I went to see the Eagles on Tuesday night at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, and the next night sat in the Albert Hall watching Crosby Stills & Nash.

The Eagles appear in suits and skinny ties looking like Take That's great uncles, backed by a collection of crack session players - guitars, keyboards, horns, strings. The diamond vision screens do not do this band any favours - Don Henley and Timothy B Schmidt in particular looking like a hung-over Ricky Gervais and Skeletor respectively. When they sing however it's a different story - whether with the aid of technology or not - the harmonies are stunning. Each song, no matter how plodding, is lofted spectacularly skyward at the chorus.

Glen Frey is the stand-up comedian frontman - "This song is for my first wife, Plaintiff" - and Joe Walsh plays the village idiot. All the hits present and correct, interestingly it is Joe Walsh's catalogue that provides some of the most rousing moments - 'In The City', 'Funk 49', and 'Life's Been Good' - amongst the ballads. Henley's voice remains a thing of wonder though sometimes lost in the slick, professional and slightly cynical corporate sound. For me the closing 'Desperado' was a poignant reminder of what was the essence of this band before the corporate excesses closed in. It was a great night out.

At the Albert Hall then we gathered to pay homage to the group that arguably spawned the Eagles and that entire - once lauded, once reviled - Canyon sound. This is a stripped down event. Walking onstage to a standing ovation a delicate 'Helplessly Hoping' opens the show. No screens, no lasers, no costumes. Then, announcing that they are going to do something different, we get a beautiful version of 'Ruby Tuesday', then 'Reason To Believe', James Taylor's 'You Can Close Your Eyes' , the Dead's 'Uncle John's Band' and Dylan's 'Girl From The North Country'. And if you do close your eyes you could maybe - just maybe - imagine you were sitting in Mama Cass's house in the Canyon listening to three guys play some of their favourite songs for their friends.

The Albert Hall becomes the most intimate of settings for a simply gorgeous version of 'Guinnivere', with just Nash and Crosby on stage. It is easy to forget just what a great guitar player Crosby is. And he and Nash look and sound great.

The first half is primarily acoustic. Stills voice is now the weak link. You can sense that Nash in particular is very protective of him - his voice frail and cracked on 'Girl From The North Country', there is palpable relief both on stage and in the crowd that he got through.

The second half rocks out - 'Long Time Gone', 'Almost Cut My Hair', 'Military Madness','Wooden Ships' - and Stills lead guitar is impressive, and his voice not as exposed. It seems to me that Nash is happy to lead from the back, and the spectacular set pieces come from Crosby - a scenario that surely no-one would have predicted 20 or even 10 years ago. It is hard to credit that having survived the excesses of 70s rock stardom these three men seem still to be able to tap into something magical and true.

There is no doubting the commitment that CSN bring to the stage, and that seems to me to be the most telling difference between these two bands. At no point did I ever feel CSN were there for any reason other than that they love to play. Watching the Eagles was a great night out, but being in the room with CSN was a truly moving experience.