Eagles Tour 2004

As 2004 draws to a close, so does another great year of Eagles shows. Feel free to continue to add to this blog. The continuation of Farewell I will be covered in the 2005 TourBlog

Here's How to Use The TourBlog

All the cities on the tour are listed on the left. When you click on a city, you'll see all reviews, articles and photos associated with that tour stop. You can also hit "comments" and post your own review of a show.

If you'd rather e-mail us your reviews, we'll post them for you.

If you would rather just see what's new...look at the right hand side. The most recent posts are listed there. You can click on the article or review you'd like to read.

Old kids in town to do Eagle rock (NEWS.com.au)

Link: NEWS.com.au | Old kids in town to do Eagle rock (November 24, 2004).

IT was a night of rock 'n' roll nostalgia in Brisbane last night as the Eagles came to town.

LONG list of hits . . . Timothy B. Schmit, left, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey belt out a tune at The Eagles concert in Brisbane last night. Picture: Marc Robertson.

A capacity crowd of 12,500 people descended on the Entertainment Centre for the year's biggest-selling tour; a mammoth evening of Eagle rock. The music icons, with 140 million album sales to their credit, touched down in Brisbane with their Farewell 1 tour after wowing baby boomers and music lovers in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Along with their 14 semi-trailer loads of equipment, the enduring rockers brought with them a set list crammed with their raft of hits from the 1970s onwards. The ageing rockers opened with The Long Run before moving into a set which was scheduled to go for up to three hours, with an interval in between.

Another 12,500 fans will get to see Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit in action at the Entertainment Centre tonight, and they will return to Brisbane for a third encore on December 2.

Meanwhile, fans have been urged to buy up early tomorrow if they want to see Delta Goodrem in concert next year. The Internet pre-sale for her limited national tour next July starts from Ticketek at noon tomorrow, before phone and counter sales open at 9am on Monday.

Goodrem will perform at the Entertainment Centre on July 18.

The Eagles give Melbourne a freebie (Undercover)

Link: The Eagles give Melbourne a freebie.

Fans of The Eagles in Melbourne, Australia were given a rare treat to be part of their forthcoming DVD yesterday. The Eagles performed a free show at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena to record additional camera angles for the DVD and invited the city along to watch.

More than 6,000 fans turned out for the performance and we given a close-up view of the band performing their acoustic set.

The songs included 'Tequila Sunrise', 'Love Will Keep Us Alive', 'No More Cloudy Days', 'Hole In The World' and 'Take It To The Limit' as well as an encore performance of 'Hotel California'.

Filming concluded last night after the third Melbourne show.

The television rights to the broadcast have been sold to the NBC Network in the USA and it is expected the Nine Network in Australia is also bidding for the show.

NBC will broadcast the special in April. The DVD will be released in August or September 2005.

The audience at last night's performance showed equal enthusiasm to those on the first night. The band had a lot of fun with the crowd. Glenn Frey once again dedicated his song 'Lyin' Eyes' to "my first wife Plantiff". He also took a well placed stab at the Bush administration saying "contrary to what they believe, the Republicans do not own God. They just rented him for another four years".

Joe Walsh was in good humour explaining how his new song 'One Day At A Time' is about his struggles with alcoholism. He said the reason that he stopped drinking was that if he drank all the vodka in the world no-one else would be able to have any.

Joe is the star of the show with his solo performances of 'Life's Been Good', 'Funk 49', 'Rocky Mountain Way' and 'Walk Away' as well as the adopted Eagles tune 'In The City' and of course, his splendid guitar work on 'Life In The Fast Lane'.

Timothy B. Schmit once again was given a standing ovation for his performance of 'I Can't Tell You Why'. Don Henley's solo hits 'Dirty Laundry' and 'Boys of Summer' were audience favourites.

The Eagles Australian tour resumes tomorrow night in Sydney.

The oldies still pull crowds after 30 years (The Advertiser)

Link: The Advertiser: The oldies still pull crowds after 30 years [20nov04].

