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Greensboro Reviews |
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Ben:
Fan Review |
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Simply put, this was the
best rock concert I have ever been to. It was, for
lack of a better word, AMAZING. And no one will
believe what happened to me...I was down near the
stage, looking at the mixing board, and Scott Crago,
the second drummer (after Henley) invited my
girlfriend and I down to look at the stage. He
showed us all of the guitars, and we got some "Glenn
Frey" and "Joe Walsh" personalized guitar picks! As
if that weren't enough, Steve took us up ON STAGE to
look at all the stuff. I was standing inches behind
Henley's drum set! And AND he gave me one of his
used drum sticks, and gave another to my girlfriend.
I met Joe's guitar technician, and I met the
keyboardist for the group. I was having an amazing
time, and the Eagles hadn't even come on the stage
yet!
Joe Walsh was the star
of the show, no doubt. His solo songs, Turn To
Stone, Walk Away, and Life's Been Good most notably,
were some of the best of the show. During All She
Wants To Do Is Dance, he did a funky little dance
thing that I can't explain, except by saying it was
hilarious! Tim got into it too, and with Joe, they
got the audience really into it. Life's Been Good
was probably the best song in the show in terms of
audience response. Joe was having a blast, and the
audience could tell. He changed around some lyrics,
which was very funny, and the screen above the stage
would flash up little messages to go along with the
lyrics.
Don Henley seemed a
little out-of-it at the beginning of the show, but
he got better in the second set. Unfortunately, I
didn't really see him smile, so that gave me the
impression that he wasn't happy there. His solo
stuff was awesome too, especially Boys of Summer and
Sunset Grill. He got into it on All She Wants To Do
Is Dance and Dirty Laundry. It was great to see him
playing guitar, and he seemed to be enjoying it.
Glenn Frey was in good
form. His voice is perfect, and was almost better
than Henley's. Glenn soloed with Joe on Funk 49,
which was amazing. Glenn did his dance on All She
Wants to Do Is Dance, but not for very long. You
Belong To The City was very impressive too. I hadn't
heard it before this concert, and I was blown away.
Tim was great. Simply
great. He was jumpin around with Joe and they were
obviously having a great time. Tim would
occasionally stop playing for a second to wave at
people in the audience. Unfortunately though, I
couldn't really hear his bass...it sounded like a
percussive thumping instead of a melodic bass sound.
It got better as the concert went on though.
The Eagles couldn't have
chosen a better backup team...I met Scott Crago and
Will Hollis, and they were the nicest guys...and
they were great onstage. Steuart Smith was great. I
almost didn't miss Don Felder.
Standout songs were:
Boys of Summer, Take it to the Limit, Already Gone,
Walk Away, Sunset Grill, Turn to Stone, Life's Been
Good, Dirty Laundry, Heartache Tonight, All She
Wants To Do Is Dance, New Kid In Town, and One of
These Nights.
I have never had a
better experience in all my life. The Eagles are
great!
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Dale: Fan Review |
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Just got back from the
Greensboro show, seeing the band in-person for the
first time since 1995. And I must say I truly
continue to be amazed at the quality of music these
guys put out.
The vocals, although
strained at times, were mostly stunning. It seemed
that a few of the harmony parts were hard to hear
once in a while, but this easily could have been due
to the building acoustics and our position in the
arena. Instrumentally, the guys were on all night.
This was my first opportunity to hear the band with
Steuart Smith, and he did not disappoint. His
clear, crisp riffs were outstanding, playing note
for note with Don Felder's old parts, but also
occasionally adding his own precise signature to
many of the tried and true solos. Superb.
I just can't say enough
about Joe Walsh tonight. Although his voice has
aged a bit, his vocal performance was more than
satisfactory. And the guitar work was
outstanding--simply vintage Walsh. "Turn to Stone"
live was truly a highlight, as were his other
featured songs and solos. No question, he was on
top of his game Friday night.
Glenn, toward the end of
the night, seemed to be winding down and tiring, but
still pulled it together for a fine performance on
"Take It Easy". Don looked harried also, but
sounded just as good on "Desperado" as he did on the
opening "Long Run". Amazing voice. And the backup
band and horn section was great as usual.
All in all, the band
showed its appreciation with their scheduled
three-hour show, and the raucous crowd returned that
appreciation the entire evening. You just don't
find many acts of this stature that will play that
long after all these years. They sure don't HAVE to
do it. I certainly feel it was money
well-spent--worth every penny. For those of you
sitting on the fence about going this time...do
yourself a favor...go NOW.
