The Eagles Soar in South Florida

Fans will get this picture

I’ve been thinking about music lately.
What is it about music that touches us so deeply that the magic lasts a lifetime?
In many cases, we still love the music we listened to when we were teenagers.

Must of us don’t have the same hobbies, fashion sense or tastes in books (classics aside) but yet I’ll still listen to Darkness on the Edge of Town which came out when I was 14 years old. Close to forty years later, the songs still delight, although they resonate for different reasons as you grow older.
That’s not to say that every song or band you listened to as a kid remains a favorite today. But it’s amazing how many do.
So it was with great anticipation that we went to see the legendary Eagles last weekend in Miami.

I had never seen them live before even though I have loved their music since the 70s.
The concert was nothing short of magnificent. The band members–all of whom are in their late 60s–sing, play and perform incredibly well. They clearly love the old songs, are proud of their history and are having a great time connecting with their fans.
The “History of The Eagles” tour has been rolling along for two years now and may just be the last hurrah.
In order to forge a stronger connection with the fans and the music, The Eagles insist on a no cellphone policy. They want you to enjoy the songs in the moment and not through the screen of your smartphone. What a concept. The policy is enforced and enforced and enforced by venue security because it seems that people–and the crowd was predominantly baby boomer–just couldn’t or wouldn’t comply despite numerous warnings.
Sigh.
The crowd was something. I don’t go to a lot of concerts these days but I was surprised. Lots of drinking. Lots of walking around.
We happened to sit next to the three stereotypes of obnoxious fans.
Type 1: Wikipedia man. He insists on giving a running commentary on every song during every song. “Timothy B. Schmit was brought in to replace Randy Meisner in ’78. No wait, maybe it was 79. He played with Poco. He was born in Sacramento. Or was it Santa Fe”. On and on he went drowning out the music with his drivel until the woman sitting in front of him finally told him to quiet down. He called her a Nazi. Nice.
Type 2: Crazy Stripper Lady. You know the one who dances to every song–in a style that..well check out her name. She acts out every song, sings loudly along with the band and screams at those around her to get up and boogie. Yikes.
Type 3: Drunk Man. In addition to talking “this is our song, sweetie. I can’t tell you why its about us. This is our song. Listen. Listen to this. We do this.” Before the night is out he will spill two beers on his neighbors, the second incident spurring a name calling back and forth in which he loudly proclaims that he won’t be leaving. Until mercifully, he does…right before an amazing encore performance of “Desperados”.
Quite a collection of characters, but try as they might, they could not overcome the joy that is listening to The Eagles

But, The Eagles deserve better. The music deserves better.
The humans who attend these shows deserve better.
Is a peaceful easy feeling to much to expect?  Maybe one of these nights…