Eagles

So we headed over for the Eagles concert on Monday night.  We made good time by going the “back way” which involves going out Oil Well Road onto Route 29.  Taking this route shaves at least 20 miles off the trip.

We got there in plenty of time for the 8 o’clock show.  We were at the front doors by 7:15.  Out front they had one of those Smart Cars they were giving away.  Ali and I signed up for it.  Once we got inside we grabbed a big diet soda and soft pretzel.  Neither of us had a drop of alcohol.  My reason was very practical, drinking makes me tired.  I didn’t need to be more tired for the drive back across the alley.

I had ideas that maybe since the concert was on a Monday night it might not be that full.  I was wrong, it was packed.  Looking around it was also obvious we weren’t there for a Britney Spears concert.  The crowd was primarily baby boomers.  I was surprised at the amount of older women there that were holding it together pretty well.  They definitely for the most part did not represent the typical American physically for their age group. You could have had a great time just people watching.  The outfits that some people chose to wear were very interesting. 

We found our seats and talked to the couple behind and to our right, they both seemed nice.  Even though I bought my seats the first day they were available we still were pretty far away.  Thank goodness they had two giant screens on either side of the stage that allowed you to see close ups of the band.  The show started a little late, maybe 8:15 or 8:20.  The band sounded great.  They sounded just like they have for the past 30 years.

It didn’t take long for Ali and I to notice another couple behind us.  The man was chubby with a buzzed head and a bald spot, his wife/ girlfriend was a chunky blonde.  This guy was just plain annoying. 

We noticed him because we kept hearing what sounded like a train whistle behind us “WOO! WOO! WOO!”  He would repeatedly make this sound, typically during quieter parts of songs, perhaps in an effort for the band to hear his screams of pleasure from the second deck.  After a few of the WOO’S, I turned around to see what the hell was going on back there.  It was just insane.

Not only was the guy yelling, he was CONSTANTLY in and out of his seat.  When he stood up he started gyrating his arms almost like he was trying to conduct the band.  The funny thing was the guy looked like Steve Martin in The Jerk.  He had no rhythm.  Instead it looked like he was having seizures.  Like I said he was no small man so each time he flopped back down onto his seat he was bumping into the woman of the nice couple we talked to before the show.  We felt bad for her.  The guy had to be seen to be believed.  During the intermission the crazy guy went down for refreshments.  The woman behind us joked “We’ll give you $50 to switch seats….”  Yea the guy was that annoying. 

All of the performances were good.  They played both Eagles songs and various songs that were produced solo by Glenn Fry, Don Henley and Joe Walsh.  I never really knew just how huge their song library is as well as the diversity of it.  Some songs sounded country, others pop/disco and others that were pure rock.  I found that I enjoyed the performances that featured Joe Walsh the most.  He is just a bizarre guy that looks equally strange while singing.  The crowd seemed to agree with me, they went nuts for Joe.

The band did the silly move where they act like they are done, leave the stage, the crowd yells and they come back.  I never understood that.  The evening was wrapped up with Don Henley singing a great rendition of Desperado.  There was no mistaking when the band left for good, they jumped into an SUV and drove out one of the access ramps.

Getting out of the event wasn’t too bad.  The drive back was a bit brutal though.  About half way into it I was really struggling to stay awake.  Ali helped by smacking my leg and pinching my arm.  We pulled into home about 1:15 am.  It was a great show, we both had a lot of fun.

I took yesterday off because I knew I would be wiped.  I still had to get up though to take my mom into work.  When I got back I was able to quickly wash the Camry before Ali went to work, it was coated with bug remains from the drive across the alley the night before.  For the rest of the day yesterday I did a few things around the house and relaxed. it was nice.

This morning Ali and Nicki had their TV appearance.  Ali said it went well.  I can’t wait to see it on the Tivo.  The race is blowing up, there are over 400 people registered already, at this point having 500-600 runners seems to be a sure thing.