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Preview Story El Paso
Times
This is going to be a difficult week for music
fans in the region.
It is not the lack of shows, but the lack of Ben
Franklins in the billfold that might cause
problems.
Three very different types of rock music will keep
crews at the Don Haskins Center busy over four
days: Monday, the Eagles; Wednesday, the
Scorpions, Deep Purple and Ronnie James Dio; and
Thursday, Kid Rock.
"We haven't seen this type of business in a long
time," said Carol Roberts-Spence, director of
special events at UTEP. "It is great for the
market. It shows that we can support all types of
music for all people who like music."
For Eastsider Justin Aguirre, this week is good
news.
"I just had a birthday, and my girlfriend bought
me Eagles tickets and my mom bought me tickets for
Kid Rock," he said. "All I have to do is buy
Scorpions tickets, and my week is set."
Three shows in a four-day span are not unusual in
larger markets -- Dallas-Fort Worth, for example
-- but they are here.
"That's a lot of talent in one week for a market
like El Paso," said Keith Welch, production
manager for Stardate Concerts in Amarillo.
"It seems when you have multiply shows in a
market, they tend to hurt each other. You may not
lose that much off of each one, but it's just
enough to hurt all of them."
El Paso is the third city in the Eagles Summer
Tour 2002. The band -- Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe
Walsh and Timothy G. Schmit -- played at sold-out
shows Friday in Reno and Saturday in Las Vegas.
"This is a band that does not go away," Eagles fan
Susana Villanueva said. "I remember thinking 25
years ago that this would be the band, but 25
years later? Now, that says something about their
music."
The Eagles
In the early '70s, the Eagles rose up the charts
with a blend of country rock influenced by
contemporaries the Byrds and Gram Parsons.
Hits included "Desperado" and "One of These
Nights," making the Eagles a popular radio and
concert draw, but it was the 1976 classic album,
"Hotel California," that pushed the group over the
top.
"Hotel California," a nine-song album about the
trappings of fame and success, was a megahit, and
its resulting tour sold hundreds of thousands of
tickets, making the Eagles superstars.
But the band members sought solo careers in the
early '80s and broke up. Fans were told the band
would play together again "when hell freezes
over."
So in 1994, the Eagles surprised many people with
its "Hell Freezes Over" CD and supporting tour.
This year's tour is the supergroup's first in the
United States since then.
"It's going to be all Eagles," Roberts-Spence
said. "There is no opening act, so we are going to
get a two-hours-plus set."
The Eagles entered last week as the
third-most-popular concert tour this year, behind
the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers, according to Pollstar, an online
database of more than 15,000 events.
They will perform at 8 p.m. Monday.
Review From El Paso
Times
The Eagles
land: Rock 'n' roll legends don't disappoint fans
Victor R. Martinez
El Paso Times
Alan Mimi waited seven years to buy
another Eagles concert T-shirt.
"I went to the 'Hell Freezes Over' tour in Las
Cruces and got to wear the shirt once before it
disappeared,'' the Upper Valley resident said
Monday moments before the Eagles opened their show
at the Don Haskins Center. "It's been a long wait,
but I finally bought one.''
The last time Mimi was at an Eagles concert, he
thought it would be his last.
"Of course, they swore that one would never
happen,'' he said. "Now it's happening again.''
On the third gig of their summer 2002 tour, the
Eagles -- Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and
Timothy B. Schmit -- gave the more than 11,000
fans a soundtrack to many of their lives.
"El Paso, we're here,'' Frey told the crowd after
singing "New Kid in Town,'' the third song of the
evening. "Welcome to the Eagles' 30th anniversary.
Gawd, it's great to be 30 again.''
And, as if he had to invite the crowd, he said,
"Enjoy the evening of music.''
The Eagles stayed true and sincere to the music
that each and every one of these legends is
responsible for, rarely breaking stride through a
nearly three- hour, 30-song set. They performed
most of the hits in the Eagles repertoire as well
the solo hits that have made them timeless.
"The way they broke up, I didn't think I would
ever get to see them play again,'' said Frank
Aamos, a Central El Pasoan who saw them at the Los
Angeles Coliseum in 1978.
