Saturday Night

I saw the Eagles on September 13th at Madison Square Garden.  Words can't begin to describe how amazing it was.

They performed 27 songs, which is why they took a fifteen minute intermission halfway through the show.  The set list was as follows:

1. Saturday Night
2. Train Leaves Here This Morning (Dillard & Clark cover)
3. Peaceful Easy Feeling
4. Witchy Woman
5. Doolin'-Dalton
6. Tequila Sunrise
7. Doolin'-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)
8. Already Gone
9. The Best of My Love
10. Lyin' Eyes
11. One of These Nights
12. Take It to the Limit
13. Pretty Maids All in a Row
14. I Can't Tell You Why
15. New Kid in Town
16. Love Will Keep Us Alive
17. Heartache Tonight
18. Those Shoes
19. In the City (Joe Walsh song)
20. Life's Been Good (Joe Walsh song)
21. The Long Run
22. Funk #49 (James Gang cover)
23. Life in the Fast Lane
24. Encore:  Hotel California
25. Encore 2:  Take It Easy
26. Encore 2:  Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song)
27. Encore 2:  Desperado

For the most part, the whole show was done in chronological order, since the theme was, "History of the Eagles."  

"Desperado" was my favorite song of the night, but that may just be because it is my favorite song of all time.  I was really upset that they didn't play "Ol' 55," though.

They all sounded really fantastic especially for their ages.

It started out with just Henley and Frey sitting on stools.  It felt more like the Beacon Theatre than it did MSG - very intimate.

The group currently consists of Don Henley (drums, guitar, vocals), Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals, keyboard), Joe Walsh (guitars, vocals, keyboard), and Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals, acoustic guitar).

[My photo, please credit if used]

When researching the songs from the first few albums, you don't see much written by Don Henley (and only three by Glenn Frey) in their first album, Eagles.  But once their sophomore album Desperado came along, most of the songs were written with Henley and/or Frey.  There are also a few songs written by Jackson Browne.  The musician/singer-songwriter co-wrote songs "Doolin-Dalton," "James Dean," and "Take It Easy."

You never know who will just show up to a show at Madison Square Garden, so I was hoping Jackson Browne would have made an appearance.  My dreams didn't come true.

Doctor My Eyes

Day Two:  Jackson Browne

Rolling Stone gave him mention as having "mind-boggling melodies" and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

48 years after his start and people still know his songs by heart.

Jackson Browne.

"Take It Easy," made famous by the Eagles, was written by Browne and Glenn Frey in '72.  "Well I'm a-standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona / With such a fine sight to see / It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford / Slowin' down to take a look at me."  I can picture that.  Usually lyrics tend to just place a related image in my mind, but I actually see that happening and I can feel the heat of the Arizona air.

One of Jackson Browne's biggest hits ever was "Running on Empty" from the live album Running on Empty.  He uses repetition throughout the song to help grab the listener's attention even more.  Verse one has, "In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-on-one / I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on."  Verse two, "In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own / I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on."

His music career.  That's what he brings up here.  '65 he was seventeen.  He's moving on with a career, but he's moving until he gets somewhere, doesn't matter where, just somewhere.  '69 is when he has turned 21.  All of a sudden, he's a big shot.  He's thinking to himself, Wh-when did this amazing opportunity happen?  How did this amazing opportunity happen?  But I don't care, I'm going to continue to run with it.

"If it takes all night, that'll be all right / If I can get you to smile before I leave."  The audience!  Whether he has to perform two songs or 27, he doesn't care, as long as his music makes you happy.

The goal of a comedian is to make you laugh.  The goal of Jackson Browne is to make you happy...and he has achieved that. 

Madman Across the Water

For those who don't know, my family revolves around music and hockey.  I have spent a good amount of time at Madison Square Garden, "The World's Most Famous Arena," so my dad bought us tickets for a tour of the transformed Garden.  We got to go see the locker rooms (Ryan McDonagh ;)), walk along the new bridge that hangs from the ceiling, and got to see a bunch of other cool things most people will never even know about.

But besides seeing everything related to my beloved New York Rangers, I got to see a bunch of candid photos and used concert gear from some of the greatest artists of all time.

The Eagles are performing at the Garden tonight, tomorrow, and Monday night.  We were lucky enough to see the crew setting up the stage for their show.  I love the Eagles.  I LOVE them.

