| Author | Message | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 827 Registered: 9-2003 |
Caught the Eagles at Continental Arena in swampy, er, lovely East Rutherford, NJ last eve. This is the famous "Farewell I Tour" thats been going on since '01 (according to Glenn Frey). I caught them previously (on the same tour) in '03 at Atlantic City when they "only" played a string of 12 small venues. Now they're doing the saturation bombing of the NYC Metro-area mega-arenas. Ticket prices are very high as well (Frey says they all have young wives that like to "Take It To The Limit" with their credit cards more than one last time, LOL!): $175+"services charges"=$193 per ticket for one level up (regular Ticket Master prices, D'uoh!)!!! Madison Square Garden prices were even higher! I could have sold these tix on Stub Hub and made a fortune! Who knew?, LOL! Regardless, it was once again great show. These guys still got it. Vocally and musically they are in fine form. Henley and Schmitt, in particular, can stop time with those voices. Frey and Walsh, while never having operatic vocal talents, got by OK...not too worse for the wear, LOL! For an arena, the sound was excellent. Last time, in a much smaller hall (AC Convention Center, on the boardwalk), they had this "custom" multi-million dollar Infinity computerized sound system and it sounded incredible! They showed a video about the thing, as well as the de rigeur "behind-the-scenes" making of the "yeah, really, I swear this IS our last tour" tour, LOL! They didn't show the vid this time, although they still had multi-media screens everywhere. I didn't see an Infinity banner anywhere, but the stage set-up still looked the same, and the sound was excellent, even with the added "liveness" an arena always contributes. No warm-up bands, and lots of Eagles-members solo tunes thrown in amongst the standard AOR radio Eagles fare: Walsh - James Gang's "Funk #49", "Rocky Mountain Way", "Walk Away", "Life's Been Good" (He put on a hard-hat cam on for this one, but despite his encouragement of flashing, the audience was so "mature" [e.g., OLD], not one woman did, LOL!) Henley - "Dirty Laundry", "Boys Of Summer", "Sunset Grill", "All She Wants To Do Is Dance". Frey did his ubiquitous Miami Vice-era "You Belong To The City" ditty. I guess Timothy B., who never seems to age, is no longer endorsing Carvin. Nary a sign of his "Signature" one-knob Carvins, he was strictly a Jazz Bass player last night (excepting two Henley songs, where he played a Pedulla Buzz Fretless). Don Felder's replacement, Steuart Smith, was amazing as ever with his Nashville-style chickin' pickin'. The guy can play just about anything with incredible finess, and his Arlen Roth-esque pedal steel-style licks were awesome! Personally, while he plays the Hell out of 'em, I don't care for the Music Man guitars he uses. He's either an endorser for Ernie Ball, or it's a Nashville thang, take your pick, LOL! Yeah, I still miss Felder, a highly underrated guitarist who was was certainly the best player in the band (even better than Bernie Leydon, IMHO), but Steuart is a worthy substitute. Highly Recommended. Borrow Paul TBO's (Palembic's) stocking and rob a bank near you so you can catch the Eagles before they "retire" again, LOL! | ||
| rraymond
Intermediate Member Username: rraymond Post Number: 170 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hey Kevin, was "Sunset Grill" one of the tunes TBS played fretless on? I'd long forgotten that song, and as soon as I saw the title, in the back of my mind I heard a slow, sonorous fretless bass line. | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 828 Registered: 9-2003 |
Reid: Yessir. Timothy B. did a rather nice job on that tune. I own that CD somewhere (since it first came out in '84/'85), but I can't remember anyone who played on it originally EXCEPT Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar on guitar. The other fretless tune, if I'm not mistaken, was another of the "Building The Perfect Beast" tunes: "Boys Of Summer". | ||
| bigredbass
Advanced Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 381 Registered: 9-2002 |
I always had MUCH respect for Henley's solo stuff . . . I've lived through a lot of 'Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down'. Palladino played those fretless lines beneath Sunset Grill, etc. Smith used to play in Roseanne Cash and Rodney Crowell's road bands, and is a seriously fine player, somewhat reminiscent of Albert Lee at times. I wouldn't play Carvins, either. So what happened with Don Felder? J o e y | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 1579 Registered: 5-2002 |
Joey; from http://www.feldermusic.com/bio.html: "In February 2001 Don was wrongfully terminated from the Eagles and is in a pending litigation against his former partners." More about the termination can be found here. | ||
| dannobasso
Advanced Member Username: dannobasso Post Number: 237 Registered: 3-2004 |
It's nice to see that these very eco and politically minded boys are cashing in big time in true capitalist style. Hell has frozen over again! Heard a funny story about DH. He is very exacting about his stage set up. His mic has to be an exact measurement and angle. The tech set it up according to spec. Soundcheck went well and everything was set. Come show time after a few songs the tech was fired for not placing the micstand at the correct height. Don chose to wear larger boots for the performance. What a kind and enlightened and tollerant activist. BTW is it just me or is there a bad tension in sunset grill between the bass and keys in the pre-chorus. It bugs me every time though I love Pino's playing. PS I think these guys are fantastic musicians and sound great live. Danno | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 830 Registered: 9-2003 |
