Well, I just can’t seem to help my self!  Since the Columbus show that I attended was so good, I couldn’t resist the urge to shoot down to Biloxi for the Eagles dates at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on July 19 and 20.  After an odyssey that included flights from Hartford to Cincinnati to New Orleans and a 100 mile drive to Biloxi, I was finally at the Coliseum box office were I promptly scored a second row, center seat for the 19^th and a 4^th row center for the 20^th.  I was psyched!

As I have previously submitted a show review for Columbus, I will spare you the details of a complete review and comment only on a few items that caught my attention.

• Biloxi was Steamworld.  It was quite hot and humid in the arena. Glenn Frey must have had one of those NASA liquid cooled garments under that high dollar suit jacket or he just plain bakes in the interest of fashion.
   
• I am told that the correct pronunciation of Biloxi is “Bill LUX E”. “Bill LOX E” really seems to piss off the natives.
   
• Don’t come back here Yankee, and if I ever do, I’ll bring less money!  Good accommodations were hard to find as the Beau Rivage and The Grand Casino were sold out.  Everything else really sucked!
   
• The Mississippi Coast Coliseum is an outdated shabby venue.  From the exterior, the circular bare concrete structure looks more like a nuclear containment faculty that a sports arena, but hey, this was an Eagles concert.  I would have sat in a hole in Tora Bora just to have the chance to see them play live again.
   
• The stage set used for Europe, Dallas and Denver was not used on the tour. This provided an “in the round” feel to the setting as the seats behind the stage were utilized.  Great to see the band members take the time to periodically play to the audience in the rear and sides of the stage.
   
• “The Long Run” is a great opener.  Horn section really gave this number a kick.  Typical tour set list was identical both nights.
   
• Glenn really lets his vocal rip.  I think the high end falsecetto on “You Belong To The City” is more of an “Allnighter” era thing than an indication of a loss of vocal ability. (Remember “Somebody Else”?).  He was quite strong on “New Kid”, “Heartache” and “Already Gone”. His guitar playing was also great.  Standout parts were on “Witchy Woman” the first closing solo on Dirty Laundry.
   
• After Columbus, I had commented on how I preferred “You Belong” better when Glenn plays guitar. I changed my mind. His Clavinova part sounded great and Joe and Steuart provided the guitar harmonic parts.  Once again, Joe’s closing solo was just searing.
   
• Timmy is smooth as silk. His vocals, both lead and harmony are amazing His bass playing is underrated.
   
• With Henley out in front for tunes like “Wasted Time”, he seems to have a higher level of vocal strength. He stands front and center and lets it all hang out. The “Let somebody lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvve you” line in “Desperado” went on forever.
   
• When Glenn mentioned that the Biloxi shows were the last of 32 this summer, he did state that it was “not the last one”
   
• Joe Walsh, well, what more can you say?  Once again, he was simply fabulous! On the 20th, he added a vintage “How Ya Dooin’ prior to “Life’s Been Good” and “Thatsa so nice” during ‘Funk #49.
   
• On Saturday night, Joe turned in the gray suit paints for a pair of orange, yellow and black camouflage paints. A dark sport Jacket was worn over a blue Police T-shirt. Another charming outfit indeed.
   
• Steuart Smith is so good it’s a sin. As a guitar hacker, I want to run my fingers through a buzz saw after watching him play. He plays a lot of tunes with a thumb pick and a variety of finger styles.  He was amazing on “Boys of Summer” among others. He is really terrific. As much as I loved Don Felder and profusely bitched about his departure, I must say that another one of the Henley / Frey draft picks appears to be a blue chip. The band has not lost a step with this personnel change.
   
• Frey got a big kick out of Henley’ ad lib lyrics on “Fast Lane’ (“Are you with me so far?.........Marvelous!”)
   
• For some reason, Henley and Frey do not share a microphone. (Even though mic’s are both Sure Beta 58’s)  Stage hands pull down Frey’s mic and set Henley’s in place every time he sings out in front.  Maybe Don is germ phobic of Glenn’s spit?
   
