The Eagles played to a small audience of 1,500 at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa on June 7th, 1973. REO Speedwagon was the warm-up act.
Below you’ll find reviews of the show, as well as selections from an audience recording.
The Eagles delivered a stunning performance, despite the fact that fire marshals harassed the small audience looking for smokers. The crowd booed them, but the band may have though the booing was directed at them. Randy was praised in both of the following reviews for his harmonies as well as his bass playing, which was compared to Rick Danko, the bassist for The Band:
“Eagles: the sound much like the ‘Poco’ that bass player Randy Meisner helped form. Meisner is with the Eagles now but the melodic harmonies that Poco seemed to have lost somewhat, (according to the last Curtis Hixon appearance) have retained in Eagles. Cheers.” (Phil Rogers, St. Petersburg Independent, June 8, 1973)
“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 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.”* (Bob Ross, St. Petersburg Times, June 9th, 1973)
*This was not the first time Randy was compared to Danko. See my blog post for the Eagles’ concert in Amsterdam in March 1973.
Reviews
Photos
Setlist
Take It Easy
How Long
Doolin-Dalton
Bitter Creek
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Desperado
Twenty-One
Earlybird
Certain Kind Of Fool
Outlaw Man
Witchy Woman
Lazy Days (Gram Parsons)
Tryin’
Out Of Control (encore)
Tequila Sunrise (encore)
Audio
Listen to five songs from the concert below. I chose the ones that were the most Randy-centric and in the order they were played in the show: “How Long,” “Earlybird,” “Certain Kind Of Fool,” “Outlaw Man,” and “Tryin’.” This is an audience recording, so the sound quality is not the best. Headphones or earbuds are recommended:
“How Long”
Glenn, Don and Randy each take leads. Randy’s comes in around the 2:20 mark.
“Earlybird”
Co-written by Randy and Bernie Leadon, this song features Bernie on lead vocal and some nice harmonies by Randy.
“Certain Kind Of Fool”
Randy delivers a fine version of his song from Desperado.
“Outlaw Man”
I consider this a Randy-centric song not only because of his high harmonies, but because he spends the last two minutes going completely wild on bass.
“Tryin'”
This hot, 6-minute version of “Tryin'” was the last song before the encores.
By request, here is the Eagles’ performance of Gram Parson’s “Lazy Days”:
Wow this is sooo good Jessica.. thank you!!!
To hear this live and Randy’s voice so strong high and on point is a standout along with his bass. So many treats!!!And the rocking sound !!! To have been there!!!!
You’re welcome, Marie. Doesn’t Randy sound fantastic? I always say I was born in the wrong decade. I would have loved to have seen the original band.
If I’d been there to see Randy perform this eight minute “Tryin” I’d need smelling salts to revive me. Spectacular.
😄 Smelling salts and a defibrillator!
I was born in the right decade, but the wrong side of the world, I would have loved to see Randy with the Eagles, more so just to see Randy in person but it was to never be 😢
We need a time machine.
Was at the concert, they were my favorite band. Wasn’t many of us there, but was a great concert.!!
So Wonderful Jessica! “Certain Kind of Fool” has always been a favourite of mine so I’m delighted to find it getting attention in your article. Thank You so Much for all your great work!
I love CKOF also and Randy performed it so well here.