Rockin' Out With The Eagles (the Band)

It was a Friday. Much like any other Friday, except I was sitting in traffic, waiting... bumper to bumper... just anticipating my night. I was excited. This is something I had been waiting for... for months. I was on my way to the World Famous - Hollywood Bowl, to see one of my all-time faves... The Eagles.
We got there REALLY early (like at 4pm'ish, and the concert was set to start at 7:30). They do this thing called "Stacked Parking" (where everyone [car] is piled into a parking lot like a can of sardines, and the only way you are gonna get out is if the person or people in front of you have left already... needless to say, but... there are no early releases in this situation). We were the fifth in line of the first row of the parking. We had a easy out into the future traffic. Good to go!

I didn't take pics of the food... actually, I didn't take ANY pics (these are all Juan's doing!). We went with the thought we were going to eat at one of the restaurants. Uh... yeah... What we didn't know is... in the past eight years since we'd been to the Hollywood Bowl, things have changed a. lot. NOW... you actually can't get into the restaurants (any of them) unless you've made prior reservations. Ugh. So... we were stuck with concession stands or... we could... W A L K (gasp!) to a local restaurant (the nearest one being .5 miles away). We chose to walk to a pizza place.

As we were headed down the hill... one of the concession stands rolled up their doors... Juan went to ask about the Chicken Caesar Salad. Upon finding that the chicken is cold (not fresh), he started to walk away. The vendor said, "Well, we have burgers, hot dogs..." BURGERS? Uh... they aren't on the menu... "Yeah, they're not, but we have 'em." So... we ordered burgers (the man? ordered... 2. Me? 1.) and coughed up $11 a piece for them.

My thoughts? OMG! I coulda/woulda/shoulda had Red Robin or The RainForest for that kinda price! These are gonna be crappy little burgers for a mass expense.

But... I waited patiently and didn't say a word, as THIS is what my husband wanted to do... and I really didn't want to WALK up and down the hills of Hollywood (the Bowl is SURROUNDED by hills!).

Out came the burgers, mine with no onion, his with cheese. Much to my surprise, we got three (count them... 1... 2... 3...) trays, each with their own burger in them. Curious, I looked at my burger, peeking through the open wrap. Mmm... grilled Artisan bread/bun. (Oh yummm...!) And the burger? Uh... HELLO burger! It wasn't a teeny-weeny 1/4-pounder. It was one helluva 1/2-pound burger (grilled to perfection... by the way!). Complete with butter leaf lettuce, succulent red-ripe tomato and a side of garlic-mayo. I am in HEAVEN! This was better than Red Robin and Rainforest put together (and I love their burgers!). And Juan said, "I thought they were going to be rinky-dink... and I ordered 2?" After he got through his first and half-way through his 2nd, he asked if I wanted more. Uh... no. I'm so good.

How'd we get the camera in? Turns out, regardless of their strict rules being handed out at every possible moment, as long as the camera is point-and-shoot, not one of those HUGE SLRs with the magnificent lens, they let them in. So... we went back to the car and got his camera (hence the reason why I didn't want to WALK to dinner... taking the hills yet again).

OK, enough of my bad prose... I'll get to the actual entertainment.

The Hollywood Bowl in the daylight, with fans still pouring in...

We got to our seats, and kicked back for a while. We people watched. We met seated close to us. Did you know... People came from all over the United States! The women next to me (who I seriously hope to be life-long friends with - HI, Kaye and Susie!!!) were from Alaska. The guy next to Juan was from New York, and another guy that my two new friends talked to was from Texas. And those are only the people we learned about.

Wow! I would never... well... I can't REALLY say that, as I've been exposed to Southern California and all it has to offer my whole life. We are SO spoiled here. We have everything at our fingertips, or at least within driving distance.

Ok... on to the concert (btw... I'm posting a video, and it is taking FOR.EVER. to process!)...

At 7:35, the Eagles took the stage. They sang in a cappella from their Long Road Out of Eden album. It was awesome. No one else opened for them. They did it for themselves. (*Note* I don't know what song it really was, as I'm not familiar with THAT album. I mostly listen to all of their older stuff. But... I will be getting this album, as what I've now heard... I like!)

These guys are seriously awesome! It was the best concert I've EVER been to (and I've been to quite a few). They joked around with each other, made jokes...

Glenn Frey mostly sang with his eyes closed (and his right finger in his ear), but had a great sense of humor in telling the history of some of the songs. My fave saying of the night? Glenn Frey: We are the eternal band. The Band that never dies! (and they played forever, too!... that's a good thing.)
Don Henley... sang his heart out! He even did some of his solo-ish songs (Boys of Summer and All She Wants to Do is Dance). He sounds JUST like he always did. And the guy is versatile... jumping from percussion to guitar... Timothy Schmit can still sing those high notes in I Can't Tell You Why, play bass, and sound GOOD! Joe Walsh? What can I say... He's CRAZY... He's unpredictable... On his first solo of the night, I seriously thought it was a mercy song (like they "let" him sing, just so he could get some credit). It was THAT bad (think The Who during the Super Bowl... like Grandpas Gone Wild [and horrible]!). But, as the night got on... he warmed up and got A LOT better. They took a short intermission (less than 10 minutes, people!) and returned to again start off with another a cappella from their latest album. This time, they sat together. It was great. This was THE FIRST concert (sans children) I've ever been to that I didn't have a drink. Not. a. drop. of. alcohol. was consumed by this here person here. Seriously. Don't know why, but hubby got some sort of stick up his ass (yes... I still love him!) that we were going to enjoy it SOBER. And enjoy it... I DID!

And the Eagles enjoyed it, too! They played for a whole 3 1/2 hours, with a brief intermission and two encores. They did it all! They were funny. They were entertaining. Their quality (of voice and of music) hasn't deteriorated over the years. They sounded SUPER awesome. But most of all... they enjoyed each other. They jammed together and had a blast. They made us (the audience) feel like they were doing this because they liked to do it. I have never seen a band enjoy performing as much as they appeared to.
I would like to personally thank the Eagles (all members) for this wonderful night in Hollywood. It was a night I will never forget and will forever remember as the BESTEST concert I've ever been to in my whole life. These are great memories, and I will cherish them.

I came out of this concert with a renewed spirit for music, the Eagles, and the Hollywood Bowl. I came out with a couple of new friends, too (and not high on second-hand weed smoke). Thank you, Juan... for your most wonderful Valentine's present.

The Hollywood Bowl at Night.

After all this gushing (my true feelings, by the way), I might probably complain, in another post, about the CHEAP-ASS quality of t-shirt you get for a whopping $35!, but I am still so elated right now, I don't want to go there... right now...

And (if it ever finishes processing...) here is a little share with you. I hope you enjoy it like I did!
SCRATCH the ABOVE! It just won't take!

and here's a much cleaner version (courtesy of someone off youtube)