A MINI-SKIRTED teen down the front screamed "I love you" when the band came on.

Back in the crowd, her grandparents were feeling groovy, as they used to say in the '70s.

Something's happening here.

The phenomenally successful music of the Eagles has been like a soundtrack to the lives of the baby boomer generation and they're still finding new audiences. But at the band's sell-out third Melbourne concert of the Farewell I tour at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, the audience was mostly boomers.

This long-haul, three-hour concert was a blueprint of what Adelaide can expect when the Eagles land here again, after a nine-year absence, to play the Entertainment Centre on November 29 and 30. The band is as refreshing as ever, free-flowing, laid back, harmonically tight and unpretentious.

This is the rock of ages. This is indestructible songwriting.

When Don Henley croons what has become a country classic, Lyin' Eyes, almost the way he did in 1975, partners in the huge audience of the darkened stadium slyly peep at each other.

You can see them holding hands during Love Will Keep Us Alive. They sway to Desperado and sing along to Tequila Sunrise and young and old alike dance to other old favourites, such as Heartache Tonight. For Hotel California, one of the greatest enigmatic pop songs of all time, everybody stands, the way they do for the Hallelujah chorus in Handel's Messiah.

The Eagles grew out of a Linda Ronstadt backing band in 1972, with soft country rock sounds. This style was hardened with the 1976 addition of Joe Walsh, one of the most flamboyant of the psychedelic rock guitarists, and one of the most endearing clowns in rock music.

The deciduous process continues. The Eagles now include Don Henley and Glenn Frey as original members, with Walsh and bassist Timothy B. Schmit.

For this long tour of Asia and Australia, these are backed by an eight-piece band, with big, fat sounds led by Greg Smith on baritone sax.

Emerging from this backing band is a star in the making, the unassuming rock guitarist Steuart Smith, whose duet work with Walsh is a treat.

In the growth process, there are new songs, too, ranging from bubblegum pop (No More Cloudy Days) to saccharine Americana (Hole in the World).

But they haven't fallen into the smoke and mirrors traps of the big concert circuit. They don't need to prance about like such other boomer-rockers as Mick Jagger.

Promoter Michael Gudinski said he was concerned about giving value since there has been public disquiet about ticket prices that start at $95 – more than the cost of three CDs.

So it's a long show, no support acts, three hours of more than 30 of the songs that over three decades have made the Eagles one of the richest rock acts in the world. As Glenn Frey said, explaining why he's still playing the oldies: "The longer this goes on, the better these songs sound."

The Eagles phenomenon also can be explained by the fact that the band is not over-exposed. They've made only six studio albums in three decades and have spent more time apart than together.

In the songs, most of which are band-written, Glenn Frey has a sunny Californian sense of melodic hooks and English literature graduate Don Henley is an obsessed perfectionist about polished lyrics.

Their songs are mostly about love and, in contrast to such activists as Bob Dylan in the 1970s, they are not political.

Frey might talk and talk about the virtues of diversity and how "the Republican party in America does not own God" and how "musicians and plumbers and other ordinary people could do a better job of governing countries", but he doesn't clutter his songs with his politics.

The music of the Eagles grew out of a frontier mythology which resonates strongly in Australia. And no song better explains the Eagles ethos than Take It Easy, which has also has a certain resonance here.

The Eagles have been making a DVD at the Melbourne concerts. "We thought this would be a good place to film Farewell I, " said Frey, and the DVD is due for release next September.

Frey also said that the "sort-of" honesty in calling the tour Farewell I, with its implication that there will be another long goodbye, was really just his dig at Cher on her "everlasting" farewell tour.

Life's Been Good One Day At A Time For Joe Walsh (Undercover)

Link: Life's Been Good One Day At A Time For Joe Walsh.

