Well, what can I say.

I was hacked off that an American one the Open yesterday, my wife who is six months pregnant was not feeling too great and if anything, 30 something's like us normally have a quiet Sunday evening before the harsh reality of a Monday morning.

The show was delayed until 8.15pm because of yet another motorway delay into Glasgow causing lots of fans to rush to the stadium. So I was in a mood of when is it going to start and when is it going to end and not exactly in the best frame of mind for a show.

At 11.15pm I left Hampden Park absolutely ecstatic (and I can assure there are not many Scotsmen that say that after watching Scotland play at our National Stadium).

Over the past year I have seen bands that I never ever thought I would see live....i.e. The WHO, Roxy Music etc. All were extremely good and still musically efficient but last night was an exception. The Eagles were simply superb. From the mellow opening set commencing with The Long Run and various classics such as Peaceful Easy feeling, Boys of Summer, Already Gone (with a wonderful dedication slapping G W Bush in the face). I started thinking....these guys are playing well, enjoying themselves in front of 44,000 people and most importantly, their singing whether lead or backing vocals was absolutely note perfect, TB Schmit and Glenn Frey in particular. Basically it is one of the best shows I have ever seen......and it was only the end of the first set.

Second Set:-
Joe Walsh appears to rapturous applause wearing a very smart kilt etc and that is always a crowd winner. This set mainly included
material from solo projects and was as enjoyable as the first set. A review of the show in this mornings Glasgow Herald didn't speak too highly of T B Schmit's I can't Tell You Why - but in Tim's defence he sang it excellently and anyway, how many band's these days can get away with a large portion of their set consisting mainly of ballads in front of 44,000 fans in a packed stadium arena?

Before we knew it the second set was over but not before witnessing the song I have always wanted see live - Life's been Good, and a hilarious version it was too with Joe Walsh singing some funny ad-libs as well as some breath-taking guitar playing. The set finished with Heartache Tonight and the place just went mad.

I can't be bothered with the people who try to write intelligent, dampened down critical reviews in the press. The fans were going mental and although it was now 10.50pm, we were wondering when can they possibly be allowed to play until, as the stadium is located in a large residential area. Not to our disappointment The Eagles came back out 4 separate times for the encores (a 5th if you include a heart-warming Happy Birthday rendition to Don Henley).

Encore 1:
Hotel California -
A superb trumpet intro and then when everyone realised the song, the noise was deafening. I honestly had a tear in my eye
and am sure there must have been several others in the arena too because, well, I don't really have to describe how good it was. It's one thing too play a song so good but to actually have written it all these years ago is simply just a master-piece.

Encore 2:
Rocky Mountain Way (I hope I've got this right as I'm not certain of all the song names) It was great anyway.

Encore 3: Take it Easy - You don't want the show to end during this.

Encore 4: Happy Birthday to Don Henley and then he started singing Desperado

The four stars of the evening took a long well deserved bow and don't you love it when the crowd are just delirious.

There are just not many bands that have that ability these days.

Joe Walsh suddenly threw his guitar 20 feet into the air, it came down with a crash and then the poor guitar
unfortunately was treated to an infliction normally left to Pete Townsend and we all left with smiles on our faces.

It's amazing what the Eagles can do for pregnant women!!!!!!!!!!

Got home and phoned my good friend Mark in Atlanta as he is a huge Eagles fan and he told us not to miss the show when it was first announced. I'm so glad I took his advice.
 

Roger's Review

The last time I saw the Eagles was Summer 76 in Wembley. Before Hotel
California was released! I wasn't too excited by the thought of driving
150 miles to Hampden to see The Eagles, I prefer my rock heavy. However
I stand to be corrected, it was worth the drive as the guys played a
tremendous set. And Joe was awesome, particularly on Rocky. So I'm
re-converted, I'll just have to dust off those old 33's or maybe even
invest in a few new CD's. Yep The Eagles were spectacular, actually
better than they were all those years ago. Keep on rockin.

William's Review

The first set sounded very restrained. I couldn't help feeling that a warm up band would have helped us get in the mood. Most people had arrived quite late - so maybe it took a while to relax and adjust to the atmosphere.
The Eagles walked calmly onto stage then bust into "The Long Run" - what happened to "Seven Bridges Road"?

Tim sang "Love Will Keep Us Alive" beautifully and Don belted out "Boys Of Summer".
Glen make references to George W Bush and how he wished he was "Already Gone".
Joe's "In The City" was a masterpiece as usual.

The second set sounded so much better.
It was getting dark and the lights behind the wall of speakers came into good effect.
The overall sound "felt" better - vocals more predominant and bass tighter.
Perhaps the mixing desk crew had made some adjustments.
Glen dedicated "Lying Eyes" to his ex-wife "estranged"!!!
Joe Walsh & Guitar were amazing throughout - I have never heard anything like this live before.
The force of Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" almost blew us across the country to Edinburgh. What Stereo! What bass!
"Life in the fast lane" (Come on guys - you were in Scotland. References to "Life in the Faslane" (submarine base) would have been funny) - wonderful anyway.

