Eagles hit stage for first night at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre: Local news for Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Johns Creek, Forsyth

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Mon, Sep 08, 2008 05:08 AM

2008-05-01 ALPHARETTA AND ROSWELL REVUE & NEWS

Eagles hit stage for first night at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

by Jason Wright

write the author

May 15, 2008
ALPHARETTA -- Anxious crowds from across the southeast packed the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore park to see the venue's first rock concert featuring one of the biggest selling acts of all time, The Eagles.

The Eagles kicked off their first of a sold-out, four show stand in Alpharetta in low-key fashion, taking the venue's huge stage in matching suits. There was no opening band, no hype -- Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy Schmit and Joe Walsh just took the stage and launched into a mix of hits from their 2007 record "Long Road Out of Eden" and their previous classic albums.

Though it was only the venue's first rock show, it was pulled off without a hitch, with friendly staff directing newcomers through the amphitheatre. Add ample parking, quick shuttle service, good food and more than adequate traffic direction and emergency services by the Alpharetta Public Safety Department, and its easy to see why so many people had smiles on their faces the whole night.

The sound and atmosphere of the venue was simply incredible, and everyone in attendance grooved through the night in the cool May breeze.

Eagles fans speak out





	(click for larger version)

Paula Frasier and Jo Weldon show off the many Eagles tickets they purchased for Tuesday's and Saturday's shows.
So where did you two come from today?
We're from Valley, Ala.
Do you usually go a long ways to see the Eagles?
Oh yeah, we've been to Biloxi, Miss., to see them. This is our second concert seeing the Eagles, and we're coming back Saturday.
Are the Eagles you favorite band?
Oh yeah, I think so. It's just good old folks music, you know?





(click for larger version)

Husband and Wife Lou and Lee Grande show their Eagles pride with T-shirts.
So where did you come from today?
We came from Roswell.
What do you think about having such a big venue so close to home?
Lou: It was a big surprise. And it was serendipity that the Eagles are here.
Lee: And you know what I love? It's got green parking. They didn't have to cut down trees to make the parking lots. That's great.
How many times have you seen the Eagles?
Lou: For me its been four, this is my fifth. For her [Lee], its five. She's also seen Don Henley five times herself. That makes 10 times seeing Don Henley, so she's very happy.

Set list provided by Eagles fan and former Alpharetta City Councilman Jonathan Beacher
1. How Long
2. Too Busy Being Fabulous
3. I Don't Want To Hear Anymore
4. Guilty Of The Crime
5. Hotel California
6. Peaceful Easy Feeling
7. I Can't Tell You Why
8. Witchy Woman
9. Lyin' Eyes
10. Boys of Summer
11. In the City
12. Long Run
Intermission
(acoustic guitar setting)
13. No More Walks In The Woods
14. Waiting in the Weeds
15. No More Cloudy Days
16. Love Will Keep Us Alive
17. Take It To The Limit
18. Long Road Out of Eden
(coats removed, ready to rock now)
19. Somebody
20. Walk Away
21. One Of These Nights
22. Life's Been Good
23. Dirty Laundry
24. Funk 49
25. Heartache Tonight
26. Life in the Fast Lane
(encore 1)
27. Rocky Mountain Way
28. All She Wants To Do Is Dance
(encore 2)
29. Take It Easy
30. Desperado

On stage when Glenn announced the band: Steuart Smith (guitars, mandolin, keyboards, backing vocals), Michael Thompson (keyboards, trombone), Will Hollis (keyboards, backing vocals), Richard Davy (keyboards), Scott Crago (drums, percussion), Al Garth (sax, violin) who "just returned from the hospital," Bill Armstrong (horns), Christian Mostert (sax), Greg Smith (sax, percussion).

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
These are our reader's opinions and thoughts. The opinions on this site are posted by our readers, and are not edited by Appen Newspapers, Inc. PERSONAL ATTACKS BY ANONYMOUS POSTERS WILL BE DELETED.

