By Larry Nager
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When you pay $153 to see a band, you expect to hear everything you ever wanted to hear by that group. Monday at U.S. Bank Arena, the Eagles put on a show worth their high ticket price, fielding a 29-song, three-hour-plus marathon.

PHOTO GALLERY

The Eagles at U.S. Bank Arena

They fittingly opened with "The Long Run" and quickly settled in the near-capacity crowd of almost 13,000 for the night with three more Eagles classics -- "New Kid in Town," the post-reunion "Wasted Time" and one of the band's first hits, 1972's "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

"Welcome to 'Farewell 1'," singer/guitarist/keyboardist Glenn Frey greeted the cheering audience. "We figure that's the only way we could set up 'Farewell 5'''

Like the band, the crowd was predominantly middle-aged (who else could afford that ticket price?), but many had brought their kids, who seemed to know the words just as well as their parents. With 28 million copies of Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975 in circulation (it remains the best-selling album of all time), they'd all had years of practice.

Frey looked suave in his pink sportcoat and singer/bassist Timothy B. Schmit looked exactly as his did 25 years ago, but singer/drummer Don Henley has developed a middle-age spread and singer/guitarist Joe Walsh has a full-fledged paunch. Even carrying a few extra pounds, however, this was no tired reunion band.

SET LIST

Set 1 "The Long Run" "New Kid in Town" "Wasted Time" "Peaceful Easy Feeling" "Hole in the World" "Love Will Keep Us Alive" "Boys of Summer" "Take It to the Limit" "Already Gone""In the City" "One of These Nights" Intermission Set 2 "James Dean" "Lyin' Eyes" "I Can't Tell You Why" "Walk Away" "Tequila Sunrise""Sunset Grill" "Turn to Stone" "You Belong to the City" "Life's Been Good" "Dirty Laundry""Funk #49" "Heartache Tonight""Life in the Fast Lane" Encore "Hotel California" Second Encore "Rocky Mountain Way" "All She Wants to Do is Dance" Third Encore "Take It Easy" "Desperado"

Augmented by a four-man horn section, a percussionist, two keyboardists, and Nashville guitar ace Steuart Smith, the four core Eagles paced themselves well, keeping the first set fairly mellow. But those patented Eagles vocal harmonies shone, saving even the dull new song, "Hole in the World." Put those voices behind a classic like "Already Gone" or "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and it's easy to see how the Eagles dominated the massive country-rock movement of the '70s.

The four Eagles rotated lead vocal duties, their distinctly different styles keeping the lengthy show from bogging down even slightly. Schmit shone on his vocal showcase, "I Can't Tell You Why," while Frey the country soulman did a fine "Take It to the Limit." Henley was perfect on his best solo song, the taut, edgy "The Boys of Summer."

But when it came time to really rock, the band called on the class clown, Walsh. The rubber-faced guitarist, who came to fame in Akron/Cleveland's James Gang, effortlessly stole the show. He had five solo spots and never failed to bring the entire crowd to its feet, whether it was rocking out on "Funk #49," using his vocalized guitar effect on "Rocky Mountain Way" or cracking up the audience with his "Life's Been Good."

Walsh's blazing guitar even brought a spark to Frey's limp, dated "You Belong to the City," from his Miami Vice days, the show's weakest spot. The guitar lover's highpoint, of course, was the great guitar duel on "Hotel California," as Walsh faced off with Smith, who replaced original member Don Felder.

For much of the crowd, the night was clearly about nostalgia; remembering when those songs were new and both they and the band had a lot more hair and a lot fewer birthdays.

But the musical qualities that first made the Eagles stars more than 30 years ago are still very much there - great songwriting, shimmering vocal harmonies, strong lead singers with distinctive voices, stellar musicianship. Those qualities have, if anything, gotten a lot more rare in pop and rock.

After a show like Monday night's, Frey's comment about "Farewell 5" seems less a joke and more like a good reason to apply for that second mortgage.