Elton John.  He's a record holder with MSG.  By December 4th, Elton John would have performed 64 shows at Madison Square Garden, a number no performer has ever reached.  Pretty impressive.

MSG has hosted several charitable events like the Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert and the relief concert for Hurricane Katrina.  In the main concourse of the arena, they have a number of cases with lots of memorabilia.  One case was filled with things from the Hurricane Katrina concert.  A set list signed by Sir Elton John, a baseball hat signed by Paul Simon, and countless other things.

Madison Square Garden is a pretty cool place.  I am lucky enough to live right outside New York City so I have access to MSG so much.  After all, it is the most famous arena.

Long Road Out Of Eden

My friend Kayla and I go thrift shopping (yes, like Macklemore) and buy clothes to fix them up.  The two of us love DIY projects!  As I was looking around, I found this Eagles Long Road Out Of Eden Tour 2009 t-shirt.  Knowing me, I could not pass!   

The shirt shows all 22 cities from the 2009 tour.  I have never seen the Eagles in concert (even though they are one of my favorite bands) but this shirt is still very cool to have regardless.

It was a regular t-shirt, but I don't like tees.  To fix it up, I cut off the sleeves and the collar to make it a cool muscle tee.  

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there!  In honor of this day, I thought I would make today's post dedicated to my dear father.
My dad loves music as much as - if not more than - I do.  Every Saturday night (and any other night he cooks dinner instead of my mom) he has music playing over the stereo.  He puts together a playlist, usually themed, using his 10,000+ library.  He actually ran out of room on iTunes and now has other songs on a drive.  People sometimes even ask my dad to make the playlist for a party they are having because he does such a good job.  So, to honor my dad's amazing work, I put together a list of my dad's favorite artists.

1. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
2. Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra
3. Tommy (the whole album) - The Who
4. Aqualung - Jethro Tull
5. Already Gone - The Eagles
6. Open Arms - Journey
7. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
8. Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
9. La Grange - ZZ Top
10. Cocaine Blues - Johnny Cash

My favorite albums (old ones)

I know for some of you it may be depressing to think that these albums are now considered "old", but may I remind you that I was born in the '90s so they're old to me! Here's the list of my favorite "old" albums:

1. Nightout - Ellen Foley
2. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
3. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
4. Abbey Road - The Beatles
5. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
6. Who's Next - The Who
7. Hotel California - The Eagles
8. The Band - The Band
9. Let It Be - The Beatles
10. At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
11. Tommy - The Who
12. Parallel Lines - Blondie
13. Déjà Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
14. Surrealistic Pillow - Jefferson Airplane
15. Heart Like A Wheel - Linda Ronstadt
16. A New World Record - ELO
17. The Definitive Collection - ABBA
18. Aqualung - Jethro Tull
19. Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf
20. Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
21. Late for the Sky - Jackson Browne
22. The Eagles - The Eagles
23. Synchronicity - The Police
24. Tres Hombres - ZZ Top
25. If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears - The Mamas and the Papas

Covers

Singers commonly make covers of songs they love.  Here are a couple of examples:

1. One Direction - One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks) - One Direction covers Blondie's "One Way Or Another" and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks" for a charity single.
2. Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright covers Leonard Cohen.
3. Dixie Chicks - Landslide - The Dixie Chicks cover Fleetwood Mac.
4. Seth Avett - Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) - Seth Avett covers Jim Croce.
5. Miley Cyrus - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Miley Cyrus covers Cyndi Lauper.
6. Glee - Shake It Out - Glee covers Florence and the Machine.
7. Linda Ronstadt - Desperado - Linda Ronstadt covers The Eagles.

Don Henley

Born Donald Hugh Henley on July 22, 1947 in Gilmer, Texas, Don Henley was a member of the famous band the Eagles.  He was the drummer and lead vocalist of the band before his successful career as a solo artist.  He sang lead vocals as an Eagles member in songs like "Desperado" and "Hotel California", and had solo hits such as "The Boys of Summer" and "Sunset Grill".
His solo albums include:

• August 13, 1982 - I Can't Stand Still
• November 19, 1984 - Building the Perfect Beast
• June 27, 1989 - The End of the Innocence
• May 23, 2000 - Inside Job

He sold over 10 million records as a solo artist.

Bibliography:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Henley

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/donhenley.jpg