One of These Nights: The Eagles at JQH Arena

The Eagles concert that I’ve been writing about for weeks has come and gone, but the sights and sounds of it are still lingering in my head. I’ve been trying for several days to think of how I would describe it here on this blog, and I realized that I’m just simply not an eloquent enough writer to fully capture the experience.

So instead, I’ll share some of my favorite moments, a few pictures, and, yes, a bootleg video!

The concert was the inaugural event at JQH Arena, which is located in what used to be the parking lot of the old student center where I pomp and circumstanced my way to two degrees at Missouri State University. The location was especially nice for me as it provided an opportunity for me to spend a little time on the campus where I made some of the best friends and had some of the most fun of my life. 

Once I got into the arena, I made my away all the way to the back to where my seats were. I found my seat, and had a few minutes to size up the new arena. For one, it’s pretty nice sized, especially for Springfield. And my seats were very “unique.” I was kind of a behind angle of the stage, and right by one of the big screens – I could literally almost reach out and touch the screen. I was a little bummed at first, until I realized the angle was great for seeing both every bit of action on stage and a REALLY close up of the guys on the big screen. The only major flaw was not being able to see the backdrop screen behind the stage, which showed images and lights to help set the mood of each song. 

This photo shows pretty well what my view was like … it shows Henley and Frey on the screen at the left, and the whole stage below. 

I chatted a bit with the guy next to me, who was on vacation in Branson from Minnesota, and had heard about the concert on the radio. (His accent was so dense that I initially thought he was Scottish!). Finally, the arena and the stage went dark. From my view, I could see the guys walk up the stairs to the stage and head to the four microphones set up at the front of the stage. With no introduction, no talking, nothing, the lights went on and the first chords of “How Long” started out.

The excitement never stopped from that point on. 

After performing several new songs off of Long Road Out of Eden, the guys got into some more classics. At one point as “Hotel California” opened, the energy inside the Q was indescribable. The song opened with a long trumpet player who had a single red spotlight centered on him as he played the haunting notes on the trumpet. Now “Hotel California” is far from my favorite Eagles song, but it is such a classic song that seeing it live was amazing. The normally loud crowd was almost silent in a stunned awe as three guitars wailed, two percussion sets drummed, several keyboards sounded, and an entire horn section blew to create an amazing musical moment. 

“Peaceful Easy Feeling” had the whole arena singing along, and the stage literally lit up in driving yellow and red for “Witchy Woman.” I previously had kind of liked Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer,” but after hearing all of the guys perform it live, it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite songs! After a set of 12 songs – which ended with “The Long Run,” a song and album which marked a significant point in the Eagles musical career, there was a 20 minute or so intermission. 

The second half of the show opened with three more songs from Long Road Out of Eden, including “Waiting in the Weeds.” Again, there are no words to describe this song. I really do think it’s one of the most well-written songs I’ve ever heard, and has layers upon layers of meanings. 

Anyway, the second half included an interesting mix of the guy’s solo music – which was dominated by Joe Walsh’s tunes and absent of any of Glenn Frey’s, which was a little disappointing – as well as some newer and older songs. 

“Take It To the Limit” was another song that turned out to be quite the sing along, and if you can ignore the drunk ladies who were marveling at an even drunker lady in the aisle to our left, you can enjoy that particular moment with my video:

The introductions in the middle of the second half of the concert was one of my favorite parts of the show. Glenn seems to do most of the talking for the band, and he’s actually got some pretty funny jokes to throw out. He introduced all of the guys in the band.

Timothy B. Schmit and Glenn (my two favorites!) got great ovations, but Henley’s and Walsh’s were just unbelievable. In fact, Henley had to eventually tell the crowd to stop cheering and screaming, and, according to some, seemed to get choked up. I don’t think so, but whatever! 

After a series of rockin’ songs dominated by Joe Walsh’s screaming guitar solos, the guys were gone. Obviously, not for long, as they came back out for an incredible encore of “Take It Easy” and “Desperado.”

I really could probably write about the concert endlessly, and to answer Todd’s question, it most definitely overtakes the #1 spot on my list of top concert moments. I love my Pat Green and all the others, but those concerts paled in comparison to the incredible three-and-a-half hour show that the Eagles put on. 

Here are a few more photos from my weird seats:

 

Opening Up with 'How Long'

'I Can't Tell You Why' with Schmit out front, Walsh & Frey on keyboards, and Henley on drums

 

Saying goodbye to Springfield

 

I remember now why these guys are my favorites of all time!