“There was a lot of terror”: The show the Eagles were petrified playing
Part of the power of the Eagles is that they have refused to leave rock radio ever since they began. Even when the band had been broken up for nearly a decade, the invention of classic rock led to their songs still being blared out of car radios around the world, with ‘Take It Easy’ becoming a glorified anthem for the American spirit. Although the band never doubted their ability to deliver the classics, their first reunion was the most terrified that the classic lineup had ever been playing together.
Before the band had even thought about sharing the stage, they were going to need some sort of incentive. Since Glenn Frey had sent Steve Wozniak a picture of a middle finger when asked if the Eagles would play the US Festival in 1983, it’s not like he was exactly eager to go back to his old habits just yet.
If anything, the band was having a good time doing what they did best: writing great songs. For all of the odd tunes that came out of their solo careers, it’s not like they were coming close to capturing the glory of their past. Don Henley may have gotten close with songs like ‘Boys of Summer’ and ‘The End of Innocence’, but there was a point where everyone wanted back in again.
After country singer Travis Tritt made a video of him singing ‘Take It Easy’ with the rest of the band in it, the wheels started turning to get the old band back together. Once the band announced a new set of shows for MTV entitled Hell Freezes Over, Henley and Frey even put together a handful of tunes for the album, including the rocker ‘Get Over It’.
It’s one thing to commit to tour dates, but the band remembered being extremely flustered when they took the stage. The stage can become second nature to people after a while, but the band still had raw nerves when they walked out again.
Talking about the show in History of the Eagles, guitarist Don Henley remembered there being a lot of tension backstage to see if they could get back to that pure sound they loved, saying, “Being the first time we had played together again, there was a lot of terror. The audience was with us and supported us, which was good, but it was rough”. Then again, maybe those nerves ended up playing to their advantage.
As Timothy B Schmitt recalled later, there was a moment where Henley drifted off-script, saying, “Everything was going great, except Henley forgot the words to one of the new songs”. Blanking in the middle of ‘Learn To Be Still’, Henley took it in stride, though, making a wisecrack reference to comedian Tommy Smothers before starting over again.
The first gig is always the worst gig, and if a few mishaps were the height of their problems, the band were about to have some of the greatest gigs they have ever had. With everyone now sober, the band got high on their own music whenever they went onstage, harmonising perfectly when working on songs like ‘Already Gone’ and ‘Hotel California’.
Even though the good times weren’t meant to last when Felder quit unceremoniously during the tour, it didn’t seem to matter. The kings of California rock had come back from the dead, and even in their old age, they were ready to kick some ass again.
