Joe Walsh/Bob Seger

     Dawn and I went to see Joe Walsh and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in the Tacoma Dome last night. If you're one of those people that might want to read a review for a couple of classic rock acts from the 70's to find out if they've lost it or not, here's the tl:dr version: they haven't lost a thing.
     For the rest of us, here's the story:
     Concerts at the Tacoma Dome, especially on a Friday night, are not my favorite thing. There is essentially no way to arrive at a concert at the Dome 45 minutes before the show. You can either arrive two hours early, relax and have dinner, or you can be re-routed through Washington's Largest Traffic Jam for 90 minutes or so and miss the first few songs of the opening act. Being a beautiful spring day, we elected to get there early. By the way, if you're wondering what it costs to park around the Tacoma Dome these days, the answer is $25. When Jerry Weible, my nephew Tommy and I went to our first KISS concert in 1977, all three of our tickets combined cost less than that. But, I digress...
     Not surprisingly, the crowd that streamed into the Tacoma Dome last night was graying and re-living a little slice of their lost youth through the power of music. As we had anticipated, we saw a fair number of Bullets (bald men with mullets) on the way into the show. It was a mellow crowd made more so by the newly legalized cannabis laws. I've never smoked dope, so I'm not an expert on getting high, but I think it was semi-impossible not to get a slight contact high last night.
     Speaking of which, Joe Walsh opened the show. I had only seen the former James Gang/Eagle/solo artist once before, and that was as part of The Eagles Hell Has Frozen Over and We Are Skating on the Frozen Remains of Our Greatest Hits tour. Joe was kind of a late-comer to the Eagles, and even though he laid down some historically memorable riffs for them (that's him blazing away at the end of Hotel California) he never seemed to completely fit in. Last night, with his own band, including not one, not two, but three drummers (just in case one or two of them exploded, ala Spinal Tap, I guess) he was right at home. 
     Before we go much further, let's talk about something. Rock concerts have changed, and it's not just the ticket prices. Bic lighters that used to be snuffed out by the first power chord were almost entirely absent. Every song was recorded by hundreds, if not thousands, of cell phones, and judging by the intoxication levels I saw from some of the attendees, that may be their only memory of the show. Festival seating is so long gone that if you're under 35, you probably never went to a show where you could fight you way to the front row if you were of such a mind. Here's the biggest difference though: it started right on time. At 7:56, the lights went down, Dylan's Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, affectionately known as "Everyone must get stoned" played over the PA, and there he was, the clown prince of rock 'n roll, Joe Walsh. Now, Joe has never been a handsome man, but he looked great last night - relaxed, happy, and with the same old attitude he's always had. It is slightly ironic that guys like Keith Richards and Joe Walsh potter on their merry way while musical stars from two or three generations behind them fall by the wayside.
     Joe did a tight, strong 45 minute set that included everything you might have wanted to hear from his James Gang and solo days. As usual, he didn't dip into any of the Eagles stuff. There's something odd that I have noticed over the years, and that is that guys that don't have the traditionally excellent singing voices to begin with - think Neil Young or Joe Walsh - don't seem to lose much as they get older. Joe's vocals were not much different in 2013 than when he burst on the scene with The James Gang. As usual, his guitar playing was excellent, and I came away impressed again by how difficult some of the riffs he played in songs like Life's Been Good really are. The drunk dude behind me, whose girlfriend spilled her beer all over my Russell Wilson Seahawks jersey, seemed disappointed that he didn't do Turn to Stone, since he shouted out his request to Joe 3,782 (yes, I counted) times during the set.
     Half an hour after Joe wrapped up, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band took over and the party really began. Even playing for two hours, which he did, there was no way he could get through the entire catalog that people wanted to hear from him. I can't imagine what it's like to have such a diverse setlist to choose from. 
     As you can see from the picture above, Bob has gotten a little older and a little grayer since he dominated the scene in the 70s and early 80s. He looks a little less like the Motor City Madman and a little more like your cool Uncle Joe that tells the awesome stories at Thanksgiving. Aside from that, though, I didn't notice a lot of difference. He still uses the same energy, body language and happy-go-lucky stage presence that he always did.
     He did a great job of walking the line between satisfying his die-hard fans by playing some of his more-obscure songs like Come to Papa along with all those Top 40 hits like Hollywood Nights, We've Got Tonight, Against the Wind, etc. For most, I think the highlight was one of the oldest songs he did - Turn the Page. It's kind of an angry-young-man type of song, but he still put everything into it, and it got the loudest ovation of the night.
     There were times I ended up watching the crowd almost as much as the show because they were so entertaining on their own. One thing I have come to believe is that when our ancestors came over on the Mayflower, they left everyone with any sense of rhythm in Europe. I haven't seen that much bad dancing since I accidentally clicked past Glee a season or two ago.
     The bottom line is, Bob Seger hasn't lost a step, The Silver Bullet Band is still a top-notch rowdy party band, and if you get a chance to go see them at another stop on this tour, I think you should.