Traffic was heavy driving into Death Valley (the cute, friendly name these South Carolinans gave their sports stadium). Other people seemed to have the right idea and had erected tents, lawn chairs and webers for pre-game festivities. Local frats were replenishing their coffers after graduation parties by charging concert-goers for the privilege of parking on their frat house lawns. Heck, you know its damn festive when not only can you order boiled peanuts, but you can get a job selling them on the spot.

V. had a sure fire method for finding primo parking spots and it paid off. In no time flat, we were in the stadium, ensconced in our really crappy seats and were setting new world records for sweating (oops, A. and L2 are from the south--they were perspiring). As we pondered how anyone could keep cotton candy from melting in the 100 degree heat, we were approached by D. from Ohio. We had been looking forward to meeting her, but didn't have much time to chat before the show got underway.

David Spero, Joe's manager, played the proud papa as The Michael Stanley band, a member of his talented stable, took the stage to warm up the already physically hot crowd. The tickets said the show started at 6....it was already 7 pm and no sign of the Eagles....but wait, we did have great seats for viewing the backstage area right outside the dressing room (of course we had to use high powered binoculars). Joe Walsh was walking around and Scott Crago could occasionally be seen attending to something or another. We're sure the Michael Stanley Band is a great group of musicians with something important to say, but to be honest, in the heat and the excitement, the only thing we can remember is that they sang a song about underwear.

Finally, we heard the familiar lie as Tim Lamb told the crowd the Eagles would be taking the stage in 5 minutes. It wasn't really all that dark, but 15 minutes later, the familiar sounds of thunder and the faint flashes of lightening filled Death Valley. It's easy to become jaded after seeing the
show more than once, but it was pretty incredible. Five tiny guys took the stage. We were leaning over the heads in front of us to get a better look. A. grabbed L's hand for support and announced breathlessly, "They're BLUE!!!!!" And she wasn't talking about Henley's eyes. Yes, the band was dressed for comfort on this hot night and that meant that Henley had donned (don't you love using that word in conjunction w/ Henley's clothing?) nothing but a white t-shirt and blue jeans. We were further astounded to see that Don was also wearing sneakers. Joe and Glenn were attired in their familiar t's and loose fitting guy shirts, Felder was wearing his brown leather vest, white shirt and blue jeans and Tim was wearing something maroon (sorry C, we're drawing a blank here). They were fantastic. Every note was in place, every harmony right on, and everyone was SMILING. They looked like they were having the time of their lives up there on stage...and those of us in the audience were having a similar experience.

We were a bit disappointed that the set list didn't seem to have changed, but we were really pleasantly surprised when right before what should have been "Girl From Yesterday" Glenn announced that those who may have seen the show before were in for a few surprises. They didn't wait a second to surprise us and launched right into "Peaceful Easy Feeling". There, under the open sky of the stadium, in the sweltering summer night, there couldn't have been a more perfect song. Joe's "Ordinary Average Guy" was its usual lighthearted self. We noticed that the slide show had changed a little over the break and now included pictures of the crew on the Australian leg frolicking with various members of the marsupial family. We didn't want to know.

Much too soon it was time for the intermission. We spent it rehashing the first part of the show and eagerly anticipating what surprises were around the corner. As the lights came up for "Tequila Sunrise" we noticed how beautiful the lighting was. We had never noticed so many colors before and even from the distance we were at, it was an eye-catching show. Between songs, Glenn mumbled something about it being Father's Day and that it was the first time all 5 Eagles were
fathers.

The second part of the show did not disappoint. The whole stadium was on their feet from "You Belong to the City" to the last strains of "Take it Easy". Probably the most heart-stopping moment of the evening came when instead of the opening to "Smuggler's Blues," the band launched into "The Heat is On." We had never thought we would hear this song live...at least not done by the Eagles. M. went into some sort of screaming fit and even garnered the concern of a nearby topless drunk guy. We were right, though. Henley was no where near a microphone during the 'Whoa oh oh oh's". He just calmly played an intricate pattern on that classic rock instrument...the cowbell.

The surprises weren't over, though, and neither was the great music. All of them were in top form, but we were a little concerned about Joe who seemed under the weather. Don Felder smiled and smiled, and Timothy's voice was as clear and as beautiful as when he was in Poco. The first encore included a very interpretive version of "All She Wants to Do is Dance". Henley half sang, half spoke the song in a sort of sexy Rod McKeun sort of way. Let's just say we were all excited.

The show then proceeded in the normal way with "Rocky Mountain Way", "Already Gone", "Desperado" and "Take it Easy". Needless to say, that night, Death Valley was very much alive.

[Back to the Beginning] [On to Greensboro]