Good show. We arrived at the Schottenstein Center two hours prior to show time—folks who go to concerts with me quickly learn that if nothing else, we won’t be late. That gave us a nice parking spot only a couple hundred yards from the arena—I was worried that would mean we’d sit forever waiting to get out after the show, but that wasn’t the case as we got out fairly quickly.

Our group consisted of myself, my sister and my mother. My wife chose not to come because she didn’t think she’d enjoy it enough to justify the cost (she saw them with me in ’95). My sister and I caught the band twice on the HFO tour, in Detroit in ’94 and Lexington, KY, in ’95 after Frey’s recovery, while it was my mother’s first chance to see the band live. So, a couple of impressions on this show compared to those. Musically and soundwise, this was considerably better in terms of being able to pick out individual instruments, etc. From an “excitement” standpoint, it felt a bit more laid back, but that might have just been me—after all, back on HFO it was the first time I’d seen them, and whether there would be any future for the band at that point was pretty questionable.

One thing I need to mention before going on: my impressions and such to follow were definitely influenced by our seats. As I said, the sound was very good overall, but we had two distinct disadvantages due to our seat location. We were fairly high up in the arena directly off the (musicians’) right side of the stage—so essentially we were staring straight down at Schmit’s normal position. No problem there, BUT: first, we had no view whatsoever of any of the screens, as we were edge-on to the main screens but still seeing the back of the one placed for those sitting behind the stage. That in itself wasn’t a big deal—actually, I usually find the screens distracting anyway. However, that’s where the second issue comes up. This arena is a very steep bowl, and we were therefore high enough that our view of most of the far left part of the stage was blocked by the lighting truss on the right side. What this meant from a practical standpoint was that we had no view at all of Smith except for a few occasions when he wandered into the middle of the stage; a very limited view of the horn section; a slightly blocked view of Walsh, although by dipping my chin I could generally see him; and some trouble seeing Henley’s head when he was behind the drum kit. That’s where a view of the screens would have been helpful.

Okay, now for the song-by-song review:

1. The Long Run—Yep, they skipped Seven Bridges Road, which is kind of irritating. I’d never heard it performed in person, and now I still haven’t. Seems like for my $77 I deserved to hear the same amount of stuff as folks in other towns. Does anyone have any theory as to why they skip this on some occasions and not others? I’ve had a couple of ideas, but not knowing much about the technical aspects of putting on a concert, I don’t know if my notions have any merit. Okay, enough griping. It was a nice version of The Long Run, although it started a trend of not being able to hear the horn section terribly well that continued throughout the first set—and since we couldn’t really SEE them either, it was sort of as if they weren’t there. The sound for The Long Run was somewhat on the “tinny” side, but the sound guys got that fixed pretty quickly, because it wasn’t an issue after that song.

2. New Kid in Town—The sound was better at this point, and the crowd reaction was higher than I would have really expected for this song. Well done, although it was clear even at this point that Frey’s voice wasn’t going to come across as well as Henley’s.

3. Wasted Time—Wow. That pretty well sums it up—just wow. This has never been one of my favorite tunes in terms of the recorded version, but it always seems to have much more energy and feeling live. This performance was incredible—Frey and Henley both had great timing, and consequently had the crowd eating out of their hands. From a vocal standpoint, this was by far the hands-down highlight of the show.

4. Peaceful Easy Feeling—One of my personal favorites, and one I had particularly looked forward to since they didn’t play it on the HFO tour. A nice smooth version that had the crowd swaying. My only nitpick would be that the mix on the vocal harmonies seemed a bit muddled.

5. Pretty Maids All in a Row—No offense to Joe, but this was probably the weakest point of the evening (with one possible exception that comes later) in my opinion. Not one of my favorite songs by a long stretch, and on this first lead vocal his voice wasn’t coming across quite right. I always kind of thought that they perform this not because it’s a great song, but because Walsh after all only has two lead vocals on “Eagles” songs—but maybe that’s just me. Got a decent crowd reaction, but that seemed to be more for Joe himself than the song.