The Eagles Farewell I tour is not only about their evergreen classic rock moments from the 70s, Farewell I also gives each member the chance to shine solo. For long-time fans of guitarist Joe Walsh it is a treasure trove of some of his best solo work. In the current set he performs 'Life's Been Good', 'Walk Away', 'Rocky Mountain Way' and 'Funk 49" as well as 'In The City', a song that started out as a solo recording and later became an Eagles song.

"It's my turn in the barrel when my songs are up" Walsh tells Undercover News. "I'm sure Don (Henley) feels the same with 'Sunset Grill' and 'Dirty Laundry'. I think The Eagles do a nice translation of my stuff. The thing with The Eagles is that we are trying to make places in the set where people can improvise. We are really good at making it sound like the record, that's our craft. But I think live is important to improvise".

Walsh's solo career was happening before, during and after The Eagles. His biggest selling solo album But Seriously Folks was released in 1978 after Hotel California and before The Long Run. "That was really good timing" he says. "But Seriously Folks just so happened when I was in a really, really creative phase. (Bill) Szymczyk was rolling tape and got my brains on tape. I think for all of us, this time is to have The Eagles be the mother ship and we can run out a little bit and do solo projects but always come back to The Eagles. It is important that we all have our own little scene too. It makes the band stronger".

Szymczyk has produced Walsh since the James Gang days back in 1969. He became The Eagles producer from their third album 'On The Border'. Although Walsh wasn't to join the band for some years to come, he was responsible for the teaming. "The Eagles were kind of painting themselves in the corner as a county rock band" he says. "Glenn was from Detroit and had a huge R&B influence that finally surfaced. I asked Bill to produce The Eagles and he said "what would I want to do that for, they are country". I said "No Bill, they like R&B".

Joe Walsh joined The Eagles in 1976 at the peak of a successful solo career because it took the pressure of running the business off him. At the same time, The Eagles could use someone with his sound. "I had a pretty good solo career" he says. "I had a couple of hit records and was headlining a lot. There is a lot of non musical stuff that comes along with being solo, like hiring and firing and it becomes easy to feel alone. I had a good taste of a solo career but I really wanted to be in a band again. I satisfied my ego as a solo artist. Don (Henley) and Glenn (Frey) are two amazing singers with amazing stuff that was screaming for guitar parts".

The first song he wrote for The Eagles was 'Pretty Maids All In A Row', featured on Hotel California. "I had a bunch of songs that are in various stages of being finished" he says. "The way The Eagles usually work is we bring in bits and pieces and put them in a pile like a jigsaw puzzle. Don and Glenn then run with it. They thought that could turn into a pretty good Eagles song. Some of the stuff isn't cut out to be an Eagles song. Some of the stuff Don and Glenn write also isn't cut out to be an Eagles song".

On The Long Run, he contributed 'In The City'. The song was never a single but is a big part of the setlist today. "It was never a single. It was a movie project" Joe says. "The movie was The Warriors. It was an underground favourite. It was about gangs in New York. I put together the music for the soundtrack. Don and Glenn heard it and thought it would be a great Eagles song".

The current tour features a new Walsh song, the autobiographical 'One Day At A Time', written about his battle with alcohol. "I wrote it over the last three or four years" he says. "I did some soul searching because anonymity is a big part of recovery but most of the planet knew I was a drunk so it's not a surprise. I was a good drunk too".

It's not the first time Joe has used himself as the basis for a song. "A lot of songs are just about my experience in life" he says. "For example 'Life's Been Good'. That was satire. I got sober and started messing around with chords. My recovery had a lot of one liners and that came out. It is the new way I operate, one day at a time. It is meant to be a message of hope for the people in trouble".

After a 14 year break-up, The Eagles became an active force after the Hell Freezes Over project. What started out as a laid-back unplugged session for a television network has gone on to become the biggest selling music DVD of all time. "In retrospect we did a pretty good job" Joe says. "At the time we didn't really know exactly what we were doing. But gosh, when I hear it and see it, we were right on track. DVD at that time was uncharted waters".

