Mary R. (Fan Review)

Saw Henley's show at the Borgata last night and I gotta tell ya that THE MAN is the best darn singer out there today. He absolutely nailed every song and, furthermore, he certainly was in a "chatty" mood last night. I'll try to tell you as much as I can remember but I know I'm gonna forget some stuff because he had so very much to say. I've seen him in concert many times before but last night was definitely the most talkative I've ever seen him. OK, here goes.......1st I'll mention the band, tho not by individual names because that has been done by other reviewers already. Let me just say that they were fantastic also & that Stuart Smith was particulary fantastic on "Hotel California"----other than Don Felder, Stuart does absolutely the best job on HC than anyone else I have ever heard play it. I've heard some bad versions of HC in my day, but Stuart knows how to do it right, thank heavens. OK, now for the "fashion mavens" out there, let me say that Don looked really relaxed in that tan plaid shirt that he has been photoed wearing several times during the tour (I wonder who is doing the laundry, I know that I WOULD VOLUNTEER FOR THE JOB IN A MINUTE IF I KNEW WHERE TO APPLY). He was wearing a pair of great looking blue jeans and, of course, those same old brown boots. I've been going to Henley concerts for over 10 years and he has been wearing those same brown boots for the whole time, I'm figuring they have been worn so much now that they could get up and dance off the stage by themselves by now. Anyway, on to the setlist, because it seems to have changed a bit since the early concerts of the tour:
1. Dirty Laundry----at 8:15 Don came on stage and started the audience rockin with DL, there was no warm-up act which suited me just fine because, when I come to see Henley, I only want to see Henley. He is, after all, THE COOLEST MAN ALIVE!!!!

2. Everybody Knows----Don might have said something after this one, but I don't remember what it was.

3. Everything Is Different Now---Don't remember what was said here either.

4. Sit Down Your Rockin the Boat----Alot of chatter was going on among the band members, but Don didn't make any comments to the audience.

5. Sunset Grill---OK, this is where Don REALLY started to talk up a storm. He said that SG was about a real place in LA where the owner (I believe that he said that his name was "Joe") really cared about his customers and made an attempt to call them all by name. Don said that we need more places like that today and that it is really a shame that, when a person goes to a store or eatery today, that the people who wait on you don't seem to really care about the customers. In fact, they act like it is a pain in the butt to wait on the customer. Oftentimes, the workers would rather talk among themselves and they act like it is an inconvenience to stop their conversations to actually wait on the customer. Don also said that one of his true loves is a really good burger and that Joe made a great one. He said that Joe didn't use swiss or chedder on his burgers but that he would just cut off a big chunk of Velveeta & slap it on the burger. Don said that he really misses that old Sunset Grill and that it has been torn down and a new "glitzy" Sunset Grill was built on the same site. Don said that if anyone goes to LA to not bother going to the Sunset Grill now because its not a very good place to eat.

6. Witchy Woman ( I LOVED this one because it isn't usually done, in fact, I've been to about 15 Eagles concerts & arount 10 Henley concerts and I don't believe I've ever heard it done before). Let me tell your, DON NAILED THIS ONE----I am in absolute awe of the man. How the heck can he hit those high notes that sound like they could shatter glass. Gosh, his voice is still crystal clear, ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!! ---Don really talked alot about this one. He started out by saying that it was one of the first songs that he & Glenn wrote together and that he (Don) got the idea for WW while he was sick with the flu. He said that WW was a cross between Zelda Fitzgerald and several women he had met at bars in LA. He said that witchcraft was popular at the time and several women he met were practicing the craft. He had met several ladies who, at various times, invited him back to their homes because they claimed they had potions made of special herbs & spices that could cure "whatever ailed you". Don said that he was suffering with a bad back at the time and, thus, told them "Yeah, I'll go home with you and see if you can cure my back". He didn't say whether the cures worked or not but he did give the impression that he rather enjoyed going home with those "Witchey Women". I figure that he must have since he wrote a song about them.

