Some concert reviews begin when the house lights go down.
This one started somewhere around 7 a.m. in Kentucky, while I was still wiping the sleep from my eyes and questioning every decision that had led me to voluntarily spend the next four hours behind the wheel.
Then again, this is live music. Sleep is optional.
The destination was Franklin, Tennessee, and Tequila Sunrise, an Eagles tribute featuring longtime Taylor Swift guitarist Paul Sidoti. I had been looking forward to this one, and apparently decided the best way to prepare for a night of photographing live music was to turn it into an 800-mile endurance event.
After making the drive south, I met up with the incredibly talented young artist Ivey Leighton in Nashville. She jumped in the car, and we headed the rest of the way to Franklin. We grabbed some dinner, talked shop for a while and eventually met up with nine-time Grammy-winning engineer Bob Bullock.
Not exactly a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
From there, we headed to the Franklin Theatre.
Sitting along Main Street in downtown Franklin, the Franklin Theatre has the kind of history you simply can’t manufacture. Its marquee first illuminated the street in 1937, and for generations it served as a neighborhood movie house, a place for popcorn, matinees, first dates and all the little memories that eventually become part of a town’s identity.
After closing in 2007, the theater was rescued by the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County and underwent an extensive restoration before reopening as a venue for movies and live entertainment.
Walking inside, you immediately understand why people fought to save it.
There’s an intimacy to the room that works particularly well for a show like this. Before everything got underway, I took some time to check the lay of the land, figure out where I wanted to shoot from and get ready for the night.
Then Tequila Sunrise hit the stage.
And they didn’t exactly ease into things.
They opened with “Hotel California.”
That’s right. The song most bands would probably save for the encore was essentially their opening statement.
Fine. Apparently we’re doing this.
From there, the band worked its way through the Eagles catalog, delivering virtually every song you would expect, and want, to hear from a tribute to one of the most successful bands in rock history.
But what made Tequila Sunrise work wasn’t simply the song selection.
These were exceptional musicians paying attention to the details.
There is a difference between playing Eagles songs and recreating the experience of an Eagles performance. Tequila Sunrise clearly understands that distinction. The arrangements, harmonies and instrumental parts were treated with the respect the material deserves, but the musicians also incorporated some of the recognizable mannerisms and stage characteristics associated with the Eagles themselves.
It never felt like a group of guys standing onstage running through somebody else’s greatest-hits collection.
They committed to it.
At the center of the evening was Paul Sidoti, a musician whose résumé speaks for itself. For more than two decades, Sidoti has been part of Taylor Swift’s touring band, performing on some of the biggest stages in the world. Put him inside a historic theater in Franklin with a group of equally capable musicians, however, and you get to see another side of what makes players at this level so much fun to watch.
There’s no substitute for musicianship.
And this band had plenty of it.
The Franklin Theatre was sold out, and the crowd seemed more than happy to take the trip back through the Eagles catalog with them. Song after song was greeted with recognition, enthusiasm and the kind of reaction that reminds you why this music has survived generation after generation.
That’s ultimately the challenge facing any tribute band.
Everybody already knows the songs.
They know where the guitar parts are supposed to land. They know the harmonies. They know the intros within seconds. Some of these songs have been part of people’s lives for 40 or 50 years.
There isn’t much room to hide.
Tequila Sunrise didn’t need any.
By the time the final notes rang out, the sold-out crowd had gotten exactly what it came for, a night celebrating the music of the Eagles, performed by musicians capable of doing that catalog justice.
After the show, Ivey and I caught up with Paul for a bit before climbing back into the car and beginning the journey toward Nashville.
Of course, apparently the day still wasn’t quite ridiculous enough.
So before heading north, we stopped to say hello to the great Scotty Simpson, bass player for the Oak Ridge Boys, who had performed at the Grand Ole Opry that night.
Because why wouldn’t we?
At that point, the sensible thing probably would have been to find a hotel, get some sleep and deal with tomorrow when tomorrow arrived.
Instead, I pointed the car toward Kentucky.
Again.
Four hours later, somewhere around 5 a.m., I finally fell into bed.
Nearly an entire day spent driving, talking music, catching up with friends, meeting musicians, photographing a sold-out show and listening to some of the most recognizable songs ever recorded.
I was exhausted.
And I’d do it all again tomorrow.
I love my job.
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