The Ledge - Terrific Time in Chicago! Nancy's review

What a terrific concert! Both Stevie and Don were on vocally and they sounded great, together and apart. It was their last performance together, and they both seemed to be having a great time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

I went with Darlene (dardragon) and met up with Tiffany H. (wldhrt315) and Lindsay (username forgotten! Sorry!) there. We all ate at Champp's about 15 minutes from the venue, then we were off. After spending 30 MINUTES in line for a T-shirt - and we were THIRD in line - the guy waiting on us was seriously mentally handicapped - anyway, after that we went in and found our seats. Tiff and I had second row, on the very edge (seats 1 and 2 of sect. 102), which we were excited about until we saw that huge sound system equipment blocked our view. Fortunately, some people next to us didn't show up so we were able to scoot down and see better. I had snuck in my camera easily, but there were guards RIGHT in front of me, so I was afraid to take photos. Oh well. :(

Don's set

Now, I am a fan of Don Henley's music, so if you have a problem with hearing anyone compliment him, go down to the next section! He started off a little slow, with a song called "Genie." It was a horrible show-starter because it had no energy. The second song he did was the old favorite "Witchy Woman." I stood up for it because I like to have fun at a concert, and I was all clapping with the beat, and I look around me and there is NO ONE standing anywhere near me. I'm thinking "Hey, I didn't even come here for Don and I'm showing more enthusiasm than 95% of those who did." The next song also lacked energy until about halfway through - "I've Got a Spell on You." Even I sat down for that one. "Hotel California" was next. I immediately jumped up, and some other fans did too, though not as many as you would think. Then Stevie came out and the place went NUTS. I mean you couldn't even hear them sing because of the roar. As everyone has commented, Stevie looked FABULOUS in her pants with the rhinestones. They're so slimming. And her hair with the curls makes her look years younger. Hearing her sing on Hotel California was wild!

This was when the show really got started, not just for Stevie, but for Don, too. After that all his fans woke up, too. He seemed to get a lot more energy and enjoy himself more, playing with Stevie and smiling as they sung together. "New York Minute" was also good - Stevie sang it with all her heart, "When you find someone you love you better HANG ON TOOTH AND NAIL!" "The Last Worthless Evening" has always been one of my favorite Don Henley songs, and they both sounded wonderful on it, too. I know I seem repetitive but what can I say? They hit all the notes and harmonized beautifully. They sound great together.

When Stevie left a lot of people sat down, and Don said, "Don't worry, she'll be back." I kind of felt bad for him, but the good news is, as soon as "Boys of Summer" kicked in the crowd was on its feet and the mood for the concert shifted to everyone having a good time for the rest of his set and into Stevie's. They may have taken some time to get into it, but this was a good crowd after all! For another favorite of mine, "Heart of the Matter," people were showing their appreciation by waving lighters, singing along, and giving him a standing ovation afterwards. "Dirty Laundry" brought the house down. Everyone was dancing and singing and clapping - it was fabulous, the kind of thing you see during "Stand Back" for Stevie. People stayed on their feet for "Life in the Fast Lane" and "All She Wants to Do Is Dance." I love little things like when he said "Are you with me so far" and the crowd hollered for him, and also when Don sang "She wants to party -oooh! She wants to get down -oooh!" He raised his hands at the "oooh" and of course all of followed suit. These songs both really rocked. BTW Don's lead's guitarist is awesome!

"End of the Innocence" is another gorgeous song. Don introduced it with something to the effect of, "Happy Father's Day. This song is not about my father, it's about someone in the government who thinks he's everybody's father - I have a great daddy, I don't need the government to be my daddy." [Insert hoots and applause from liberal audience members and clueless drunk people who just make noise because people around them are doing so] Again, he sounded terrific on this. Don's voice has really held up over the years. He updated the lyrics from "tired old man that we elected king" to "fresh young man" for obvious reasons (at least I think he said "fresh" - it could have been a similar-sounding adjective).

Then Don did something which I thought was awesome. He went offstage, then came back for his encore almost immediately. He said something like, "Due to time constraints, I'm just gonna come back out and not wait back there for applause. That's all BS anyway." I thought that was very refreshing, because I always roll my eyes when the Mac is all "Goodbye everyone!" knowing full well they'll be back. lol He started the classic "Desperado" and everyone was with him. At one point he held out the mic to the audience for "You better let somebody love you" and we all sang it back to him. You could hear the audience singing with just about all of his songs. I don't know why some people were saying the crowd wasn't into him, they were really having a good time after they got warmed up.

There was an intermission that I used to look around and see if there were any board members I could see. The only person I found was Trinity from Mick's board, who was sitting a few rows behind us. I waved at him but I guess he didn't see me, because he didn't look my way once. (At least I hope he didn't see me and it wasn't a snub!) When I went to talk to Lindsay and Darlene, who were sitting in the middle, I did see Livia but did not get a chance to talk to her, as it was time to go back to our seats.

