Observations from Henley Fans
 

Ya'll asked for this.....here it is....


Okay....it certainly has been a wild week. We had originally planned on going to only one show and that turned into 4 shows. We actually decided to just drive 18 hours to Chicago the day before we had to leave. We enjoyed each of the shows we saw...some more than others and thought we'd write down our impressions...both as die-hard fans of Don and casual fans of Stevie.

Some background first. We've seen the Eagles in concert almost 70 times and Don solo about 40. We've met Don several times. We are fans of Don because he's an extremely witty, funny, kind and talented musician. His solo shows are full of stories and wise-cracks. He smiles and bounds around the stage. We also enjoy going to the shows because his backing band is an incredibly talented group of individuals. They don't make them any nicer than Scott Crago...that's for sure.

That being said, we were a bit apprehensive about going to the shared shows. We've seen Fleetwood Mac once...from really bad seats and just didn't get into it. We also saw FM at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and were a bit put out by their attitude as compared to the other nominees that year. We've seen Stevie at the RAC concert and at the 2 Concerts for Bio-diversity shows back in what was it...1998. We like Stevie...we just don't follow her and have to admit that we have no clue what most of her songs are about.

We were additionally apprehensive because we know that quite a few Stevie fans have no time for Don...partially because of the GQ interview and for numerous other reasons that have been outlined here at the Ledge. Before the shows we saw people on some Stevie boards threatening to beat Don in the face with a shovel. Inexplicably, we also saw several posts going on and on about how Don has no lips. Just an aside...his lips are lovely. :)

Anyway...that was our attitude going into the shows. We were interested to see what Stevie would do but weren't looking forward to sitting through it multiple times (nightmares of Don's double-bill with Sting in 1991 still stick out in our minds). We were also a little afraid of the shovel-bearing, lip-disparaging crowds of Stevie fans we'd have to share the show with. Add to that...a few days before the show, we learned of the Edge Walk. That further added to our apprehension.

So...here's a run-down of the shows we saw mixed together....song by song.

The Genie--We like it when Don starts his shows with a non-hit album track. He's done this in the past..most notably with Driving With Your Eyes Closed. The Genie is an okay song, but with a crowd full of non-fans it may not have been the best decision. We can only guess it was included as part of his spooky suite of songs.

Witchy Woman--Is always a favorite. We miss, though, the story Don tells during his solo shows about the women who inspired it. He makes little voices and it's incredibly cute.

I Put a Spell On You -- Covers are our favorite. This one really show-cased keyboard player Will Hollis' talent (Will is a sweetie as well). Lisa isn't sure she likes this one. Melissa enjoys it because it allows Don to wail.

Hotel California -- We'll have to reserve judgment on this one. Stevie's phrasing didn't exactly seem to fit the spirit of the song. It was cool to hear it. Quite honestly, neither of us really like this song anyway...so anything to make it fresh is always a good thing.

New York Minute--Again....Stevie's phrasing on this seemed odd to us. We were also disappointed that we didn't get to hear Don sing the "...pulled my coat around my shoulders" line. Again, though...this song is not a personal fave so we weren't indignant about it.

Last Worthless Evening -- This was awesome. The song really works well as a duet. You can picture the man and the woman sitting in a smoky room singing this to each other. Don's harmonies on this were also really, really cool.

Boys of Summer--A great song. In Chicago someone actually asked us to sit down during this one. Whatever.

Heart of the Matter-- Not a fave. Would rather have replaced this with a cover or a more obscure track.

Dirty Laundry -- Always fun....we thought Don would dedicate this to Michael Jackson in Hershey...but he didn't.

Life in the Fast Lane-- It's always a treat to see Don out from behind the drums for this one.

All She Wants to Do is Dance-- A fun song.

End of the Innocence-- The first night we saw this in Jones Beach...this was the last song Don did. It seemed like an odd way to peter out an otherwise great show.

Desperado -- This is always great. We were sad to see, though, that I Will Not Go Quietly wasn't in the set. That's a great way to end a show.

Before we move on to Stevie...we want to make a few comments about Don's demeanor during the shows. To be quite honest, in Jones Beach we were worried about him. He didn't talk....he barely smiled...we're hoping that the cold weather just had him extra concerned about his voice. If you saw the Jones Beach show, that was NOT typical of a Henley performance. It was like pod-Don was there. The Don we know and love was there in Pittsburgh...he even took time out to wave to us...which we treasure a lot. While he did seem better at both Hershey and Chicago, he still wasn't operating at his usual level. We think he took a lot of responsibility for getting the show over on time. He cut back his comments to leave room for Stevie. As we said...Don usually tells 3 or 4 long involved stories and interacts much more with the crowd...exchanging jokes and comments with them. We think he took his role as "opening act" a bit too seriously.

