The Eagles entertained an unbilled guest at Sphere on Friday night.
Metallica was in the house, but not on stage, for the performance. The full band of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo took in the show. Metallica is expected to play an extended engagement this October through December, though no announcement has been made.
The iconic rockers’ drop-in highlighted the Eagles’ return to the Bulbous Wonder this weekend. Their shows Saturday and Sunday were “hard” sell-outs, the same high demand the band has generated throughout their Vegas residency.
Joe Walsh was back in the fold on Friday and Saturday. The 78-year-old recording legend missed the Jan. 24 show because of what Don Henley described a double-shot of flu and COVID. This was the first time the band had played without Walsh since the guitarist/singer/songwriter joined the band in 1975.
Walsh was in vintage form Saturday, riffing and mugging, telling the crowd, “I’m back. I’m grateful to the doctors in Las Vegas and Los Angeles who came together and got it figured out.”
Walsh also said, “I wanna tell you how great AI is,” and shared with the crowd the “long-drawn-out stories that said nothing,” but reported his death. “I had friends calling me, to ask me if I was dead. Technology is getting great, isn’t it?”
Last week, the band earned a singular milestone as “Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975,” earned the first Quadruple Diamond status in RIAA history. That’s 40 million units sold, the No. 1-selling album ever in the U.S.
The band plays Feb. 20-21, Feb. 27-28, March 20-21 and March 27-28 on their remaining Sphere schedule. Henley, Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Deacon Frey (the son of late Eagles legend Glenn Frey) and Vince Gill are the core band these days. The band played pristine versions of all their classics, “Hotel California,” “Desperado” and “Heartache Tonight” among them.
As Henley said near the top, “We are delighted to be here. As you’ve heard me say many times before, at this stage of the game, we are delighted to be pretty much anywhere.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