Eagles concert reporting?
May 26, 2008 | 01:40 PM

I believe Ima was probably referring to the 4 pages of news(page 1), info(pages 2,3) and advertising(page 4) in the May 1 issue of the Revue. So in a round about way the ASO is paying you/Appen Newspaper as an advertiser. Ima is just trying to get under your skin, and doing a good job. Yeah, some people would complain about anything even if there was nothing to complain about. I commend you for reporting your experience and glad to see you had a great time. For the most part I think eveyone had a great time and its nice to hear that the ASO/Encore park bent over backwords to try and accomadate eveyone, especially on the FIRST big night.

Yes for the most part it was a great concert tarnished by some first night parking problems for some people, myself included. But I still managed to have a good time. The venue is fantastic. The big screens on each side of the stage are awesome and gave everyone great closeups of the performers...... Glen Fry belting out the tunes and Joe Walsh really into his guitar. The sound was even better, clear and loud. Yeah, I had a great time and glad you did to.

Hm, sounds like you were in LOT A, but 1 hour to go 2 blocks into a parking lot is just BAD and was unnecessary. What happened was they have MULTIPLE office lots available for LOT N parking, but chose to fill each lot 1 at a time instead of dispersing the traffic among all the lots at the same time. Just a bad plan. For the first big night I guess you live and learn. Since parking didn't seem to be as much of an issue in the following nights it would appear they learned from the first night and hopefully made some changes for the better........

.

John

We'll happily be back!
May 22, 2008 | 03:53 PM

Absolutely great venue! Because our hotel (Go, Wingate, and Poe, you rock!) set us up with cabs, traffic no problem. The storm made the whole thing even more of an adventure. And for the 2nd half, we "stole" the rented chairs and sat it out way back and just rode the groove.

The Eagles were fantastic and the audience, although a little too drunk for our taste (hey, we're old now, right?) was polite and wonderful.

We loved it and can't wait for the next opportunity to travel from our Tallahassee to your great theater in the woods.

Ruben and Margaret

Eagles concert Tuesday May 20th
May 22, 2008 | 02:12 PM

Despite the storm that went through at 6:45 and delayed the concert by about 25 minutes it was a great evening. The Eagles were awesome as usual. They can still out perform any act out there today. Venue was very nice. Prices for food and drinks too high. Luckily we were allowed to bring in a bottle of water. $10.00 a bit much for the plastic dollar store ponchos too. But other then that we enjoyed everything. Did get a little claustrophobic when being herded to the shuttle pick up area, but it did move pretty fast. I will definitely go back.

S. Ward

???
May 21, 2008 | 07:49 AM

May 16: N parking was GREAT! Shuttle service, both to and from, was GREAT! Attendants were GREAT! Eagles, ahh, the Eagles.........life transforming! and GREAT! Vending prices..ok, not so great. But who cares? It was THE EAGLES! All I pray is that they come back to GA one day.

CG

No one has said anything about the horrible views!
May 20, 2008 | 01:54 PM

Eagles...great! Parking....not so great, but we can cope. What amazed me about this brand NEW venue is that the view from the seats was horrible. We were in section 105, row N. There is so little slope between rows A and N that when the section filled up, we could not see the stage. Friends of mine in section 104 had the same problem. If I were to go to this place again, I'd definitely buy lawn seats and not bother with covered seating just to not be able to see the band. Didn't look any better on the 'floor' either...but that's what you'd expect in floor seating.

Cindy

The parking situation
May 19, 2008 | 10:02 AM

First off, getting paid by the ASO for good coverage is just ridiculous. Let me tell you, if I got paid even a fraction of what I was accused of getting paid for event X or that candidate Y, I wouldn't be bringing my lunch most days.

Onto the other issues -- I wasn't allowed to park in the media parking I should have, so I had to circle around a lot, too. But yes, by 7 p.m. I was in the venue, because I had to be -- the concert started at 8 and I had to get all credentials, etc. While there I saw no one gripe about parking and heard no complaints either -- my experience with the parking was phenomenal based on going to Lakewood or Chastain, which I feel are fair reference points. The lines of people coming in were pretty constant and I saw shuttle after shuttle bring people in all night, pretty much until the concert started.