On to Stevie's set....

The whole Bootylicious/Dreams thing....sorry....we don't get it. Why play a recording of yourself before you come out? Maybe there's a tradition here we aren't aware of...but we found it just a bit cheesy....especially when the giant Stevie started spinning on stage.

Outside the Rain ... didn't know this song before the tour. It's catchy....Stevie is adorable when she comes out and the crowd does go wild. It's a different mentality than Eagles fans. Don't get us wrong....Eagles fans are just as devoted and crazy...we just express it in different ways.

Dreams....always a favorite song. Done really well. The guitar players are great....it's so freaky because Carlos looks EXACTLY like a guy I teach with.

Wardrobe Change....this seemed to break the momentum of the show.

Rhiannon--Very cool....love it.

Enchanted-- Didn't know this song before the tour...but it's catchy. I find myself singing this one just out of the blue.

Gold Dust Woman -- The highlight of the show for us. Amazing vocals by both Don and Stevie. Don seems born to sing those lines. And of course the dancing at the end is just breathtaking (anything where we get to see Don move his straight hips.....)

Stop Dragging My Heart Around -- Don playing the tambourine has a special place in both our hearts. This was excellent.

Circle Dance -- They should rush into the studio and record this immediately. Perfection.

Stand Back -- This is a fun song. This would be a good time to give props to all of Stevie's backing band and singers. Excellent! Taku is amazing. It would be great to see him and Danny Reyes (de los Reyes), Don's percussionist from a couple of years ago both on stage at the same time.

Beauty and the Beast--This is a beautiful song and maybe if we understood the whole Mick/Stevie thing it would be more poignant. The flim clips were lovely, though and Stevie's voice was excellent.

Edge -- Fun and funky....we were worried about this...especially for Jones Beach where we had 1st row seats....nobody comes between us and Don at the end of a show. We knew it was coming and pushed up to the 2 feet to the front of the stage to ensure that nobody would stand in front of us. It's neat what Stevie does...Don would never do it...partially because he gets sick at the drop of hat. Lisa let some people behind her stick their hands up and Mel put up one hand. Stevie grabbed it for a really long time and kind of stuck our her tongue in a playful way. I think she figured out we were there primarily for Don. All in all, this wasn't as traumatic as we thought it would be. Don seemed very amused by the whole thing. In Pittsburgh, though, he did take a few steps back when he came out. All those people must have freaked him out a bit.

Combined Set

Leather and Lace...we've seen this several times before and it is always excellent.

SYWTBARARS...We love it when Don ends with a fast cover and this was no exception. Last summer he closed with Everybody Wants to Rule the World which was a treat. The dueling tamborines were a lot of fun.

Wow....I've gone on a long time. I'm sure I'll remember more.

Just a few last comments. Something we said seems to be getting taken out of context. When we were first trying to understand the Edge Walk, we mentioned a "velvet rope" and this seems to be used now to disparage Don. During Eagles shows there is a rope at the front of the stage because they have a camera set up on tracks that runs the entire length of the stage. This is where the footage for the screens comes from. There's a camera woman and a guy who manages the cable who have to have free passage back and forth at the front of the stage. During Don solo shows...there is nothing there that the venue doesn't already have set-up. So please don't go thinking that Don has to erect barriers to keep him safe from fans.

There's also been lots of comments about how Stevie loosens Don up. In all actuality, Don seemed more reserved on these shows. Yes there were lots of smiles and some really cute, goofy moments....but Don is much more loose when he's on his own. He pulls back when he's with the Eagles as well. We think it's just his way of showing respect for the others on stage with him.

Finally...we were so glad to find out that not all Stevie fans wanted to bash Don's face in with a shovel. There are party poopers at every concert and we discovered that the majority of the poopers weren't die-hard fans to begin with. I had "Stevie" people ask me to sit down during Don's fast songs, but there were also some "Don folks" who didn't act the greatest either. All in all, everyone was great. This has been a ton of fun and we hope they do it again next summer.

L&M

Thanks so much for the recap...it certainly has been a blast and like I told you both, I was a bit apprehensive (I think most of us here were) as to what a shared set would be like. We've been used to two years of non-stop Fleetwood Mac and were looking forward to some solo Stevie. The idea of someone taking up half of her time?? GASP! SHOCK! HORROR! But, in the end I think we're all really pleased with the outcome. Kelly and I have now developed new crushes (Crago and Hollis :xoxo: ) and I have a renewed appreciation for Don's music and as always, remember why it is that I love Stevie so much. I'm looking forward to Atlantic City and another Stevie solo show but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see the two of them on stage twice as it was quite a treat. They definitely delivered :nod:

Great heartfelt and honest recap of your shows! Thanks for writing it for us. I did get to see Stevie twice in Vegas but part of me really feels I missed something special during this part of the tour. I was lucky enough to see the Eagles way back in the 70's (in San Diego on the same billing with Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt) and have been a fan ever since. I haven't seen them in concert since then - and I'm not sure why. :shrug: I was, however, lucky enough to see Don Henley perform with Stevie at the AHI show in 2001 and during the same tour at Universal Amphitheater in LA. It was a special moment when he came out of the shadows to perform Leather and Lace. I too hope they record and release Circle Dance. It's such a moving song and their performance is a perfect fit to Bonnie Raitts lyrics.