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Cindy: Fan Review |
Oh my goodness! I've
been to many concerts, and this was certainly the
best! We got to Coliseum about 3 and waited in the car
(writing, drawing, reading) for 3 hours...since it was
raining. My mother, father, and I (a 16-year-old
fanatic) went. The tour merchandise was also the best
I'd ever seen. There were so many shirt options, and
all were great! I liked some of the styles better, but
I wanted one with a picture so I could show them off
at school.
The guys all looked and sounded great. The audience
loved them! They didn't do as much chatting with the
audience as I've seen in previous shows, but the songs
said all. They did seem to be having a really good
time together. Glenn seemed a little upset as he
introduced Take It Easy, maybe because there cheers
wouldn't stop long enough for him to speak :), but
seemed to snap right back when he did the song. The
audience was very receptive to all of their songs. The
new song seemed flawless, just as good as on the
radio.
Some of the highlights for me were All She Wants To Do
Is Dance, Dirty Laundry, Walk Away, Life's Been Good
(Joe is just too funny), Hole In The World, Lyin'
Eyes, and Already Gone. Although all the songs were
great, and for the most part you wouldn't be able to
tell the vocals from the studio, Heartache Tonight and
You Belong To The City weren't quite as good as the
original recordings. But they were still awesome!
Everyone loved Glenn's little joke before Lyin' Eyes.
And he stated when the show began, "Welcome to the
Eagles' Farewell 1 tour, where we tour the country
saying goodbye to fans for the next oh...20-30 years."
I just can't wait till they tour next year. I'm
*going* to get front row seats next year! :)
Guys, definitely get the tour books and definitely get
to a show! :)
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Donna: Fan Review |
Well, we went to the
Charlotte show on the 22nd and “thought” that would be
the end of our Eagles fill for the summer…but wait…at
noon I found FRONT ROW tickets to the Greensboro
show…for $175 each…four of them together!!!! The front
row, the first four seats…we thought we were
dreaming…but no, we drove from Spartanburg, SC to
Greensboro, NC for our FRONT ROW tickets!!!!
We have two teenagers (one male, one female) who had
gone to Charlotte with us…and they went with us to
Greensboro. We got to the Coliseum about 30 minutes
prior to when the show was to start…of course it
didn’t start for about 45 minutes. We didn’t care…we
were sitting so close to the stage.
The guys came out and started around 8:15 or
8:20…again, sorry I don’t know…we were still in
disbelief that we had front row seats and we were
there. Don was in perfect voice and in good spirits,
Timmy was on the money with every part, Glenn was in
better voice tonight than last night in Charlotte, Joe
was funnier (if that’s possible) and more animated
than at Charlotte, Stuart was fantastic, and the back
up band was phenomenal!!
Now for the part NO ONE seems to believe…until they
see the proof…Timmy seemed to be paying a lot of
attention to our end of the row…didn’t exactly know
why, until…during “Life’s Been Good”, Joe had just
left our side of the stage with his helmet cam. From
nowhere Timmy appeared in the darkness, pointed to my
13 yr old and handed her one of his picks…I had to
push her almost over the “rope” so Timmy wouldn’t fall
off the stage. This was after the break when one of
the techs had handed her a “Glenn Frey” pick…we were
just talking when he walked up to her and handed her
that one.
As the concert went on, after my 13 yr old had
received her picks, my 15 yr old son taps me on the
shoulder and said, “Mom, some lady (one of the techs)
just handed me a pick!!”…it was a “Glenn Frey” pick
too. Needless to say they were both in heaven!!!
We had a blast!!! There were a few technical glitches,
but not enough to really notice. We still couldn’t
believe we were in the front row. Timmy’s fret work
was absolutely the greatest, Don makes the drums look
effortless, Glenn dedicated “Lyin Eyes” to his
ex-wife, and no “Take it to the Limit” credit card
jokes tonight, Joe is so underrated as a musician…his
fret work was fabulous too, and Stuart is amazing as
well.
They were all in good spirits! Timmy and Don both
waved in our direction! In the same spot Timmy came
over and handed my daughter the pick…Don came over
looked down and said “hi” to us…and smiled!! Maybe it
was because I had a Walden Woods t-shirt on…who
knows…who cares…we know it happened! At some point Joe
and Glenn looked in our direction and smiled too. The
whole night was FANTASTIC!
Both my 13 yr old and 15 yr old said it was the BEST
day of their lives. I guess so…being handed picks!!!!