Don Henley came up with the line Hell Freezes Over. At a point during the break-up when asked when the band would get back together he told an interview "When hell freezes over". Joe doesn't remember hearing the original quote. "Not only were none of us talking at the time but none of us were listening either. I was probably drunk. We get along great, just not with each other. No, we get along fine".

So what's next? "I think we have another Eagles album" he admits. "I think at this point we have realised we are not going to get it done the way we have been doing it. The way we have been doing it is in LA so we can be with our families and there are too many distractions to us all. We need to be a band and go somewhere like the old days. We are still looking for the right environment. I'm pretty close to having a solo album ready but with the DVD I am going to be an Eagle for a while. When it is time one or the other will come out".

So now the tour continues. US dates for 2005 have already been announced. "We never dreamed we would effect as many people on the planet as we have" he says. "It is like we are playing for a bunch of friends everywhere we go".

Slick hits taken far too easily (Sydney Morning Herald)

Link: Slick hits taken far too easily - Review - www.smh.com.au.

First things first. The Eagles - Don Henley on drums/vocals, Glenn Frey keyboards/guitar/vocals, Timothy B. Schmit bass and Joe Walsh guitar - look sensational. There's not a beer belly in sight. No baldness. No visible signs of greying or saggy decay. And that's not bad for a rock band where no one will see the foolish side of 50 again.

Second, they are a consummately professional act: the show lasted for three hours (with a 25-minute interval) and saw a total of about 30 songs (mostly major hits) played note perfect, even down to the slight echoing effect on the guitar in Henley's The Boys of Summer. The lengthy set ranged from an opening including New Kid in Town and Wasted Time through, predictably, to a finale of Hotel California and encores with both Take It Easy and Desperado. The entire performance was broken into four neat and comfortable parts: open with 50 minutes of accessible, well-known ballads, (One of These Nights, The Boys of Summer, Lyin' Eyes), take a break; return and sit on stools while singing with acoustic guitars and lots of tight harmonies (Tequila Sunrise, Take It To the Limit); pretend to be a rock band by giving Joe Walsh his head (Life in the Fast Lane, Walk Away); then go for the big finale which will ensure that the audience, who have already sung along to every damn song, stand up and bellow out, "Well, I'm running down the road, tryin' to loosen my load, I've got seven women on my mind", and that they all leave with broad, happy grins.

By the measure of an adulatory audience where the good seats cost $230, this was pure music heaven. The band did what they were expected to do.

But all this professionalism, while it was designed to please the fans, ensured, for anyone who cared to apply even a miniscule amount of discrimination, that the whole show was devoid of any real warmth, emotion, spontaneity and genuine passion. This was playing music by numbers. Instead of a real band playing real songs and singing with real emotions about things they really cared about, this was an animated human jukebox playing note-perfect songs which evoked no emotion more complex than moist-eyed nostalgia.

The Eagles, like all older bands, appealed to a specific demographic. The music was sweet, bland and very smooth. It was so laidback that it was amazing that the band manage to stay vertical for so long.

The sad thing was that the audience actually believed they were having a real and meaningful contemporary musical experience when all the music really did was reach deep into their youth and remind them that in 1977 they had a choice between XTC, Elvis Costello, the Sex Pistols, Ian Dury and the Eagles singing New Kid in Town - and they chose the Eagles.

Melbourne Fan Review (Kotch)

Went to the second Melbourne show last night and it was magnificent.  The reviews lived up to the reality.  The boys were on stage for over 3 hours and sang everything you could ask for.  The "Hole in the World" performed by Don was superbly delivered as was Joe's "One day at a Time".

The boys did not have much banter with the crowd but Glen did make a remark re his home town - Detroit (Michigan).  He said in a sarcastic tone:

"Ah Detroit - where Mother is only half a word"

Also, keep a look out for Joe's Head Cam (he wears a hard hat with a camera) - he will have some great shots for the upcoming DVD.