Terry

Hope you don't mind all of my comments. I talk a lot. :nod:

Wow! When I have a question about the Eagles, remind me to come to you. Here's one.. Victim of Love. Do you know who this was written about or who inspired it? :D

Can you elaborate on their attitude? I'm not familiar with what happened.

:laugh: You're not alone there. I spend half my life figuring out Stevie's meanings, which is part of the fun for me. Even on the Rumours documentary (I think it was), Christine McVie said about Stevie when she joined the band "we didn't know what the hell she was talking about". :lol:

Just out of curiosity, is Don considered a sex symbol with Eagles fans? With FM fans, it's Lindsey (although I don't share that sentiment), but I wondered if Don is considered *hot* with Eagles fans?

I had never heard of The Genie, but love DWYEC. Why is the latter never heard on the radio? Add to that Victim of Love?

So? Who are the women who inspired it?

Welcome to the FM fans' world! Incidentally, was it a Stevie or Don fan that asked you to sit down or do you know?

I hope that's not the case. I never really considered Don as Stevie's "opening act", but more as a double-bill show, especially when they did songs together.

I think you really have to be into Stevie to get into this. Even some Stevie fans might not..

Again, sex symbol? When I read these reviews, this is one song I really wanted to hear them do together. I can't imagine anyone but Stevie singing this song all by her lonesome (well, and her backup singers or Lindsey backing), so the idea of it becoming a duet with Don and Stevie sounded really cool. They seemed to pull it off well.

Some don't think it's about Mick, but that's a story for another time..

This was priceless! Nothing gets by Stevie. She knew you were there for Don and were merely humoring the crazy Stevie fans. I love it! Glad you got to touch her hand. Figures that Eagles fans get to touch Stevie before I do.. :distress:

That sounds a lot like Stevie when she's solo. In my opinion, she clams up when she's with FM but goes wild when she's solo. Something about sharing that stage.. :shrug:

Ditto. No west coast dates, so I'm hoping and praying they do a much longer and broader tour next year together.

Thanks for posting your thoughts and like I said in my pm, don't be a stranger. Even if you can't stand the thought of one more Stevie story or mention of chiffon and lace, hang out anyway and check out Chit Chat or one of the other forums. This has been very cool, even for those of us that didn't get to see a show!

Thanks for the review. It's always fascinating hearing what "outsiders" think of Stevie, especially of course when they have positive things to say! :)

To turn the tables, my thoughts on Don's performance were pretty good too. I am not a fan of his and have always had a mildly negative impression of him as somewhat self-important and humorless. That impression wasn't necessarily changed by the performance I saw in Hershey. :sorry: During his own set, I don't think he smiled once, though he did loosen up considerably during Stevie's set and started smiling then. HOWEVER, to speak about what's truly important -- music -- his voice is in fine condition and I admire him for hitting all the high notes as they were originally recorded. Another performer we know isn't usually so brave. ;) And I had a grand time dancing to "All She Wants..."

Thank you sooo much for that! It is great to see someone else have a perspective :xoxo:


hehe..Don't worry we never really know what she is talking about either!

I totally agree! I hope there is a live DVD released, so you all get a souvenir of your shows and I can finally get to see one :rolleyes:

Just out of interest...I saw The Eagles in Sydney Australia last year and I am not a huge fan and didn't know all the songs...do you know how similar the new Live In Melbourne DVD will be to Sydney?, because do you think it would be worth me buying.

Henleyfan:

Please elaborate on Fleetwood Mac's attitude at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Awards....

I think Don's voice has held up really well. In some ways better than Stevie's. And I wasn't particularly happy with Stevie's vocals on New York Minute, myself.

That being said, Don did seem VERY reserved at the shows i saw. But his voice and band were fantastic.

His lips ARE kind of thin though. Sorry, I couldn't resist..