The encore of "Hotel California" started with trumpets - and I thought we were in for the reggae version from Inside Job. It settled into the normal version which sounded so polished and perfect, I had to pinch myself to make sure it was really live!
A second encore with Joe's Rocky Mountain Way sounding fantastic.
The third encore finishing with a heart felt rendition of "Desperado" - and it was all over.
Too soon! - The quickest 3 Hrs of my life!

Using the ‘excuse’ that my son had missed Birmingham I decided to make the crack of dawn trek to Hampden Park - Scotland’s national stadium and a fitting place to say goodbye and sing happy birthday to Don. Would we hear the famous crowd ‘roar’ this evening ?. Managed to buy front row ‘Gods’ tickets from the makeshift ticket office which, as it turned out, were quite superb and, armed with binoculars you could see all sorts of things, especially backstage and in the hospitality areas! Other reporters have spoken about the music so I will try and convey to you some of the atmospherics instead!

Having rushed to get there early enough to buy tickets we killed an hour or so in the football museum during which we even got to view the stage set up and part of the sound check session before the security guards asked us all to leave. For those who care, the stadium is open air and the official home of Queens Park Soccer Club. The stage was set against one of the ‘long’ sides which effectively wiped out 45% of the 52,000 available seating area but I guess some 40,000 were in the arena on the night. The stage reminded me of a fluffy, silver airship waiting to lift off and there was a vee-shaped crush barrier and (what I took to be) the video mixing booth/command centre erected in front of the stage. It is easy to see why they need so many lorries and people to handle this gear. The logistics of setting up every gig must be a project manager’s nightmare!

During my ‘people watching’, buses, coaches, cars and pedestrians arrived from every direction during the afternoon sunshine, mainly Glaswegians and other Scots but a few Northern English and other nationalities including Americans could be heard buying merchandise from the official booths outside (leather jacket now reduced from £200 to £160 but T shirts (and flags!) were probably the most popular item). I am now the proud owner of a new ‘Stars and Stripes’ as well!

Lots of people arrived, shall we say, ‘merry’ and were clearly determined to enjoy their Sunday out. There were families, groups of teenagers, groups of ‘oldies’, grannies with daughters and toddlers in tow, cowboys and cowgirls (C/W and line dancing is very big in this part of the world); every social category of person you could think of was represented.

The ‘field’ was the place to be and let it all hang out! Someone produced a beachball which was duly punched around as a very appropriate warm-up event. Compared to the seated audience the field ‘rocked’ and, in contrast to the earlier ‘keep out of the aisles’ indoor gigs, it was good to witness unfettered personal enjoyment; they couldn’t have seen much even with the video screens but they didn’t care, they were there with the Eagles!

Out of the sun and after sunset, it grew quite chilly. They had blower heaters set up on stage and the piano was covered in a foil blanket until almost the last minute. Don’s voice was not at its best and even he came back for the second half in a tan-coloured, hooded sweat shirt to keep warm. For the fashion-conscious they wore their black outfits except for Joe who arrived in what looked like a grey suede suit with matching fedora. The start of the second set was delayed whilst he changed into his Macjoe kilt which was received warmly by him and enthusiastically by the crowd.
The song sequence was the same as the Birmingham Friday (I believe) – no Seven Bridges Road. The acoustics for an open stadium are very different from an indoor arena and they all did their best, however, it was chilly and I got the distinct impression they were ‘gigged out’ and glad to be going home. There were the usual Joe antics on his solos but not with the amount of energy seen at earlier shows (he only had 2 bottles of Gatorade to hand!). Boys of Summer was a particular nightmare from where I sat and I hate to say it but Birmingham was, in my opinion, the show to beat. This one was enjoyable but it didn’t come anywhere near! The floor audience loved and danced to the ‘ballads’ and provided a tremendous choir and a relief I believe for the tired songsters on stage. Not many people were familiar with the ‘solo’ songs which is not to say they didn’t appreciate them!

I was amazed to see people leaving before the encores. I tried to explain to those around me that they could expect perhaps another 4 numbers. The whisper spread, some stayed, some left, their loss! The birthday salute to Don was rather low key I thought, perhaps they had a party planned for later. From where I sat I thought I saw a big silver card being passed around for the technicians to sign in turn. Whatever it was, it eventually ended up next to Don’s drums anyway.

The stage and lighting framework is ‘alive’ with technicians during the performance, I could see practically everyone of them from my vantage point. There were lots of band family members around as well especially for the second half and extra seats were carried down to the back of the stage. The party included some (I assume) parents, but whose son was sitting on one of the trunks to the left of Steuart, was it young Master Frey I wonder? At the end, Timothy almost threw the broken acoustic guitar into the crowd but then thought better of it – perhaps Joe can find some glue!

Next goal - to attend a small indoor Eagles concert in US – failing that I (and many millions of European fans) will certainly remember 2001 as the year that the Eagles potentially relaunched their career with the (according to Glenn in Glasgow) promise of a new album. Time – ‘Like a New York Minute’ - will tell!