The Assisted Living Tour!
Just got back from a very pleasant stay in Fargo. For my money, Eagles not only met, but exceeded my expectations Sunday night. What a remarkable band. Here’s my “official” review of the show…
The houselights went down at about 8:15 p.m. and the band took the simply designed stage: risers in back, a giant semi-circle screen behind the stage and flanked with two large HD screens to the left and right. Nothing fancy, but they didn’t need to distract their audience with smoke and mirrors. It was all about the music.
It was immediately evident that the Eagles had no intention in resting on their laurels. They could have stuck with their many classic hits from their golden era of the ‘70’s, but not this band. They opened the show with “How Long,” the first single from their new album, Long Road Out of Eden, and they sounded absolutely fantastic. I knew right away it was going to be a great night.
“How Long” was immediately chased by the second single off Long Road Out of Eden, “Busy Being Fabulous,” a great sing-along tune, and Don Henley sounded terrific.
After “Busy Being Fabulous,” Glenn Frey, our self-proclaimed master of ceremonies, stepped up to the microphone and gave a big “Hello, Fargo!!” He then quickly cranked out the first in an endless string of one-liners: “Check your ticket stubs, be sure you’re in the right place,” he announced. “This is the Assisted Living Tour and we are the Ancient Ones -- The Eagles -- the band that would not die,” which was met by a roar of approval from the 10,000 + strong crowd.
Our master of ceremonies, Mr. Frey.
Frey promised “old songs, new songs, fast songs, slow songs, blue songs and all-about-you songs.” And the band delivered. The harmonies were pitch-perfect. The musicianship was flawless. You could say it was so good it almost didn’t sound real!
The band played two more songs from Long Road Out of Eden before they pulled out the first trick up their sleeve. After a “spaghetti western” style trumpet solo introduction, the band ripped into perhaps their biggest hit, “Hotel California.” I was surprised the song was being played just 20 minutes into the set, expecting them to use it as a finale or encore. I was afraid that perhaps the rest of the evening would be anti-climactic since they played such a massive hit so early, but who am I to doubt the masters?
Instead, the Eagles used this hit as a floodgate of sorts and once it was opened, the hits poured out. In quick succession, the crowd was treated with a rich combination of hits, including “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “Witchy Woman,” (“a song from our Satanic country-rock, rhythm and blues period,” Frey joked. On a personal note, this song was never one of my favorites, but it absolutely rocked and I now have a whole new appreciation for it!), “In the City” (Joe Walsh frickin’ rocks!), “The Long Run,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” Henley’s solo smash hit “Boys of Summer” (one of my all-time favorites), and “Lyin’ Eyes.”
Just before the latter song, Frey offered up an amusing story: “It was the year 1975. Don Henley and I lived in a house on Mulholland Drive and one day we went to a small restaurant in the Hollywood Hills which was the local hang-out for some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood -- all, of course, were unattainable to us. But we saw a soap opera playing out at the table next to us, so we wrote a song about it. It’s a long song although it only took us two days to write it. …We did everything fast in 1975.” Frey went on to affectionately dedicate the song to his first wife, whose name is, apparently, “Plaintiff.”
Joe Walsh cranks out a rousing version of "In the City."
One of the definite crowd favorites was “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” from the album Hell Freezes Over, beautifully sung by bassist Timothy B. Schmit in his trademark high tenor voice (“He sings high and plays low, he’s the whole package folks!” said Frey as he introduced Schmit). This was followed by another crowd favorite, “the credit card song,” “Take It To the Limit.”
Timothy B. Schmit sang "Love Will Keep Us Alive," "I Can't Tell You Why," and "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore," as well as supplying beautiful harmonies all night long.
I think the most poignant moment of the entire show was during the 10 minute long opus “Long Road Out of Eden.” On the large half-circle screen behind the stage, images were projected of U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq, contrasted with scenes of everyday suburban America. The message was clear: we are in a war and there’s seemingly no end in sight. Many scholars believe the actual Garden of Eden is located in present-day Iraq. And right now, it’s a long road out of Eden. The last image shown on the screen was a pair of empty combat boots half-buried in the desert sand. The point was made. Pretty powerful stuff.
Henley sings "Long Road Out of Eden," one of the highlights of the night.
And suddenly, the crowd favorite, Joe Walsh was unleashed. Let me tell you, the effect was very much like letting a puppy out of his kennel. Glenn Frey introduced him as “A man who needs no introduction -- a legend in his own room -- the one and only Joe Walsh!” which brought the loudest cheers of the night from the Fargodome.
