The last ten months have seen the Toronto concert stage graced by so many rock acts. I’ve had the good fortune to see Rush, Peter Gabriel, the Who, Muse (with Biffy Clyro, who were my primary listening target on that night), Heart, and the Rolling Stones. Two of the bigger tours that came to the Air Canada Centre were on my ‘bucket list’ of bands to catch live, and I was lucky enough to see Fleetwood Mac in April. Two nights ago, it was the Eagles who brought their ‘History of the Eagles’ 2013 tour to the same venue.
I am at best a casual fan of this supergroup, appreciating their songs when I hear them played, but by no means a devoted follower of their work. The only record I own is the iconic Hotel California, and I still routinely skip a few tracks when I listen to it. That said, very few other bands come to mind when I think of superb harmonies (CSNY, Queen, and the Sweet) and the possibility of hearing most of the line-up (minus Don Felder and Randy Meisner) was irresistible.
The show unfolded in chronological order, giving a retrospective history of the band in its many incarnations. The first set was devoted to the earliest days, and opened with founding members Don Henley and Glenn Frey reminiscing about their meeting in 1971 and then singing a beautiful duet, ‘Saturday Night.’ Former member Bernie Leadon came out for ‘Train Leaves Here This Morning’ to the delight of the crowd, and the band continued to grow in numbers as Timothy B. Schmit and then Joe Walsh were introduced to the stage along with seasoned session musicians. By the time we were treated to ‘The Best of My Love’, there were 6 guitarists in a row strumming, picking, and delivering the trademark vocals that defined the Eagles’ sound from 1975 and onward. From that number on, the hits kept on coming, with a short intermission before a second set that took us on a journey to the Hotel California and beyond. Every song reminded me of the depth of their back catalogue, and the choice to deliver a chronological concert highlighted the evolution of their musical style from their folksy origins to a more multi-layered hybrid of genres that blended their acoustic country roots with electric rock riffs. The visual backdrops of still images and videos evoked the stark landscapes of the southwest, places I have visited and those I still dream of passing through, and they added rather than detracted from the performance by being subtle and intermittent.
There were a few surprises for me. I have always thought of the Eagles as a classic California group, and was not expecting to hear that Don Henley was from Texas, Glenn Frey from just outside Detroit (where ‘mother’ is only half of a word!) or that Joe Walsh was from Texas and then New Jersey. In fact, Timothy B. Schmit is the only current or former member that hails from the great state they are associated with. Another delight was to hear no less than three solo numbers from the master of the Stratocaster himself: Walsh’s lively personality added a burst of energy to what was a more laid-back performance when he was out of the spotlight. The only regret I had in the close to 3-hour concert was the omission of my two favourite songs, ‘Wasted Time’ and ‘The Last Resort.’
For those of you who may have missed the Toronto date, new dates were announced yesterday, including a return to the Air Canada Centre on November 6th for an encore show on this current tour. I would highly encourage anyone sitting on the fence to consider catching this group on what Henley has called their last tour. The catalogue is rich and deep, the playing of their instruments is superb, and the harmonies are as sweet now as they were in their heyday. Highly recommended, even for the casual fan.
All photos courtesy of Sue Long.