7. New York Minute----No comments from Don on this one.

8. Last Worthless Evening----This was a crowd pleaser and I believe this is the first song where he got a standing ovation afterwards. Let me say here also that it was almost a sell-out crowd and that Don had said early in the concert that he was glad to be visiting the Borgata for the first time.

9. Heart of the Matter---Oh my golly-gee, THIS IS MY FAVORITE HENLEY SONG and he sung it beautifully last night. From the reaction around me, I'm not the only one who loves it, there were about 10 or 12 of us who sang the whole song right along with Don, just an absolutely beautiful song that I'll never tire of hearing, so very beautiful.

10. Political Science---Don said that he didn't often do other peoples songs but that this song by Randy Newman just made him thing so much of Pres. Bush and V.P. Cheney that it made him chuckle everytime he sang it. Don said that he could picture them doing it in top hat and tails with each talking turns singing parts of it. The song has a really bouncy tune but the message is quite clear that it is a song about how certain political people are out to dominate the world. I, for one, was really glad that Don did this one because several of the "hard core" Republicans in the audience must have taken offense to this one and got up in the middle of it and stormed out. Thus, I got to move up from my 10th row seat to a 3rd row aisle seat---FANTASTIC VIEW OF MY MAN DON FROM THE 3RD ROW!!!! During the song, Don started doing the Can-can, really funny to watch, Mr Henley sure is loosening up in his "mature years"----a beautiful thing!!!

11. Boys of Summer----Another crowd pleaser.

12. Life in the Fastlane---The house REALLY started rockin on this one. The crowd seemed to range from mid 20's ish to mid 50's ish and this song got everybody up on their feet and some mean dancin was goin on I wanna tell ya.

13. End of the Innocence---Don might of said something here, too, but I don't remember because I was "winded" from all that dancing on LITF.

14. All She Wants To Do Is Dance---The place went nuts, they were dancing in the aisles. Security was fighting a losing battle here. I tried to stay in my seat but its impossible on ASWTDID---I danced like a crazed women (yep folks, this ole gal might be in her mid-50s but she can still dance up a storm to ASWTDID).

15. I Won't Go Guietly----Don motioned for everyone to stay on their feet and he said "Yeah folks, keep on dancing". Kinda a jab at security I'm thinkin.

This is when Don waved bye and left the stage-----way, way too soon in my opinion. In fact, thats my only complaint, the concert was too short (probably a function of being at a casino, Don even commented that he had to keep it short so that folks could get back out and do more gambling). The crowd was having none of it, they started yelling and stomping and several people lit matches and it worked cause Don came back out and sang....................
16. Hotel California-----It couldn't be a Henley or an Eagles concert without HC. The crowd wend bonkers, everyone stood and cheered like crazy.

17. Desperado---Yes folks, ITS BACK!!!!! Looks like Don gave up on the idea of "My Thanksgiving" as a closer and when back to everybody's favoite song "Desperado". Of course we all sang along and Don held out the mic at the end to let the crowd help him finish the song. Don waved goodbye and left the stage. This is where security took the upper hand because they held the crowd back and there was no chance for anyone to hand Don anything or to shake his hand.

The crowd yelled for more, but that was it. The concert was over. It lasted almost exactly two hours and the time absolutely flew. That man is magic, I love and appreciate him more each time I see him. My advice to everyone is---go see Don Henley live, you'll be on a "natural high" for days to come. DON HENLEY IS THE COOLEST MAN ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[alice]

who is the guitar player stage right. not stewey?

[L&M]

The guitar player is Frank Simes. He's been with Don for years.

[Marcie Redford]

I have never been to any of Don Henley's concerts because I cannot afford to travel but I do have Hell Freezes Over on tape & three of Don's Cd's which are, Actual Miles, The End Of The Innocence & Building The Perfct Beast. If I were to meet him, I would kiss him right on the lips. Let me tell you something sweetheart not to be mean, Don is more than cool, he is GOD DAMNED SEXY!