It was real value for money and if they are touring near you, do yourself a favour, beg or borrow the money but make sure you catch the show - probably the best concert to be held in Melbourne for over 20 years.  With three encores, the crowd was wild and left with a major high after the show.

See ya from sunny Melbourne - Australia

P.S. Can't wait for Farwell Tour II

Melbourne Fan Review (David)

This was my third time experiencing The Eagles in concert – once for each of their Australian visits in 1976, 1995 and 2004.  How did this one compare?  Well, as in the past, it was a supremely confident and professional performance.  The sound was fantastic and the feeling of the band enjoying themselves was evident from go to whoa – more so than in the past.

I was particularly impressed by Glenn's vocals - spot on and nailed every tough bit, including the "I don't want to hear it, ahh-oooh" from NKIT.  He received a huge response from singing Take It To the Limit, but it was and always will be measured against Randy Meisner’s delivery and while it was fine, nothing compared to Festival Hall 1976 where Randy stopped the show!

Likewise, Timothy B. does a fine rendition of LWKUA and receives huge applause - but the song is such a wimpy ballad and not written by any member of the band.  He should be doing a Poco or solo song.

The only small negative of the night was Don's vocals.  95% of the time he was great, getting all the big notes.  But in the lower end of his register he was obviously struggling - his voice sounded hoarse and gruff.  Don't know if he's not well or what.  But as I said he soared through all the high stuff.

Joe Walsh!!! He was the outright, hands-down star of the night.  Sang with power and played like a demon!  He’d just joined the band when I saw them in ’76 and then he was busy with 42 guitar changes for the night.  Here he was having FUN!

There were some nice subtle re-arrangements of a few songs, adding piano and brass parts to some old favourites like Lyin' Eyes and PEF.  The brass section was superb and with Al Garth doubling on fiddle, many of the songs sounded re-freshed.

Scott Crago on drums was excellent - Don started sans instrument front of stage for the first song, The Long Run, and then alternated between drums, guitar and playing a second smaller drum kit standing up just left of Crago.

Will Hollis and Michael Thompson on keys added the fills where necessary, MT in particular providing some lovely piano.

And then there was Steuart Smith!  "Incomparable" was how GF described him as he introduced the band. His playing was sensational.  While he had to follow most of Felder's lines to the letter he stamped his own imprint on them, clearly showing his country pedigree.  Especially on ICTYW.

They rocked, they crooned, they laughed, they had fun … Eagles set the standard!

Eagles Get Claws Out For Idol (The Age)

Link: entertainment Music.

AS Idol mania builds, one of the world's most famous bands wants it voted out of the music industry forever.

Superstars Don Henley and Joe Walsh, of the Eagles, believe the Idol phenomenon is a backroom scam.

"I am sick of it," Henley said. "It is about marketing over music and formula, all based on decisions by men in ties. It is created in the backrooms."

Walsh said: "By men in ties. Beware of the men in ties. There is some valid music out there. But none of that music is on Idol."

Their comments come as the television show's fans vote to choose the next Australian Idol.

Anthony Callea and Casey Donovan are the series finalists.

The Eagles, the biggest selling recording artists of the 20th century, say they are not competing with music's new breed.

"I do think it's difficult today to think of any new artist who will be able to do what they do 32 years from now," Henley said.

The Eagles continue their five-date run at Rod Laver Arena tonight in Melbourne.

Their so-called Farewell 1 tour has played to unanimous rave reviews.

Yesterday, a day off, meant sightseeing, golf or relaxing at the hotel for the band and 95-member entourage. Three Melbourne shows, including tonight's, are being filmed for a live DVD and US television broadcast.

Walsh, who is on the hunt for a new axe, with a film crew trailing him, has already visited several guitar shops.

"You never know where you're going to find a gem," Walsh said.

The DVD being filmed at Laver is the follow-up to the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over set, the biggest selling music DVD ever.

Elliott Scheiner, five times Grammy winner and widely regarded as the world's best sound recordist, is in Melbourne to tape the shows.

