July 3, 1976: I'd Rather Be Lucky Than Good

I’d rather be lucky than good. That old saying applies in many places in my life, but never more so than on the occasion of my first concert in high school. I was 17. I didn’t know anything about life yet though I had strong opinions. My first concert happened to be Fleetwood Mac with the Eagles at Atlanta’s Omni 50 years ago tonight.

I went with eight or so of my high school friends, including my future first love. We were just flirting and having group fun then. On a grander scale, it was Bicentennial weekend. Being a lifelong history buff, I knew its significance and probably more about its history than anyone I went to that concert with. But still, I was just a kid, and it really wasn’t that big for me.

But the Omni electrified me that night. Just entering the space, we were kids and got there early, and seeing a vast indoor arena for the first time in my life was somewhat awe-inspiring. It was a cool building, constructed so it would rust through time. It has been bulldozed since.

But the buzz of the crowd in that space was so cool to me. The place started filling in rather quickly, as I recall, or maybe I’m just fast-forwarding through the boring parts of my mind, and I was more than ready for some Eagles music. They were the big draw. Their Greatest Hits: 1971–1975 had only been out a few months. Everybody bought it. I bought it and played it repeatedly. I was so ready for this.

Then the lights dimmed and Fleetwood Mac took the stage. Long before Rumours. I knew nothing of them. They were just something in the way of me hearing Eagles music. Then they started to play.

They weren’t easing anyone into anything. The songs were already in motion, already familiar to people around me in a way they weren’t to me. Which was true for a lot of the evening, as you will see. “Monday Morning” was nothing I recognized, but it sounded nice.

I perked up at “Say You Love Me” because that had just been released and was climbing the charts. I knew it. Hey, they had two girls in their band. That was cool. I was watching and listening to Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, but those names meant nothing to me until after that performance. Much of what they played was unfamiliar to me. “World Turning” was kind of strange but cool tune I didn’t know.

Then came “Rhiannon.” (Live on The Midnight Special.) This had been released earlier in the year and was a big hit. Everybody knew this song. I suddenly thought, “Wow! This is the same band that did that other song?” Suddenly, I was there, live, stretching out in a way the radio never allowed. Stevie didn’t so much sing it as become possessed by it. The song built up and grabbed you, refusing to let go.

The crowd was suspended with it. I specifically remember the playing of this song that night. Just flashes. It was an ah-ha moment when everything suddenly clicked between me and Fleetwood Mac. And thousands of other fans. It was their biggest hit so far.

“Landslide” was a broadside, an odd term for such a gentle, beautiful acoustic tune. But it hit me that night like “Desperado” hit me off Their Greatest Hits. I was mesmerized, and that is no throwaway description. I immediately went out and bought the album Fleetwood Mac in the days following the concert.

“Over My Head” was another hit I was familiar with, this one from 1975. Obviously, the band was stringing hits together at a brisk rate. How did I not already know about them? I wasn’t paying attention to the radio. They were songs that I liked but didn’t care who they were by. They were great background music. I did not connect them in my mind until that night. Great vocals by Christine on this one.

“You Make Loving Fun” was a standout moment. At the time, this was an unrecorded song and would be released in early 1977 on Rumours. The song is immediately comfortable, full of positive energy. Great vocals, again, by Christine, and a great lead by Lindsey Buckingham. John McVie, Christine’s hubby, is steady on bass, as is Mick Fleetwood on drums. The band is at their best on this one. A glimpse of the immediate future.

By now I could see how great this band was. That was the first night I ever smelled pot. I didn’t have any, or even a beer for that matter. I didn’t need any of that then. The music was its own high. This song was definitely contributing to the positive drive of the moment. An awesome, positive tune sounding even better live.

The bluesy “I’m So Afraid” was another unfamiliar tune and seemed epic even after the spectacular run ahead of it. Was that the end? The crowd insisted. And insisted. It was my first large-scale standing ovation outside of a Braves baseball game. More!

There was more. “Don’t Let Me Down Again” was also unfamiliar, but it had me, and everyone else apparently. Good God, what a great song! Buckingham got a chance to fly with his talent on voice and guitar. I found out later this is technically a “cover” from the 1975 Buckingham Nicks album that I also didn’t know anything about, but would buy in the near future.

In the twisted vine of Fleetwood Mac lore, Buckingham was bizarrely covering himself. The whole space was hopping. “Hypnotized” was a cool way to end a totally unexpected experience for my 17-year-old self. Turns out this was their signature finale at the time. Fleetwood Mac was soon on repeat in my bedroom.

But wait, this wasn’t even why I was here. Eagles music was ahead.

It should be noted that by now Bernie Leadon was out of the band and Joe Walsh was in. This, of course, was a historic move, but Hotel California had not come out yet, just as Rumours hadn’t. So this was a band actually in transition, though they were in top form that night and met all my expectations.

The new Eagles chemistry with Walsh was still forming. But there was a freshness about it. All the guys were talking to each other on stage and laughing and calling out other bandmates to the audience for special applause. This was a happy band that felt great about itself. That is revealed in the upcoming video link. I don’t have an actual memory of any of that.

 [See an entire 1976 Eagles concert in Seattle, one month later. Old VHS quality.]

Open with “Take It Easy” because, why not? Just flat-out start partying right off the bat. Walsh made his presence immediately felt with a blistering lead guitar to close out the tune. Leadon had played banjo on this, but the song’s energy needed the electrified Walsh to jack the whole thing up a notch. The Omni was immediately rocking and celebrating. Here they were!