Dave: Thanks for the info. Wow, I had just assumed Felder didn't want to do the touring thing anymore! You'd figure that after all the BS in the past, they'd just cut the sh*t and get down to making awesome music and enjoying it. The almighty buck (or the lack thereof) really is the root of all evil, LOL! Danno: Like I said, they got young wives and big credit card bills, LOL! They are really cashing in to the point of it being disgusting. For tree huggers, they are burning up an awful lot of natural resources trying to make maximum mungo...just ck out their touring schedule...if you miss the Eagles on tour this time, you were sleeping because there isn't a place they're NOT playing, LOL! RE: Sunset - Yeah, I think you're right. Even live that song starts out (each chorus) like a massive killer bee swarm, LOL! When it settles down, you can then enjoy the fretless lines. Just a tool of composition, I guess? The early/mid eighties was notorious for massive abuse/overuse of synths, LOL! Even Cap'n Political wasn't immune. Joey: Come to think of it, you're right. I forgot about l'il Albert, but that is certainly an appropos comparison. Both are extremely versatile and extremely talented guitarists, with roots based firmly in country pickin'. BTW, I made it, Bro! I am now one of twelve that got the MSF Pro Motorcycle Instructor slots (out of more than thirty applicants). I'll be teaching towards the middle to end of summer in good 'ole Joisey. Did you get your new bike yet? I just came bike from a week long riding odyssey in Vegas...That is where you wanna be (i.e., the Nevada Desert) with a DP bike, let me tell you, LOL! | ||
| bigredbass
Advanced Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 382 Registered: 9-2002 |
Many Congrats on your 'Instructor Pilot' award: The MSF boys take that REAL serious, so I'm sure it's well deserved and you must certainly be an accomplished rider. Not yet on the KLR, maybe later this year I hope. Wouldn't care much for the desert, though. I'm more of a BlueRidge Parkway kind of guy. I wonder WHAT kind of leverage occurs in these situations where a partner/part owner can be forced out by the remaining pieces of the pie, especially when it's a several hundred million dollar pie! I remember watching the Behind the Music episode about Journey, and Perry kept saying 'he just never felt he was part of the band' and always wondered if he was dancing around saying he was salaried and not a partner. Of course, how could you fire Steve Smith?!?! After so many musicians ended up broke, I'm all for making it when you can, but I wouldn't pay $193 bucks for anybody. J o e y | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 832 Registered: 9-2003 |
Joey, Thanks much, Bro! It is quite an honor to have beaten out some of the people I went up against, considering the depth of the competition. Before I pat myself on the back, though, I still have to endure "Hell Week": my 40hrs. of Instructor training. I have to take a week off from my "day job" this June, plus they want want us for a weekend prior in order for us to experience the course us twelve candidates will be teaching firsthand. Wish me luck, I'll need it. This is a very demanding position: mentally, physically, and time-wise. I also have to fill out a form at work in order for them to approve my "new" job as well. I have one of those mythical "lifetime" jobs that I don't wanna mess with as I am only about ten to twelve years away from retirement with a full pension and lifetime medical benefits. | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 833 Registered: 9-2003 |
It is very disappointing that the money becomes more important than the music, but that is the reality of the biz, so they say. It's a good thing that I am divorced and have no bills, that way I can spend discretionary disposable income on frivolous things like concerts. Just for comparison, I usually pay $20-$40tops for gen. admission at the Starland Ballroom for bands like Ratdog, Govt. Mule, Tesla, Motorhead, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc. On the other side, my gen. admission tix to Motley Crue at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel/Casino was $100+$11 service charge (reg. tix price)+$25 StubHub fee=$136 EACH!!! I also got tix for the Crue this summer at the PNC bank Arts Center (formerly Garden State Arts Center, of Jackson Browne's "Running On Empty" fame) for around $45 each for proper seats in the semi-open roofed ampitheatre. I'll ride the Hog down to the Joisey shore, grab a world-famous Max's hotdog (the BEST in the woild, LOL!), cruise to Point Pleasant via Bradley/Belmar/Avon/Ocean Grove/Sea Girt/Manasquan, etc. in order to look at the girlies, er, um, grab a Hoffman's ice cream, and then ride "up" to Arts Center (p*ssing everyone who payed for "Premium Reserved Parking" off by parking all the way up-front at the gate, LOL) for a "relaxing" summer Sunday show. Woo Hoo!, LOL! | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 834 Registered: 9-2003 |
Sorry, duplicate post. (Message edited by kmh364 on April 04, 2005) |