"The fact that it is being recorded in Melbourne is a great compliment," tour promoter Michael Gudinski said.

"Hopefully, it will depict a little bit more than the arena."

A fifth and final Eagles show, on November 26, has gone on sale.

Special DVD Taping (Joy)

Found out about the special recording on your site and we immediately decided we had to get there if possible.  Left early morning to get there and stood in line for hours where we learned that people who had bought the expensive seats on Sunday and Monday were given tickets to the Wednesday afternoon session as they left the concert.  So apparently there were 500 tickets still available for people who found out other ways and just turned up.  We were about 60th there.  After 2 or 3 hours and a mild case of sunburn we were issued tickets and then had to join the queue at the entrance to the outer arena and wait for the doors to open.  More waiting and then we were admitted to four inner doors of the arena where we waited some more till finally after 2pm we were allowed in.  Got great seats near front - perfect view.  Front two rows were reserved for what seemed to be beautiful young girls and boys in tight mini skirts and tops who had been hired (just my guess) to act as concert goers and dance etc. and liven up proceedings.  We were told it was going to be an accoustic set and was for close-ups for the DVD.  The guys came out and played the five songs they had at Monday night's concert after intermission seated on stools out the front of the stage, which were:

1.    Tequila Sunrise

2.    Love Will Keep Us Alive

3.    No More Cloudy Days

4.    Hole in the World

5.    Take it to the Limit

Then they changed around, Don went to drums etc. and they played Hotel California.  This was preceeded by a great trumpet solo as it was at Monday's concert.  Have they been playing it this way in America lately or not?  They told the same jokes as they had at the concert and gave the same intro's  the only difference was Glenn joked that they should hire a plane and take us all with them on tour because we were being so enthusiastic I guess.

They did it all in one take no stopping and starting etc. which we had been warned may happen.  Then that was it. I guess they were happy with everything, it sounded pretty good to me.  We were hoping they might come out again and do one more song but not to be.  So everybody filed out and we received a free T-Shirt for being so good.  All in all it took about 1 hour I guess.

The two new songs aren't bad, not Hotel California standard or anything like that.  Probably need to hear them a few more times to make a proper judgement but I don't think they'll go down as Eagles classics.

Eagles fans taken to the limit (Melbourne Herald Sun)

Link: Herald Sun: Eagles fans taken to the limit [18nov04].

A MINI-CONCERT provided a rare opportunity for fans of The Eagles to get up close to their favourite performers yesterday.

One of the industry's biggest sellers performed the concert at Rod Laver Arena to provide additional footage for their new DVD.

The DVD is a follow-up to the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over set, the biggest-selling music DVD ever.

Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit are in Melbourne performing a five-date tour.

Sound recordist Elliott Scheiner -- a five-times Grammy winner, is in Melbourne to tape the shows.

Tour promoter Michael Gudinski said the DVD recording was a "great compliment" to Melbourne.

The Eagles Perform First Show For DVD Follow-Up

Link: The Eagles start follow-.

Make sure to visit the original site for great photos!

Production for the follow-up DVD to The Eagles 'Hell Freezes Over' began at their first Melbourne show last night.

The first three Melbourne shows are being filmed for the DVD which is expected to be released in September 2005, just prior to the start of The Farewell II American tour.

The show features two new Eagles songs. Joe Walsh's 'One Day At A Time' is a rock and roll song. Joe wrote it about his alcohol addiction. "I only got drunk once but it was for 20 years" he said introducing the song at last night's show.

The other new song was the Glenn Frey penned 'No More Cloudy Days'. Frey said at a press conference on Saturday that it was inspired by Welsh songwriter David Gray. "I dug his groove. I wanted to write something of that flavour, but it's not a David Gray copy. It's much more country" he said.

By far the greatest reaction to a song went to 'I Can't Tell You Way'. The crowd stood and applauded Timothy B. Schmit at the end of his performance.

