Thanks to a generous friend, I got to finally see this legendary band live!

Have been listening to this band, in various forms, since the early ‘70’s, so it was big fun to go see/hear them in Hershey last night. A dear friend had good seats for us, and so it was quite an experience for me. I haven't been to a rock concert since the mid- seventies.

From our excellent seats, we could look down on the stage and watch the band, all in their 60’s now, “get to the office.” These days the rock tour is now indistinguishable from any other corporate enterprise. The days of a couple of amps, self-taught musicians, and the local gym are long gone. Now each performance is an amazing logistical and technical feat, which assembles itself over and over again, grinding through venue after venue. I think I enjoyed seeing the stage hands and technical people working—we could see a lot--although I can't say I know much about what everyone was doing--behind the stage from our seats. It was almost as much as getting to hear a great band live!

After a 20 minute delay, the band members came out on stage to a full auditorium and general whoops of joy. Glenn Frey made a warm-up joke, referring to the group as “the assisted living tour.” Of course, this got a big laugh, because at least half of the audience was like me and my best-buddy—in the grandma zone.

The Eagles launched into selections from 30+ years of musical creation, all the time laying down those familiar danger-love-and-melancholy Country/Rock riffs the audience had filled the Giant Center to hear. There were a lot of “Greatest Hits,” songs such as “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Take it to the Limit,” and a wonderful “Hotel California,” which started off with a gorgeous “Hell-A” trumpet solo.

Ours being a culture of a ten thousand inputs, there was an MTV-like video projection which filled the proscenium arch, and screens on either side gave us feed from cameras, some hand-held, some on tall, tinker-toy like cranes, giving the audience a big screen TV show beside the live one. I enjoyed this element a lot, because I could see the musicians—especially the wily, artful guitarists-- pickin' up close. The audience greeted every song with cheers, really delighted to have a chance to hear once again “the band that wouldn’t die.”

I don’t have a clue about how these guys can still work their magic, especially with songs they’ve sung for as long as the dagger-sharp “Desperado,” but they are clearly out there working for a living, staying up, determined to give their fans a damn good rockin’ time. In my sixties now, I’m able to see these idols of my youth for what they are--craftsmen, poets, artists, musicians, businessmen--still out there earning their living, and keeping a flock of young techies employed while they’re working the audience, putting in one of those "hard day's nights" living up to their sizeable legend.