have a long history with Colorado, and it’s something the legendary country-rock band talks about each time it comes to town.
About halfway through the band’s lengthy second set at the on Thursday night, bass player Timothy B. Schmit wanted to acknowledge a special someone in the audience before laying into one of Schmit’s best-known songs.
“He’s partially responsible for me being here tonight,” Schmit said. “My good friend, Richie Furay. Let’s do this one for him.”
Schmit then led the band into the soft rock jam “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” dedicating the song to the Colorado musician famous for his work in Buffalo Springfield and Poco.
The Eagles hardly lack storytelling fodder, but they made music their priority at their Pepsi Center set. The packed house was treated to a set that nearly crossed the 2 1/2-hour mark.
The band is still kind of supporting its 2007 record, “Long Road Out of Eden,” but it gave the crowd a plethora of hits that spanned its entire career, celebrating the fact that it released its first record in 1972.
Sure enough, that eponymous record was the source of the songs that sparked the loudest crowd reactions of the night: “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”
The group didn’t wait a minute to show off its still-shining vocals and ever-smooth harmonies via the haunting “Seven Bridges Road.” Looking sharp and fit, the four main members — Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit — gave faithful takes on the their catalog’s most celebrated works.
The night’s greatest moment was a six-song swing in the first set that covered “Hotel California,” “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “Lyin’ Eyes” and Henley’s solo hit “The Boys of Summer.” The band fearlessly threw down its biggest hit singles knowing it would have plenty of familiar jams to get it through the second set.
Did we need a funk-heavy take on Henley’s “Dirty Laundry”? No, but the slap-happy, tipsy crowd loved it. And given that a few songs later the band was playing “Heartache Tonight,” a country-swing song that has aged handsomely, everybody left happy.
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Ricardo Baca is the founder and co-editor of and an award-winning critic and journalist at The Denver Post. He is also the executive director of the , Colorado’s premier indie music festival. Follow his whimsies at , his live music habit at and his iTunes addictions at .
