Aug. 5, 1978 review: Eagles and Jesse Winchester in Memorial Auditorium

 


A night with another ‘70s favorite at the peak of their game.

Aug. 5, 1978 

Eagles Fly High

As Audience

Crows for More

        The Eagles swooped in and out of Memorial Auditorium Friday night with an early-bird concert that saw them fly the coop before 10 p.m. while some 15,000 fans stood and crowed for a third encore.

        The country-rock quintet had nudged the starting time ahead an hour – to 7 p.m. – to accommodate the final leg of their migration to Toronto, where they flew immediately after the show to prepare for a Canadian National Exhibition Stadium date Saturday.

        This 14-city tour is a midsummer break for the band, a chance to loosen their load and take it easy after slaving in the studio over the successor to their hugely popular “Hotel California” album. Wednesday they played Minneapolis. Thursday they played softball.

        But there was little laziness in their 90-minute set. This being the eighth stop on the tour, their flourishes were crisp and occasionally elegant, as when they diminished “Doolin-Dalton” to a single, amplified harmonic.

        Their guitar-laden attack and the three- and four-part harmonies on ballads like “Lyin’ Eyes” suggest that the Eagles have, for all intents and purposes, taken the promontory that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young once occupied.

        The mostly mild, melodic manner of the band’s nucleus – guitarists Glenn Frey and Don Felder and drummer Don Henley – found a refreshing counterpoint in Joe Walsh, the fun-loving heavy-metal guitarist who once fronted the James Gang.

        Walsh, who has his own successful solo recording career, injected high decibels and crunching rhythms into the proceedings whenever he stepped forward to do one of his hits. It was his first encore, “Rocky Mountain Way,” that whipped up the frenzy for the second one, “Take It Easy.”

        The Eagles drew from both their early and latter-day hits. “Hotel California” opened the show, but the album was not heavily represented. It was almost as if they’d left empty slots for new material, though no new songs were introduced.

        The early start meant that the college-age crowd was picking its way to its seats throughout the opening set by Jesse Winchester, whose songwriting accomplishments far exceed his public exposure. On this tour, he’s making up for it.

        Backed by a quintet, the gently drawling Winchester alternated slow and fast numbers until he struck a familiar concern with “Twigs and Seeds,” provoking howls of delight. He followed it with his best ballad, “Yankee Lady,” and exited to “Rhumba Man” with a funny little dance into the wings.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: The Eagles harmonize in a four-part front line in 1978.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: The next Eagles date actually was at Rideau Carlton Raceway outside Ottawa. The CNE stadium show was Sunday night. On some of the stadium dates, the Steve Miller Band was featured along with Jesse Winchester. After their "The Long Run" tour ended in 1980, the Eagles disbanded for 14 years. Winchester, who moved to Canada to avoid going into the military during the Vietnam War, wasn't allowed to cross the border into the U.S. until President Carter gave amnesty to draft evaders in 1977. 

Here's what setlist.fm says the Eagles played that night in the Aud:

Hotel California

Walk Away (James Gang cover)

Victim of Love

Doolin-Dalton

Desperado

Lyin' Eyes

One of These Nights

Turn to Stone (Joe Walsh song)

Already Gone

Life's Been Good (Joe Walsh song)

Witchy Woman

Life in the Fast Lane

James Dean

New Kid in Town

(encore)

Rocky Mountain Way

Take It Easy

Tequila Sunrise

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