The Eagles played Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN on November 22nd, 1976. J.D. Souther opened.
Indianapolis News, October 22, 1976
Before the show, Randy, Don Felder, and J.D. Souther were spotted grabbing a bite at the Burger King down the street from Market Square Arena.
“Don Felder, Randy Meisner and a 3rd guy I believe was JD Souther came into a Burger King I managed which was a block from old Market Square Arena in Indy where they were playing that night. I went to counter and said hi guys. They replied in kind. Saw them on stage in same clothes that evening.” –@jn_walkerjr on X
Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit” was the highlight of the evening and earned him a standing ovation.
“The man who stole the show, perhaps, was bass player Randy Meisner, who sang lead only once. The number was last winter’s giant hit, “Take It To The Limit.” Meisner had ’em cheering long before the finish of the song. His clean, crisp high vocals earned him the only standing ovation for an individual performance.”
Zach Dunkin, Indianapolis News, November 23, 1976
Review from Indianapolis News, November 23, 1976. Joe Walsh is incorrectly identified in the photo as Don Felder.
The Eagles played the Met Center in Minneapolis on November 18th, 1976. J.D. Souther was the opening act.
Minneapolis Star, November 11, 1976
Photos copyright Timothy Crowe.
A week before the show on November 11th, the band was interviewed by radio host, Gary Bridges, for an Eagles special on WDBG.
Minneapolis Star, November 11, 1976
According to the review, the truck transporting the band’s sound system was involved in a serious accident in Des Moines, IA the day before the show, so the band had to rent less-than-ideal sound equipment for a large arena.
The Eagles played Chicago Stadium on November 11th, 1976. J.D. Souther opened.
Chicago Tribune, October 24, 1976
Randy wore a shirt with the logo for Randy’s Rodeo in San Antonio, TX. He was also playing his newly acquired Music Man Stingray bass, which were just introduced that year.
Photos by David Slania.
“Best of all for me was ‘Take It To The Limit,’ played and sung with the kind of organic power that seemed rooted in the earth rather than pumped through amplifiers.” –Dick Saunders, Chicago Sun-Times.
According to the review, Randy’s soprano on “Take It To The Limit” sent the audience into a “frenzy,” and “Midnight Flyer” brought out the cowboys in the crowd.
In the photos, Randy is playing a Music Man Stingray bass, which had just been introduced that year.
The Eagles played The Summit in Houston, TX, November 6, 1976. J.D. Souther opened. A bootleg film of the concert exists. Watch it below.
Houston Chronicle, November 1, 1976
J.D. Souther later joined the Eagles onstage for “Best Of My Love,” which he co-wrote with Don Henley & Glenn Frey. He also wished Glenn a happy birthday. The concert was filmed using the Summit’s in-house video system. Footage of Randy’s lead-singing performances, as well as the full concert, are included below.
The Summit had a four-sided video screen called a “Telscreen” which hung from the ceiling. The screens displayed concerts in real-time for audience members who were not close to the stage. Any band who came in to perform paid a flat fee for use of the Telscreen and received a videotape of the concert in return. These Telscreen performances were often bootlegged, hence the existing footage of the Eagles Summit show, which has never been released officially.
According to a March 5th, 1978 article in the Houston Chronicle, the Summit’s Telscreen production crew were known to add graphics to their video footage as it was happening. During concerts, they focused mainly on whoever was singing. This explains the footage of the Summit show, which included graphics between songs and very few camera angles.
At the show, Randy and Joe both wore white t-shirts bearing the logo for Criteria Studios in Miami where the band was finishing up Hotel California at the time. In fact, the previous night’s show in Baton Rouge was held up for two hours because the band was late arriving from Miami.
In 2006, Randy recalled the grueling touring and recording schedule from this period:
“We had to go out on the road while we were doing that album and then go back to Criteria Studios in Florida to finish it…We went back and forth a lot…wanted to get the tracks right and mixed right. We knew the album was special.“
Interview with Ken Sharp, 2006
The less-than-complimentary review in the Houston Chronicle noted that the band looked and sounded “frayed around the edges,” this was perhaps due to their touring/recording schedule from the time period:
Houston Chronicle, November 7, 1976
More flattering reviews were found in the Houston Post and the University of Houston’s Daily Cougar newspapers. The Post proclaimed Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit” to be “one of the true crowd-pleasers of the evening.”
Houston Post, November 7, 1976
Houston Daily Cougar, November 9, 1976
Video
“Take It To The Limit”
“Midnight Flyer”
Complete Film (This is not the full concert)
The song order in the video does not follow the actual setlist for the Summit concert. The Eagles opened with “Take It Easy,” not “Hotel California.” The performance of “Take It Easy” is not included in the film, neither is “Doolin-Dalton,” which was also played, according to the Chronicle review.
Footage setlist: Hotel California Lyin’ Eyes Wasted Time Take It To The Limit Desperado Midnight Flyer Turn To Stone Already Gone One Of These Nights Funk 49 Good Day In Hell Rocky Mountain Way Witchy Woman James Dean Best Of My Love (with J.D. Souther) Walk Away Tequila Sunrise
The band arrived two hours late from Miami where they were putting the finishing touches on Hotel California.
Opening the show was J.D. Souther. Randy performed “Midnight Flyer” and “Take It To The Limit.”
Photo by concertgoer Debbie Ray:
According to a description of the show in LSU’s 1977 Gumbo yearbook, someone in the audience threw an object at Randy during “Tequila Sunrise” hitting him on the side of the head:
“As the group was arrayed across the stage singing, ‘Tequila Sunrise,’ someone threw an object from the side of the stage which hit bass player Randy Meisner on the side of his head. He grimaced but continued playing until the song’s conclusion when he picked up the object and hurled it back in the general direction from which it had come. Dropping his bass with an amplified thud he stalked off stage in a huff as the rest of the group received the applause oblivious to the whole incident.” (Gumbo yearbook, 1977, Louisiana State University)
All photos from LSU’s Gumbo yearbook (1977):
According to the review in LSU’s Daily Reveille, Randy’s solo on “Take It To The Limit” was a highlight (5th paragraph).
Daily Reveille, November 9, 1976
The band’s late arrival is mentioned in the Baton Rouge Advocate review, November 6, 1976:
“The turning point of the show occurred when Randy Meisner, bass guitarist, sang ‘Take It To The Limit.’ Meisner reached incredible high, sustained pitches with his strong, forceful voice that just sent shivers up the crowd’s spines. Crazed fans screamed and dashed toward the stage, where they remained until the end of the concert. Meisner received a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. When he realized the crowd wouldn’t stop, he danced and skipped around the stage which made the audience applaud even more.”
The Ranger (San Antonio College), November 12, 1976
On October 15, 1976, the Eagles played the Activity Center at Arizona State University in Tempe. J.D. Souther opened.
The State Press (ASU), October 19, 1976
Joe Walsh, Randy, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey perform “Seven Bridges Road.”
In the review below from the Arizona State University newspaper, The State Press, the author incorrectly claims the album, Hotel California, was released in February 1976. This person must have been thinking of Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975, which had been released that February (and did not include “Hotel California”). The album Hotel California was not released until December.
Photographer Gary McGuire was Glenn Frey’s cousin (read an interview with him here.) Photos from this session were used in the Hotel California Songbook. He also photographed Randy separately.
