The Long Goodbye Tour made Toronto its penultimate North American stop.
Of the 45 million households that owned a copy of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), I grew up in one. This was the only album of its time that I can recall my parents owning along with Willie Nelson’s Stardust. With those two options at the time, the Eagles album was played the most. While many in my cohort love to tear into the LA country-lite-rock band, this minor note of upbringing leaves a permanent soft spot for their soaring harmonies, solid songcraft and of course, the wise addition of Mr. Joseph Fidler Walsh in 1975.
These figures of rock star excess and ego first formed after several members served time in Linda Ronstadt’s backing band. Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) released their self-titled debut in 1972 and quickly found fans in the slinky, countrified Take It Easy and dark Henley tune Witchy Woman. Later albums such as Desperado (which welcomed guitarist Don Felder) and On The Border brought greater success and numbers of fans globally, while the title track off One of These Nights became the band’s first number-one single. The aforementioned greatest hits album laid the ground that led to their most famous release, Hotel California and also introduced Joe Walsh to the lineup while seeing Bernie Leadon’s exit. Eagles also added Timothy B. Schmit as Meisner’s replacement after his 1977 departure. Holding the reins as one of the biggest rock bands in the world, they released The Long Run in 1979 adding Heartache Tonight and I Can’t Tell You Why along with the title track to the last of the band’s highest charting hits. Explosively breaking up in 1980 with only Frey and Henley continuing to successful solo careers, the band reformed 14 years later for their industry-altering Hell Freezes Over tour. Occasional tours and lawsuits led up to Eagles’ first studio album of original material in 2007’s Long Road Out of Eden. The epic History of the Eagles documentary was released in 2013 and celebrated with almost 150 shows on its tour. Sadly, this would be Glenn Frey’s last as he died in early 2016. Despite Henley stating that he didn’t think the band would perform again, they hit the road in 2018 with the gap Frey left filled by his son, Deacon and renowned chicken-pickin’ country artist and singer, Vince Gill. Sporadic tours continued leading up to the 2020 Hotel California tour where the band played their famous album cut for cut with a choir and an orchestra. The COVID-19 pandemic halted the tour shortly after it started but it continued in 2021 and 2022. The following year, the Long Goodbye tour was announced listing 41 shows with Toronto being the only Canadian stop. Commencing with a pair of shows at Madison Square Garden, the North American leg of the tour closes tomorrow March 16th in Charlotte, NC. . Picking up for a handful of June dates on the other side of the Atlantic, Eagles will play 4 shows in Manchester before a pair in Arnhem, Netherlands raises the question of “Will the Long Goodbye tour go on any longer?”
Steely Dan had been opening shows on this tour but for personal reasons, Donald Fagen and company left the support to Tom Cochrane. Cochrane as the emergency call-up didn’t disappoint. Bringing his solid band of Bill Bell on guitar, Davide Direnzo on drums and bassist John Dymond as yet another sub for regular Jeff Jones. The band played through many of Cochrane’s hits, easing the sting of missing the Dan. Tom made a joke by saying they wanted to play Aja but there were just too many chords.
Opening the show was a cleverly stitched video showing the band’s live performances over the years, the lights rose to feature six members standing onstage singing an acapella version of Seven Bridges Road. After a brief pause, Take It Easy began with Deacon Frey taking his father’s former song. The hits kept rolling with the disco-tinged One of These Nights and Gill’s first turn on lead vocals, Take It To The Limit. Don Henley started the first chat of the night just prior naming Vince Gill as one of the finest songwriters and guitarists. Despite the say-so and historical proof, Gill was limited in his lead guitar playing leaving the memorable parts we can all whistle to long-time supporting member Steuart Smith. saying that while the members of the Eagles have changed, the songs remain the same. That sentiment ran through the show as the songs rarely swerved far from the album cuts apart from a few turns. Witchy Woman had a bit of a harder, steadier beat than the slightly swinging version on the debut album. The song brought Henley to center stage, placing percussionist Scott Crago behind the kit. The same formation occurred not just for Henley’s songs but also for more drum-forward songs like Walsh’s In The City and Funk #49. Peaceful Easy Feeling gave Smith a run at a blazing pedal-steel-like solo and the song ended with a large image of Glenn Frey displayed onscreen. The country-rockin’ continued with Tequila Sunrise which showcased not only Gill’s sweet mid-range vocals perfectly subbing for Frey’s but also the perfect blend of the band’s six voices. For Joe Walsh’s moment in the spotlight, he opened with a line about Toronto being a great place to party, but that he doesn’t remember much of it. Surely a line repeated nightly with an ENTER CITY NAME here blank space. A true foil to Don Henley’s serious business face, Walsh still plays the loveable clown at the age of 76. However, he plays the guitar seemingly as fiercely as he did in the ’70s. From the opening crashes of In The City, Walsh made all his faces and melted those in the audience with a searing slide solo plus an extended one to end the song. Played before a loop of city shots, a little hometown pandering of CN Tower and Scotiabank Arena footage raised a cheer. After Timothy B. Schmit gave a closing shoutout to Walsh by recalling Glenn Frey referring to him as the ‘Master of the Stratocaster’, the opening notes of I Can’t Tell You Why signalled his moment had begun. Surprisingly, the elder Gen Z kid beside me pumped his fist and yelled “Let’s go!” in celebration. Vince Gill got a brief moment to shine as he led New Kid In Town, supported by a choir of band voices. Walsh came back with his solo hit, Life’s Been Good before Deacon Frey took a turn on Already Gone. Henley gave up the drum throne again to give props to the non-members of the live band, the previously mentioned Steuart Smith on guitar, musical director Will Hollis on keyboards, again, percussionist Scott Crago and pianist, Michael Thompson. He next dedicated his 80s hit Boys of Summer to long-time friend, Jimmy Buffett (who opened the night when the band played Toronto for only their second time in 1977). The rock dropped again, as usual, through Joe Walsh when the riff from his James Gang hit, Funk #49 began. Finally, we got a proper turn at a Vince Gill solo and some great call-and-answer playing with Walsh. Henley sang Life In The Fast Lane. After a quick break, the band returned for an encore starting with the classic Hotel California topped by some double guitarmonies by Smith and Walsh. The latter worked through a smoking rendition of Rocky Mountain Way complete with a talk box solo. Henley returned to the stage to sign Desperado which the sold-out crowd made sparkle with phone flashlights. Again, the power of six talented singers elevated the performance. The show closed with blues rocker, Heartache Tonight before the band waved goodnight and goodbye.
Much can be said about nostalgia acts that lean on high production values (that modern audiences expect) and musty decades-old catalogs of classic rock hits supported by high ticket prices and overpriced, underwhelming t-shirts. Cynically, the Eagles are no different, in fact, they helped create this now-common practice by being the first act to charge over $100 for a ticket back in 1994. In their unique defence, the Eagles did put out an album of new material in 2007, which wasn’t warmly received when played live proving their audience wanted the hits. So, making no mistake, this setlist contained all hits – songs in the pantheon of rock music. And they played their asses off before a sold-out crowd that loved every note, shook their aging white asses to the songs and sang along to each one. Putting the cynicism aside, purchasing an expensive ticket buys a couple of hours of fun, good vibes, a chance to relive memories from easier days and to see Joe Walsh while we still got him.
Eagles play their last show of the tour on March 16 in Charlotte, NC. More info here.
Eagles
Eagles
Eagles
Eagles
Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane
Aron Harris
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