Music to My Ears

The Eagles landed in Greenville for, as Glenn Frey put it, the Assisted Living tour tonight. For a bunch of sixty-somethings, those guys can still rock the house! The BI-LO Center was filled with a bunch of folks with sore knees, tired feet, and swollen ankles who were content to sit in their seats and enjoy the show. And that's what we all did. Sat down and had a fabulous evening!

If you've followed my posts, you know that I was ready to wet my pants several weeks ago when I got killer tickets to this show. I'd seen the Eagles when they came to town a few years ago. It was the best concert I'd ever seen. Until tonight. These guys get better with age!

First of all, it's just them. When you go to an Eagles' concert, you see the Eagles. They sing for three hours. They don't have an opening act - or two! They have a short ten or fifteen minute intermission between sets but that's it. But you get three solid hours of music. That you can hear and understand. Their vocals are so good that they don't need the bass to override their voices. Imagine that. Their four-part harmony is so pure that it will send chills through you.

The show behind them adds to the music rather than distracts! Again, nothing to hide the performance of the music itself. Last time they were here, it was four simple screens across the top of the stage. This time, it was one off to each side and a dome-shaped screen behind the stage. No dancers, no pyrotechnics, no flashing lights. More often shots of them. And, on rare occasion, a film that went along with the song. Like Dirty Laundry where all the tabloid reporters and ragsheets were flashed across the screens. But these guys are funny - and clever. So, they ended with their own hilarious tabloid headlines about themselves.

They did that throughout the night. Entertain. Make you think. Then make you laugh. But always make sure you enjoyed yourself. Isn't that a great lesson for a writer to walk away with?!

I had the time of my life tonight. Last time I saw them, it was a celebration - my first venture out after surviving my stroke. This time it was a celebration, too. This is a big week - the country is celebrating a phenomenal new start with a grand new leader. And, I am turning forty-five in a few days. Yeah, things just get better with age!

(btw - for those who read my earlier Eagles posts...it started snowing on the way home from the Eagles concert. I told you so!)