Ravinia 2025 Issue 3

Such a Lovely Place Visiting the landmark where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave” BYJAMESTURANO THIS MAY SOUND UNBELIEVABLE, but stay with me. I have vis- ited that “lovely place” known as the “Hotel California.” ¶ No, not the kitschy, two-story, slightly rundown roadhouse I enthusiastically encountered once during a tourist-cramped, sun-soaked stroll down Ocean Avenue on the way to the iconic Santa Monica Pier. ¶ I’m talking about the one the Eagles immortalized. ¶ I wasn’t there long, just under 45 minutes. But my brief stay was quite a transcendent ex- perience—just like Don Henley so unnervingly sings and describes. And just as Henley shared in his peculiar parable, I didn’t want to leave. ¶ Let me explain. ¶ On February 18, 2020, I saw the Eagles perform Hotel California—all of it, in its original running order— during its three-show run at Madison Square Garden. The show began with a cool reverence, as a stagehand walked to a dimly lit turntable on stage. He dropped the tonearm on a vinyl edition of the album as the live guitar notes of the first and exquisite title song started on cue. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JUNE 30 – JULY 20, 2025 12