Fans happy to stay seated for Eagle's farewell tour

Oakland Tribune, Aug 22, 2003 by Jim Harrington - CONTRIBUTOR

Glenn Frey decided to level with the crowd upfront. It seems there was a little confusion about the name The Eagles Farewell Tour I.

The vocalist-guitarist-pianist, who shares the reigns of the classic-rock act from Los Angeles with vocalist-drummer-guitarist Don Henley, vocalist-guitarist Joe Walsh and vocalist-bassist Timothy B. Schmit, half-jokingly stated that he doesn't exactly know when the Eagles might actually break up again.

That means that we might see an Eagles Farewell Tour II, III and IV. In fact, this might become an annual event, where fans pay $150- plus for a ticket to say goodbye to the band responsible for such classic-rock staples as "Hotel California," "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

"More than likely," Frey says, "if you're paying we'll be playing."

Based on the turnout on Wednesday night at the Chronicle Pavilion at Concord, it looks like Bay Area fans are willing to keep paying for the foreseeable future. The Eagles continue part one of the farewell process tonight at the Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View.

For the most part, the show was a solid effort for the band. The emphasis was squarely on songs the fans all know by heart. And, really, seemingly everyone does know these tunes by heart. The group's first greatest hits album, which encompassed the years 1971 to 1975, has become the best-selling record of all time - passing up previous champ, Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

But that's not to say that there weren't problems with the concert. Each of the band members could have put in more effort. In particular, Joe Walsh turned in a lackluster performance for most of the night. There were also pacing problems during both sets and some of the material sounded quite dated. And the crowd rarely seemed to be fully into the show.

One of the great mysteries of the rock world was on full display on Wednesday. And I don't really have a good answer for it.

For some reason, fans remain seated during a surprising amount of an Eagles show. There is very little dancing. There is very little excitement. That's hard to explain given the band's stature and catalog of hit songs. It can't be justified by the age of the crowd members, many of which probably were following the band in the '70s, or by the tempo of the tunes.

Other classic-rock bands with easy-flowing ballads manage to get the crowd up and swaying along to the music. But it rarely happens with the Eagles. Good portions of the audience remain seated even with the big rocking numbers.

The Eagles began the show with "The Long Run," which was an appropriate choice - this was to be a long evening of music. The band delivered two generous sets and three encores that stretched over three hours.

Frey grabbed the mic for a lazy version of "New Kid in Town" before Henley came out from behind the drums for a lovely rendition of "Wasted Time." The smooth country-rock sounds of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" followed.

Moving from the land of greatest hits, the Eagles delivered the current single, "Hole in the World," which was a fluffy, overly sentimental number that only served to heighten the crowd's desire for older material.

But the certainly didn't want "Love Will Keep Us Alive," an equally sappy tune that constituted Schmit's one lead vocal contribution to the evening.

Six songs into the set, the Eagles hadn't managed to raise the adrenaline level beyond a pedestrian level, focusing mainly on soft ballads. In this context, "The Boys of Summer," one of Henley's solo hits, sounded like an absolute revelation.

However, the Eagles quickly descended from that highlight for a mediocre version of "Take It to the Limit." Frey handled the vocal duties for departed Eagle Randy Meisner, who was featured on the recorded version of the song. Frey's version was competent, but it lacked the passion of Meisner's original work.

The Eagles were backed by a superb seven-piece band, which included a four-piece horn section, and the superstars needed each and every side musician.

At times, three Eagles, Henley, Frey and Walsh, were playing guitar at the same time. But they still left all the heavy fret work to Steuart Smith, a guitar wizard who has played with folksinger Shawn Colvin. Time and time again, Smith would get the call to provide the big leads and he answered the call beautifully each time.

But the fans didn't come to hear Smith. They had come to hear the members of the Eagles. It's understandable why Frey and Henley let Smith have most of the fun. But it's totally unacceptable for a supposed guitar hero like Walsh to play simple rhythm work for most of the night.

Walsh managed to make good on occasion, mostly during his own songs like "Rocky Mountain Way," "Life's Been Good" and "Walk Away." But those occasions clearly didn't happen often enough.

However, quibbling over axe time was forgotten by the end of the show as the band charged into a stream of fan favorites like "Heartache Tonight," "Life in the Fast Lane, "Desperado" and, of course, "Hotel California."