Washington, DC Reviews

Mark:  Fan Review

A show truly for all ages: In contrast to the average age at the recent Fleetwood Mac show – 50- this crowd was much younger.  I’d say around 40.  This just proves once again the timeliness and the universality of the Eagles music.

As the show began to the chords of the Long Run, the band seemed to be in warm-up mode.  It definitely took them a few songs to hit their stride.  I think they came into their own on “Hole in the World.”  The one negative about the first set is that its just much to mellow, nearly lulling the sold-out crowd to sleep.  Still, the musicianship was phenomenal.  And Henley’s voice can only be described as sublime.  Stuart Smith certainly fits right in.

The second set consisted of a lot of solo songs molded into Eagles songs.  Boys of Summer was impressive.  And of course, Mr. Walsh was in typical form.  In Life’s Been Good, he brought the house down when instead of singing “I’ve got a limo, ride in the back, I lock the doors in case I’m attacked” he sang, “I’ve got a limo, ride in the back, WHASSUP!!”  The last two songs of the set - Heartache Tonight and Life in the Fastlane- were outstanding. 

The pacing of the second set was a little off – slow song, fast song, slow song – but that’s really just a nitpick.  One general comment is that this band now seems truly a democracy; Henley was not in the forefront nearly as much as he was in HFO (he played drums or percussion on most songs).  All members had their shot at lead and they all sounded great.  And it is not true that the voices of Glenn Frey or Joe Walsh are “shot”- far from it.

The three encores just put the icing on the cake.  As I’ve set for years, you will never see as much talent on one stage as you do when you see the Eagles perform.  The greatest American band…. 

Jon:  Fan Review

I saw the Eagles last night in DC at the MCI Center. It was a great show, or what I could hear.  I opted for the cheaper seats, mistake.  I was in the beer and screaming section.

You could tell the sound was fantastic, great sound system and the band was flawless.  All their voices were just incredible. It just was not loud enough where we were sitting.

It was a bit of a slow show, you forget all the slow songs they do that you drank and cried to.  But then Joe Walsh would play!  It was a bit of the Joe Walsh show.  He is wild to watch and listen to.

Overall, the lights and show is top notch!  One of the best you will see. 

Next time, I will lay out the cash for good seats. The show is worth it.
 

Susan:  Fan Review

My favorite part was...  Boys of Summer, Take it Easy, Glenn's dancing in All She Wants to do is Dance and
the Lyin' Eyes dedication to all the politicians/lobbyists in DC

My least favorite part was....The $35 I paid for a t-shirt

The band members were.....  Don, Timothy, Glenn, Joe

The show made me feel..... Well, I can't really place it, it was the best concert I've seen in awhile

One thing I'll never forget is.....  I thought they did cool stuff w/ the lighting.  I wasn't expecting that, since I originally heard on a radio station that the Eagles were really boring in concert-not so much.

Other comments  .......My friends and I who went are 21, 21, and 25.  We knew all the songs/lyrics, so the Eagles are still going strong w/ the younger crowd!

Go see the show!  It's awesome!!!!

 

Jeff:  Fan Review

My favorite part was...Boys Of Summer, One of These Nights--really, the entire (superior) first half

My least favorite part was....Joe Walsh (did I see the same show as Mark--another fan review--and The Washington Post?).  Joe was certainly loud, and The Helmet Cam was funny, but his extended "jams" aren't up to the quality of Don and Glenn's songs  

The band members were.....Kudos to the lead guitarist  

The show made me feel.....younger, at 45, than many of the rest of the crowd  

One thing I'll never forget is..... how good their voices still are; the outstanding video boards and camera work (important to us on the side of the stage); that there were 8 supporting band members which made the sound truly outstanding.

Other comments  .......when Don say "such a lovely face" during Hotel California, the video board cut to Joe.

Glenn dedicated Lyin' Eyes to two women he met the night before.  When the crowd went "woooo!", he said "I can't stay up that late."  He also mentioned that he and Don roomed together before a Linda Rondstadt gig in DC--the local reference was nice.  He said "we were crazy kids then ... now we're crazy seniors."

Jim:  Fan Review

Great show. Everyone sounded great. Songs that I wished they could have played:

Outlaw Man
Too Many Hands (Don singing lead since this was a Meisner song)
After the Thrill is Gone
Witchy Woman

Slight problem with air conditioning at MCI - warm floor seat area.

Glenn mentioned the 400 lawmakers and thousands of lobbyists in the DC area before Lyin' Eyes.

Before Take it Easy Glenn recalled the 1st time Don and he played together  for Linda Ronstadt was at the Cellar Door night club in DC. Ronstadt asked them to join her band but Don told Glenn that they should start their own band.