The Eagles were in fine form with the occasional bitter dedication to old wives and tabloid magnates. Frey's 'Lyin' Eyes' was dedicated to "my first wife … Plantiff". Henley dedicated 'Dirty Laundry' to Rupert Murdoch.

Joe updated the lyrics to 'Life's Been Good' changing his limo ride line from locking the door so he isn't attacked to sitting in the back and watching Iraq. During the song he also utilized his helmet-cam. The helmet features a small camera which he aims at members of the audience to put them up on the big screens.

The set-list for Melbourne, November 14, 2005 (and probably DVD setlist) was:

The Long Run

New Kid In Town

Wasted Time

(interlude)

Peaceful Easy Feeling

I Can't Tell You Why

One Of These Nights

One Day At A Time

Lyin' Eyes

The Boys of Summer

In The City

Already Gone

(silent spring interlude)

Tequila Sunrise

Love Will Keep Us Alive

No More Cloudy Days

Hole In The World

Take It To The Limit

(interlude)

You Belong To The City

Walk Away

Sunset Grill

(Band's Intro)

Life's Been Good

Dirty Laundry

Funk 49

Heartache Tonight

Life In The Fast Lane

(trumpet interlude)

Hotel California

Rocky Mountain Way

All She Wants To Do Is Dance

Take It Easy

Desperado

The Eagles (Review)

Link: The Eagles - Reviews - www.theage.com.au.

Rod Laver Arena, November 14

Formed When vocalists Glenn Frey and Don Henley were part of Linda Ronstadt's backing band in 1971, the Eagles epitomise the country-tinged sound of 1970s Californian rock. As a staple of classic-rock radio for decades and with two of the 10 biggest-selling records of all time, there was plenty of ammunition for an impressive show on Sunday night.

It was the first of five Melbourne shows, three of which the band are filming for a DVD.

An uncomplicated stage set was enhanced by an extraordinary lighting rig, the size of which is rarely seen in Australia. Henley, Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit were backed by a pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, percussionist and a four-piece brass section.

The arena was divided into four ticketed areas with the front third of the floor a $550-per-head section boasting cushioned seats, red carpet and a velvet rope frontage.

Still, it was not until almost two hours into the show that fans began to get out of their seats and demonstrate some pent-up nostalgic emotion.

There was little on-stage evidence of the much-vaunted angst between the band members. In fact, the stunning four- and five-part vocal harmonies were perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the night.

Hits The Long Run, New Kid In Town, Wasted Time, Take It To The Limit, Heartache Tonight, Life In The Fast Lane and One Of These Nights were comfortably intertwined with non-Frey or Henley contributions.

Meanwhile contributions by Walsh, a reformed alcoholic whose years of abuse seemed to have affected both his speech and movement, included a new song he jokingly described as "about relevant stuff", One Day At A Time, as well as In The City and Rocky Mountain Highway.

Tellingly though, much of the lead guitar work was crafted by a fourth guitarist, Stewart Smith. Frey's saxophone-infused solo contribution, You Belong To The City, was superb. Schmit's vocal leads were limited to Love Will Keep Us Alive and I Can't Tell You Why.

There was little evidence of the much-vaunted angst between the band members.But it was Henley who drove the show. Whether front of stage or leading the band through the irrepressible Hotel California from behind the drum kit, his vocals were a potent focal point.

While the irrelevant solo effort Dirty Laundry was a little unnecessary, The Boys Of Summer and Sunset Grill were not. Newer tracks Hole In The World and No More Cloudy Days did not stand up next to Lying Eyes, Tequila Sunrise or even the lame All She Wants To Do Is Dance.

Desperado, an album track that became an unadulterated anthem, finished proceedings. Over three hours, and as many encores, there were few surprises. Nor did we want any. This was the most comfortable form of rock - pure, unadulterated nostalgia. And it felt pretty good.

Eagles feather their nest again (News.Com)

  Link: NEWS.com.au | Eagles feather their nest again (November 15, 2004).