About the friendly staff -- I based that on two kind acts I saw personally and the many smiling faces I encountered. One was a family who had inadvertently bought tickets for the wrong night. They came to Tuesday's show totally expecting to get in -- and they were allowed to with minimal fuss.

I also saw a family who had tickets for everyone in their family but a small child. He was bout 5 or 6, maybe older. The staff let them in anyway so they wouldn't have to leave him outside. Mom and dad were ecstatic, and their teen daughters were grossed out by their kiss upon hearing the news.

Now obviously everyone didn't have the same experiences I did -- there were tens of thousands of people there and somebody was bound to get bent out of shape. But my job is to write what I experience, and that's what I saw.

Jason Wright

Eagle Concert on Wednesday
May 18, 2008 | 12:18 PM

I wanted to make a few commets about what has been said about the parking and how long it took some people to get to the venue.Also about there not being anyone to help the handicap.My hubby is handicap and an attendent got him a golf cart right away and drove him to the gate and a wheel chair to his seat and after the show did the same. For those of you that had such bad parking I do believe you can get a parking pass to a better lot when you buy your tickets. For those of you that were late, if you have ever been to an Eagle concert before or any big name concert you should have know to be there two hours early. We found everyone to be very helpful .

Yes the prices for the drinks were WAY to high. But it seems you bought them anyway !! Kind of like the old saying "If you can not afford to loose the money then do not go and gamble ." Same applies here.

The show was awsome and the best one I have seen.The sound was great. The guys were in top vocal shape even if Don did miss a beat once .;O)..Timothy seems to have recovered well from the encounter with his suf board . His vocals were tight as always.But Joe owned the show . When Joe got into playing that rocking guitar licks he was into them. Once Stuart even said, and I know he was not aware the cam was on him, but he looked at Joe and said S--T man and even Don ran his finger across his throat for him to cut but Joe kept rocking.

All in all it was a great show and those that had complaints would find something to complain about anyway.

Try and remember it was the first BIG show and a new venue so yes they still have to get things worked out . Peace , Diane

Diane

Lot N/shuttle
May 17, 2008 | 06:32 AM

Obviously Jason probably didn't have to park in Lot N and take the shuttle, ie writing about something he has no knowledge about. Yeah, the Lot N parking was really bad, but its all new and they are probably still learning? Hopefully for there sake they will get it figured out quickly or else.......

I noticed this paper has been printing/promoting this new venue and all the concerts and then to see your reporter Jason Wright painting a big rosy picture, ie nothing negative. It does make one wonder if this paper is just reporting news or if ASO is paying you to promote this venue for Alpahretta......

"without a hitch"??..... For the most part the concert was incredible. 3+ hours and 30 songs...... Hey its The Eagles!!!!!

Ima

Lot N parking SUCKED BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!
May 17, 2008 | 01:33 AM

from Jason Wright....."the venues first rock show, it was pulled off WITHOUT A HITCH, with friendly staff directing newcomers thourgh the amphlitheater."

"ADD AMPLE PARKING AND QUICK SHUTTLE SERVICE" ??????

I would have to say there was ample parking and the shuttle service was quick, that is when we FINALLY got to the parking lot.

I and my girlfriend got off the Haynes Bridge exit at 7pm only to take 1 hour to go the 2 blocks to Westside Pkwy and be taken thourgh already full parking lots on the right and then told to circle back to Westside Pkwy to EMPTY lots on the left. A quick 10 minute shuttle ride and we arrived at the venue at 8:15 already 2 songs into the performance......

An awesome concert tarnished by really bad LOT N parking management!!! This was a sold out show! Why can't/couldn't they open all the lots. It was just REALLY BAD!!!! Granted it was the first big show, but with all the money being spent, ie $35 million venue and $200 per ticket you would have thought someone could have figured out a better plan.

That was just really BAD, really BAD!!!

Oh, the concert...... the high food prices aside the venue is fantastic and the concert was awesome.....

Terry

Eagles Concert on Wednesday
May 16, 2008 | 01:53 PM

The Eagles delivered in style. The concert was incredible, I would love to see them again but not at this venue. $7 for a 12 oz beer after paying amost $20 per ticket is pushing all my limits. The parking or lack thereof was horrible. The parking situation from an insurance standpoint - it's a liability claim waiting to happen - people were getting hurt in line. Beautiful place but expensive and poorly planned for crowds. Once again, the Eagles were AWESOME !!!!