I think Glenn's voice is still good. For some reason he's singing You Belong in a different way (almost like a whisper). He sounded great on Heartache Tonight.

Agree with Henley that they need new material to continue touring. I don't expect them to be touring for the next ten years. I see them coming out with new CD and tour maybe next year. After that I see a break coming. For those who
have not seen this band catch them this year and the next time they tour. I think anything after that will be unknown.

This was the 4th time I've seen the Eagles in concert. 1st time was at the Jerry Brown for President benefit in 1976 at the Capital Center in Landover MD. Walsh was not with the band then. I still remember hearing Meisner sing Too Many Hands with great guitar solo from Felder.

2nd time was HC tour in 1977. Big change from 1976 and 1977 shows from the recent ones was the lack of marijuana smell. 3rd time was HFO at RFK stadium in DC in 1994 (sat too far away - sound was not good).

Last night was the best show in terms of sound and material. All the classic songs brought back memories and feelings of the 1st time I heard those songs. Henley said Eagles fans have experienced a lot of things while listening to Eagles songs and that was very true for me.

Looking forward to Farewell II.
 

Jamie and Tressa:  Fan Review

The Crowd: Saturday’s D.C. concert was one of our best yet (if not the best)! From the beginning raucous strains of Long  Run, the crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative. People were on their feet moving to the music. The place appeared to be sold out to me, or nearly so.

Most Sentimental Moment: When Glenn introduced Steuart Smith, he remarked that Steuart had been telling his family that he had been on the road playing with the Eagles for the past three years and finally tonight they were able to see him perform. The crowd gave him a big round of applause and Steuart gave his family a little wave and smile. It was so sweet. Several times throughout the night, he gave their section a little smile or wave.

The Jokes: Glenn added to his “Holland” joke repertoire when he introduced Christian Mostert. He said, I love Holland and sang “I can’t tell you why” in falsetto like Timothy would sing it. We hadn’t hear that before!

The Clothes: Don wore his customary black chinos and black shirt, while Glenn had on faded jeans and a black jacket. He changed shirts at the break, going from a black print shirt to the hot pink number. Joe wore his black and gray camouflage pants, and Timothy had on jeans and a henley shirt, which he changed at the break. Scott Crago had on this marvelous black leather pants - enough said.

Outstanding Musical Moments: I am always so impressed when Steuart makes that guitar sound like a mandolin on Tequila Sunrise (I think). Wow!! Joe really cut loose a couple of times - he is so awesome. Everyone seemed in great voice. The
horns were awesome and we have become very good imitating all their dance moves (and trying to get others around us to do the same). I also noticed that Al plays violin on several songs. I knew he did one or two, but I hadn’t noticed there were a few more.

Best Commentary: Before Take It Easy, Glenn commented that it had been 32 years since he and Don came to Georgetown with Linda Ronstadt and played a gig at the Cellar Door. He said that they were roommates at the Georgetown Manor (a motel), and that it was there that they decided to form a band together. He then did a little
exaggerated movement and said that the band was the Eagles, as he grinned from ear to ear. It was magical.
 

Paul: Fan Review

I saw show in Washington DC, MCI Center, Fri July 11th 2003

Favorite Part was Wasted Time, Take it to the Limit, Dirty Laundry, Desperado. Liked Don jamming the drums to Joe's songs. 3 encores.

My Least Favorite Part... Way too much Joe Walsh. Wasn't this an "Eagles" concert??? Let Joe do "Lifes Been Good" and "Rockey Mtn Way" then leave the rest to the band to squeeze in more awesome songs like 7
Bridges Road, The Last Resort, Sad Cafe and Witchy Woman etc. Ticket price not so great either.

I'll never forget... Glenn saying "You're payin' so we're playin!". (classic)
 

Lee: Fan Review

Lynn: Fan Review

Mike's Review

I saw the Eagles in Washington, DC at the MCI Center both nights. After
seeing them both nights my wife and I could not go without seeing them
one more time so we got on the internet to order tickets and plane
tickets to San Diego, Cal. We flew out, saw the concert, and flew back
to DC. Each concert was great and there wasn't anything I can say
negative about any of the three concerts. I guess I can say that I
enjoyed the San Diego concert more than the DC concerts because it was
an adventure to fly across country to watch one of my favorite bands to
perform all of their songs under a cloudless, full moon night. One of
the favorite sections of the show was Joe Walsh. He is a show all by
himself.

I urge all Eagles fans to make an effort to see them if you can. It is
worth it!!