They have gotten up every morning and checked to see
if their picks are still there…of course they are…they
just keep saying they thought the whole night was a
dream.
We hadn’t planned to go to Greensboro, but for FRONT
row seats…couldn’t pass it up!!!! If you have the
chance to go to the concert…GO!! It is worth EVERY
penny!!! I think we’re spoiled with the front row
seats, so we’ll be trying to get those from now on!!!
This was soooo awesome!!!
Donna
Oh yeah, I lost my voice in Charlotte but whistled and
made as much noise in Greensboro as I could.
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Bill: Fan Review |
While my wife and I
spent a lot of money last weekend seeing the Dixie
Chicks in the exact same venue, I was able to talk her
into making the three hour trek from Greenville, North
Carolina again to see “my guys”. Being 32 years of
age, perhaps I’m a young punk compared to some of the
folks who may be reading this. So, the St. Louis
concert I saw on the “Hell Freezes Over Tour” in July
1994 is the main thing I have to compare the
Greensboro show to.
They started the show with “The Long Run.” I believe
that song works better live than on the record. The
horns were a nice touch on that tune.
I have to disagree with the Dire Straits line, “I
don’t give a damn about any trumpet playing band…” The
four-piece horn section was a nice compliment to the
Eagles music and did not clutter their sound in the
least. The horns were perhaps best used on the Henley
hits “Sunset Grill” and “All She Wants to Do is
Dance.” It was also fun to see the brass section
dancing in unison for certain tunes like “Life’s Been
Good.”
Joe Walsh takes his job as the class clown seriously
and was dressed for the part with a bright purple
sports coat and black and white striped pants with
tennis shoes. Before he sang his first song of the
evening he explained to everyone that he had not
planned to sing these songs when he was fifty-six
years old and may need help from the audience hitting
some of the high notes. Despite the warning his voice
was in good shape all night and Walsh tunes tended to
be fan favorites. A highlight of the show was Glenn
Frey making faces as Joe Walsh ran toward him with the
Helmet Cam during “Life’s Been Good”.
While Joe Walsh will likely sing “Life’s Been Good”,
“Rocky Mountain Way”, and “Funk 49” for however many
more farewell tours are in his future, “Walk Away” and
“Turn to Stone” were welcome additions to the show”.
Henley also joked a bit as he introduced their new
song “Hole in the World”. He explained that its taking
over two years to record their new album so we don’t
buy a record with only one good song on it like most
of them these days. The new song was well received by
an enthusiastic audience.
The Eagles are occasionally referred to as the
“American Beatles.” One argument in favor of this
statement is that they are one of the few groups out
there where three members have solo records that
people care about. The crowd in Greensboro was quick
to sing along with the solo hits as well as the Eagles
catalog. As much as I enjoyed the solo tunes from
Henley and Walsh, I would not have minded to hear
another song or two from Glenn Frey. Maybe that’s
because I’m a child of the eighties who is also a
Miami Vice fan.
The band played great all night and probably also
sounded better because I was seeing them play indoors
instead of the amphitheater in 1994.
Stuart Smith did an excellent job of nailing all of
Felder’s guitar parts. It just seemed a bit different
seeing someone other than Felder wielding a double
neck through “Hotel California.” Scott Crago brought a
heavier drum sound than I recall from the 1994 tour.
Heck, he’s lasted with the Eagles for nine years and
that’s longer than most of the original members.
Having seen them in 1994, I think I particularly
enjoyed the songs that they added to the 2003 tour
such as “James Dean”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, and
“Turn to Stone”. I think the Eagles did an excellent
job of keeping all the hits that people want to hear
while still freshening up the set a bit from past
tours. There also seemed to be more jamming and guitar
solos on songs like “Dirty Laundry” and “Turn to
Stone”.
It was an excellent show with most of an excited
audience singing along all night. As Travis Tritt
said, the Eagles brought us the sound track to growing
up. I hope to be singing along on future Farewell
Tours!
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GoTriad.com |
GREENSBORO-Fans sure
love the Eagles. A comfortably packed house at the
Greensboro Coliseum paid up to $175 a ticket to see
one of the most popular bands of the 1970s on their
latest reunion tour … the third since Hell Freezes
Over, nine years ago. Roughly 13,000 rabid Eagles
aficionados cheered wildly and sang along Friday night
as if the lyrics to every song were encoded on a
computer chip implanted in their brains.
