I think most people do associate Joe Walsh with the James Gang. I heard that the only reason the band played in this location was because so many fans were disappointed about Joe Walsh leaving. They were asking for refunds, etc. So that's how at least some of the gigs moved south (like here) to venues that were considered less desirable as opposed to the more prominent original northern cities.
I wouldn't want to criticize Joe Walsh as a singer or guitarist. Obviously, the Eagles thought very highly of him or he wouldn't be with them in the first place. But it's hard to ignore Tommy Bolin's guitar playing. Here is a quote from Loudersound------
The early 1970s was a great time for guitar heroes. Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and their peers were at the top of their game, but most adhered to a style rooted in the blues. Moreover, in the wake of Jimi Hendrix’s death, almost all the six-string gods came from England.
American Tommy Bolin, a native of Sioux City, Iowa, was a notable exception. Best described as the David Bowie of the guitar, Bolin jumped from one playing style to the next – making each one his own, before quickly discarding it for the next.
Glenn Hughes, Bolin’s one-time bandmate in Deep Purple, agrees with this assessment. “Tommy was different, wasn’t he?” he says. “He had a very South American-flavoured, Brazilian, reggae-ish way of playing guitar; it wasn’t European. It was be-boppy, it was jazz, it was everything Deep Purple weren’t. He was a genius.”
