I have seen Don Henley in concert five different times. I thought each concert was amazing, but unfortunately the most lasting memory of he show usually had nothing to do with Mr. Henley.
Lake Compounce - Bristol, CT - The End of the Innocence Tour #1
I was a big fan of 'The End of the Innocence' and I was really looking forward to the show. I was also discovering the music of the Eagles at the same time so I was pretty excited. I had really good seats about 30 rows from the stage.
Shortly before the opening act came out (Edie Brickell and New Bohemians) a moment happened that dramatically changed the course of my life.
There was a flyer handed out to each customer as they walked into the venue. It was a flyer with descriptions of each act that was playing the same venue that summer. There was an article in there about the rituals and customs associated with the concert of a one-hit wonder named Jimmy Buffett. The article described grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, heavy drinking, dancing like a shark and a sermon about getting drunk and screwing.
I showed the article to my sister and we agreed that we would see him in concert next time he was in town. The next day my sister gave me $20 to go out and buy the live album that was referenced in the article. A Parrothead was born.
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY - Benefit for Walden Woods
The benefit to raise money for Walden Woods had three acts. Up first was Bonnie Raitt. She put on one of the most boring live shows I have ever witnessed. The headliner was Don Henley. However, the reason I went to the show was the other performer of the evening... Jimmy Buffett. It actually ended up being my very first Jimmy Buffett show. As promised, my sister was with me. I was also able to convince my mother to join us as she also started to ejoy the 'Feeding Frenzy' live CD that my sister had financed earlier that year.
The Jimmy Buffett set absolutely stole the show. It was a party from beginning to end. By the end of the night I actually felt bad for Don Henley. He had to follow a man that lit up the Garden with tales of pirates, landsharks and margaritas. Hearing about some sort of desperado was a doomed exercise.
Lake Compounce - Bristol, CT - The End of the Innocence Tour #2
The opening act was Susanna Hoffs. She was the former lead singer of The Bangles. She was even more beautiful than when I first saw her on MTV in the 'Dance Like an Egyptian' video. She wore a short black dress, clearly playing into her sex appeal. At one point she decided to dedicate a song to a guy in the front few rows that was standing and dancing the whole time. It was a cover of 'Feel Like Makin' Love' by Bad Company. I am still jealous that she did not dedicate that to me.
Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ - The Eagles
I brought my sister to the show. Looking back on it, I really should have waited to catch the show in a smaller venue. A stadium was not the best place for the more subtle sounds of this type of show.
The highlight of the show was Joe Walsh. He was amazing. He remembered that playing in a rock 'n roll band is supposed to be fun! The other guys on the stage all felt more like businessmen.
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY - Music to My Ears
This show had the single greatest concert lineup for any show I have ever attended. It was a benefit for Timothy White - a very well-respected rock journalist.
The best set of the night was without a question Roger Waters. He performed a new song in his set. A song that to my knowledge he has never released. Normally a new song in a set from a classic artist is a reason to run and get a beer. In this case, Roger Waters created something that was absolutely special and I experiened one of the most moving musical performances I have ever seen.
During "Comfortably Numb" he had a guest musician stand quietly at the microphone next to him. He was dressed in black and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt. It was not until he sang that I knew it was Don Henley. An absolutely amazing collaboration. It was my 5th time seeing Don Henley perform live and it was the first time that I walked out of one of his shows remembering one of his performances.
November 12, 2007
Last Worthless Evening
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8 comments:
mr jahidi: I hope that the Don Henley pictures I added to your post haven't interfered with your artistic integrity.
That is one hell of a fantastic picture. If Don Henley fans looked like that the whole concert dynamic of my life would have shifted. I would have gone to 120 Don Henley shows and 5 Jimmy Buffett concerts.
That girl looks like a hotter version of Jessica Simpson.
I think it's clear she's never watched vh1 and is therefore no Don Henley fan.
she's just an ebay seller and/or their t-shirt model: http://myworld.ebay.com/refreshmint/.
hotter than Susanna Hoffs, though? I would say no. But I'll reread your second Lake Compounce tour paragraph just to be sure.
Honestly. The eBay girl is a cute girl, but Susanna Hoffs is a gorgeous woman.
Check out this picture and try to dispute that she is hotter:
http://jarsonic.net/imagenes/art023-susanna_hoffs.jpg
(did this become Rolling Stone's top 500 hottest rock 'n roll girls?)
wow, a susanna hoffs pic on a Chilean music website which I think I actually looked at about five years ago (if it even existed then). i love the internet. If there were a hottest 500 women of rock I can't imagine Susanna being in the top 25 but oddly enough I can't think of anyone I'd put higher.
I have one Don Henley comment. When I was working at that fancy schmancy 5 star inn during breaks through college, we'd often host corporate retreats. Sometimes we had music executives up. Late one night a few of them were in the bar swapping war stories. There was one woman in the group who was re-telling how she got Don Henley to sign with her label (I forget which one). The lawyers had hammered the deal out and it was just her and Don finalizing everything. He demanded one final thing before he would sign: a blo job from her. So she blew him and signed Don Henley to her label. I have no idea if the story is true but it's what she said.
By the way, mr. venerableseed, I finally tried accepting your invite for the blog it said it expired. can you re-send it? thx.
wow, what I story. I totally believe it.
I believe that story, too, because that's precisely what Don would have to do for me in order to get me to buy tickets to one of his concerts!
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