The Eagles sure love their fans. The California kings
of classic rock, whose Greatest Hits remains the
best-selling album of all time, played for a marathon
three-and-a-half hours, pausing only for a 20-minute
intermission. They played till the crowd was
deliriously exhausted, two sets and three encores
later.
Much like Paul McCartney's last tour, the Eagles
charged an arm and a leg but gave enough in return
that an ardent fan would have to say they got their
money's worth. As with the McCartney extravaganza, the
sound and staging were impressive, the performances
(especially the vocal harmonies) jaw-dropping, and the
set list a fan's dream that hit every conceivable high
point and then some.
Also as with McCartney's concert, which canvassed the
hit-filled repertoires of the Beatles, Wings and
Paul's solo career, the Eagles covered all their
various bases. Of course, the band itself was home
base, and plenty of hits and popular album tracks,
including much of Hotel California, got played. The
Eagles even premiered a song from a forthcoming studio
album … their first album of new material since 1979.
This bit of gospel-flavored near-a capella, entitled
``Hole in the World,'' flaunted the shimmering
harmonies of core members Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe
Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit, which seemed to float in
the air.
Missing from the lineup was long-tenured guitarist Don
Felder. He was replaced by Stuart Smith, a superb
guitarist who replicated various parts and solos with
unerring accuracy and more passion than you might
expect from a hired hand. Onstage, the Eagles were
further abetted by two keyboardists, a horn section
(which added a mighty punch to ``Life in the Fast
Lane,'' Henley's ``Sunset Grill'' and Walsh's ``Rocky
Mountain Way''), and a percussionist who moved to
drums whenever Don Henley sang front and center.
The crowd valued the Eagles' exacting renditions,
which combined the precision of their studio
recordings with the immediacy and volume of live
performance. ``They sound just like the record!'' was
one overheard comment. That raises the question why
someone would pay so dearly to see the Eagles live.
The answer has to do with appreciating craftsmanship,
wanting to witness rock legends in the flesh, and
being well off enough to indulge the urge.
Especially in the second set, the Eagles' secret
weapon was Joe Walsh, who kicked up the energy level
whenever the show threatened to get too starchy.
Several of Walsh's old favorites with the James Gang
and as a solo artist … ``Walk Away,'' ``Funk #49,''
``Turn to Stone,'' ``Life's Been Good'' … culminated
in dense, ripping guitar solos that demonstrated his
still-formidable touch. Not to be outdone, a suddenly
animated Henley spearheaded a biting, lively ``Dirty
Laundry,'' while a similarly unreserved Frey led the
band through a romping ``Heartache Tonight.''
One highly ironic and defining moment came at the
start of the second set when they tore into ``James
Dean.'' Imagine a 1970s ode to a 1950s movie outlaw
performed by a reunited supergroup rekindling
nostalgia for life in the fast lane here in 2003. A
further irony was provided by the name of this Eagles'
outing, Farewell Tour 1, about which Frey joked,
``We're going to be going around the country saying
goodbye to our fans for the next 20 or 30 years.''
These Eagles apparently haven't flown for the last
time, so start saving your money for the
next go-round.
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Amy's Review |
This was an awesome
show! As far as band and audience energy levels, I
think it ran last year's Louisville show a close
second. I had a third row seat on the floor, right in
front of Timothy and we didn't sit down the entire
show. It was really hot in the arena, but no one
seemed to care.
Don put a little something extra into "Wasted Time".
Glenn said before singing "New Kid in Town" that he
thought he had sung the song perfectly once, back in
1976. That was kind of funny, and it was nice to hear
something other than his usual tired jokes. Timothy
gave possibly the best performance of "I Can't Tell
You Why" that I've ever seen (and heard). I loved
Joe's comment before "In the City" too. He said that
the song featured the highest note he could sing when
he wrote it and that we should all sing along and one
of us would probably hit it :)
It was great to hear "James Dean", but for me the best
new additions to the set were "Hole in the World" and
"Turn to Stone". "Hole in the World" was so beautiful
that it sent chills up my spine! Timothy is so
expressive on that song and seemed quite caught up in
the moment. Their harmony vocals sounded even better
in person that on the recording. I was also excited to
see them do "Turn to Stone" since I've only ever heard
them play that song on bootlegs from the late '70s.
What a treat! Joe's playing was inspired, the
arrangement was great, and the band was just generally
so tight. They kept taking the intensity up a notch
until the end when they did a couple of fake endings.
I just can't imagine any band being better live than
the Eagles!
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