At Atlanta show, the Eagles embrace their primary superpower: predictability

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

This was an excuse for Boomers and their kids to joyfully sing along to songs deeply embedded in their psyches from radio stations overplaying “Desperado” and “Hotel California” over the decades.

Deacon Frey, the late Glenn Frey’s son, nailed “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Already Gone” with a genuine sense of humility.

Country star Vince Gill, who also joined the Eagles after Frey’s death in 2017, provided admirable renditions of well-tread tunes like “New Kid in Town,” “Take It to the Limit” and “Lyin’ Eyes.”

And nobody will accuse the video team of going off script. Behind the band during “Tequila Sunrise?” A vivid sunrise. How about “In the City?” Images of buildings. And “Life in the Fast Lane?” Take a guess. You won’t be wrong.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

If you thirst for charged between-song patter, go see Springsteen. Drummer and vocalist Don Henley gave a single speech after four songs, thanking fans for their support over 54 years.

He then threw in a requisite self-deprecating joke: “I’m delighted to be here at Truist Park, home of the almighty Atlanta Braves sitting atop the National League East. Seven and three in their last 10 outings. About the same as our stats!”

Walsh ― now 78 years old along with Henley and bassist Timothy B. Schmit ― on stage joked about the grinding passage of time: “I preferred being in my 20s in the ‘70s than being in my 70s in the ‘20s!”

Fortunately, his guitar work remained impeccable and his facial expressions dynamic amid the wrinkles.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

And while Eagles fans have long complained about chronically high ticket prices, nobody can accuse the group of being lazy. The band has toured consistently for the past 32 years, including 23 trips to Atlanta.

They are also shrewd businessmen. In 2024, they decided to have fans come to them in Las Vegas, holding 58 shows at the Sphere, generating upward of $5.3 million per show. The Truist show is only the band’s second outside of Vegas since June 2024.

And Truist is an efficient way to generate income: it’s double the size of the Eagles’ past go-to spot State Farm Arena, with some face-value tickets under $100.

This translated into a tradeoff for the relatively frugal. The cheapest tickets meant sitting significantly further away from the stage than even the nosebleed seats at State Farm.

Given the age of the three elder statesmen, it’s easy to think the band’s touring days are nearing an end. At the same time, it’s hard to say if they were being earnest or tongue-in-cheek with the current tour name “The Long Goodbye.”

So far, it has been long. The tour officially began in September 2023 and featured two sold-out dates at State Farm that November.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

But in a recent interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Henley hinted that it may be time for the Eagles to take it easy after 2026.

“I think this will probably be it,” Henley said. “I feel like we’re getting toward the end, and that will be fine, too.”

The good news is that if this was the final time the band ever performs in Atlanta, it was a solid outing that gave fans plenty of warm fuzzies.

Sure, the night’s 20-song setlist overlapped almost entirely with the State Farm shows except for a single omitted song, “Best of My Love.” But Walsh sang it best when it came to this band’s fortunes: “Life’s been good to me so far.”