Eagles bring new look, new energy to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto

Although we’ve been regularly covering shows in Toronto Sunday night marked my debut at a major concert in the city as The Eagles came to town as part of their North American tour. 

Although familiar with the venue itself last night was my first time actually going inside for an event and the first thing that really stood out was how spacious it is once you are inside. There’s lots of room to move and plenty of food and beverage venders to ensure that lineups are kept at a minimum, and when you can cram just shy of 20,000 fans into a building managing to keep lineups to a minimum is a huge accomplishment.

The stage setup was simple, 6 mic stands lined up along the front of the stage with drums and a brass and woodwind section taking up the rear. The lights in the arena dimmed around 8:20pm last night and when they came up Vince Gill, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Deacon Fry and Joe Walsh kicked off the show with “Seven Bridges Road”. The chills immediately went down my spine, this was it, the real thing! And boy did they ever sound good. Equally impressive were the incredible visuals on the massive screen behind the stage, through the show the imagery added an extra impressive element to the show.

You have to understand I’ve been an Eagles fan much of my life and until last night the closest I’ve come to seeing them in concert was through the, incredible, cover band “Hotel California” and see former member Don Felder a few years ago at RBC Bluesfest. After Glenn passed away in 2016 I was certain I’d never get the chance and on more than one occasion Don Henley confirmed those fears. But once again, fate intervened and the band regrouped for a tour in honour of Glenn Frey. But how do you makeup for the loss of such an incredible musician? Well for starters you bring in another incredible musician who also happens to be a huge Eagles fan, Vince Gill. Then you look to Glenn’s family and bring his son Deacon on board and the result 100% pure magic.

The crowd was electric at the Scotiabank Arena last night, in all the concerts I’ve seen I don’t recall any other show where the audience was that loud consistently for the whole show. When Henley took to the stage to pay tribute to Glenn the crowd got so loud that Don had to take a moment to let the crowd settle before continuing. Henley told the crowd “It’s great to be on this side of the border”, the crowd went crazy. As Don introduced Deacon Frey he told the crowd “he’s got big shoes to fill but he’s doing just fine and making his papa very proud”.

The Eagles looked and sounded exactly like I remember listening to them over the years. Vince and Deacon are the perfect additions to help Glenn’s legacy live on. For just over 2 and a half hours the boys cranked out hit after hit from the opener “Seven Bridges Road” all the way through 3 encores (#1 – “Hotel California”, #2 – “Rocky Mountain Way”, “Desperado” #3 – “Victim of Love”). Even after the last notes of “Victim of Love” nobody moved. The crowd just kept on screaming wanting more, for a few moments it looked like we might get it but then, much to everyone’s dismay, the house lights came on. But how can you be disappointed after a night like that? 26 songs covering 4 decades and each one performed with the same precision and perfection as the first time it was performed live.

The Eagles return tomorrow night for a second show at the Scotiabank Arena, if you’re still on the fence about this new lineup and haven’t purchased tickets yet I can’t encourage you enough to go. When I checked this morning there are still amazing tickets available. This show is incredible and you never know if you’ll ever get a chance to catch The Eagles perform live again. Ticket information can be found at www.scotiabankarena.com

Setlist

1. Seven Bridges Road
(Steve Young cover)
2. Take It Easy
3. One of These Nights
4. Take It to the Limit
5. Tequila Sunrise
6. Witchy Woman
7. In the City
(Joe Walsh song)
8. I Can’t Tell You Why
9. New Kid in Town
10. How Long
(J.D. Souther cover)
11. Peaceful Easy Feeling
12. Ol’ ’55
(Tom Waits cover)
13. Lyin’ Eyes
14. Love Will Keep Us Alive
15. Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away
(Vince Gill cover)
16. Those Shoes
17. Already Gone
18. Walk Away
(James Gang cover)
19. Life’s Been Good
(Joe Walsh song)
20. Heartache Tonight
21. Funk #49
(James Gang cover)
22. Life in the Fast Lane
Encore:
23. Hotel California
Encore 2:
24. Rocky Mountain Way
(Joe Walsh song)
25. Desperado
Encore 3:
26. Victim of Love

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