Eagles Review, Las Vegas Sun, June 3, 2002

Review: Eagles far from becoming extinct Lisa Ferguson Monday, June 3, 2002 | 8:16 a.m. It was the equivalent of a greatest-hits CD. Pop the disc in the player and you know exactly what you're going to get: familiar songs, all chart-toppers, played note-perfect and exactly as you remember them. That's the type of show The Eagles offered to a sold-out crowd Saturday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. The foursome -- Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit -- backed by eight musicians including a four-man horn section, spent three hours (minus a 20-minute intermission) parading no less than 25 of their biggest tunes for an audience of mostly Baby Boomers. The crowd could not get enough of what the legendary rock group was offering. Looking a little long in the tooth these days (this is The Eagles' 30th anniversary tour) the fiftysomething rockers took the stage 30 minutes late donning suit jackets and slacks. First up was "The Long Run," with Henley taking center stage. Frey was first to address the crowd and, for the most part, served as a sort of emcee for the evening -- bad jokes and all. "Feel free to sing along with any of these songs," he told the crowd, "in case we forget the words." "New Kid in Town," featuring some terrific harmonizing by Henley and Frey, was followed by another favorite from the "Hotel California" album, "Wasted Time," with Frey and guitar-great Walsh taking seats behind pianos. The show's peaceful, easy feeling continued with continued with the song of the same name, which had audience members swaying in their seats. Bathed in pink light, the men picked up their guitars and (led by Walsh) jammed together. Walsh stayed in the forefront for "Pretty Maids All in a Row." Then it was Schmit's turn on the acoustic-esque ballad "Love Will Keep Us Alive," from The Eagles' '94 reunion release "Hell Freezes Over." Since greatest hits were the order of the night, it was fitting that several solo efforts were also in the mix. Henley ditched his dark jacket for his '80s megahit "Boys of Summer," which drew cheers and (finally) brought some audience members to their feet to bop along. "This is the way my first wife felt about the America Express card," Frey quipped to introduce "Take It to the Limit." In a bit of overkill, he followed with another ex-wife joke (no need to repeat it) for "Already Gone," which had the crowd audience singing along with "Woo-whoo-whoo" refrain. A slew of guitars were displayed throughout the show (it seemed the guys switched axes with every song). For "In the City," Walsh showed off a thin, metallic-turquoise guitar, while percussionist Henley took to the bongos. "One of These Nights" did a fine job kicking up the crowd's energy level (even casino mogul Steve Wynn, seated six rows from the stage, was up and dancing). But unfortunately the brakes were slammed on with the intermission that followed. "Witchy Woman" started the second half of the show, followed by "Lyin' Eyes" which erupted into another audience sing along. Schmit was back at the helm with "I Can't Tell You Why," followed by Walsh's solo single, "Walk Away." Guitars were in full force on the classic "Tequila Sunrise," which led to another round of solo hits -- Henley's "Sunset Grill," and Frey's pop tune "You Belong to the City" (with Frey, in a cream-colored jacket, looking every bit of the "Miami Vice" era in which the song is rooted). The it was back to Walsh for the fun-loving "Life's Been Good." The show was lobbed to Henley for "Dirty Laundry," who returned the serve to Walsh for "Funk #49." Time to bring out the big guns: "Heartache Tonight" and "Life in the Fast Lane" didn't close the show, but instead set the scene for three encores. A Latin-flavored trumpet solo ushered in "Hotel California." Frey's directive from early in the show came into play: Henley flubbed a stanza, jumping to the middle of the classic-rock staple. He looked stunned and giggled a bit, but the crowd (dutifully singing along) didn't seem to mind. Encore No. 2 featured Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" and Henley's "All She Wants to do is Dance," while No. 3 offered "Take It Easy." Setting up the final song of the night, "Desperado," Henley explained, "Thirty years ago to this very day our first album was released. And we are not done yet." Let's hope not.