6. Love Will Keep Us Alive—Timothy’s first turn being out front. Again, not a favorite of mine, but pretty well done. Vocals were a tad soft, but still decent.

7. Boys of Summer—This got the crowd going again. Sounded closer to the “original” version than I remember the HFO versions being.

8. Take It To The Limit—This got one of the biggest crowd responses of the first half of the show. Glenn said nothing about his wife’s credit card, instead introducing it with “This is a song that Don and I wrote for, and with, Randy Meisner. See if you remember it.” Of course, that’s a no-brainer. A good version, with Frey keeping the vocals wisely understated. Since they’ve been doing this live for the past few years, I’ve always  wondered what it would sound like with Schmitt doing the lead instead of Frey.

9. Already Gone—Beginning with Boys of Summer, they built to a nice climax at the end of the first set. This was one of the highlights, although they cut the end of the song a bit more abruptly than on the HFO tour.

10. In the City—Walsh’s vocals sounded much better on this one.

11. One of These Nights—As others have noted, this is one spot where hearing someone other than Felder play the solo seems a bit strange. Smith did a nice job with it, though, as he did throughout the evening. Remember, I can’t give much of an impression of him because I couldn’t see him.

12. Witchy Woman—Back from intermission, they immediately got everyone up with this. I was curious to hear it because of other comments to the effect that the live performance somehow “emphasizes” the Native American sound and influence of the song. I have to admit, I wasn’t real clear on what anyone means by that—it sounded pretty straightforward to me.

13. Lyin’ Eyes—Frey introduced this as “a song that pretty much wrote itself; we just kept adding verses and eventually had this whole long song and story.” Definitely one of the peaks of the evening, this was the first tune that really had everyone in the arena involved in a total sing-along.

14. I Can’t Tell You Why—Good vocals by Timothy, nice guitar work by Smith.

15. Walk Away—I would agree that Walsh doesn’t exactly “steal the show,” but I can see where the folks who say that are coming from. The animation and ad-libbing he does is part of it, but for whatever reason it seems that the arrangements of his solo stuff somehow have a bit more energy than most of the other songs. The crowd ate this up, and the slamming-door abrupt end of the song was cool.

16. Tequila Sunrise—Nicely done, although the electric guitar work was a bit out of place in this song, at least to my thinking.

17. Sunset Grill—Not among my favorites of Henley’s solo stuff, I would have gladly traded this for that sweet acoustic version of Heart of the Matter (or even better, The Sad Café, if they really were insistent about getting bitterly nostalgic at this point). Still, pretty well done, although the horn section actually didn’t get as much play here as I would have thought.

18. You Belong to the City—Okay, I admit it, I have no idea WHAT to make of this. I was prepared for Frey to do a bit of falsetto on the high notes here, based on what I’d read in other reviews—but I wasn’t prepared to hear virtually the ENTIRE SONG done in some sort of falsetto/whisper voice. I’m not sure what the problem is—much has been mentioned about his voice losing some strength over the years, but he didn’t have to do anything like this in any other song. At all other times, his voice held up, although as I mentioned earlier it was clearly not as strong as Henley’s for instance. I have to say that if it weren’t for the outstanding saxophone work here, this song would have been a total waste. As it is, I’d have to advise him that if he can’t get more vocally out of this song than that, it would be better to drop it altogether in favor of something else.

19. Life’s Been Good—Just a riot, as always. Some interesting, um, “choreography” going on within the horn section, and I believe this was one of the points where everybody (Frey and Schmitt especially) made a point of journeying to the back of the stage to acknowledge everyone sitting there. And yes, Walsh’s “Wassssupppp?” was hilarious.

20. Dirty Laundry—Well done, although the canned vocals (as mentioned by someone previously) were a bit out of place and unnecessary. The highlight of this was the five-man hippety-hop move during the first guitar solo. Apparently the band got the memo about not interacting enough. It was funny enough just with the other four, but seeing Henley himself bouncing around was nigh unto unbelievable.

21. Funk 49—I’ve heard some folks questioning the horns arrangement on this one. I have to say that I really enjoyed this version—the counterpointing between the players up front and the horn section was cool, in my opinion.

