Eagles final tour opening concert at NYC’s Madison Square Garden, September 7, 2023
After more than 50 years of touring, and consistently selling out arenas and stadiums worldwide, Eagles announced on July 6, 2023, that their “The Long Goodbye” will be the band’s final tour. The long run began on Thursday, September 7 at New York’s Madison Square Garden with a 23-song set for the final tour opening night that weaved its way through favorites from Eagles well known catalog, as well as tracks from the Don Henley and Joe Walsh solo catalogs. The opener also included a tribute to their founding member and original bass guitarist, Randy Meisner, who died over the summer, as well as a pair of Jimmy Buffett covers to honor the singer-songwriter who passed just days before the concert. Don Henley noted it had been a “rough six weeks,” referring to Meisner, calling him “an incredible musician [with] an amazing singing voice… and we will miss him (See the complete set list below.)
During “The Long Goodbye,” the Eagles – Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and once again, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, and longtime ace guitarist Steuart Smith – will perform as many shows in each market as their audience demands. The tour, presented by Live Nation, is expected to continue into 2025. Gone for this farewell is the large orchestra that accompanied the band on their recent, extended “Hotel California” tour.
Eagles remain one of the handful of groups that try to prevent their concert audiences from using their smart phones to tape their performances and upload them to YouTube. A couple of clips were available there as of 8 a.m. ET on Sept. 9. By the time you read this, they will possibly be already gone.
Watch Deacon Frey doing his father, Glenn, proud, on “Take It Easy”
“Sing it with us,” said Henley, of “Take It To the Limit.” “You know the words.” Gill sang lead.
Several of Walsh’s solo hits are included in the band’s concert setlist. He was able to joke that when he was home with Covid, he was able to catch up on his television watching, and began singing the annoying Kars-4-Kids commercial, before launching into several favorites.
Midway through the set, it was Frey again singing lead on “Already Gone.”
“Last weekend, we lost a dear friend and the world lost a musical icon,” said Henry. “Our dear friend, Jimmy Buffett… is now sailing on the cosmic ocean… having a cheeseburger with Glenn and Randy. We always liked to say we survived the Seventies together. Jimmy was one of the hardest-working men I ever saw but he made work look like play. He brought joy to everything he did. One of his final wishes was that we keep the party going.” Eagles then performed Buffett’s “Come Monday” (with Schmit, a one-time member of the Coral Reefer Band singing lead) and “Fins” (with Walsh, always the crowd favorite, doing the honors while wearing a Parrot Head hat). “Jimmy and I got thrown out of some of the finest hotels in the world,” he joked.
Watch the evening’s final number, “Hotel California”
Tickets to Eagles’ final tour are available at Ticketmaster and here.
Eagles, Madison Square Garden, New York City, September 7, 2023 Setlist
Seven Bridges Road
Take It Easy
One of These Nights
Take It to the Limit
Best of My Love
Witchy Woman
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Tequila Sunrise
In the City
I Can’t Tell You Why
New Kid in Town
Lyin’ Eyes
Life’s Been Good
Already Gone
Come Monday
Fins
The Boys of Summer
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Encore
Rocky Mountain Way
Desperado
Hotel California
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