US 70s band the Eagles began their record-breaking concert run with a triumphant performance at Rod Laver Arena last night.

Their Farewell 1 show is a joyous ride through timeless pop and rock, retold with sincerity and a genuine sense of celebration.
"Well, well, well, we are back in Melbourne," singer-guitarist Glenn Frey told the crowd.

"Welcome to the Eagles' Farewell 1 tour, moving right into Farewell 2, I'm sure, at some point."

The Eagles, which has two of the biggest selling albums of all time, played a hits-packed three hour-plus set.

"We feel like we don't have a lot to prove any more," singer-drummer Don Henley told a media call on Saturday.

"We are not so concerned with our place in the pantheon of rock."

That said, the musicianship and spirit of Farewell 1 puts all competition to shame.

It is a set of light and shade, essential for the show's pace and crafted nuance.

Henley starred early. His stark vocal on Wasted Time was desolate melancholy.

Bassist-singer Timothy B. Schmit gave a sad tenderness to I Can't Tell You Why, arguably one of the Eagles' finest.

Guitarist-singer Glenn Frey debuted a new song, No More Clouds, apparently inspired by UK singer-songwriter David Gray. Frey said he was turned on to Gray by a friend, US golfer Brett Quigley.

"I dug his groove," Frey said on Saturday. "I wanted to write something of that flavour, but it's not a David Gray copy. It's much more country."

It follows Gray's penchant for bittersweet melodies with delectable twists and turns.

Hopefully, the Eagles might adopt Gray's expert blend of folk and electronica in the recorded version.

Guitarist-singer Joe Walsh also debuted One Day At A Time, a song that acknowledges 10 years on the wagon.

"A lot of the guys I ran with didn't make it," Walsh said.

"One Day At A Time is about my life experience, now, and then. It's meant to be a message of hope to anybody that is in trouble," he said.

Live, each player is a revelation. Walsh, particularly.

His life, or former hard living, are a compelling undercurrent in the commentary-parody, Life's Been Good, or the horn-and-harmony collision of In The City.

"It was a 24-hour-a-day, all-consuming runaway beer truck," Frey told the media call of their legendary partying.

Henley: "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. We had to do pretty much what we had to do."

Last night's show is the first of three being recorded for a live DVD. US network heavyweights were at Laver to assist with production.

Film crews are shooting Melbourne footage to be included in a US television broadcast of The Eagles' show.

At the weekend, crews followed Walsh into several guitar shops. "We hope to put a little bit of Melbourne in there," Walsh told the Herald Sun.

The feeling is mutual. Last night, and for four remaining nights, Melbourne is soaring with The Eagles.

Farewell 1 is now the frontrunner for concert of the year.

The Eagles perform tonight, Wednesday and November 26 and 27.

Regular guys on a five-star tour (Herald Sun)

 Link: Herald Sun: Regular guys on a five-star tour [15nov04].

THE Eagles' Farewell 1 tour is a truly five-star operation.

Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit travel by private jet, stay in the best hotels and dine at the finest restaurants.
But, away from the spotlight, the band with the biggest-selling album in history becomes the lowest profile.

Asked if it is difficult to maintain an appreciation for the high life, Henley joked: "Well, I sent my eggs back this morning. It doesn't matter where you stay."

Frey said they were all family men who picked their kids up from school.

Frey, who has a two-year-old son, says as soon as he gets home, his wife will hand over their toddler.

"Here! You're back," Frey said, imitating his seemingly frazzled partner. "Hold him."

Henley revealed Schmit's aside to him before they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame a couple of years ago.

"He said: 'You know, last night about this time, I was taking out the garbage."

Schmit sees fame and celebrity as science fiction.

The Eagles' Greatest Hits 1971-75 is the biggest selling album in history. Their 1976 record Hotel California is ranked eighth on the same list.

The Eagles will earn between $1.3 million and $1.5 million a show in Australia. But Schmit says the trappings have little to do with their identity.

"Hopefully, we will never take our good fortune for granted."