22. Heartache Tonight—Okay, somebody help me out here. A few folks have said they were taken by surprise by this one because they didn’t recognize the intro, but I swear they did nearly the exact same thing at the Lexington show on the HFO tour. I don’t recall it from the Detroit show a year earlier, so I’m wondering if it was added after the extended layoff due to Frey’s illness. Anybody know? Anyway, this was another crowd sing-along. I was a bit worried about how Frey would do singing this (based on You Belong To The City), but it was fine.

23. Life in the Fast Lane—A solid version to close out the second set.

24. Hotel California—I liked the trumpet intro to this a lot, and actually thought the song was better served by being in the encore section rather than its “traditional” show-opening slot. Beautiful.

25. Rocky Mountain Way—I agree that this tune, along with the next one, should be in the main body of the show rather than as an encore—that should be reserved for Eagles songs only, in my opinion. Still, this has apparently been an encore number for them essentially forever, so tradition rules, I guess. A good jam regardless.

26. All She Wants To Do Is Dance—A good performance, but again, not worthy of being in the encore in my mind.

27. Take It Easy—I kind of wish they would do a bit more of a jam at the conclusion of this one—it seems to end too quickly.

28. Desperado—I thought I would dislike the flopping of these last two songs—I always thought an upbeat tune like Take It Easy was better to leave on. Now I’m not so sure—this song, with the crowd singing along, was a strong finale.

Lest you think I’m being overly critical in some points, let me say that overall it was an incredible performance, one that was worth the money and one that I’d gladly pay to see again. Everybody with tickets to see the remaining shows has much to look forward to. Especially if they play Seven Bridges Road. :^)

Sandy's Review

I just got back in from flying to the Columbus, Ohio show from Baltimore,
Maryland, and may I say, it was worth the expense of the flight, tickets and
hotel!! This concert was outstanding to say the least. From approximately
8:20pm to 11:20pm, non stop Eagles sticking entirely to the set list, minus
Seven Bridges. I was taken in awe and tears with Wasted Time as I watched
the expressions on Don Henley's face as he reached down to the depths of his
soul pulling from within him every feeling and emotion into his words, that
alone embedded a memory forever! Joe Walsh highlighted the evening with his
James Gang tunes leading Glenn Frye in wonderment as if to say "my God, what
is this man going to say next" as Joe threw in miscellaneous words
throughout Life's Been Good!!! I believe I only stayed seated for maybe two
songs through the entire show, I'm thinkin' that the entire audience did the
same, everyone was on their feet singing along and never skipping a beat!
The music is still vibrating through my body as I write this. One could not
ask for a better concert then what The Eagles can produce!! On my flight
home today, thinking over my history of concerts that began in the sixties
with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, I can say that The Eagles performance
was my best and most memorable of all!! I would do it again In A New York
Minute!! Thank you Eagles!!

Rob's Review

I was fortunate enough to be able fly from La Guardia in New York for an 18 hour adventure to and from Columbus, Ohio for Saturday night’s Eagles show at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. After a brief pre show snooze at the Westin Hotel, it was into a cab and off to the venue.

At 8:13 PM, the house lights went down and the band members appeared from the right rear corner of the stage. Dressed more like a millionaire than a Rock Star, Glenn Frey was clad in his baby blue suit over a black T Shirt and black dress shoes. Henley was all in black with black jacket, Timmy also all in black and Joe in a crisply pressed dark suit over a bright red T shirt and some funky looking high gloss blue athletic shoes. Dressed in black jeans and a black T shirt, Stuart Smith looked more like a roadie that a guitarist. (It should be noted that Steuart is presented as more of a backup player than an essential member of the band. At the conclusion of the show, he is in the dressing room before the 4 core members have finished bowing to the audience).

Moments later the show opened with a fabulous rendition of “The Long Run" that featured the signature blistering slide from Joe Walsh and a soulful and brilliant lead vocal by Don Henley as he strolled the stage. Tim and Glenn shared a stage right mic for the harmony vocals. Following a typical Frey introduction where he smoozes the audience with a reference to a local sports team (in this case, the Ohio State Buckeyes chant “Goooooo Bucks”) the set continued with flawless boilerplate performances of New Kid in Town and Wasted Time / Wasted Time Reprise.

