Concert Review—

Musical Love Affair Rekindled Between Henley And Nicks

By John Voket

There were more magic moments than clunkers Monday evening as Eagles co-founder Don Henley and Fleetwood Mac alumnus Stevie Nicks teamed up for a three-hour-plus extravaganza of (mostly) hits at Mohegan Sun Arena. But there was a particular moment that brought tears to my eyes.

Tears of laughter, that is.

I guess Stevie has some kind of magic disappearing ego potion that she slipped to her touring partner at some point during the planning for this nine city outing, because I always got the impression someone with the resume (and rumored vanity) of Don Henley wouldn’t be caught dead as an opening act. But I digress.

During Henley’s opening set he was joined onstage by Nicks for a few numbers including the haunting “New York Minute” from his sophomore solo effort, Building the Perfect Beast.

As the video camera cut back and forth beaming out 20-foot-high close-ups, you first saw Don, eyes screwed shut with a disapproving scowl etched on his face. Switch to Stevie, crooning, hand balled up into a shaking fist, fixing the crowd with a stern, almost angry expression.

And I found myself wondering what it might be like to live next door to these two. From the looks of them in that moment, I imagined they would probably be the quintessential angry neighbors.

“Hey, kid…GET OFF MY LAWN!”

The thought was fleeting, but it helped keep me in good spirits revisiting it throughout the remainder of the performance whenever one or the other would get all puffed up and so serious…

Aside from the self-imposed comic relief, however, I’m sure I shared the opinion of many fans who showed up to witness either or both of these ‘70s Southern California session vets: This show pretty much rocked!

Henley’s opener “The Genie” from Inside Job, preceded a mixed bag of material including a generous smattering of Eagles super hits like “Witchy Woman,” a perfectly executed “Hotel California,” with Nicks joining in on vocals, a blistering version of “Life in the Fast Lane,” and the pre-encore crowd pleaser, “Desperado.”

The two numbers from Hotel California in particular showcased a pair of backing guitarists obviously influenced, or at least impressed by, Joe Walsh. Their virtual note-for-note reproductions of Walsh’s signature licks and solos helped bring me back to the Eagles’ historical appearance at the Yale Bowl which I witnessed nearly 26 years ago to the day.

Shame on you, Don, for not taking a few precious moments to introduce them, or any of the rest of your band for that matter. But I guess you needed time to sandwich in most of the rest of your big solo hits.

Material from Henley’s four-album, two-decade-spanning solo career rounded out most of the rest of the set. Selections alternated from ballads to rockers with “Last Worthless Evening” (also with Nicks backing), “Heart of the Matter,” and Bruce Hornsby’s “End of the Innocence,” juxtaposed against the searing “Dirty Laundry,” “Boys of Summer” and  “All She Wants to do Is Dance.”

Among the solo hits, Hornsby’s “…Innocence,” was the only selection that deviated from the original album formula. The arrangement received a quieter and gentler treatment with 12-string guitar and mandolin backing almost imperceptible drum and bass lines – very tasty!

The aforementioned klunkers included throwaway covers of “I Put A Spell On You” (perhaps a tongue-in-cheek nod to his touring partner), the show-ending “Rock and Roll Star,” and the obscure solo number “I Will Not Go Quietly.” Any other Eagles tune or one of Henley’s deeper solo cuts like “Sunset Grill,” “Building the Perfect Beast,” or the sorrowful “A Month of Sundays,” would have served the fans better in my humble opinion.

After a fairly quick set change the lights went down again and the Stevie-sampled “Bootylicious,” from Destiny’s Child, pumped through the speakers. A few moments later the whimsical SoCal diva took the stage again, leading her band and the appreciative crowd through a too-brief retrospective of her hits.

Backed by equally stellar musical talent that included guitarists Waddy Wachtel and Carlos Rios, Nicks weaved solo material seamlessly with Fleetwood Mac staples, “Dreams,” an extended, jamming “Rhiannon,” and the smoky “Gold Dust Woman,” with Henley adding vocals.

She opened with “Outside the Rain,” from her 1981 album Bella Donna, and proceeded to deliver solo offerings including “Enchanted,” “Edge of 17,” and an incendiary take on “Stand Back” that had the entire crowd on its feet screaming for more.

Nicks’ set was also complimented by two exceptional ballads, Bonnie Raitt’s “Circle Dance,” which could easily be the next great Henley-Nicks duet, and the beautiful “Beast,” playing out against the backdrop of classic footage from the original Beauty and the Beast silent film.

Of course, you don’t put two talents like Henley and Nicks together on the same stage without expecting their classic duet, “Leather and Lace.” That encore performance was certainly among the evening’s high points, overshadowing the duo’s earlier interplay on another big Nicks collaboration, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” originally featuring Tom Petty on vocals.

Although this “super-tour” packed a lot of material into a little over three hours, I must admit the show still left me wanting. Having seen each performer headlining their own solo shows over the years, I may have been among a minority who felt a little cheated by the overabundance of multi-platinum hits presented at the expense of so many other great but lesser-known songs populating their respective catalogs.

But the chance to see these two 57-year-old former lovers make music together again with an obvious level of mutual comfort replacing distracted nervous energy I saw during a early ‘80s co-headlining benefit the pair played in Los Angeles was a rare gift few fans receive once, never mind twice.

Once this brief tour wraps next week, Henley is off to the ongoing Eagles Farewell Tour which could roll on for years to come, as long as those dump trucks full of cash keep coming. Nicks plans to keep her white-laced magic rolling on through the rest of the summer as well, with the closest stop being in Atlantic City on June 30 and July 1.