The Eagles Close Out Austin City Limits

Posted on Oct 11th 2010 11:45AM by Mike Ayers
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Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images

After canceling three dates due to an ailment suffered by Don Henley, the Eagles returned to the stage Sunday night as the official headliners for the three-day Austin City Limits festival. If any sickness still lingered with Henley, no one would've known, as the classic rock group fit perfectly into this slot.

"Who likes country rock in Austin, Texas?" Henley asked during the slow part of 'Peaceful Easy Feeling.' A whole bunch of people, it turns out. The crowd was a mix of old country and western types, new parents, young college-age kids. Virtually anyone living in the '80s relished in the double-guitar solos during 'Hotel California' and the easy, breezy, laidback sounds of 'Lyin' Eyes.'

You can blame the film 'The Big Lebowski' for bringing a collective groan from some of the younger festival-goers when the Eagles were announced as headliners, but there really isn't much about them that's offensive. There's also a reason why 'Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975' is tied with 'Thriller' as the highest selling album in US history. They play their hits right off the bat, they take time to do sweet guitar solos, as Joe Walsh did during 'In the City,' and they'll crack a few jokes around one of their most popular tunes 'Witchy Woman,' making sure to point out that it starts with "a 'w.' So they're not comedians, but they're a rock band who knows what the crowd wants. They deliver hits like 'Take It to the Limit' and Henley's 'Boys of Summer' one right after the other without messing with the arrangements.

The set wasn't flawless by any means, though. Weird, scattered vocals plagued Walsh's rocking 'Walk Away' and 'Life's Been Good,' but this was the end of three days of nonstop music, so no one seemed to care. The Eagles provided an easy way to slide back into the reality of a working week. It drips in FM nostalgia, indicative of a time when bands made it on the airwaves and you could learn all the words to a pop song at an early age.

The Eagles' tour continues throughout the rest of October through the Midwest, with their recently canceled Lubbock, Texas show rescheduled to close out the tour on Oct. 29.

Watch the Eagles Perform 'Hotel Califoria' at ACL