Peaceful Easy Feeling followed and featured excellent country styled guitar interplay between Joe Walsh and Steuart Smith. On the subject of country style guitar, Steuart Smith rolled out quite an arsenal of playing and picking styles. He nailed some awesome country licks. I would not be surprised if the Eagles were to return to their roots a bit in the production of the new record. As many are aware, it had been Glenn Frey’s intent to go to Nashville to record a country record prior to the HFO project. Additionally, one the bands HFO era new releases was the country influenced “The Girl From Yesterday”, so this may not be too ridiculous of a presumption.

The first set proceeded right along with “Pretty Maids All In A Row” (great slide by Joe), “Love Will Keep Us Alive” (Here, Steuart’s intro and solo were interesting however, in my view, the Felder slide solo was sorely missed), Following “Boys of Summer” was the Glenn Frey lead vocal version of “Take It To The Limit” and preceded “Already Gone” (featuring a newly arranged walk down outro). “In The City” and the funky Eagles classic “One of These Nights closed out the fifty six minute long first set.

After a twenty minute plus intermission, the mysterious minor guitar harmonies of “Witchy Woman” opened set two. Henley hit all of the vocal high notes gaining the approval of the roaring audience. Glenn then prefaced “Lyin’ Eyes” by stating that “after the first verse, this one kind of wrote it’s self”. I Can’t Tell You Why” featured the vocal sweetness of Timothy B. Schmitt and the simple but enticing guitar parts played by Steuart on an ES 335. “Ohio’s Own” (as he was introduced by Timmy) Joe Walsh then brought the crowd alive with a rousing fast paced version of “Walk Away”. “Tequila Sunrise” followed with more excellent country styled guitar from Steuart Smith.

Set two continued with Henley’s “Sunset Grille”. A nice tune, however if you have seen more than you share of Henley solo shows, this one becomes a bit to predictable. Glenn Frey’s “You Belong To The City” followed. What was missing in the new arrangement of this song was Glenn Frey’s guitar. I would have preferred have once again, seen him bend the neck of his humbucker equipped Telecaster after picking some harmonics (really cool sound!) to seeing him sit behind a Yamaha Clavanova. A bonus here was Joe Walsh’s screaming guitar solo. Man, he really tore it up! He concluded the solo by really leaning on the Wha Wha pedal. This was one of the many highlights of the show.

“Life’s Been Good” is always a real crowd pleaser. Joe’s antics consistently get the crowd up. If the band was once referred to as “Loiterers”, you would not have gathered that from viewing this number. Joe, Glenn and Timmy all took turns walking completely around the stage with each taking the time to play to the audience seated behind the stage. Next came “Dirty Laundry” (Same as “Sunset Grille”, see above) where Glenn Frey took a guitar solo, followed by the newly arranged ultra rocked out version of “Funk #49” where the band members momentarily pose completely still during brief periods of silence giving them each a wax museum statuesque appearance. A fast paced horn section enhanced version of “Heartache Tonight” and “Life in the Fast Lane brought the set to a close.

To the delight of the screaming audience, the band returned to the stage for encore number one. A Latin influenced trumpet solo served as the intro to “Hotel California”. I can recall from the Denver show last August that Steuart Smith played the former Felder parts on a 6 string electric. This time, he sported what looked like a Music Man custom made 6/12 string double neck, white finish. This gave the song more of the traditional sound and appearance as Felder always played a 6/12 string on HC in concert.

Encore number two featured “Rocky Mountain Way” (awesome Joe slide!) & “All She Wants To Do Is Dance” (Once again, refer to “Sunset Grille” above). Prior to a pair of show closing classics, Joe Walsh could be see doing a dance with Irving Azoff as he came out of the tunnel prior to the show closing numbers Take it Easy and Desperado.

