The Eagles

The Eagles were Terry’s all time favorite band from her college years. When she found out they would be performing as the first concert in the new Amway Center, she had to get tickets. I heard the tickets were not cheap. I met Terry at her office and then we walked over to Hamburger Mary’s for some dinner. The place was packed for Bingo Night. By the time we finished eating, there was a line of people out the door waiting to get tables. People eyed any open seats with annoyance and anticipation. We walked from Church Street Station to the Amway Center. The city splurged and installed blue spotlights to illuminate the I-4 underpass. A veteran in a camouflage uniform was selling tiny American flags. A man was shouting with his raised fist clenched in a peace sign indicating he needed two tickets.

At the entrance to the Arena I pulled out the computer printed tickets Terry had given to me earlier in the evening. We rode the escalator up to our level. There was a huge crowd around the Eagles T-shirts and merchandise. We had to walk down several staircases to get to our seats. I was shocked at how close our seats were to the stage. We arrived about an hour early which gave me plenty of time to sketch the stage as people filed into the immense space. The lighting changed constantly from blue to red. A lighting tech climbed a rope ladder to get to the suspended walkway hundreds of feet high. The crowd cheered for him and he paused and waved making everyone cheer louder.

Finally the band began to play and the cheering and whistling became deafening. When they performed “Peaceful Easy Feeling“, Terry leaned over and said, “This was my favorite song in college.” I looked over and saw that she had tears in her eyes. She dried he eyes grabbed my arm and put her head on my shoulder.When the band played “The Best of my Love”, people started raising their lighters and iPhones. Terry said there was an application for the iPhone that looks like a lighter. She quickly downloaded the application and soon there was the image of a closed lighter on the screen. Laughing, we both tried tapping the screen with our fingers trying to open the virtual lighter. We finally discovered the flicking finger gestures needed and she raised the lighter just as the song was ending.

The next day, I was asked, “If you were an abstract painter, how would you imagine the renewed affection that you and Terry are sharing.” My first response was, “I am not an abstract painter.” We laughed. Then I painted the scene he was looking for, “When the Eagles played ‘Desperado‘ the whole arena was lit dark and blue, the lyrics intoned ‘why don’t you come to your senses? Come down from your fences, open the gate.’ Then as the song rang out, ‘You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late’, the lighting pivoted out towards the audience lighting them in warm yellows and oranges. Couples held each other swaying side to side and Terry and I hugged in a long embrace.” Terry was there as I described the scene and she misted up as did the person who asked for the description. The warmth in the arena is the sketch I should have caught.