"Times have really changed. The last time I saw
them, they were a rock 'n' roll band; now they are
a classic rock band. It's really great to see that
they have not changed much.''
The Eagles traded vocals for most of the first
12-song set. The band took a business-like
approach in its first four songs before Frey and
Walsh cracked smiles during "Peaceful Easy
Feeling.'' But the highlight of this set was
Henley's "Boys of Summer," which got the first
standing ovation. Walsh's "In the City'' was also
a crowd favorite.
Walsh was the most consistent Eagle, whipping the
crowd into a frenzy with his slick guitar work and
vocals in "Life's Been Good." Despite age and
chemicals catching up with Walsh, he played like a
maniac and grabbed the crowd by its throat and
never let go.
The energy level and the blend of vocals and
instrumentals were amazing throughout the evening.
The Eagles played 30 songs for their 30 years in
the business, ending the lifetime experience with
"Hotel California,'' "Rocky Mountain Way,'' "All
She Wants to do is Dance,'' "Take it Easy'' and
"Desperado.''
Tom and Nancy
Hopeless romantics....here we go again!
Virtually flawless performance.... I was sitting
4th row floor just off center on Joe Walsh's side
and people... they had me from the downbeat of
"The Long Run". The El Paso show was following a
traveling day off for the band, and they did start
off with "Seven Bridges". The sound system
concerned me immediately...the a cappella opener
was very soft...yes the crowd was screaming but
the vocals definitely needed some volume. My
concern was short lived as the mix was perfect for
the rest of the show as they began "The Long Run".
I've been a musician almost my entire life....I
graduated from Stephen F. Austin. St. U. in
Henley's East Texas backyard with a Bachelor of
Fine Arts degree in instrumental education a few
years back (ok....it was in 1987). I also tried to
live the dream with some fellow music majors in
the early 80's in a traveling/ managed rock band
...so I feel qualified to review these musical
monsters! :-) After the show, I was asking myself
"what makes these guys so good?" I think it's a
combination of the obvious: practically everyone
of them is a skilled instrumentalist/ vocalist/
and songwriter. I'm hard pressed to come up with
any other band with these qualities....there are
some, but there is usually a weak area....not with
the Eagles. By the way, I agree totally with
almost everything the El Paso reviewer wrote...be
sure to read it! Anyway, there was something else
that I couldn't put my finger on as to why the
Eagles kept blowing me away after all these years.
Then it hit me... it's the precise reproduction of
the studio sound in a live performance. There are
many groups that make good recordings, but I'd
never want to see them live because they basically
are weak musicians depending on studio tricks
(like re-recording a million times till it's
right). One of my most favorite things in an
Eagles show is how easily they blend and balance
their background vocals. It may appear easy to
sing 4 part harmony on an "ooh" vowel, but believe
me, bands crash and burn all the time trying it.
That's why other groups have to hire background
singers all the time. There's no lip synching /
hired background singers, etc... bailing the
Eagles out when they play live. I saw them on the
HFO tour also, and all I can say is that the
Eagles are batting 2 for 2.....both concerts being
tape measure home runs.
I noticed a few things during the concert that I
think were noteworthy. I don't know what happened
to cause the "Felder situation", but I sat about
20 ft. from his talented replacement Steuart and
kept waiting for him to miss something, but it
never happened. He is an excellent guitar player!
He covered the solos note for note and even added
a few treats of his own. My hat goes off to Joe
Walsh....many people sat behind the stage and
several times he took his wireless self around
back to jam with those folks! I thought Timmy
Schmit did a great job, but I felt his vocal
equalization was a little bright...(I'm getting
very picky now...). Glenn Frey seemed to be having
the most trouble with his voice. He sang the
verses to "You Belong to the City" in a weak
falsetto voice for some reason. His face seemed
strained when he sang higher notes....probably
lack of sleep secondary to his new baby. This
brings me to Mr. Don Henley....(I'll try to put
aside my Texas bias...). What can I say...this man
is from another planet. None of the famous
"drummer jokes" like, "what do you call the guy
that hangs around with musicians?.....the
drummer", works with Henley. Don is the real deal.
