Ex-Eagle Soared

I doubt Thomas K. Arnold attended the evening Glenn Frey concert at the Del Mar Fair as he indicated in his article (“Ex-Eagle Frey Can’t Fly Solo,” July 9). I believe that he attended the afternoon performance, on the same day.

I heard negative comments regarding the afternoon concert. Even so, a friend and I were killing time after working at the fair and decided to attend. Well, surprise, surprise!

I want to report that there were few comments from Glenn Frey at the evening show. He was very professional. And so much good music. Your review may have been semi-appropriate for the afternoon show, but was very inappropriate for the evening show. He started out a little slow--but good! The tremendously large crowd came expecting an outstanding performance, and they were not going to settle for anything less.

There was an exciting exchange between performers and audience. The blandness Mr. Arnold speaks of left the stage somewhere after the beginning of the second song. These fun-loving, high-spirited folks had come for some good clean fun. No drugs were apparent. They danced in the aisles and down in front of the stage. There was a level of excitement I had rarely seen in Del Mar. Yes, the Eagles gave us some good music. But those of us who heard Glenn and his group of musicians were “turned on,” not in the Eagles’ style, but in the Glenn Frey style, a style that is newer, crisper, more desirable and joyful for the 1980s.

It is too bad if Mr. Frey is tangled up with drugs, and it’s sad if his lyrics remind us of the disappointments that our society is coming into in this new age. But at the evening show, the music itself flowed and increased in excitement, touching every nerve. Musicians write about what they know and what they are living. They express life in its glory and pain. Glenn and his group entertained us with a vibrancy unique and fresh.

MURIEL MATLOCK

Encinitas