Joe Walsh’s recent stop at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Detroit, MI proved to be one hell of a night for fans in attendance. The classic rock legend brought the house down when he dedicated his performance to his late Eagles band mate, Glenn Frey.
The concert was part of the current co-headlining One Hell of a Night tour featuring Walsh and Bad Company, which has had a great reception since it kicked off in early May. It wraps up on July 3 at the Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheatre in Nashville, TN.
As he has every night on the tour, Walsh played the Eagles’ “Take It To The Limit,” but instead of just dedicating the song to Frey, Walsh announced he was “dedicating the entire show…to my brother and my fellow band mate, Glenn Frey.” During the performance, a video screen played footage of an eagle soaring and then finished with a group photo of the Eagles.
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Walsh also added a portion of the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight,” something he had not done at other shows, for the encore. At the end of the song, he declared, “That’s for you, Glenn.”
Songs on the 12-song setlist also featured the Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane” and three James Gang songs including “Funk #49.”
For his encore, Walsh raised the stakes, surprising the crowd by bringing out Keith Urban and The Voice finalist Laith Al-Saddi to help him perform “Rocky Mountain Way.” (Walsh had performed the song with Al-Saadi on an episode of The Voice and Urban just happened to be in town to play the same the following night.
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Walsh’s show was the first appearance by any member of the Eagles in Frey’s hometown of Detroit since his death on January 18. Walsh and Frey had previously played this amphitheatre together in 1993 as part of their Party Of Two Tour, just shortly before the Eagles reunited.
Frey grew up in Royal Oak, which is a suburb of Detroit. It was there where he got his start in music and developed his talents by playing in bands such as The Four of US, the Subterraneans and the Mushrooms. He even sang backup on another Michigan artist’s song, a young Bob Seger with his debut “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” released in 1969.
Though the One Hell of a Night tour is wrapping very soon, you still have the chance to catch Walsh as he embarks on his upcoming solo tour. The veteran rocker will kick off the tour July 16 in Cincinnati, OH. Tickets are available here.
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