Walsh, wearing his now-famous helmet cam walked up to the microphone and yelled in a fake Bronx accent “HOW YA DOIN’??!!” and just like that, he had the audience in the palm of his hand. He then issued an apology: “I just wanted to apologize to all of the younger people in the audience. This next song is one your parents played over and over and over again when you were growing up. Maybe that explains why you turned out so weird? Well, it’s too late now, so we might as well play it again, right?”
Walsh and his helmet-cam.
Walsh then ripped into one of his big solo hits “Life’s Been Good,” running from one end of the stage to the other with his helmet cam, hamming it up and shooting the audience with his camera, which was projected on both big HD screens flanking the stage as well as the huge screen behind the stage.
There was no looking back after this. Not to be outdone, Henley kicked it into high gear with his #1 smash from 1984, “Dirty Laundry,” complete with an amusing montage of images projected onto the big screens, ripping tabloid papers and t.v. shows and especially digging at Fox News. Typical Henley and I thought it was hilarious.
Walsh followed this with the excellent “Funk #49” jam from his James Gang days, complete with a perfectly syncopated four-piece horn section. The set concluded with back-to-back rockers “Heartache Tonight” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” The Gestapo-like security at the Fargodome could no longer keep people in their seats… and I think they stopped trying.
The evening ended with an encore of “Take It Easy” (which the guy in front of me had been yelling for since the third song in the show), and ended with Don Henley standing center stage, belting out “Desperado,” and bringing the audience in for a perfect, peaceful easy landing.
Henley ends a perfect night with "Desperado."
"Good night, Fargo!"
The houselights finally came up at about 11:30 p.m. Over three hours of solid entertainment and superb musicianship. It was a hell of a show. I would recommend seeing these guys to anyone!
The houselights went down at about 8:15 p.m. and the band took the simply designed stage: risers in back, a giant semi-circle screen behind the stage and flanked with two large HD screens to the left and right. Nothing fancy, but they didn’t need to distract their audience with smoke and mirrors. It was all about the music.
It was immediately evident that the Eagles had no intention in resting on their laurels. They could have stuck with their many classic hits from their golden era of the ‘70’s, but not this band. They opened the show with “How Long,” the first single from their new album, Long Road Out of Eden, and they sounded absolutely fantastic. I knew right away it was going to be a great night.
“How Long” was immediately chased by the second single off Long Road Out of Eden, “Busy Being Fabulous,” a great sing-along tune, and Don Henley sounded terrific.
After “Busy Being Fabulous,” Glenn Frey, our self-proclaimed master of ceremonies, stepped up to the microphone and gave a big “Hello, Fargo!!” He then quickly cranked out the first in an endless string of one-liners: “Check your ticket stubs, be sure you’re in the right place,” he announced. “This is the Assisted Living Tour and we are the Ancient Ones -- The Eagles -- the band that would not die,” which was met by a roar of approval from the 10,000 + strong crowd.
Our master of ceremonies, Mr. Frey.
Frey promised “old songs, new songs, fast songs, slow songs, blue songs and all-about-you songs.” And the band delivered. The harmonies were pitch-perfect. The musicianship was flawless. You could say it was so good it almost didn’t sound real!
The band played two more songs from Long Road Out of Eden before they pulled out the first trick up their sleeve. After a “spaghetti western” style trumpet solo introduction, the band ripped into perhaps their biggest hit, “Hotel California.” I was surprised the song was being played just 20 minutes into the set, expecting them to use it as a finale or encore. I was afraid that perhaps the rest of the evening would be anti-climactic since they played such a massive hit so early, but who am I to doubt the masters?
"Hotel California" with Henley on the drums, just like back in the day...
Instead, the Eagles used this hit as a floodgate of sorts and once it was opened, the hits poured out. In quick succession, the crowd was treated with a rich combination of hits, including “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “Witchy Woman,” (“a song from our Satanic country-rock, rhythm and blues period,” Frey joked. On a personal note, this song was never one of my favorites, but it absolutely rocked and I now have a whole new appreciation for it!), “In the City” (Joe Walsh frickin’ rocks!), “The Long Run,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” Henley’s solo smash hit “Boys of Summer” (one of my all-time favorites), and “Lyin’ Eyes.”
