Random Thoughts on Friday: The Eagles at Rupp Arena in Lexington

I wanted to mention that we were able to catch the Eagles this past Saturday at Rupp Arena!

Where do I start......  First, the Eagles are probably my all time favorite major label band.  A lot of my high school memories involve Eagles songs.  They were actually a bit before my time....  but I got hooked on Don Henley's solo stuff, and eventually found my way to the Eagles.

The first vinyl album I owned was Don Henley's first solo effort, and I played that one constantly.  I remember being blown away by his next couple of albums.

I remember really getting in to the Eagles in high school, sort of after I discovered Don Henley.  Remember back when Best Buy had a great selection of classic rock CDs?  You could go there and find anything.  Anytime I had an extra 10 or 15 bucks, I would go by and just pick up any Eagles (or Jackson Browne, I was really getting in to him at that time too) album.  I knew I would love it.

And, I have been lucky enough to catch the Eagles, and their various members in concert many times.

We saw original member Bernie Leadon play at a club once in Cleveland on an off night.  There was a very small crowd, and after his show, he chatted with everyone, signed autographs, and just seemed like a cool guy.  I brought several CD covers, and he signed them all.  He was in great shape, especially for a guy in his 50s.

Someone offered to buy him a beer, and he said it had been a long time since he had a drink.

I told Bernie about reading that Rolling Stones interview with him where he talked about leaving the Eagles.  He said that, "leaving was an act of survival".  I told him that that quote had meant a lot to me over the years.  He looked at me and said, "Yeah, sometimes you just gotta go to the beach."

So, this past weekend at Rupp, it was great seeing Bernie on stage with the other Eagles.  He played pretty much all of the first (of two) sets with them, and he came out at the end of the show again.  I was super happy to hear "Train Leaves Here This Morning."

Other great moments for me were "Take it to the Limit" (with Frey on vocals), "Pretty Maids All In A Row", "Those Shoes" (not one of my favorite Eagles songs, but it seemed to have some extra bite live), and "In The City".  I would have liked at least a couple of Don's solo songs thrown in.  I know the last time I saw the Eagles, there were more songs in the set list than just a few of Joe's.

Rupp arena was packed, and, it was generally a mature but energetic crowd.  I know a lot of people complained about it being hot (and it was) but I have been in worse conditions for concerts.

I would love to see some more classic rock acts come through the area!