From The Eagles to Kanye West...and back again.

Kanye West once said

"Man, I'm the No. 1 living and breathing rock star. I am Axl Rose; I am Jim Morrison: I am Jimi Hendrix."

Really?

See, I always thought the guy was a tool, but this quote really seals the deal.

Take a seat Kanye, you’re about to get schooled....

So last night I witnessed perfection. It came in the form of an Eagles concert; otherwise known as the timeless brilliance of seasoned artists singing and playing instruments in an entertaining fashion.

You know, what they used to do in the olden days.

There was no synchronized dancing, no rapping, no bling, no fireworks, no loop tracks and sure as hell no lip syncing.

There was simply music

And damn good music at that.

From the first strains of “Whatever happened to Saturday night” through to the iconic guitar riffs of “Hotel California”, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Bernie Leadon, and a slew of supporting musicians caressed the ears of the loyal with a trip down memory lane that was mesmerizing in a way only true artistry can be. With all members of the band able to sing and play multiple instruments, there was no denying the level of talent on the Perth Arena stage this night.

But a phenomenon such as ‘The History of The Eagles’ tour doesn't come easy, and as the diehards crooning along to hit after hit knew, this concert was 44 years in the making.

It was in the depths of 1971 that The Eagles formed, a band that would change the course of rock history, and if you’re thinking that’s a little over exuberant, here’s what our buds at Wikipedia have to say about the matter:

“The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 150 million records^[3]—100 million in the U.S. alone—including 42 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and 32 million copies of Hotel California. "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)" became the best selling album of the 20th century after it surpassed Michael Jackson's "Thriller".^[4] They are the fifth-highest-selling music act and highest-selling American band in U.S. history. No American band sold more records than the Eagles during the 1970s.”

Yes you read that correctly, they had the best selling album of the ENTIRE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Your argument is invalid.

Add to that their six Grammys, five American Music Awards, inductions into both the Vocal Group and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame and a rank of 37^th on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest albums of all time (for Hotel California) and you know you’re dealing with no riff raff here.

It naturally translates then, that witnessing this group performing is something akin to a religious experience for the devout. And last night’s show what no exception. While it cheered my soul to see a decent smattering of youthful faces in the audience, it was the oldies who had come out of the woodwork that truly made me smile. The packed Arena was filled for a second night running with men and women from all walks of life, but those with more wrinkles had the most wistful looks about them. Those who were similar in age to the men on stage; those who had cruised with the top down in their youth 'taking it easy'; those who had watched their kids cut their teeth to the wail of a Walsh Stratocaster; those who had seen musicians come and go but the Eagles rocking on.

At no point in history have these guys ever been a ‘boy band’. What started in the recesses of a Linda Ronstadt tour went on to become a singer/songwriter combination that easily sits with the best today. Though their career includes a fourteen year hiatus (1980 – 1994), the chemistry within the band is still obvious and last night, we, the lucky ones, got to feel it too.

Perth Arena is not small but it became the type of intimate environment that made you feel like Joe Walsh was gonna flick you a guitar pick at any moment. Even as they switched up the rocking through the night...you were always part of it, like they were truly grateful you were there, you were the reason why they do what they do.

And the music, of course, was exquisite; cruisy, but brilliant, renditions of “I Can’t Tell You Why”, “Witchy Woman”, “New Kid In Town” “ Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It To The Limit” seamlessly gave way to the amped up vibe of “One of These Nights” “Heartache Tonight” and the quintessential Eagles track, "Hotel California". Fans sang, swayed, clapped, cheered, whistled and fist-pumped their way through a back catalogue that would make any modern artist cry. The masters of folk rock, pop rock, soft rock and classic rock had come to town...and they showed the disciples how it was done.

So was it worth $280 a ticket for 12 rows back from the stage (closer meant up to nearly $700/ticket)?

What a ridiculous question.

It would be worth sacrificing body parts....even your own if necessary.

Sell your firstborn.

Do whatever needs to be done.

Just be there.

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And yo Kanye, you might wanna take note that a bunch of guys in their sixties just pulled a much higher max ticket price than you probably ever will....and sold out to boot. And yet they are not arrogant enough to come out with anything close to the crap that you did.

I think it’s called maturity

You should try some.