Just before the latter song, Frey offered up an amusing story: “It was the year 1975. Don Henley and I lived in a house on Mulholland Drive and one day we went to a small restaurant in the Hollywood Hills which was the local hang-out for some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood -- all, of course, were unattainable to us. But we saw a soap opera playing out at the table next to us, so we wrote a song about it. It’s a long song although it only took us two days to write it. …We did everything fast in 1975.” Frey went on to affectionately dedicate the song to his first wife, whose name is, apparently, “Plaintiff.”
Joe Walsh cranks out a rousing version of "In the City."
The band took a brief 15 minute intermission before coming back on stage and opening the second half of the show with the perfectly harmonized a cappella “No More Walks in the Woods,” the opening track from Long Road Out of Eden, followed by “Waiting in the Weeds,” another terrific new song. “And that concludes our botanical portion of the set,” cracked Frey.
Schmit, Henley and Frey singing "Waiting in the Weeds."
One of the definite crowd favorites was “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” from the album Hell Freezes Over, beautifully sung by bassist Timothy B. Schmit in his trademark high tenor voice (“He sings high and plays low, he’s the whole package folks!” said Frey as he introduced Schmit). This was followed by another crowd favorite, “the credit card song,” “Take It To the Limit.”
Timothy B. Schmit sang "Love Will Keep Us Alive," "I Can't Tell You Why," and "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore," as well as supplying beautiful harmonies all night long.
I think the most poignant moment of the entire show was during the 10 minute long opus “Long Road Out of Eden.” On the large half-circle screen behind the stage, images were projected of U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq, contrasted with scenes of everyday suburban America. The message was clear: we are in a war and there’s seemingly no end in sight. Many scholars believe the actual Garden of Eden is located in present-day Iraq. And right now, it’s a long road out of Eden. The last image shown on the screen was a pair of empty combat boots half-buried in the desert sand. The point was made. Pretty powerful stuff.
Henley sings "Long Road Out of Eden," one of the highlights of the night.
And suddenly, the crowd favorite, Joe Walsh was unleashed. Let me tell you, the effect was very much like letting a puppy out of his kennel. Glenn Frey introduced him as “A man who needs no introduction -- a legend in his own room -- the one and only Joe Walsh!” which brought the loudest cheers of the night from the Fargodome.
Walsh, wearing his now-famous helmet cam walked up to the microphone and yelled in a fake Bronx accent “HOW YA DOIN’??!!” and just like that, he had the audience in the palm of his hand. He then issued an apology: “I just wanted to apologize to all of the younger people in the audience. This next song is one your parents played over and over and over again when you were growing up. Maybe that explains why you turned out so weird? Well, it’s too late now, so we might as well play it again, right?”
Walsh and his helmet-cam.
Walsh then ripped into one of his big solo hits “Life’s Been Good,” running from one end of the stage to the other with his helmet cam, hamming it up and shooting the audience with his camera, which was projected on both big HD screens flanking the stage as well as the huge screen behind the stage.
There was no looking back after this. Not to be outdone, Henley kicked it into high gear with his #1 smash from 1984, “Dirty Laundry,” complete with an amusing montage of images projected onto the big screens, ripping tabloid papers and t.v. shows and especially digging at Fox News. Typical Henley and I thought it was hilarious.
Don Henley and company perform "Dirty Laundry."
Walsh followed this with the excellent “Funk #49” jam from his James Gang days, complete with a perfectly syncopated four-piece horn section. The set concluded with back-to-back rockers “Heartache Tonight” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” The Gestapo-like security at the Fargodome could no longer keep people in their seats… and I think they stopped trying.
Walsh rocks on "Funk #49," with the "Thousand Errors" horn section in the background.
The evening ended with an encore of “Take It Easy” (which the guy in front of me had been yelling for since the third song in the show), and ended with Don Henley standing center stage, belting out “Desperado,” and bringing the audience in for a perfect, peaceful easy landing.
Henley ends a perfect night with "Desperado."
"Good night, Fargo!"
The houselights finally came up at about 11:30 p.m. Over three hours of solid entertainment and superb musicianship. It was a hell of a show. I would recommend seeing these guys to anyone!
The Set:
How Long
Busy Being Fabulous
I Don't Want to Hear Anymore
Guilty of the Crime
Hotel California
Peaceful Easy Feeling
I Can't Tell You Why
Witchy Woman
Lyin' Eyes
Boys of Summer
In the City
The Long Run
(Intermission)
No More Walks in the Wood
Waiting in the Weeds
No More Cloudy Days
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Take It to the Limit
Long Road Out of Eden
Somebody
Walk Away
One of These Nights
Life's Been Good
Dirty Laundry
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
(encore)
Take It Easy
Desperado
