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The Eagles had to perform at the Sphere on January 24th without Joe Walsh after the guitarist came down with the flu. It was the first concert without him since he joined the band in 1975. “We had a choice,” Don Henley told the audience. “We could either cancel the whole thing or we could buckle down and play the show. So we came here this afternoon and did an emergency two-hour rehearsal. And luckily we have a deep bench of substitutes in this band.”
Walsh’s parts were largely taken over by Deacon Frey and Vince Gill. Frey, who became a member of the Eagles in 2017 after the death of his father Glenn Frey, played the iconic guitar solo from “Hotel California” right at the beginning of the evening with new guitarist Chris Holt.
Gill took lead vocals on “In The City”, “Life’s Been Good” and “Rocky Mountain Way”.
Substitutes and changes in the setlist
The only song left off the setlist was the James Gang classic “Funk #49,” which would have been difficult to pull off without Walsh. Instead, the Eagles played “Best Of My Love.”
The evening before, Walsh was able to complete most of the concert, but “Rocky Mountain Way” was canceled and he left the stage for a few songs and the final applause. “He was sick last night,” Henley said. “But he fought heroically through most of the show…Joe will be okay. He just needs some time. Give him some love.”
Review of the residency and words to the audience
The concert marked the Eagles’ 46th appearance at the Sphere since they began their residency in September 2024. The setlist is largely fixed because of the elaborate song-related visuals, but tracks like “The End of the Innocence,” “Those Shoes” and “Please Come Home for Christmas” aren’t played every night.
“It’s good to be in the same room with you guys tonight,” Henley said. “We can all be on the same wavelength today because music is a universal language and music is medicine. After the week we’ve had, we can all use some medicine. I’m not going to talk much. I’m not going to jump around a lot. And I’m not going to do squats. I’m just going to play damn good guitar. I’ve been playing these songs for you for 53 years now. It’s been a privilege and an honor.”
More news about the Eagles
Aside from the concerts, there’s more news from the Eagles camp: their first greatest hits collection is the first album ever to be certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, meaning it has sold more than 40 million copies. “I’m not sure we got paid for it,” Henley joked in the Sphere. “It’s all Spotify.”
The Eagles continue their residency at the Sphere on January 30, which should give Walsh plenty of time to recover. If he isn’t back in action by then, they’ve proven that the show works without him – even if it’s a bit surreal to see Vince Gill singing his songs.