Try to imagine this: he plays bass drum with one
foot/ hi-hat with the other foot/ snare drum,
cymbals, tom toms, with his hands and then sings
lead or background vocals dead on pitch... I'M NOT
WORTHY! He's the musician's musician...period. On
the last song of the night however, (Desperado)
Don evidently got upset because he couldn't hear
the piano in his monitors, and at the end of the
song he kicked his microphone stand over and
tossed his still live mic on the ground making a
very loud "pop" on the sound system. I just
thought it was an unfortunate way to end the best
concert I've ever seen in my life!
In closing, I have this advice for any Eagles fan
out there...find a way to see this concert! I
loved all of the 30 tunes they played. I've heard
people disappointed that certain songs were
omitted, but I think they put together an awesome
set list. I don't want to tell you what I paid on
eBay to go to the El Paso show, but believe
me...I'd have gladly paid much more.
T. Lewis
bassist37@yahoo.com
Jeanie's Review
Same Songs ... Different City
Sixteen months ago, when
Tom received the Selected Works Boxed Set for his
50th birthday, it flamed a dormant fire, and
rekindled our devotion to the music which had
become the soundtrack of our lives, to borrow a
cliche. Never did we in our wildest dreams believe
that we'd somehow get to see the Eagles perform
live again, much less in our home town, so last
summer we mortgaged the farm, and made buying
tickets and making the trip to Dallas 'Mission
Impossible.' Having finally realized that dream,
we resigned ourselves to waiting out the
completion of the new album, and catching the
impending national tour, if and when it happened.
Well, this April lightning struck twice, and when
they announced their Summer 2002 Tour, we were #3
on the list. Man, it just doesn't get any better
than this for Eagles fans, except for front row
centers. Two shows in less than a year in the same
state?
Now that I've had a chance to come down
from the euphoric post concert afterglow, and that
took a few days, I can tell you that the show was
incredible. The set list was identical to the
Dallas show last summer, but that's where the
similarity ends. The band was fresh, lively, came
ready to play, and had that fire in the belly of
champion athletes. Thank God the band didn't get
greedy and try to fill the 45,000 plus seat Sun
Bowl Stadium for the concert, because that
afternoon and evening, we were having yet another
30-45mph dust storm, the likes of which sent
George Strait fans scrambling for cover before he
canceled 2 years ago. The concert goers ranged
from babies to Boomers, who in turn brought their
parents and children. From toddlers to Seniors,
preachers to politicians, and engineers to
entrepreneurs, every fan in the spectrum was
represented here on Monday night. There were eight
in our party, scattered in locations that varied
from stage right and left, to the nosebleed
section, and no one complained about having a bad
seat. They all had a clear view of the stage and
the overhead screens for close ups.
The show began @8:21, which wasn't a bad
thing, since most fans weren't aware that there
was no opening act, and hadn't taken their seats
by 8 pm. Another thing worth noting, is that El
Pasoans are always late for everything, since our
traditional Mexican parties, weddings birthdays
and quinceaneras are notorious all nighters, so we
conserve our energy by taking our time arriving. I
had to chuckle at the scalpers who bought rows of
assorted lowers, because those seats were the only
empty seats in the house.
After opening with Seven Bridges Road, Long
Run, and New Kid in Town, Glenn announced, "El
Paso, we're heeeere." To which the crowd responded
with thunderous applause. He said, "It's our 30th
Anniversary, and isn't it great to be 30 again?"
He wore an iridescent blue grey suit, black t
shirt and black shoes. Joe wore a Barney purple
jacket, black t shirt, crinkle cloth slate blue
slacks, and some shiny stretch slip on tennis
shoes. Don wore a black suede looking jacket,
black cowboy looking shirt with white embroidery
on the collar, dark grey or faded black pants, and
his infamous brown work boots. Tim wore a grey
pinstripe mid knee length jacket, and a blue grey
crepe tunic shirt with a white neck band, and
black jeans and black biker boots. Stuart wore a
white shirt and black dress slacks and shoes.
