We were there for the grand reopening of The Forum on January 15, 2014.
First things first - The Eagles were as amazing as ever. The concert was A History of the Eagles. (If you haven't seen the documentary on TV, look for it. Everyone I know, including us, seems unable to turn it off when its on - even if we've already seen it more than once.)
It was a wonderful surprise to see Bernie Leadon, one of the Eagles' founding members back with the band. There was even a mention of Randy Meisner by Glenn Frey, who sent Randy best wishes. But, no mention of Don Felder. Apparently, that feud is life long.
My only complaint about the concert itself was that it barely scratched the surface of The Eagles' incredibly deep song book. Put simply, if I could only listen to one band for the rest of my life, it would have to be The Eagles based on the sheer volume and variety of their music. There are bands I like as much, but one would run through their entire catalog of music far too quickly.
As to The Forum - I believe MSG Enterprises spent over $70 million to renovate. The auditorium itself has good acoustics, comfortable seats (although a little more leg room would be nice) and even the parking was well handled considering the sheer number of people attending.
Now to the negatives - It doesn't appear that one penny of the $70 plus million went to improving the rest rooms. The ladies room was so tiny, it could not handle the crowd. Before the show even started, the lines were long and some of the toilets were already non operational. I did not see any sinks. They were probably there somewhere but it was so crowded, one just wanted to get in and out as fast as possible.
By the intermission, the line was so long, I couldn't see where it ended and had to skip a restroom visit or risk missing half the show. Take a lesson from The Greek Theatre and The Hollywood Bowl - MSG - add sufficient restrooms. (Especially if you're serving beer).
Smoking is permitted outside, of course, but all of the doors into the lobby area were open so the entire area was thick with cigarette smoke.
And the auditorium itself was hot and stuffy. Ventilation is inadequate at best.
Finally- a word about the audience. Although The Forum asks people not to text, photo or video during the concert - a huge number of people did so - absolutely ruining the experience for people who were there to see and hear The Eagles.
A group of women behind us talked and laughed loudly through most of the first set. One of them even screeched "Who's Don Henley?" The man next to me finally turned around and told them to take it outside. Fortunately - they did - and never came back. Why do people buy tickets if they are not interested in the concert?
We have become a nation of people with electronics wired to our heads. We cannot get along without making ourselves part of the show. Sadly, it makes one think that it might be a more pleasant experience to just stay home and watch The History of The Eagles on TV.
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