Don Henley Setlist at Caesars Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada

@info Don Henley's November 6th show at Caesars Windsor in Canada was handicapped by a late start for an average Little Feat wanna-be cover band, and a 10 p.m. start for the headliner – not a great decision for an AARP-and-above audience. Henley's set started slow and raspy with unexpected renditions of "I Put a Spell on You" and "September Song" separated only by "One of These Nights." It appeared that Don may be going the way of Rod Stewart in crooning his way through the night with an odd mixture of old standards and Henley ballads, but then he found his rock-and-roll stride as he swung into the meat of his solo career, tossing in an unexpected cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Don also tells a funny story involving his encounter at an L.A. party with Jack Nicholson and an unnamed blonde co-star from one of his movies in the 80's which led to Henley writing "Last Worthless Evening" (based on the timing, Micelle Pfeiffer, perhaps?). He introduced "Dirty Laundry" by tying the song's contemporary relevance to Nancy Grace & Jane Velez Mitchell; "Two of the biggest mouths and worst hairdos on television." After closing the set with "Life in the Fast Lane," Henley held to his Eagles roots in the first encore, offering spot-on renditions of Hotel California and Desperado. While some concert-goers may pontificate about their desire to hear meandering riffs or re-imagined arrangements of an artist's staples in their live music, I was thrilled that these two songs in particular sounded like they came right off "Hell Freezes Over." Henley's 8-piece band is talented and polished, and, judging by the audience reaction, their only indiscretions were in the set list omissions. From "Sunset Grill" and "Not Enough Love in the World" on the solo side to "Best of My Love," "Witchy Woman," and "Last Resort" from his Eagles book, Don left a lot on the table. The band came back for a second encore, but followed the monster "Hotel California" and "Desperado" combination with the relatively unfamiliar and poorly timed "I Will Not Go Quietly" which seemed to spend all the good will his first encore built with the audience. And despite having the quintessential closing song in "Taking You Home" in his crooner's holster, he stretched a bit for November 6th and used "Please Come Home for Christmas" to end the show. Strong show if you are a Henley fan, but I have to believe that critical elements like adjusting the set list and getting on stage 30-60 minutes earlier for an audience built on white hair and walkers is vital. Much like the old joke about why a dog does...what he does, and based on the pace and selections in his show, it seems that the answer to why the 62-year-old Henley makes some of the choices he does at this point in his career is simply because he can.

@info Don Henley's November 6th show at Caesars Windsor in Canada was handicapped by a late start for an average Little Feat wanna-be cover band, and a 10 p.m. start for the headliner – not a great decision for an AARP-and-above audience. Henley's set started slow and raspy with unexpected renditions of "I Put a Spell on You" and "September Song" separated only by "One of These Nights." It appeared that Don may be going the way of Rod Stewart in crooning his way through the night with an odd mixture of old standards and Henley ballads, but then he found his rock-and-roll stride as he swung into the meat of his solo career, tossing in an unexpected cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Don also tells a funny story involving his encounter at an L.A. party with Jack Nicholson and an unnamed blonde co-star from one of his movies in the 80's which led to Henley writing "Last Worthless Evening" (based on the timing, Micelle Pfeiffer, perhaps?). He introduced "Dirty Laundry" by tying the song's contemporary relevance to Nancy Grace & Jane Velez Mitchell; "Two of the biggest mouths and worst hairdos on television." After closing the set with "Life in the Fast Lane," Henley held to his Eagles roots in the first encore, offering spot-on renditions of Hotel California and Desperado. While some concert-goers may pontificate about their desire to hear meandering riffs or re-imagined arrangements of an artist's staples in their live music, I was thrilled that these two songs in particular sounded like they came right off "Hell Freezes Over." Henley's 8-piece band is talented and polished, and, judging by the audience reaction, their only indiscretions were in the set list omissions. From "Sunset Grill" and "Not Enough Love in the World" on the solo side to "Best of My Love," "Witchy Woman," and "Last Resort" from his Eagles book, Don left a lot on the table. The band came back for a second encore, but followed the monster "Hotel California" and "Desperado" combination with the relatively unfamiliar and poorly timed "I Will Not Go Quietly" which seemed to spend all the good will his first encore built with the audience. And despite having the quintessential closing song in "Taking You Home" in his crooner's holster, he stretched a bit for November 6th and used "Please Come Home for Christmas" to end the show. Strong show if you are a Henley fan, but I have to believe that critical elements like adjusting the set list and getting on stage 30-60 minutes earlier for an audience built on white hair and walkers is vital. Much like the old joke about why a dog does...what he does, and based on the pace and selections in his show, it seems that the answer to why the 62-year-old Henley makes some of the choices he does at this point in his career is simply because he can.

Just saw Henley last night in Boston (Nov 11th), and it was exactly the same show and setlist as described. A few comments to add: (1) while far from a sellout, the Boston crowd was wildly enthusiastic. (2) no intro for his band members? I think they should be pissed (3) the background singers lacked enthusiasm and energy..no comparison to say Jackson Browne's backup singers on his latest tour. But overall, and entertaining and satisfying night, despite the omissions from the Eagles catalog