Roni

Eagles Concert on Wednesday
May 15, 2008 | 07:38 PM

Seeing Joe Walsh play his old songs was worth paying the high price of the ticket....he rocked...and so did the rest of the guys!!

The Parking and Shuttle situation needs improvement!

This venue does NOT cater to Handicap people who have difficulty walking, or need to park closer to the event ( Handicap Parking at the Ampitheatre was full FAST ).

The security people need to be more sensitive...just because a person doesn't "look" handicap when they get out of the car, doesn't give them the right to question why they are parking in a handicapped parking space ( Parking Lot N , and even have the nerve to ask for ID to make sure the Handicap Placard belongs to them!!

There was not enough Handicap Parking near the Busses that transported you to the Ampitheatre!

We even watched 3 different people FALL at different times while trying to move through the crowd to get on the bus after the concert.

The Verizon Ampitheatre is a great concert venue...but please get someone to evaluate the entering and exit strategies of attending an event there!

Lori

Eagles Concert on Wednesday
May 15, 2008 | 02:13 PM

The concert was fantastic. It started close to 8:00 p.m. The kicked off the concert with two new tunes from their new c.d. After that they played Hotel California and that is when the crowd starting to cheer! About 9:15 there was a 15 minute beer/bathroom break and then the band play until 11:30. Yep it was almost a 3 hour show. Incredible. This was my third show. The guys looked handsome in their suits and Joe Walsh can really jam. Besides Eagles hits Joe, Don and Glen did some solo dating back to the 70's and 80's. The venue was very nice but getting out of the parking lot was at least a 10 minute way and one bottle beer was seven dollars and a 20 ounce coke was $4.50. I might go again. There was a lot of people dumping tickets cheap outside the venue.

Jill

Dissapointed
June 07, 2008 | 12:28 PM

I am extremely dissapointed. These kids have everything and they throw it all away for something stupid.

Allie Larre

fight the power
May 26, 2008 | 02:06 PM

these kids are heroes screw the cop pigs

chuck

get your facts right
May 15, 2008 | 09:55 PM

how many times do you people need to be told. just because this was put in the media doesn't mean these kids actually did it. There is no evidence as to if he really did it or not. So if you werent there, which you obviously werent, then stop acting like children and get your facts straight.

...

It's already in the paper so..
May 12, 2008 | 09:43 AM

getting his photo online is part of the punishment for his crime so you need to deal with that. Headbutting and vandalism? These hoodlums deserve what they gets.

Roscoe

The kid should have thought of this before doing
May 11, 2008 | 10:49 AM

something this stupid. Would you want your new car keyed? I didn't think so.

Strong lesson needed for these stupid kids.

Lesson learner

Necessary?
May 10, 2008 | 10:44 PM

Is it really necessary to publish a picture of this student. Don't you think the parents are going through enough without this public humiliation? I know he is at fault but really?

SH

Rain date
May 17, 2008 | 03:52 PM

Agreed, they need a rain date. About 30 of us from work were planning on going, but none of us went in the rain.

dave

May 16, 2008 | 10:48 AM

I don't know why they don't do a rain date for this event. How much fun could it be when your sample plates are getting rained on?

A

Buffoons
May 17, 2008 | 10:37 PM

I agree completely. Adult males take entirely too much abuse from the media. How many times have you seen a male hit in the groin in an effort to portray a comic act. Why is this suppose to be funny? I really don't get it!

Bill Onstott

Smartfella in the middle of the center of the target....or cente
May 17, 2008 | 03:10 PM

Right on.....to make the American male look like a buffoon is to create the illusion that all others are somehow more competent. Truth is the American male is under attack.....Guys, stand tall fight the onslaught against us....We are the ones who we have been waiting for!!!!!!

