Since OnMilwaukee.com was nice enough to invite me to write a review of tonight's sold out Summerfest finale featuring classic rock legends The Eagles, I considered using a creative perspective, and doing so from the angle of someone not familiar with the band.

That way you could put aside whatever prejudice you hold ... either nostalgic admiration or cynical dislike of their success, excess or contradictions.

You know, forget about the over 120 million records sold.

Forget abut the five No. 1 singles or six Grammys

Forget about their last Summerfest appearance in which they (with the exception of Joe Walsh) seemed to go through the motions.

Forget about the three-hour Showtime biblical movie.

Forget the personal memories that go with all those songs that shaped a decade.

But that is impossible.

No matter the age group (and tonight's show was certainly filled with prime Rogaine clients) you can't divorce the history from the story.

This tour, on which this Milwaukee stop was only their second show, is actually even called "The History of The Eagles."

And while that history was told tonight without Don Felder, it did include Bernie Leadon, whose country focus led him to depart in 1975.

When he did, and was replaced by Walsh, the group got a little more electric and even richer (not easy given that their early '70s greatest hits collection is still the highest selling album EVER).

Using that historic theme, the show was separated pretty much into those two chronological occurrences.

The first half of the show combined narrative and history with an intimate setting to recreate the start of the band. Don Henley and Glenn Frey sat together and performed "Saturday Night" and with Leadon a deep and wonderful track from their debut album, "Train Leaves Here This Morning."

"Peaceful Easy Feeling" had a great bar feel but "Witchy Woman," while sounding spectacular, had a bit of that Eagle excess ... an overproduced video.

In fact, the entire first half of the set featuring cuts up to the "One Of These Nights" LP, had a documentary feel. Again, spectacular sound but with Walsh acting (gallantly) as a session player.

"Lyin' Eyes" was a highlight, yet still a first half with nary a standing song (insert hip replacement joke here). In some ways it was like watching a movie ... during which, thankfully, people don't stand up.

By the way, it didn't matter to me, since I probably had the biggest head in Milwaukee in Mark Belling siting right in front of me. I like and respect his radio work, so that wasn't a pun. That man literally has a huge cabeza.

I also obviously like music history, and the Eagles provided a wonderful dose of it in the first half.

After an intermission they came back and jumped into the mellow portion of the second half of their '70s. And don't kid yourself, along with Fleetwood Mac, they owned it. That's why the crowd knew "Wasted Time," "Pretty Maids All In A Row," "I Can't Tell You Why" and "New Kid In Town."

That was the soundtrack of the decade, playing along with the lives of the crowd.

For "Heartache Tonight," Frey delivered the line of the night by declaring that the song was very Detroit, "where mother is half of a word."

Then a funny thing happened...

Joe Walsh turned a history lesson w1ith a stunning soundtrack into a concert!

"In The City," "Life's Been Good," "Funk #49" and "Life In The Fast Lane" gave the people what they wanted.

An encore of "Hotel California" (with the iconic album cover on the screen in the background; an image even more recognizable than Edward Snowden's passport photo at a TSA training session) killed.

It was followed by another encore with "Take It Easy," "Rocky Mountain Way" and "Desperado" ... and you're reminded why the Eagles are deserving of that totally American moniker. Quit the whining and pretension, those are great great great songs.
And these documentary stars did 'em.

Give them the credit, and hey, give Summerfest some credit, too. Getting the second show of a 46-date tour that doesn't return to the Midwest again until fall -- and on which we might have been skipped anyway -- is a nice snag. A nice way to close the world's greatest music festival.