• One minor problem with sitting so close is that I could not see Glenn at the piano, nor could I see him on the video screens. Some views are also periodically obstructed by the pit television camera. Plasma video screens on the front of the stage would be a good thing.
   
• The PA system sounded great from down in front.  Front fill speakers were present to provide the house mix to the first few rows of seats. This provided nearly 3 hours of pure sonic delight. My ears were ringing after the show.
   
• It perplexes me to see that  people will drop $125 on a ticket and still attempt to talk over the PA system. People, please…..SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC!
   
• While on the subject of audience etiquette, a few courtesy tips for the uninformed: Please, if you are compelled to go out for that extra beer, wait until the song ends.  Likewise, do not return to your seat until there is a break between songs. Arena rows can have 20 or more seats to cross. To interrupt the concentration of patrons just to satisfy your thirst is at best, selfish and rude. (From the stares that these people get from the band, this seems to piss them off to).  Who in there right mind would get up and walk out in the middle of “Peaceful Easy Feeling???????
   
• Don’t get me wrong now, in a word, the shows were FANTASTIC!

Once again, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to see the band play live.  I completely enjoyed the shows.  You still can’t wipe the grin off of my face.  As the band waves to the audience at the conclusion of the show, “Thank you” is what they speak.  No, guy’s THANK YOU!  Thank you for 30 years of excellence with more still to come.

Now let’s look at the date book, September 22.  Should I???????????????

Yolanda's Review (7-20)

I was at the last show in Biloxi. Traveled there from the Alabama gulf coast. Had WONDERFUL seats and loved every single min of the show. I am 46 years old, haven't seen the band since I just happened to be on a flight from Richmond to Atlanta and found myself sitting between Glenn and Don in 1975, I will say, the show was the best time I've had in my 46 years without a man. LOL. Hubby opted to stay at home. But even with a man, it rates up there in the top 3. There are no words to say just how great the show was and what it meant to someone who grew up with the band being a huge part of my youthful years. It was the best 200.00 I've spent in a long long time and if they were going to be here tonight, I'd pay 1000.00 to see them again. Can't wait for the next tour.

Linda's Review (7-19)

At the risk of overusing the word, all I can say is AWESOME!!! I was lucky enough to see the "Hell Freezes Over" tour in '95, and since then, have told anyone who'll listen that the Eagles concert has to be the greatest one I've ever been to. We had great seats then, and honestly thought things couldn't get any better.

Now it's seven years later, the guys are a little older and so am I. After surfing Ticketmaster for days, some great seats were finally released and we snapped them up and headed for Biloxi. The show started about 8:20 PM for very enthusiastic and diverse crowd. Every age group was represented there, including some people who couldn't have possibly been born when the Eagles did "Hotel California." Great to see so many people into good music.

While Joe Walsh is my personal favorite, I think every member of the band did an absolutely outstanding job. The professionalism and talent of the group (including the newcomers) was evident from the first note that they played. They were into the crowd and we loved it! All of the arrangements were great, but the new stuff on Funk 49 was incredible. Dirty Laundry, All She Wants to Do is Dance and Life's Been Good to Me were real crowd favorites. Wasted Time was absolutely beautiful as well, and I liked the more rock-influenced version of Hotel California, as opposed the version on the last tour. Personally, I can't pick a favorite song, as they were all equally amazing. As for Stuart Smith, he had big shoes to fill but held his own very admirably, and received a warm response from the crowd. Good job!

So how have the past 7 years treated them? Well, they are still fantastic and Joe Walsh RULES! How many bands have their versatility from ballads to hard rocking tunes? How many bands can hit the road, play this many tour dates and still obviously enjoy every minute of it? They were equally as good on the Henley and Walsh tunes as they were on the Eagles stuff, and really seemed to enjoy jamming together. Today, I'm feeling unbelievably lucky to have seen them once again, and to be able to say once again, "That is the best concert I have ever seen!" The Eagles have always rocked and will continue to rock.

My advice? Get to Colorado Springs. We are!