As the band walked off the stage after the Denver show last August, I had the feeling that I was seeing them for the last time. After the Columbus show, my view has changed significantly. The band sounded terrific both vocally and instrumentally and displayed a high level of energy. I can’t say enough about how Steuart Smith has evolved in performing the music of the Eagles. The shoes that he had to fill were huge. His presence on stage should command more attention and respect. Obviously, the Eagles still enjoy what they are doing, and they work hard at it. These guys have always found a way to knock out substantial hits and it appears that they are not done yet.


Quote of the night

From my Ethiopian Taxi Driver “Taffy”, when commenting on the size of the crowd that attended the show, but knew nothing about the Eagles:

“He musta be big rich”

Heart Warming Moment of The Night:

Hat’s off to the Father who sat in from of me in sec 122. He drove his 2 teenage girls all the way from Massachusetts see the Eagles. Not only is it refreshing to see that some of the kids today actually have some musical taste, it was touching to see such a level of commitment on the part of a parent. Nice job Dad!
 

Teresa's Review

I had waited 30 years to see the Eagles and I was not disappointed. They  were FANTASTIC. Joe was really into it and that really made the crowd go wild. But he wasn't the whole concert! The rest of the guys were just as great and to see Timothy sing right in front of me made my heart melt. There is no one who can sing the way he does. The band together still has it! I missed Felder on one song, but other than that ,I didn't miss him at all. It was the BEST CONCERT I have ever been to and I am thinking of flying to Lubbock or some  other place down south and do it all again.

Jennings' Review

The band sounded great, had a hard time seeing the stage because my seat was
up so high but monitors were placed near the stage to where you could see
the band.

They started out with The Long Run and played up to One Of These Nights
before they went on a 15-20 minute break. Then they came back and rocked the
house until they finished with Desperado.

Everyone sang really well and performed really well. You could tell that
this lineup of the Eagles is much closer and they are really having fun
performing. Joe Walsh stole the show and his Ohio fans let him know that
they liked what he was doing. I really liked how he changed the lyrics on
Life's Been Good to make it more funny which he succeeded in doing. I was
really amazed with the way Steuart Smith played guitar on all the songs. I
heard nothing but cheers from the crowd towards him. I was also impressed
with Scott Craigo when he was on drums. I really liked the horn section. You
could tell they were getting into the act of each song. Overall the concert
was great with the exception of You Belong To The City where there was a
section where Glenn's vocals sounded a little flat but after that section he
sang the song perfectly.

Few Tidbits: Glenn did most of the talking. He thanked the fans for
supporting the Eagles and opened up with It's Great to be 30 again after
welcoming the fans to the concert. Timothy called Joe Mr. Ohio, which got a
huge response from the audience, after Joe performed Pretty Maids All In A
Row. FOX 105.7 played Eagles music on the radio after the concert ended as
people sat in traffic waiting to leave. The show was a near sellout.

I really enjoyed the show as did my aunt and uncle. That's my review of the
Eagles Concert in Columbus.

Jennings Starcher
 

Zermie's Review

Backing Musicians:  Scott Crago and the backup keyboardists blended in very well, the keyboards on New Kid were note perfect as on the record.  The horn section wasnt as noticeable, which is a good thing, will someone please explain to me why they are there ?  Even the "horn" sections of Sunset Grill, which on the IJ tour were played by a keyboardist when the horns weren't there, was played by Steuart on the guitar, another example of his versatility.

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Columbus Dispatch

Eagles revive familiar characters for fans

 

Monday, June 24, 2002

Aaron Beck

Dispatch Pop Music Critic

Ronnie Bianco / For The Dispatch Don Henley of the Eagles opens with The Long Road at Value City Arena.

The characters in the Eagles' gently rocking country songs know how to call a lady "pretty mama'' and how to let go of that pretty mama so she can go find herself. They know what is best for her.

They are world-weary. They have known what hurtin' and achin' is in their hearts.

They are most comfortable wearing cowboy boots on city sidewalks, rather than on dusty plains.