:blob2: :blob2: :blob2: :blob2: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Don's lips?? I don't even think I looked at his lips...I was so busy looking at Will's lips. : > )

Great and honest recap. I totally understand what you are saying about her "phrasing". She has a distinct accent of some sort and her pronunciation of certain words is different from alot of peoples. She says the word "color" with different emphasis than I do. She also stressed certain parts of Don's songs, like in NYM "if you find somebody to love in this world..you better hang on tooth and NAILLLLL".....as if this line was very important to HER but emphasizing it sounded a bit out of place on Don's songs perhaps.

RRHOF...just so you know...none of the Mac members are comfortable talking into the mic except Mick. So, Lindsey would rather run off the stage than come up to the mic, which I see on the RRHOF footage. Stevie doesnt know whether to talk or not and eventually does but looks scared to death. She has said she was sick to her stomach for three days before the Ceremony, from nerves....
John NEVER speaks and Christine is more comfortable letting someone else be centerstage. Maybe that is why they came off sort of weird....

Beauty and the Beast is not about Mick, IMO but we wont start that argument up again. Suffice it to say, Stevie has been less than forthcoming about certain song lyrics, saying the first thing that pops into her head. Stand Back/welfare line. WTF? Stevie has never said that "Mick is the Beas in the song" either. Others will say she has because she dedicated the song to him on her GH album and talked about filming the footage to Red Rocks with him. : . )
There is another article where she mentions Mick too but I don't believe her...like I said above, she is not always completely honest about certain lyrics...

IS Witchy Woman about Linda Rondstadt? That is what I heard. Sooo many people want to believe it is about La Nicks but it was written years before they ever met.

LMAO - CHIFFONHEADS UNITE :laugh:

[QUOTE=HenleyFan] . . . Hotel California -- We'll have to reserve judgment on this one. Stevie's phrasing didn't exactly seem to fit the spirit of the song. It was cool to hear it. Quite honestly, neither of us really like this song anyway...so anything to make it fresh is always a good thing.

New York Minute--Again....Stevie's phrasing on this seemed odd to us. We were also disappointed that we didn't get to hear Don sing the "...pulled my coat around my shoulders" line. Again, though...this song is not a personal fave so we weren't indignant about it.

Last Worthless Evening -- This was awesome. The song really works well as a duet. You can picture the man and the woman sitting in a smoky room singing this to each other. Don's harmonies on this were also really, really cool. [QUOTE=HenleyFan]

I agree - her phrasing on the first two was odd - but it worked for me live - though on the boots its sounds odd. As for LWE - ITA with what you said. Also, it is interesting because La Nicks' voice is lower than Don's voice on most of these three songs, which can be jarring at first :laugh:

I have to say the Bootylicious thing was a novelty for TISL - but now I think it is old hat and a waste of time.

As for the new Dreams, I think the remix is cool and all that - and I know she is promoting it, but it seems silly to play it and then sing it 10 minutes later. I think she should sing it to the new remix - but she would never do that.

Careful of the shovel carrying chiffonheads :laugh:

Oh yes yes yes - I LOVED DH singing on this one. And - at the risk of my elder statesman chiffonhead status, I thought the dancing was very romantic and sexy - even more so than the rote LB/SN interaction when the Mac tours. As an aside, I still maintain there is nothing hotter than the non-rote LB/SN interaction on stage though :cool:

Isn't it amazing how artisits seem to miss soooooo many boats. I mean that duet was stunning - yet we all know that sadly nothing will ever come of it.

Anyway - thanks for the take on the show!!!!!! :cool: :wavey:

Bless your heart :laugh:

I was one of the people that was VERY unhappy with Don :( , but that was because the shows I was going to got cancelled. My dates got rescheduled in July and I am happy about that. Now that I have been reading all of these great reviews about Don I'm kinda bummed he won't be there :shocked:

I saw the Eagles once at Summerfest in Milwaukee, it was GREAT! I would love to see them again, unfortunately I spend ALL of my $$$ on FM and Stevie so there's not much left.

BTW, I was never gonna hit him in the head with a shovel! :laugh:

Excellent review! Thank you for posting from "The Other Side".

I personally wondered before the tour how well they would blend together, and have to admit that I was thrilled with their duets and individual performances on the whole.

Thanks for your thoughtful review. I will probably see Stevie on the 28th (assuming I can get good seats), and I'm bummed that Don won't be there. It has sounded like an amazing show. I would have loved the dueling tambourines.

L&M,

Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like you may have crossed over to "the other side" since you're now singing Stevie songs to yourself, lol. :laugh:

I was one of the few people that never had a problem with the shared tour, since I love Don's solo music. Of course, that may have been because I initially had no plans to get to a show. I thought Don was great in Pittsburgh & I'm glad you agreed - I was pretty worried after all the early talk of "no interaction with fans or Stevie." He was great, IMO.

I for one feel very lucky to have been able to see this short tour. It really made it extra special. :nod:

Interesting. Could you elaborate?