There was a lot of Eagles stuff I had never heard before, since I only owned two of their albums. “Outlaw Man” was rowdy for them. Another electric-guitar showcase, bringing in Don Felder with a fierce lead supported by Walsh. The band sounded mighty fine on this tune, kind of blowing my mind because it was, for me, new music in the moment.

“Doolin-Dalton” was really a cool ballad featuring a rare harmonica on an Eagles song and Don Henley’s great vocals, of course. I didn't know the song. I could tell it was part of a story, which I didn’t understand until I bought Desperado later.

This was the early formation of the best Eagles lineup. Walsh had only been in the band for a little over six months, but the change was already obvious. Henley was already a talent unto himself, and yet the band was loaded with it. Glenn Frey, the other primary force in the band, took the splendid lead on the country rocker “Lyin’ Eyes,” with the extraordinary harmony chorus I’ll put up against anybody. I must say, hearing this live for the first time in this big-crowd-energy space was a special treat.

According to setlist.fm, “Seven Bridges Road” was the song transitioning from the rock opening to the acoustic middle of the concert. The first half being a cappella, this one especially let the vocal strengths of the band shine. This was another one I'd never heard before that night.  Few had because they only performed it live.

Randy Meisner elicited enormous adulation from the crowd while singing “Take It to the Limit.” It was a timeless moment for me because I would later fall in love with someone I was with that night. I still associate that song with that girl. Maybe I did fall that night and just didn’t know it. I knew I loved this song. Anyone hearing his vocals today is literally stunned by them.

Then “Desperado.” The crowd was no less on the edge of its seat. Those standing at least sat down. It was an almost reverent moment. Such overwhelming appreciation in the crowd. Another great performance by Henley on vocals gave the powerful, surging night a little bit of a breather, though it was the opposite of filler.

“Midnight Flyer” could be considered filler, I guess. It was another new one to me. It was a fun song, but not really the direction in which the band was headed. Meisner’s outstanding lead vocals are featured again. Maybe I should take it as a goodbye to their former selves.

“Already Gone” was next. Big hit from 1974. I had forgotten that Frey actually takes the lead guitar on this one, which was a rarity, especially after Felder joined. Everybody loved his riff, and this performance was better than the studio version, as a lot of live music is. Let’s keep this party going. Felder and Walsh probably had fun backing up Frey. I love songs that pack three electrics. Always sounds strong.

“One of These Nights” was a recent number-one hit and elicited screams throughout the Omni. A little club dance music. By now we were collectively ecstatic in what was happening. Nice groove, easy vocals. Felder carried the lead all alone here. Great harmonies sounds redundant, but it’s true. 

Walsh was well represented. “Turned to Stone,” “Funk #49,” and “Rocky Mountain Way” were a set piece. The band sandwiched “Good Day in Hell” between them, another new song for me. All featured Walsh on guitar, with Felder often joining in a duet. It was already obvious these two guys loved playing together.

“Witchy Woman” was an interesting song to end the concert on. While featuring a great solo by Felder and Henley’s outstanding vocals, it didn’t exactly give you the climax you were expecting. It left us practically begging for more.

They delivered. Twice. I mean, they had to do two if Fleetwood Mac did one, right?

They came back out with “James Dean,” yet another tune I had never heard before, but it was a solid rocker. I remember thinking the live version was way better when I later heard it off On the Border.

But memory can play tricks on you too. In my mind, they definitely came out for a second encore and ended the night with their other number-one hit, “Best of My Love.” It seems like a great track to close an evening of fantastic music, a nice send-them-home-with-a-smile kind of tune. Meisner’s live harmonies on this one are unforgettable to me.

According to setlist.fm, the finale was actually “Tequila Sunrise.” Not exactly a rousing finish, but they had few songs left. Maybe the crowd was so into the experience that they just wouldn’t leave until they had heard everything they knew. That’s not a bad thought either, and highly reflects the night. Per the setlist, “Peaceful Easy Feeling” was not performed, but would be in 1977 when I caught them again at the Omni.

I smile today thinking about our complaint about the price of tickets. We paid $17 or something, which seemed absurdly high in 1976. You could buy almost three albums for that price. If such a concert occurred today, which is impossible because Christine, Meisner, and Frey are all dead, the cost would easily be around $1,000. But that is pricing in all that happened after July 3, 1976.

After that night, these two bands never played together again, though their stories were slightly interconnected. Stevie and Henley had a thing for a while. But otherwise, the bands went their separate superstardom paths. They were not as big as they became that night. Fleetwood Mac did not “open” for Eagles. The night was “with the Eagles.”

Somehow their separate tours ended up in Atlanta on the same Bicentennial night. I don’t know which management booked the Omni first, but the other band allowed them to join, and things played out that way. It was a great example of what I mean by karma. No one got to this specific karma who wasn’t there that night and, it being my first concert, I had no clue that every concert wouldn’t be this great.

Fleetwood Mac before Rumours. Eagles before Hotel California. Live. I didn’t know a lot of the music, even from my favorite band. It was all so new to me. This was a world in which I didn’t know anything that wasn’t reported in Rolling Stone. There were no news sources available to me. I was 17 and knew practically nothing, but I was collecting a lot of loves in my young life.

History was yet to be made that night. It was still mostly being built. Both bands were working for it. No one had any idea what they were about to become, me least of all. But I was primed and ready for it. What a time to be a late teen and into rock music! I've attended dozens of concerts in my life, though fewer in recent years, and this one is one of the best of not flat-out the best overall. I’d rather be lucky than good.