Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
There is no shame in taking it to the limit, for by admitting your love for the song, the moment in which art fuels one’s very being, it becomes the beauty in the obsession; and even if you only see that fascination come out the shadows on the very odd occasion, the only decent response is to play for all your money is worth, to take that limit and see it go beyond the stars.
The Eagles will always be considered a seminal band, arguably one of the all-time greats, not just in their homeland but across the world, a group that came to play and perform, a group that stayed even when their version of Hell rescinded into the background and the pleasure of company became their own beautiful fixation. To capture that, to feel the essence of musical joy, is to know that the songs will always live on; a truth you could feel pulsing and driving the night on the Empire Theatre stage as the loyal refrain, intricately played and sensual homage to the music of the Eagles was performed by the fantastic The Illegal Eagles.
No strangers to Liverpool, the band always make a direct line for the city and the ones who share their passion, who found themselves deeply moved, arguably mourning, when the great Glenn Frey passed away without warning, and who were still sitting on cloud nine at the thought of the great sound having reverberated around the Echo Arena in what seemed like only yesterday. In the Illegal Eagles there is always homage, a sincerity of feeling but as the six musicians came to the front of the stage; the strains of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy serenading the peace, the chills and the craft of the evening onwards.
To capture the music laid down by Glen Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, the effervescent Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon across time takes patience, like any band that can be grouped, perhaps unfairly, into the realm of a covers act, or tribute, you have to know that the audience will dig you, not just for the tunes you are playing, but for the memories they hold arguably so very dear.
It is a testament to The Illegal Eagles that they hold on to this thought where ever they go, and in songs such as New York Minute, Life in the Fast Lane, the beautiful Peaceful Easy Feeling, Take It Easy, Tequila Sunrise and the astounding instrumental of I Dreamed There Was No War, the band of players gave the Liverpool crowd the words they needed, the soul they remembered and as the pleasure kept coming, the knowledge that the music of the adored, will always keep going.
A wonderful evening of memory, captured by one of the greats themselves, in The Illegal Eagles, sincerity of performance is all.
Ian D. Hall