The Eagles concert at Curtis Hixon Hall was June 7, 1973, in Tampa, Florida. REO Speedwagon opened for the Eagles on this stop on the Desperado tour. The Eagles concert was not a sell-out as their shows became as time went on. In fact, they played to a crowd of only about 1400.
“Bernie Leadon, guitar and banjo player extraordinaire, has managed to produce a strong rock sound without abandoning the tasteful flavor of soothing country picking. At different times, he played electric guitar, acoustic guitar and banjo leads. His soothing sparkle was matched in perfect counterpoint by bassist Randy Meisner, who has to be one of the most competent men on the instrument since Rick Danko.”
Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL) – June 9, 1973
This was the second Tampa show at Curtis Hixon for the Eagles. They had opened there for Yes in September of 1972.
Eagles in concert at Curtis Hixon Hall
Randy Meisner on stage and wearing his Eagles medallion
Randy Meisner
Bernie is wearing the hat he wore in the Desperado photo shoot a few months earlier in December 1972.
Bernie Leadon and Glenn Frey
Bernie Leadon
Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL) – June 2, 1973
– Audience recording of all 15 songs –
In this concert version of Take It Easy Glenn sings it like their demo version with ‘slowing down to have a look at me’ instead of ‘take a look at me’.
The audio follows the setlist, except it begins after Take It Easy has already started, and there are a few glitches throughout.
Eagles concert ticket and setlist
“Bernie Leadon traded lead riffs with Glenn Frey in exchange after exchange while ex-Stone Canyon Bander Randy Meisner kept a firm bass line and Don Henley bashed drums and added an occasional vocal to the proceedings.”
Tampa Times (Tampa, FL) – June 8, 1973
“One of the smallest crowds in the recent history of Curtis Hixon Auditorium heard an outstanding concert Thursday night, proving once again there is little correlation between box-office clout and musical ability.”
“Bernie Leadon, guitar and banjo player extraordinaire, has managed to produce a strong rock sound without abandoning the tasteful flavor of soothing country picking. At different times, he played electric guitar, acoustic guitar and banjo leads. His soothing sparkle was matched in perfect counterpoint by bassist Randy Meisner, who has to be one of the most competent men on the instrument since Rick Danko.”
Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL) – June 9, 1973
“Randy Meisner is the bass player for Eagles. He also helped form Poco when that group was first starting. Poco, during its last Curtis Hixon appearance, seemed to have gotten away from the sweet, light country sound it helped introduce to today’s music. Eagles has not.”
Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, FL) – June 16, 1973
Curtis Hixon Hall – Capacity 8,000
