Correction: Timothy B. Schmit was not an original member of the Eagles, as was incorrectly stated in this review.
History of the Eagles, they called it. Glenn Frey and Don Henley came across like college professors for a time at Verizon Arena on Monday night, teaching and explaining.
But count Joe Walsh as the rebellious student who pouted a bit until the show got to the part he liked. And that was also the part that the 15,525 fans were apparently there to see, according to the frequent roars of approval.
Things were sort of chronological for a while (except saving "Take It Easy" for the encore, which anyone could have predicted.)
There were fun stories about how the band came together, and there were surprises, as Frey and Henley welcomed back one of their original members, Bernie Leadon, out of the Eagles' nest since 1975. Leadon contributed greatly to the first half of the show and returned for the encore. And also strolling out: longtime bassist Timothy B. Schmit to play bass and sing.
There was no opening act, and with a 20-minute intermission, the show pushed the three-hour mark. And no, Don Felder was not part of the show. Instead, original Eagles Frey, Henley, Leadon and Schmit supplemented their sound with five additional musicians, the most prominent of whom, Steuart Smith, capably took on Felder's former guitar parts. Smith, an Eagle since 2001, and Walsh entertained themselves and fans with a lot of old-style guitar duels.
Guitar fans were amply rewarded all night, in fact, with guitars galore. At times, like a chorus line, Henley, Frey, Leadon, Walsh, Smith and Schmit were wailing away in front while the hired hands played all the other stuff, including piano, organ and percussion things.
Songs included almost everything an Eagles fan could hope to hear: "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Lyin' Eyes," "Tequila Sunrise," "Already Gone," "Best of My Love," "One of These Nights," "Take It to the Limit," "I Can't Tell You Why" and on and on. Walsh fans were doubly blessed with some of his non-Eagles music, from his days in the James Gang ("Funk No. 49") to his solo hits ("Rocky Mountain High," "Life's Been Good" and "In the City").
As the show roared toward its end, "Life in the Fast Lane" led into "Hotel California," "Take It Easy" and, finally, a quiet, lovely "Desperado," sung by Henley, that signaled the band was finally ready to exit the building, leaving behind a gratified throng of fans.
Metro on 07/29/2015