Fans got a first sampling of what to expect on the Eagles‘ The Long Goodbye farewell tour, which kicked off on Thursday (September 7) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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Celebrating the band’s 50-plus year career, the 23-song setlist spanned the Eagles hits, including “Witchy Woman,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Take It Easy,” and “Heartache Tonight.”
By the fourth song, the band dedicated “Take It to the Limit,” off their breakthrough 1975 album, One of These Nights, to their late bassist Randy Meisner, who died on July 26, 2023, at age 77. Written by Meisner, late guitarist Glenn Frey, who died in 2016 at the age of 67, and Don Henley, “Take It to the Limit” went to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
[RELATED: 6 Songs Randy Meisner Wrote for the Eagles]
More than halfway into their set, the band also paid tribute to late friend and collaborator Jimmy Buffett, who died on Friday (September 1) at 76. The Eagles first met Buffett in 1975 when he opened for them with his Coral Reefer Band. Buffett later joined them on their Hotel California Tour in 1977 and sang backing vocals on “The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks,” off the Eagles’ 1979 album The Long Run. In 1998, Buffett also inducted the Eagles into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Jimmy Buffett is now sailing on that cosmic ocean, having that cheeseburger with Glenn [Frey] and Randy [Meisner],” said Henley in reference to Buffett’s 1978 hit “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and his late Eagles bandmates Frey and Meisner.
“We always liked to laugh and say we survived the ’70s together,” added Henley. “Jimmy was one of the hardest working men I ever saw, but he made work look like play. He brought joy to everything he did, including the work. And one of his final wishes was that we keep the party going.”
The band, now consisting of Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh, along with Vince Gill and Glenn’s son Deacon Frey, played Buffett’s 1974 song “Come Monday” and a cover of his 1979 Volcano track “Fins.”
Squeezing in some solo cuts, Walsh added in his “In The City” and “Life’s Been Good,” both later released on Eagles albums, while Henley took a few minutes to plug in his 1984 hit “Boys of Summer.”
[RELATED: Eagles Cover Two Jimmy Buffett Songs During Opening Farewell Concert]
Closing on another Hotel California hit, “Life in the Fast Lane,” the Eagles returned for a three-song encore opening on “Rocky Mountain Way,” a song Joe Walsh first recorded with his band Barnstorm in 1973 and later introduced into Eagles sets. Remaining in ’73, the band added the title track of their second album, Desperado, before closing the night on their classic “Hotel California.”
Though the Eagles’ setlist is expected to shift as the band continues on their farewell run, which runs through November 18—with more dates expected to be added through 2024 and 2025—here’s a sampling of what to expect at one of their final shows.
Eagles Setlist: September 7, 2023, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
- “Seven Bridges Road”
- “Take It Easy”
- “One of These Nights”
- “Take It to the Limit”
- “Best of My Love”
- “Witchy Woman”
- “Peaceful Easy Feeling”
- “Tequila Sunrise”
- “In the City”
- “I Can’t Tell You Why”
- “New Kid in Town”
- “Lyin’ Eyes”
- “Life’s Been Good”
- “Already Gone”
- “Come Monday”
- “Fins”
- “The Boys of Summer”
- “Funk #49”
- “Heartache Tonight”
- “Life in the Fast Lane”
Encore
- “Rocky Mountain Way”
- “Desperado”
- “Hotel California”
(Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
