Rocking to the Eagles, One More Time

The tall guy (grammy nominee and local boy makes good Paul Diethelm, google him) played a great slide guitar and riffed magically. A special permit was obtained from the county to allow five electric guitars on the same Chanhassen stage at one time, he said. Billy's white cane was not a prop.

Last night's Tribute to the Eagles combined two local bands for two hours of music everyone in the sold-out Chanhassen theatre still knew by heart. We joined a roomful of boozy boomers gathered for a retrospective of the famous band and were not disappointed. It took ten aging rockers to do it, but the "fake Eagles" delivered very faithful renditions of the familiar tunes. The intricate guitar work was spot on, the rhythms were right . . . and yes, sometimes the vocals got a bit ragged, but it was all there, everybody had fun and so did the performers, who knit together a tight show and left a tired audience, up past their bedtimes, wanting more.
The guys looked like their audience, one wore a wig, blind Billy Scherer used a cane and joked about deaf people, recent surgery necessitated a bald "stunt guitar" to aid a healing member who could sing but couldn't play yet. It was alleged that the group's "secret weapon," Rich Witteman, had voluntarily removed a testicle to help with the high notes in "I Can't Tell You Why."  Rich admitted he "wasn't using it anyway." He did have a wonderful falsetto and great rhythmic dance moves. Kathleen thought he looked like her brother-in-law, Bill Shearer. The drummer, who looked like Paul McCartney, was steady throughout.
You absolutely had to love these guys.
"Hotel California," "Desperado" and others brought everyone at the intimate Fireside Room to their feet. (The room was once the Bronco Bar, a popular venue for '70s bar bands, where Stan's brother Steve worked briefly as a bouncer.)
"Witchy Woman," "New Kid in Town," "One of These Nights," "Tequila Sunrise," we knew 'em all and helped out in the ballads where ever we could. "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Life in the Fast Lane," "Lyin' Eyes," "Love Will Keep Us Alive." Perfect. Not always pitch perfect, but perfect nonetheless, and way good enough for rock and roll.
There was plenty to see on the busy stage because the band not only enjoyed the performing, but they obviously enjoyed each other and "Takin' It to the Limit, One More Time."