Don Henley Caps Off My Summer of Classic Rock Concerts

I was lucky enough to see a whole bunch of legendary Rockers in concert this Summer. Sure, I'm broke now, but it was worth it! I wrapped up an amazing Summer of shows with Don Henley Saturday night at Bethel Woods in New York.

I guess it was appropriate that Henley was probably the last big show I'm going to see this year. The January double-whammy deaths of David Bowie and Glenn Frey made me realize that none of my favorite bands are getting any younger, so I should see them while they're still with us and touring.

With that being my mission, I saw Todd Rundgren at College Street Music Hall, Tom Petty's Mudcrutch at the Capitol Theatre, Southside Johnny at the Rockland-Bergen Music Festival, Paul McCartney at Metlife Stadium, Gov't Mule in Portland Maine, Bruce Springsteen at Metlife, and Don Henley at Bethel Woods, all in the space of a couple of months.

Henley had no opening act and a 15-piece band. They opened up with an amazing version of "Seven Bridges Road," his talented singers duplicating the Eagles' harmonies with ease. From there it was right into "Dirty Laundry" and a 2 hour-plus evening that bounced back and forth between Eagles classics, Henley's solo career and new songs from his most recent album, "Cass Country."

While most of "Cass Country" is a slow album, with covers of old Country ballads and new songs that sound like they could have been old Country ballads, Henley managed to mix up the set so that things never dragged. Towards the end of the night, he pulled out a surprise (and note-for-note) cover of the Tears For Fears 80's classic "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and dedicated it to the current election season.

After the first encore set of "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Hotel California," he acknowledged that it had been a tough year, thanked everybody for supporting him, and dedicated "Desperado" to Glenn Frey.  That kind of brought everything full circle for me.

On a side note, if you've never been to Bethel Woods, it's really worth the trip. I've seen golf courses that aren't groomed as nicely as the lawns there, and the vibe of the original Woodstock concert is intact, making for a really special place to see a show. Just make sure you have some coffee or Red Bull ready to go for the long ride home.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to start saving up for next Summer's round of concerts. See you out there.