Review: The Eagles soar as Long Goodbye Tour plays Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH ― Did they do it for love? Did they do it for money? We can rule out spite, or because they had to, honey.

Whatever prompted The Eagles to proclaim they're on an official farewell tour, let's just give thanks the classic-rock band gave Pittsburgh area fans one more chance to cheer, going out on a high note Sunday at a full-house PPG Paints Arena.

Speaking of high notes, how does Don Henley's voice still sound as good as ever? He reached and held falsetto heights on "One of These Nights," and delivered an elevated ambience on "Witchy Woman," both sounding like they first did 50 years ago. Stationed equally at his drum kit and in the front line of the simple stage, the lone remaining original Eagles member also shined vocally on his own "The Boys of Summer" and encore pick "Desperado."

Though, fan favorite Joe Walsh stole the show several times, with his distinctly loose singing, loopy personality and exciting guitar work. The audience granted Walsh a standing ovation for his blazing guitar leads on "In The City." Fans also laughed loudly at his ol' "I spent a couple of days here one night" joke and heeded his advice not to watch the show through their cellphone cameras "because we're much bigger if you look up here."

Like the Eric Clapton show a month ago at the same venue, the Baby Boomer-centric crowd stayed seated most of the time, and were quite respectful, waiting for songs to end before showering the band with applause, even on the comparatively unenergetic "I Can't Tell You Why" that gave Timothy B. Schmit the vocal spotlight.

Schmit's bass guitar and vocal harmonies were a valuable ingredient; also integral was Deacon Frey convincingly conjuring the vocal stylings of his father, the late Glenn Frey, on a handful of hits, like "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and the beloved "Take It Easy" just two songs into the two-hour set.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder and strumming, Vince Gill, Schmit, Frey, Henley, Walsh and co-lead guitarist Steuart Smith had launched with the traditional "Seven Bridges Road" hallmarked by a lovely seven-part harmony counting tour band members Will Hollis and Michael Thompson. Country star Gill, now in his sixth year with The Eagles, injected tasty, twangy steel guitar into the mix.

On "Take It Easy," Gill took the first guitar solo, and gave it a California canyon feel, with Walsh handling the second solo that straight-up rocked hard.

Doing yeoman's work as the opening act, too, Gill's voice brought a softer, but highly listenable quality to lead vocals on "Lyin' Eyes," and "Tequila Sunrise" originally sung by Glenn Frey, and the beautifully harmonized "Take It to The Limit" originally sung by the late Randy Meisner. Henley dedicated that latter song to Meisner, and at one point a video screen did a long, lingering shot of Glenn Frey as tribute.

The solos were cool, but the Eagles' collective efforts remain the strong point, as with full eight-man vocal harmonies, complete with tour band member, Scott Crago, lighting up "New Kid in Town," and the foursome of acoustic guitars powering "Best of My Love."

Henley gave a quick it's-good-to-be-back-in-Pittsburgh address, and welcomed those who sneaked "across the border" from Ohio, West Virginia or Maryland. That drew a playful round of boos, until Frey reminded the crowd this wasn't a sporting event.

"Unlike our government, we can all be unified," he said, sparking cheers, and adding that the band's mission was to entertainingly whisk everyone away for a few hours from all the world's bad news that'll still be there in the morning.

It was easy to stay immersed in the music as Walsh did his classic rock staple "Life's Been Good," updating the line to "they write me emails, tell me I'm great."

The hits roared on with "Already Gone" featuring Deacon on lead vocals, Walsh's James Gang rave-up "Funk #49" with Walsh and Gill sharing blistering guitar licks.

Henley didn't sing the "are you with me so far?" line in "Life in The Fast Lane," though it would have been a too-obvious question, anyway. The crowd was still with them, doing the requisite hand claps for "Heartache Tonight" and standing for an encore of Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way," "Desperado" and the epic "Hotel California" with Smith on double-neck guitar.

The nothing-but-hits performance reminded how the Eagles have one of American music's greatest songbooks, still very much in demand for concertgoers after a half-century.

Who could go the distance? We found out, in the long run.

Though there didn't feel like a finality Sunday to this "The Long Goodbye" tour.

Who knows, right?

When announcing the Pittsburgh date last June, the band's statement said "the difficulties of booking venues for multiple nights may require us to return to certain cities, depending on demand." Maybe the Eagles will pull an Elton John and bring this Long Goodbye back to Pittsburgh once more.

There's demand enough for it, especially if there's a popular opening act.

While the Eagles have done "An Evening With" solo tours, there was extra buzz locally when first announced Steely Dan would be the tour's opening act. Health issues for the recently hospitalized Donald Fagen, frontman for Steely Dan, prompted a pivot, and the substitution in Pittsburgh of Gill's band as the warmup act.

"If you don't like country music, this might be the longest hour of your life," Gill said early in his set that found considerable favor with most of the crowd.

Reminiscing about his first Pittsburgh appearance in 1977 with a bluegrass band playing a pizza joint, Gill and his tight band delivered a solid set with highlights including 1994 hit "Whenever You Come Around" written for his wife, singer Amy Grant, and a timely new tune, "The Whole World" calling for kindness and an end to crippling divisiveness.

Gill gave his fabulous backup singer Wendy Moten the spotlight to sing "Ode to Billie Joe." While the audience balked at the chance to sing along with the familiar chorus, spectators cheered loudly at its ending.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: The Eagles soar as Long Goodbye Tour entertains Pittsburgh area fans