{"id":34882,"date":"2024-07-25T17:38:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T21:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=34882"},"modified":"2024-07-25T17:40:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T21:40:32","slug":"2000-eagles-fans-flock-to-town-park-to-enjoy-hotel-californias-stellar-tribute-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/2000-eagles-fans-flock-to-town-park-to-enjoy-hotel-californias-stellar-tribute-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"2,000 Eagles fans flock to Town Park to enjoy Hotel California\u2019s stellar tribute performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over 2,000 fans surrounded Town Park\u2019s Bandshell on Wednesday night to enjoy a tribute performance to the Eagles by Hotel California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The congenial quartet performed over 150 Eagles tribute concerts in the USA and Canada in 2023 and last Wednesday\u2019s performance delighted locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u2019s \u201cConcert in the Park\u201d, presented by TD and the Town of Aurora, attracted an energetic, multigenerational crowd which spanned Town Park from Wells Street to The Armory\u2019s patio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a perfect July evening for music under the stars and a respite for the versatile veterans of Hotel California who performed in the rain and mist the previous Wednesday night at Town Park during Grand Evolution\u2019s entertaining tribute to Styx and Journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay Riehl, Hotel California\u2019s regular drummer, showed off his versatility by playing bass and covering a different set of lead vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of delivering Don Henley vocals as he does when drumming for the tribute band, the personable Riehl rolled out Joe Walsh\u2019s edgy, raspy vocals in \u201cRocky Mountain Way\u201d and \u201cLife\u2019s Been Good\u201d to celebrate these solo classics by the hardest-living Eagle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The combination of Walsh tunes brought Set One to a triumphant close in Town Park with 2,000 fans clapping in unison for more from Riehl and his bandmates. Riehl also delivered the vocals for \u201cHeartache Tonight\u201d in the band\u2019s climactic song in the second set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing various instruments and covering a variety of vocals is something Riehl enjoys after three years of performing Eagles songs for audiences across North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe love all the Eagles\u2019 songs and when we switch places, it keeps things fresh for us as performers and keeps us invested. All the band members are really accomplished musicians, so we can switch roles seamlessly. I subbed for Andy Lapointe\u2014our regular bass player\u2014tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the best part of playing to such receptive, energized crowds as he saw on Wednesday night, Riehl observed that there are at least \u201ctwo things I love about it\u2014first, when you look out at the crowd and you\u2019ve got grandparents and grandchildren singing the words together.  The Eagles\u2019 music bonds three generations of music lovers and that\u2019s so great to see. Second, I love the Eagles\u2019 repertoire\u2014the range of songs offers this great blend of rock and country and ballads and hard rock sounds. It seems as if every song is from a different genre of music and that makes it fun to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riehl also praised the vocal and drumming talents of one of Hotel California\u2019s youngest group members, Gabriel Geammaria, both during the performance and in our post-concert interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe sounds like Don Henley. He drums like Don Henley. He even looks like a young Don Henley.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riehl\u2019s assessment of his bandmate was in no way steeped in hyperbole as Geammaria replicated the lead vocals of the Eagles classics at the heart of Wednesday\u2019s concert, including the first two songs: \u201cOne of These Nights\u201d and \u201cWitchy Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geammaria\u2019s sound-alike vocals captured the rich essence of \u201cNights\u201d\u2014one of the Henley\u2019s greatest performances as an Eagle. Geammaria\u2019s vocal range was on display in \u201cWitchy Woman\u201d as he hit Henley\u2019s high howls and captured the eerie nature of one of the Eagles\u2019 earliest hits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Geammaria\u2019s best vocal performance of the evening occurred during the fourth song of the concert in his delivery of \u201cWasted Time.\u201d  Supported by the soaring and poignant keyboard work of Marko Stojanovich, Geammaria\u2019s soulful delivery of this mournful classic was the finest of tributes to arguably Henley\u2019s richest composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complementing the performances of his bandmates was the most versatile of Hotel California\u2019s talented performers: rock veteran Al Langlade.  His guitar work and vocals charmed a capacity crowd. Langlade, who covers the Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner vocals, clearly enjoys his work based on his on-stage antics, his interplay with front line bandmates Riehl and Stojanovich, and his remarks in our pre-concert interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best part of being in a tribute band is the people we meet at the shows. People are all the same whether they be Canadians or Americans when it comes to the music of the Eagles.  We feed off the energy of our audiences who love this music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The energetic Langlade replicated Frey\u2019s lead vocals in \u201cNew Kid in Town\u201d, \u201cLyin\u2019 Eyes\u201d, \u201cTake It Easy\u201d, and \u201cAlready Gone\u201d, hit Meisner\u2019s high notes in \u201cTake it to the Limit\u201d with help from \u201chis tight pants and a G-string\u201d as he noted humorously, and empathized with Henley\u2019s divorce pangs and the wish for forgiveness in \u201cHeart of the Matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of Hotel California is the band\u2019s four-part harmonies and cohesive guitar work.  Both were especially enjoyable in the presentation of the band\u2019s signature song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead vocals delivered by Geammaria captured the dystopian elements of Henley\u2019s haunted hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Felder and Joe Walsh\u2019s dueling guitars were replicated centre stage by Stojanovich and Langlade\u2014a fine tribute to the layered musical genius built into \u201cHotel California\u201d by Felder just before he left the band at its peak of popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geammaria\u2019s offered more magical moments in his encore vocals as he covered Henley\u2019s reflective tones in \u201cDesperado\u201d.  The band\u2019s presentation of this ballad inspired thousands of sparks of light as illuminated cell phones created a layer of low-lying stars under the park\u2019s starry skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife in the Fast Lane\u201d closed the concert with great bass runs by Riehl, Stojanovic\u2019s lead guitar work provided stirring centre stage moments, and Geammaria captured the classic rock tune from the band\u2019s fifth studio album Hotel California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hotel California\u2019s website claims the band offers \u201ca masterful celebration of the Eagles\u2019 music\u201d and Mayor Tom Mrakas concurred with this assessment and praised the natural beauty of the concert\u2019s setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to be at beautiful Town Park on a Wednesday night and listen to music with fellow Aurorans.  Rain or shine\u2014we have this great nice dance area, it has grassed seating zones, and great acts like Hotel California.  I\u2019ve seen them before and mentioned to Shelley Ware that had to get Hotel California for our concert series. Great musicians and this Bandshell make this place so special on a summer evening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over 2,000 fans surrounded Town Park\u2019s Bandshell on Wednesday night to enjoy a tribute performance to the Eagles by Hotel California.  The congenial quartet performed over 150 Eagles tribute concerts in the USA and Canada in 2023 and last Wednesday\u2019s performance delighted locals. Last week\u2019s \u201cConcert in the Park\u201d, presented by TD and the Town […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2024-07-25-05.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-94C","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 11:20:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}