Stevie's set

I think Stevie fans as a whole are just more energetic and enthusiastic than Don fans, and it helped that Don had already warmed us up, but whatever the case, the energy in the whole place went up a notch when it was Stevie's time. When she came out, I was disappointed to see she had changed back into the not-as-slimming dress and her curls were gone as well. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

She was smiling and dancing and having a great time. I didn't get to see her face too well due to my angle, but just judging from the way she was moving I could tell she was feeling loose and happy. She had screens that were very similar to Vegas except on a smaller scale. "Outside the Rain" and "Dreams" were flawless, and "Rhiannon", while not as spirited as the old days, was not dead, either. Like she did for the SYW tour, she lost a layer for "Rhiannon" and showed off what God gave her, looking much sexier. "Enchanted" was lots of fun - again, she was moving around, tons of energy. Waddy was doing a lot of interesting and new intros for these songs that spiced them up and gave them extra pep.

Don came out for "Gold Dust Woman" and he got his props. I have to admit, I didn't like him opening it. It just sounded so strange to hear him sing a trademark Stevie line, "Rock on, Gold Dust Woman." It's a woman's song about herself and here is this guy singing it. However, later, when he was singing the second verse, and Stevie was dancing off to the side sexily, it was like he was singing for/to/about her and I thought that was hot. Stevie had a great howl - no "ay, ay, ay" that I find annoying. Stevie also sang her cool new ending, "Baby, baby, baby, baby, you can't see me now... you should see me now... see me now... see me now..." At the end, they "slow danced" together - literally slow danced, with steps, not the grasping of bodies Lindsey and Stevie do. It looks to me like Don knows how to move. lol However, Stevie is so short, it still is a little awkward.

Stevie and Don dedicated "Circle Dance" to her father, who was in the audience. I was so excited to hear that, because when he wasn't in Vegas, I was afraid maybe he'd fallen ill. He looked so frail at Detroit, but he was there that night, so Stevie was able to celebrate Father's Day with her Dad. Stevie and Don's harmonies were DEAD-ON on this song. Terrific.

"Stand Back" wasn't the best I'd ever heard, but it was a lot of fun, as always. This song never fails to make everyone move, it's just infectious! I was dancing, of course, but I had been all night, lol. Of course she was wearing her Stand Back shawl (as she wore her GDW earlier). And her high kick - WOAH. Limber Stevie. So much for her hip injury. Dang, I can't kick that high.

Next was "Beauty and the Beast." Nothing can compare to Vegas, but she still looked amazing. The collarline of that gown is so elegant, and with her hair up - stunning! It was beautiful, but I admit, I was a little distracted thinking of when I should make a break for the stage for "Edge of Seventeen." No one was going forward, and I wasn't sure whether I should start, but finally Tiff and were like "Come on!" And we went down. Then other people started to - I guess it's just the Don fans don't realize it's coming. I got up to the side of the stage and Tiff made it closer to the middle. Unfortunately, she had a bit of trouble because she was next to Trinity at the stage and for some reason he had spread himself out and would not allow her up there next to him. That didn't stop Tiffany, though. She forced her way up there - no one keeps Tiff from the stage! You go, girl! And it paid off, as Stevie took Tiffany's hands and said "Thank you." Darlene, who had come down from the 5th row, and I also got to hold Stevie's hand. I yelled at her "You look beautiful!" and she gave me an odd look, like she was confused. Maybe she misheard me? Oh well, I won't lose too much sleep over it. I got to shake her hand! As for the song itself, it was intro'd by an abbreviated drum solo by Taku and the guy with the weird hair whose name I forget. It was a great version.

When Don came back out for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," I thought it was a hoot hearing him sing Tom Petty's part. I'm glad he did it - I love Waddy, but he's not a singer. It was really charming and novel - when else are you going to hear Don subbing for Tom Petty?

Finally, of course, "Leather and Lace." They nailed it. I'd heard them sing it together before at both AHIs I went to, so it wasn't new for me, but I still adore it. People were swinging those lighters and pen lights again, the couple in front of me had their arms around each other swaying to the music, the whole moment was great.

They rocked out on "So You Want to Be a Rock'n'Roll Star" which, unfortunately, was really brief! But to see them laughing and boogying was so fun. Don and Stevie were giving each other a run for their money on the tambourines. They were lovin' it and so was the crowd.

Overall, I had a blast. I was highly entertained by both Stevie and Don, and I'm SO glad they did this tour together just so I can hear some of these rarities. I know that might appall some of you but it's the truth! I sure hope someone got a bootleg of it.