Stage Talk with Rick Koster
Where every show has something to say.
Take another shot of EAGLES!
I remember reading an interview with Eagles singer/drummer/songwriter Don Henley where he talked about writing the song “Tequila Sunrise.” The hit tune was a collaboration with his pal, Eagles guitarist/vocalist Glenn Frey, and Henley said one of the early lyrical themes the pair explored was remembering how anxious they once were about approaching girls in a bar — needing a shot of tequila for courage.
Frankly, I have a hard time believing Henley and Frey lacked confidence about anything, ever. Even at the dawn (sunrise?) of their career, they looked like rogue matinee idols, and were running wild in the Bacchanalian excess of early ’70s Hollywood. You didn’t want to be the earnest dude trying to talk to a woman when Glenn and Don walked in the joint. Game over.
In any case, the “Tequila Sunrise” narrative ended up being about a heartbroken young man greeting each dawn either by continuing an ongoing and tequila-fueled binge — or by feeling so hungover and sad that a bit of the hair of the dog was necessary. Hey: maybe your girl dumped you for Don or Glenn!
Anyway, let’s face it: the Eagles may be, along with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and the Beach Boys, are one of the greatest-ever American bands. And if like me you can’t afford $46,000 to see the Eagles in one of their ongoing residencies at the Sphere in Vegas, I have a fine idea.
Another Tequila Sunrise, arguably the premiere Eagles tribute band on earth, headlines the Garde Saturday night. It’s an opportunity to enjoy, reminisce and marvel over an astonishing recitation of superb Eagles songs, all delivered with precision and joy.
Warning: resist the urge to do a shot of tequila in celebration with each song ATS plays. The next day’s dawn will not be pretty.
Opening the show is another excellent tribute act called Something Wonderful Tonight. It’s a helluva musical concept celebrating the magical, musical friendship between Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Expect highlights from each artist’s career along with those special collaborative moments — and we’re talking to you, “Badge” from Cream’s Goodbye album. It’s an overlooked but all-time great tune on which, for contractual reasons, Harrison was identified as “L’Angelo Misterioso.”