Huge

Welcome....
May 17, 2008 | 10:56 AM

On behalf of current members, welcome all 'american males' to the plight that has targeted blond women, all women, nearly all (all?) ethnicities, christians, non-christians, and even those from our elder generation who 'can't get up.' The barrier has been broken and it is now 'socially acceptable' to make fun of the 'american male.' This is a good thing really…you are a member of the large and broad group of those who have previously been, and continue to be, ridiculed and laughed at just because everyone does it. It is not a bad group to be in for we are the majority...

A Smartfella descendent

May 17, 2008 | 08:59 AM

Maybe the man who thought up Homer was raised by a man who didn't think it was important to be a grown-up. A man who can't be relied upon to support his family both financially and emotionally is, indeed, a buffoon.

sparkle copper

Not in My Gene Pool
May 16, 2008 | 11:38 PM

I agree on 2 points:

1. That there is a lot of useless junk on tv

2. Not everyone thinks there dad is/was a buffoon.My dad was a great, honest, generous man. I learned a lot from him and had tremendous respect for him. Too bad not everyone is so lucky.

Dagorina

Smartfella Blog
May 16, 2008 | 12:36 PM

This fella is right in the center of the target and funny at the same time.

Ken Burrows

stuck in craw
May 16, 2008 | 12:09 PM

Iy you waz a cat, it might be stuck in claw.

d

50% is good in baseball
May 17, 2008 | 10:30 PM

Well stated SmartFella. Congress is really good at avoiding tough issues such as social security and immigration policy, but they really show their collective tallent when it comes to spending my tax dollars!!

Bill Onstott

SmartFella - Dumb Politicians
May 16, 2008 | 05:42 PM

The "fellas" in Washington are politicians and will never address the fixing of the Social Security System until it's an absolute last resort. Only then will they be forced to do something as there will be no other alternative.

Fixing of the broken Social Security System will require hard, unpopular decisions that will have a long-term effect. Short-term politicians won't make long-term decisions as this is a sure way to lose their next election. Most politicians are only concerned about having power and control and keeping themselves in office.

Senior members of congress won't act on the issue as they take a "hands off" approach of having to make an unpopular decision on this delicate but serious issue. They're leaving it for their successors to deal with. Newcomers don't want to address the issue as they're concerned about losing the vote of the elderly in their next election. Round and round it goes, when it stops, it's because it's broken to the point where it just won't work any longer.

Ronnie R. Sciortino

No...
May 16, 2008 | 04:46 PM

It's more like 25%. The President is probably in the 10% range

you know it's true

May 16, 2008 | 04:07 PM

Do you think Congress works on critical issues 50% of the time?

sparklecopper

May 16, 2008 | 12:24 PM

I think this equals only earning 50% of their salary and the "SmartFella" has it figured out now why can't the folks in DC do the same.

Dan Chavre

Smartfella Blog
May 16, 2008 | 12:36 PM

This fella is right in the center of the target and funny at the same time.

Ken Burrows

stuck in craw
May 16, 2008 | 12:09 PM

Iy you waz a cat, it might be stuck in claw.

d

One question...
May 16, 2008 | 01:12 PM

Will we need to buy a permit in order to fly a flag?

Bill

May 16, 2008 | 01:13 PM

Why go after MARTA? The title is incendiary. Several milleages of our sales tax go to other dedicated areas. Also, you could just go after the state to raise the limit of minimum sale tax.

Also, becuase MARTA has bonds issued off of the sales tax, you can't get rid of it anyway any time soon, and there's little political capital to agree now to overturn something 30 years from now.

I agree that some of MARTA should be funded by the state, but a lot of it should also be a sales tax as well, because that translates into huge capital expansion funds through bonding ($2 billion over the next 30 years is what they said last year in the AJC). If MARTA were solely dependent on the state, we'd be where CTA or Maryland's MTA are, where they're entirely dependent on the state to fund them, when the state is unduly influenced by rural interests to do anything but demagogue against urban areas. Georgia would be way worse than Illinois or Maryland are on any day about transit; if you think Grady right now is in a shortfall, wait until you have to go to Sonny Perdue to ask for transit funding.

To disclose, I live within City of Atlanta limits, not North Fulton, and oppose county secession (I can't tell if that's an official advocacy of this site or not; I just found it). I'm still right, though.

Pierce Randall