February 21, 2023 - Return to the Hotel California

San Jose, CA
SAP Center

Including last night, I have tickets to six concerts already for 2023. It's been a long time since I've had that many shows lined up so far in advance. With any luck, I'll be adding at least one (and hopefully two) more tomorrow. After 2020 and the year of no concerts, I definitely don't take having shows lined up for granted. My first show after everything opened up again was the Eagles Hotel California show at Chase Center which soothed the soul more than I could imagine. So when it was announced that the Eagles would be back in San Jose with the same show, I jumped at the chance to see it again.

When I looked at the calendar to see if it made sense to take in a show on a Tuesday night, the only thing that stood out was my already purchased tickets for Bruce Springsteen in Portland on Saturday night. Nothing on my boss's calendar nor any of the managers I support, so yep, it should be fine. Buy.

Oh the best laid plans. Last month my boss decided he wanted to have a 2-day meeting with his team leadership for long term planning. The best option -- next week. So with Monday a holiday and Friday me being on plane to Portland, a Tuesday night concert was not the best option. Still, one of the upsides from the pandemic is that my job is now hybrid and I can work from home on a regular basis, so off I went to a weeknight concert knowing I could work from home the next day and thus sleep in a bit.

I went into the office yesterday since it's closer to the SAP Center than my apartment, but whew what a day to be out. It was extremely windy, so there were branches of trees all over the roads along with swirling leaves and other debris. The drive was fairly easy and I didn't even need to get on the freeway, but wow there was a lot of stuff to avoid. Grabbed some dinner in San Pedro Square which was interesting to see. I haven't been down there since before the pandemic and they've turned most of San Pedro street into street dining, which is a terrific idea. Had a yummy Mexican dinner and headed up to the venue where I encountered the world's stupidest bag policy. I bring a pretty small purse to shows, but apparently having a bag that's one-inch too wide (yet at least 4-inches shorter in height and depth) is too big to bring in. My options -- schlep back to my car and leave it in the trunk of my car or pay $10 to check it. I opted for the bag check and WHAT a pain in the rear that was as it required downloading an app which wouldn't work the first three times I tried it. Finally got it loaded, paid my $10 (plus an extra $0.59 in fees!) and put my now nearly empty bag in the locker having moved my phone, wallet, and glasses to my various pockets. Thank goodness it was a chilly evening and I was wearing my multiple pocketed jacket.

Purse frustrations resolved, I made my way into the arena, grabbed a bottle of water (at a self serve concession! Well, something has improved here!) Once I got settled in my seat, I focused on the pre-show music coming over the PA -- lots of Beatles tunes -- and they helped me calm down. At least until I looked at the time and saw the show was about to start, so I'd better pull out my new earplugs I'd bought. Shit. They're on my key chain, and thus in my purse. Fortunately, the opening notes of Billy Joel's "This Is the Time" started over the PA and I sensed that was the queue song before the show would start, so I focused on listening to that until the house lights went down and the Hotel California sign was lowered.

As before, the "butler" walked across the stage to put the Hotel California album on the turntable. The needle drops, curtain rises, and off we go. Don Henley was in good voice, but not as good as last time. Still, he doesn't sound like he's lost much over the years which is more than can be said for many of his peers. It was so appropriate that Vince Gill gets to sing "New Kid in Town." He does a fabulous job on it. As with the last show, my personal highlights were "Wasted Time" and "The Last Resort" which are two of my all time favorite songs and having the additional orchestra and choir just made them sound fantastic.

Once the Hotel California set wrapped up, about 50 minutes in to the evening, Don Henley stepped to the front of the stage and welcomed the crowd and talking about how "albums were only 40 minutes long" followed by a comment that 40 minutes would be too long for today's music, but he's "old and grumpy." I got a giggle since he's been old and grumpy since the 70s! The band then went off stage for a brief intermission.

Once the band returned, they kicked off the second set with "Seven Bridges Road," and though the line up has changed and aged since their 1970s prime, the harmonies are still amazing. We were then treated to a pleasant surprise when Deacon Frey joined the band on stage and sang "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling." He's officially stopped touring with the band, so it was great to see him once again. It's still scary how much he looks like his dad at the same age. His voice is different than Glenn's, but still quite good. 

Vince Gill continued to impress me, and as he sang "Tequila Sunrise" it occurred to me that I should have that to drink for dinner instead of my margarita! I need to spend some time on Spotify listening to his own material. Joe Walsh had the line of the night as he introduced "Life's Been Good" by saying "it was a lot more fun being in your 20s in the 70s than being in your 70s in the 20s." That got a great response as did the song.

As is often the case when I see the Eagles, the crowd was pretty laid back and mellow, sitting almost entirely through the show. It wasn't until the last song of the main set -- "Heartache Tonight" -- that everyone got on their feet, clearly recognizing the show was nearing the end.

It was, of course, not the end. Out for the encore and my absolute favorite Eagles song "Desperado." I will never tire of that song and love that I get to hear it live and have quite a few times now. Deacon Frey came out once again and joined for the final two songs, taking lead once again on "Already Gone." The show closed out with Don Henley introducing "Best of My Love" by saying it was a song written about a couple falling apart, but he wanted to dedicate it to the "Dis-United States of America" as things have come more divisive over the years. With that preamble, the lyrics hit me differently and tears welled as I thought about how "we try to talk it over, but the words come out too rough." We really do need to give the best of our love.

Set list

Hotel California
Hotel California
New Kid in Town
Life in the Fast Lane
Wasted Time (w/ orchestra)
Wasted Time (Reprise) (orchestra)
Victim of Love
Pretty Maids All in a Row
Try and Love Again
The Last Resort (w/ orchestra)

-- Intermission --

Seven Bridges Road
Take It Easy (with Deacon Frey)
Peaceful Easy Feeling (with Deacon Frey)
One of These Nights
Take It to the Limit
Witchy Woman
In the City
I Can't Tell You Why
Tequila Sunrise
Lyin' Eyes
Life's Been Good
The Boys of Summer
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight

Encore:

Rocky Mountain Way
Desperado (w/ orchestra)
Already Gone (with Deacon Frey)
Best of My Love (with Deacon Frey)