The back up musicians were the same group
they toured with last summer, which co
incidentally tour with Henley's solo act, except
for drummer Rob Ladd. They were Scott Crago
drums/percussion, Will Hollis keyboards, vocals,
Michael Thompson keyboards/vocals, Al Garth, alto
& tenor sax/violin, Bill Armstrong trumpet, Chirs
Mostert, tenor sax, Greg Smith baritone sax. "Fine
lads, one and all," quipped Glenn. The horn
section didn't intrude on any of the songs, just
added a little more spice and soul to the mix.
They played on In The City, Long Run, You Belong
to The City, and Sunset Grill, to name a few, and
the trumpeter did a solo intro for Hotel
California. There was only one song early in the
first set that the bass and drums drowned out the
vocals, New Kid in Town, I think, and after that
everything was pretty much up to par. Some in our
group thought that Stuart wasn't quite on the mark
on one or two instances, but I didn't catch it,
myself, and chalked that up to them never having
heard the live versions of Hotel California, with
it's various incarnations. His solo riffs on I
Can't Tell You Why were very soulful, and the
crowd threw Tim roses, which he politely picked
up, following each of his two magnificent solos
efforts.
Henley, with the Eagles, has a distinctly
different personality from that of his solo
career, quieter, more subdued, and checks his ego,
but none of his talent at the door. He shines when
the spotlight focuses in on him, and is a team
player in the background when it's not. Although
our seats had a great view of the stage, 4th row
lower right, the one complaint we had is that the
stage camera man kept blocking our view of Don
every time he got behind the drum kit to perform a
lead, which was a lot more often than I remember
him being back there in Dallas. By the end of the
show, he not only removed his jacket for his
drumming, but rolled up his sleeves and worked up
a sweat on Life in the Fast Lane. In order to see
his face we had to look straight up to the
overhead screens for any of his Eagles lead vocal
songs, but he came out front for all his solo
work. And let me tell you everyone in the house
got up and danced to his Boys of Summer, All She
Wants to Do Is Dance, and Dirty Laundry. He even
came to each side of the stage to give that bunch
a closer look during Boys of Summer. His only
detraction was that he got frustrated with the
cord that was wrapped up on the mike stand, which
he couldn't get untangled for his opened armed
dramatic finale on Desperado, and he knocked the
stand over in desperation. All was forgiven, no
one even mentioned that faux pas to me in the last
week.
Glenn in the first half was a very business
like MC, staying out of the way of the music, even
though he said it was the way his first wife felt
about her credit cards, before he performed and
admirable rendition of Take it to the Limit, which
he and Don had originally written for Randy
Meisner. That became the first of many sing alongs
for the evening. A couple down on the floor danced
the two step to his Lying Eyes, like they were out
for and evening of dancing. Midway through the
second set, He asked, "How Ya Doin, Joe?" to which
Joe replied, " You may not know this, but we were
all born here. It's good to be home." After which,
during Walk Away, the frenzied crowd got the band
all in a silly mood where they began to play a
musical freeze tag with the horn section when the
music paused and they froze like statues on stage
till it restarted. It was all downhill after that,
with one hit after another, more solo work by Don,
Joe, & Glenn, who should've considered doing The
Heat Is On at that point, cause the place was on
fire, and the boys were smoking!
Joe's guitar work was stellar, his vocals
on Pretty Maids were up to the challenge, he added
an interesting solo to Glenn's You Belong, and he
visited with the folks behind the stage at one
point. The choice of all his and the bands rowdier
tunes towards the end of the show, had the crowd
on their feet and dancing in the isles. It was
like a bawdy party that 'no body wanted to go home
(from) now' when Heartache Tonight was played. If
you didn't have a good time at this Eagles show,
there ain't no pleasing you. I was ready to go out
and start looking for tickets to the show in
Lubbock on the 28th. Since we've had a taste of
pretty close, our next goal is floor seats down
front or bust!
See you all in 2003! We'll be there.
Jeanie aka OnTheBorder
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