Then, the curtain rose to find the Eagles launching into the title track of the album that made the band’s career, the album whose anniversary all in attendance were there to celebrate, and the song that has been an inescapable Southern rock epic since 1976 — “Hotel California.”
The biggest cheers came as Walsh and Smith began dueling in the song’s bridge, with many screaming out Walsh’s name.For the album and the set’s second song, Gill approached the front of the stage for “New Kid in Town,” and while the crowd was, of course, missing Frey in the moment, they roared to hear Gill absolutely nail the song’s first notes. By the time the harmony kicked in, there was little to separate Gill from Frey.
Henley would remain front and center for his song “Wasted Time”as Walsh moved to the keyboards. Halfway through the first, a 40-piece string orchestra, the Fort Worth Festival Orchestra, appeared behind the band as the audience acted as the choir.The symphony would stay illuminated onstage as Henley took his seat back behind the drums, and a woman in black entered the stage to flip the vinyl for the instrumental, “Waste of Time” .
With “Pretty Maids All in a Row," Walsh would have his first moment center stage, and everyone in the audience familiar with the album knew it and was cheering before the song even really started.Despite Schmit being called in to take over for Meisner on songs like “Love and Try Again” in 1977, it was Gill who sang the song this night as Henley once again took to the stage with a guitar. Gill handled his role perfectly, and the audience cheered at his accomplishment.