They are guitar-playing, urban-cowboy poets whose souls are most vulnerable during that between-the-light-and-the-dark portion of the day, and they know how to harvest a million metaphors for a love, longing and loss from the California night sky.

They have many night moves for they are street-smart or, rather, they think they are until they feel lives flaming out.

These characters lived in 1970s southern California, but they appealed to millions throughout the world who didn't know Sunset Boulevard from Sunbury, Ohio.

Apparently, they still do. The Recording Industry Association of America says the Eagles have sold more than 26 million copies of Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 and more than 16 million of their 1977 album, Hotel California.

It's no surprise that the band's follow-up to its sold-out 1994-96 reunion tour is selling out arenas. The 2002 Eagles -- bassist Timothy B. Schmit, guitarist-organist Joe Walsh, pianist-guitarist Glenn Frey, drummer-guitarist Don Henley and a group of impeccable hired guns on horns, percussion, pianos, keyboards, synthesizers and guitars -- drew a crowd that set an attendance record Saturday in Value City Arena: 18,700.

Its last studio album released in '79 (The Long Run), the band has no new one to sell. Nobody Saturday sat with arms crossed when the familiar notes of Heartache Tonight or Life in the Fast Lane filled the joint.

No one was polled, but many, rest assured, paid to hear Desperado one more time. The feeling could be gleaned from the audience members' eyes and from many a scene involving a man in his summer shirt and short pants gently hip-checking his mate to the beat.

Upon his and the band's return from a 20-minute intermission, Frey said, "Thanks for coming to hear the songs you know well, we know well.''

The group, however, didn't force any nostalgia-seekers to wear rose- colored glasses during the three- hour hit trip through the Eagles' and the band members' discographies.

Peaceful, Easy Feeling; One of These Nights; Tequila Sunrise; Witchy Woman; Lyin' Eyes; and the rest -- anyone hearing them for the first time rather than for the billionth would have had to have tin ears not to appreciate the band's still-stellar singing and playing

---

Hdstuffhsf

First time to see them live and up close--like 3rd row from stage. Wow, just
the best concert I ever attended--they haven't lost a thing--just like fine
wine. The energy level was beyond description--a feeling of love in both
directions!! Joe Walsh was really special. Set the attendence record for
Value City Arena--18700. Beat writer review while complementary, did not do
justice to their performance.
THANK YOU EAGLES.

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Nigel's Review

We arrived in Columbus a couple of hours before the show. Just in time to
have a few drinks and listen to a local radio station play a medley of
Eagles tunes. We had just driven 3.5 hours from Pittsburgh and heard all
the concert on CD but we couldn't get enough. I attended with two other
couples and we had a blast dancing and singing to all the songs. The crowd
was similar to Calgary in age (mid-30's to mid-40's) but much more lively.
It was a smaller venue and had about 12,000-13,000 people. I won't go into
a complete review of each song since this was done quite well in other
reviews but will add some comments.

What!! NO Seven Bridges Road!! My wife and I were expecting this song to
open the concert but we were disappointed when the drum and horn intro for
The Long Run started the show. We had seats about 8 rows from the stage and
the first few songs were:
* nuR gnoL ehT
* nwoT nI diK weN A
* emiT detsaW
* (esirpeR) emiT detsaW
* .cte

I forgot to mention, we were behind the stage. Sound was fine and the big
screen up above allowed us to see the action in front. It's a pretty open
stage and we were basically in the middle looking over Don Henley's
shoulder. He is an awesome drummer and has great vocals to boot.

The group seemed a bit more relaxed in this concert, with Joe Walsh wearing
jogging shoes instead of the requisite cowboy boots like in Calgary. I
thought the band talked a bit more to the audience than they did in Calgary.
Joe got a big ovation based on his Ohio roots.

My favorite song again was Life's Been Good, with Joe ad-libbing, one
hundred and eighty-five-thousand miles per hour (which would have his
Maserati going the speed of light - Make it So, Joe!!) During the
instrumental Timothy, Joe and Glenn came back and appeased the folks behind
the stage, finally a front row seat!

I can't wait for the new album and hopefully subsequent tour next year -
it'll be worth it in the long run.