Hotel Las Vegas - That Time We Flew Across the Country to See the Eagles

 

 

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light... it was the Las Vegas strip. Except I wasn't on a highway, but on a plane, after flying in from Chicago. I was there to see one of the least likely of candidates to be a favorite band of mine- the Eagles. That was one year ago, on September 27th, 2019, when the Eagles played their classic 1976 album Hotel California front to back, live at their mini Las Vegas residency. I saw what would be the first of three shows, with my best friend Julia, and it was easily one of the best concerts of my life. Hell, this was one of the best days of my life. 

Since it's been a year, and I now have this blog, I want to take the time to talk about that Vegas trip, particularly the Eagles show, of course, and what this band means to me. You may not understand right away, and that's okay. I get that it seems weird for someone as "alternative" or "new wave" or "goth" as me to be so obsessed with one of the biggest, most famous, or "mainstream" of classic rock bands as the Eagles. So, you may be asking yourself- "Alex, why the hell did you fly all the way across the country to see the freaking Eagles? Why do you love them so much?" Well, I'll tell ya'! 

As much as I am a weird, left-of-center, obscure-music-loving-oddball... there will always be a part of me that loves "classic" rock. You may remember the Eagles for their MANY, many hits of the 1970's, including: "Take It Easy", "One of These Nights", "Take it to the Limit", "Hotel California"... et cetera. But have you really taken the time to dive deeper, into some of their lesser known gems? For example, the song that got me into the Eagles was "Those Shoes", off of their last album before the break-up and reunion, The Long Run, in 1979. It is a double talk box infused, dangerous yet sexy track, that stands out from most all of their other material. Listen to that one before you try and pigeonhole the Eagles as just some country rock / mainstream rock band. But beyond the stranger tracks, even the more popular, standard Eagles songs mean a lot to me.

I have been fascinated with the desert and with California for as long as I can remember. No matter what phase I was in musically, the West Coast has always called to me. And if anyone is the soundtrack to desert / Southwest living- it's the Eagles. "Peaceful Easy Feeling" was probably the second song that got me hooked on the Eagles. "I wanna' sleep with you in the desert tonight, with a billion stars all around", spoke to my wanderlust soul like nothing else could. It was actually (sadly) the same year that Glenn Frey passed away that I became a real Eagles fan. And it was a little over a year ago when I was at the height of my obsession with them... hence why I decided to drop a pretty hefty amount of money to fly across the country, get a hotel, and buy tickets to see them live. And it was worth every penny. 

The day of our departure for the trip, we had to get up at 5 AM, Chicago time, for our flight...the same day as the show. After I barely slept from the anticipation, I didn't sleep until after the show that night. Haggard as I was, you better believe I still had more than enough energy to sing every word to every song, and to cheer 'till my lungs gave out. As Julia and I walked through the MGM Grand Garden Arena, all decked out in 70's, desert-themed outfits (see pictures below), it became clear we were by far the youngest people there. And it became clear to the older fans too, as many of them began telling us so. But not in a bad or condescending way- they thought it was so cool that people our age were this into the Eagles (especially when I told them how far we'd traveled to see them too). 

 

 

Before we took our seats (in the "cheapest" nosebleed section, to the far upper-right of the stage), I bought myself an overpriced Budweiser, in honor of Glenn Frey (cue "fill the bathtubs up with Budweiser" line from the Eagles documentary), and because it was the cheapest thing on the menu, at $10 a cup. We were sat at the end of a row with an older couple from the Vegas area on my left. I fangirled with that woman for most of the show, which was a nice surprise. 

As the first notes of "Hotel California" began to play over the speakers, everyone went quiet. Then, as soon as Don Henley started singing, the crowd erupted in some of the loudest applause I've ever heard. I was immediately in awe- his voice sounded just as youthful, clear, and beautiful as it did 40+ years ago. Listen for yourself, via an unfortunately poor quality cellphone video I shot of it, below. Hopefully it can still do Don some justice!

I shot video of almost every song they played, but I won't share all of them because that would just be too much. I'll try and narrow down the "highlights" though. For "New Kid in Town", I was honestly pretty disappointed that it was Vince Gill on lead vocals, and not Glenn Frey's son, Deacon, who took his father's place on other tracks he originally sung. It was still a good performance though, and I got to hear my fill of Deacon later on. With "Life in the Fast Lane", I was blown away by how hard these old men could still rock. Joe Walsh's guitar solo was intense and electrifying. It had every person there out of their seat. I managed to capture it on video, and even if the picture quality isn't great, I think you'll still feel what I mean. 

