a "silly song" which appears to be the un-official anthem for a group whose members are now over sixty years old. In the middle of the song Walsh let us know that "the Lakers won!" which earned a roar from the hometown crowd.

Other highlights included an acoustic set which began the second half of the three hour show with the haunting acapella take on "No More Walks In The Woods." They played my favorite "Take It To The Limit" which always makes me miss original bass player Randy Meisner. His replacement, Timothy B. Schmidt, had the crowd singing along to his gorgeous ballad "Love Will Keep Us Alive" and of course his big hit "I Can't Tell You Why." Yet Walsh and Schmidt also provided the evening's two clunkers: "Guilty Of The Crime" and "I Don't Want To Hear Anymore" from the latest album "Long Road Out Of Eden." Those are the weakest songs from that otherwise delightful album. The Eagles played plenty of it at the Bowl, including the shoulda-been-a-hit "Too Busy Being Fabulous" and the epic title track.

It certainly has been a long road for the Eagles, a group that many love and others abhor. They've always been at the top of my list and I enjoyed hearing the new songs as well as the old ones. It was kinda like going back to your hometown years after you've left. Everyone
looks older but inside they're still the same people you once cared about, and still do.