The Eagles Really Do Play the Same Set Every Night

Last week, Charles Cross predicted in these digital pages that when the Eagles brought their show to Miami's American Airlines Arena on Friday, July 10, they would play the exact same set they did on November 22, 2013, the last time the band was in Miami. "Because that’s what they do every night," Cross explained. 

Well, according to the good contributors to SetList.fm, that prophecy has been fulfilled (shocker, I know). When the Eagles played Miami Friday night, they played the exact same set in the exact same order that they did the last time they were in town. They didn't even go out on a limb and play "Desperado" in the first encore instead of the second.

But, as Mr. Cross pointed out in his preview, people don't go to see the Eagles to see/hear anything fresh — "They go to hear hits, played well, and played consistently." In this sense, the band is like the inverse of the Grateful Dead, which recently ended their long strange trip with five sold-out shows, during which they only repeated two songs. 

So, here's my question: Is this a bad thing? The Eagles' audience has about as much of a problem with the band playing the same set every night as the Dead's had with the band playing something different every night. Yeah, haters of each group can snark on as much as they want — "the healthy argument continues," reminds the NY Times' Jon Pareles — but they're not the ones the bands are/were playing to. 

I guess what I'm trying to ask is: Are there people who saw the Eagles in 2015 and 2013, witnessed the same set and feel robbed or bored?

In other words: "Honey, where are my paaaaaaaants!!?!?!?"

July 10, 2015