There’s a concert across the street from me at Soldier Field tomorrow night (Saturday, June 19) and it will showcase the Eagles, the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban.
In today’s Chicago Tribune, page 10, a humorous description of the concert as being “We’ll Pretend We Like Each Other for a Lot Of Money and Keith Urban Will Be There Tour ’10.’
The list chose to mention some of the more tawdry aspects of each band’s past, for instance:
Number of years the Eagles were broken up: 14
Number of Farewell Eagles tours; 1
Number of years the Dixie Chicks have been on hiatus: 4
Number of albums the Dixie Chicks plan to record: 0
Number of times then-guitarist Don Felder and singer Glenn Frey threatened each other onstage during the legendary 1980 concert dubbed “Long Night at Wrong Beach”: Maybe 10
Surprisingly low number of ex-band members who have sued the Eagles: 1 (Felder)
Number of times Glenn Frey refers to his ex-wife as “the plaintiff” onstage: at least once per show
Number of people Joe Walsh has threatened to sue who were also named Joe Walsh: 1
Number of people Joe Walsh has sought a restraining order against for menacing his assistant with a piece of wood: 1
Number of lawyers thanked on album liner notes for 1980 release “Eagles Live”: 5
Number of new studio albums Eagles are likely to release: 0 (Quote from Walsh: “It was painful birth. I can’t think we have another one in us. I really can’t.”
Number of Eagles who have visited the real “Hotel California” in Mexico: 0
Number of songs the Eagles have written about a disco enthusiast who murders someone: 1, “The Disco Strangler”
Number of hours the triple concert is likely to last, based on the length of each group’s solo shows: 4
Start time of concert: 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, 2010 at Soldier Field
Breakdown of concert times, per group: Eagles, 2 hours; Dixie Chicks – 1 hour; Keith Urban – 1 hour
Number of tour dates featuring all 3 acts: 3
Number of tour dates that have been rescheduled, postponed or canceled: 6 (Tickets from $55 to $225 are still available)
Number of albums sold, by group: Eagles – 100 million; Dixie Chicks – 30.5 million; Keith Urban – 15 million
Number of styling implements it takes to get Keith Urban’s hair that way: 4 to 5
Number of new bands formed by participants in these groups: 1, Court Yard Hounds, formed by 2 of the 3 members of the Dixie Chicks, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, because lead singer Natalie Maines has not returned to the recording studio with the group.
Name of Dixie Chicks’ group member who famously criticized George W. Bush: Natalie Maines
Number of people who signed an online petition in support of Maines criticism of “W” in 2003: 30,548
Number of weeks it took for the Dixie Chicks’ hit “Travelin’ Soldier” to fall off the country charts completely from its Number One peak, after Maines’ remark: 2
Number of Number One Country hits the Dixie Chicks have had since: 0
Number of times Maines took back the remarks and apologized to then-President Bush: 1, saying, “My remark was disrespectful.”
Number of times Maines retracted her original apology, saying, “I don’t feel that way any more. I don’t feel he is owed any respect whatsoever:” 1
Number of Eagles band members looking visibly disinterested during a Don Henley solo number at a concert in New Jersey: 1 (Joe Walsh)
Number of solo numbers that are sung onstage by co-founder Glenn Frey during the band’s sets: 0
Number of solo songs by other Eagles band members during their set, on average: 6
For more interesting factoids and background on the 3 groups, see [email protected] and enjoy Allison Stewart’s send-up of the concert, “Three for the price of….?”