Calgary, AB
Don Henley will be appearing in Calgary, Alberta on August 9th. Ticketmaster is handling the tickets for this show. If you will be going to the show or have questions about the show, hit the comments button below and add a message.
Don Henley will be appearing in Calgary, Alberta on August 9th. Ticketmaster is handling the tickets for this show. If you will be going to the show or have questions about the show, hit the comments button below and add a message.
It's not often you feel sorry for multimillionaires. (Other than Anna Nicole Smith, that is -- my poor angel, she's so terribly misunderstood.)
But last night, it was hard not to record even the tiniest twinge of pity for Don Henley, who failed to sell out even the smallest seating configuration of the Saddledome for his latest tour.
A tour it should be noted that is to support ... his condor egg habit, I guess, considering how long it's been since his last solo album.
In fact, if Henley wanted to be entirely honest with his 4,000 or so fans, he should have required them to leave their money on bedside tables located at every exit of the 'Dome.
But before I can be accused of -- to paraphrase the solo hit Dirty Laundry, which he opened his how with last night -- kicking him when he's down, let me point out that those who showed up were actually treated to a relatively entertaining oldies arena rock show.
Henley, clad in the Canuck/grunge uniform of red plaid shirt and blue jeans, and backed by a talented but unassuming sextet, was enjoyable and engaging.
In the first 15 minutes alone, he had spoken more words to the modest crowd than he and his band the Eagles did during their entire most recent farewell tour -- dubbed by some The Mannequin Tour.
Henley didn't seem to be completely going through the motions, although his showmanship may have been on automatic pilot.
Previous reviews of this tour reveal a commonality between what he said and what he played, but the 57-year-old actually seemed to be in the present tense.
In reference to those obnoxiously vocal fans who were calling out song titles and other monosyllabic comments, he joked early on that this was obviously an interactive evening, "So yell out whatever is on your tiny little mind."
That in itself was probably enough to gain the audience's goodwill, but Henley went even further by stacking his setlist with familiar hits -- be they his own, the Eagles' or songs by others.
So as it was, you had a nice, tight version of Sunset Grill, a suprisingly not-embarrassing cover of Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows, and the classic Witchy Woman.
It certainly wasn't a show for the ages, but neither was it something that anyone -- be they the icon onstage or those few who forked out their hard-earned coin -- should be embarrassed about being a part of.
Opening the show was Canadian Natalie MacMaster, perhaps the only human being capable of making me even pretend to care about fiddle music.
Like an East Coast answer to Jenna Elfman, the incredibly bubbly and gifted performer made the most of her 30 minutes, turning in a whirlwind set of stompers and steppers.
The energy MacMaster expends is entirely infectious, giving those that showed up early reason to thank themselves that they did -- I mean, a reason other than those bouncy Celtic calisthenics.
From the Edmonton Sun
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