 For "Wasted Time", the entire orchestra behind Don Henley's drum kit (oh yeah, did I mention they had a friggen' ORCHESTRA?) joined in, keeping the track completely true to the album original, as were the rest of the songs played. It was beyond impressive, and like nothing else I'd ever seen at any "rock" concert before. I can't say much else besides you should see a bit of it for yourself, by checking out my recording below (try and ignore the ignorant, rich dude behind us talking through half of it).

Moving a bit ahead to my favorite song off of the Hotel California record, "Try And Love Again" was as tear-jerking as it always is for me. At this point in my life, it is probably also my favorite Eagles song overall, and I connect with Randy Meisner more than any other Eagle, past or present (we are both Pisces, after all). In fact, I'm still sad that he's no longer in the band...and it's been like 40 years! And sadder still was that it wasn't even his successor in the Eagles, Timothy B. Schmit, who replaced him on vocals for this performance. Again, it was Vince Gill, who I'm sure by now you can sense my slight distain for. It's nothing personal against him- I just wanted more Eagles, less him at the show. Nonetheless, he still did a good job on conveying the beauty and vulnerability of this song, almost as well as Randy. 

As side two of Hotel California drew to a close, the band called for a short intermission before they'd come back and perform a second set of songs, from the rest of their discography (as well as some Don Henley and Joe Walsh solo material). So I grabbed myself another Budweiser (or two) and got back to my seat with plenty of time before they came back with their most mind-blowingly beautiful harmony song, "Seven Bridges Road". God their voices sound beautiful together, and this time was just the same (with a few different voices added, of course). I'm not exaggerating when I say I got chills. If you can picture yourself there, I think you'll get them too, when you listen to my clip below.

They played extensively, for another hour or more, with fan-favorites like "In The City", "One of these Nights", "Life's Been Good", and "The Boys of Summer", to name a few. But I'm only going to share about one more, because as much as I'd like you to, it's impossible to fully relive this experience through text and cellphone footage. But I haven't given Deacon Frey his time yet, and to forget about him would be a grave mistake. Before his debut of the night with "Take it Easy", he took a moment to remember his dad, and talk about what it meant to take his place in the Eagles. I was definitely tearing up by the time he was done, but I was brought back to a happier place as he started to sing. With a noticeably deeper vocal range than his dad, Deacon brought his own, unique feeling to the song, while still doing absolute justice by his dad's famed, original version. 

After some of those other Eagles favorites, he came back with my longtime favorite Glenn track, "Peaceful Easy Feeling". Not only did I find him just as cute and charming as his dad, but now after hearing him sing, I was smitten. And if any of the older folks there had any doubt about his place in the Eagles- he certainly changed all of their minds. It was like I was transported back to the early seventies, to that peaceful desert place I'd always dreamed about... it was that powerful. To close out this brief summary of the show, I'd like to leave you with a clip of it. Hopefully it will affect you in a similarly positive way that it did me. 

Even after a year, it's hard to fully put into words how special this show and trip were for me. Despite what my more "alternative" readers might think, the Eagles are a really special band. Their lyrics are poetic and deeper than you probably give them credit for. And their musicianship and vocal abilities speak for themselves. If you're still having a hard time believing me, I invite you to check out their 2013 documentary film, The History of the Eagles, to see an in-depth, raw view of the band at their highest and lowest points. Regardless, they mean a lot to me, and if anything solidified that, it was this show. I got to see a band I love, in a climate I love, in a wild and sleepless city like Vegas. 

And you know what, the Eagles were right- it really does feel like there are billions of stars in those clear, desert skies. And when you see them, it will change your entire perspective on life. 

Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you appreciated this very personal tale of seeing the Eagles (and all of my own original photography and videography this time! Yay!). Have a peaceful, easy rest of your weekend, and take it easy! 

Me, inside the MGM Grand, the day after seeing the Eagles, September 28th, 2019.

*All images and videos used belong to me, Alex Byrne, and were taken by myself or by friends. Please ask for permission before using for any reason.