Van Halen Tour Announced

[The Chameleon]

I just a little reading and searching on the net and I read from a few sources that when Anthony and Hagar accepted the VH induction to the R&R hall of fame they both mentioned ED's alchaol abuse was making him a different and and they wished they had thier friend back and the prospect of a tour with either of them was not possible in his current state.

On another note I also read Wolfgang has only been playing bass for...3 MONTHS!

Whaaaaat!!! Now I am worried. Ed says his son is a prodigy and up tot he task (which is possible I suppose), but three months and right to stadium tours...yikes.....

In any case I do hope an effort was made to get Anthony into the fold as he is the original bassist.

[Kanada Kev]

A good mix of what Van Halen 2007 is looking/sounding like. This is from their final rehearsal:

Edited September 19, 2007 by Guest

[The Chameleon]

Sounding pretty good and it's nice to see Eddie and Dave bearing chest....ahh the macho!

Can't wait.

[Kanada Kev]

Here's a detailed report of the rehearsal show (tour kicks off tonight i believe). If you don't want to know the setlist, don't read the bottom of this post ... but HOLY FUCK what a setlist!

The VAN HALEN Yahoo! list has been updated with the following fan report from a VAN HALEN rehearsal that took place Saturday night (September in the Los Angeles area (rumored to be the Los Angeles Forum):

On Saturday night a friend of mine got me in to see a VAN HALEN rehearsal in Los Angeles. (I've been sworn to secrecy on certain aspects of this story, including location. Someone else may fill in the details, but it won't be me.)

We arrived to an empty arena (except for the VH staff) containing VH's full stage setup. No one from the band had arrived yet.

The stage has a runway which snakes out into the audience in a giant 'S' shape, which mirrors the lighting rig above it. The 'S' continues behind and above the stage so a band member can walk to the very top and be standing above Ed's [Van Halen] rig. There's a giant video screen the width of the entire stage, but neither the screen nor the stage lights were tested tonight; only the house lights were used. (It didn't matter in the slightest.)

We arrived about an hour before the band while the crew fine-tuned the equipment. Drums were tested, guitars tuned, and pink noise blasted through the P.A. The general mood of everyone seemed very high with lots of smiles and friendly faces. Many people nodded to us and said, 'hello.'

Eddie was the first to arrive, and very shortly after that, Wolfgang [Van Halen, bass] and Alex [Van Halen, drums]. Valerie [bertinelli, Eddie Van Halen's ex-wife and mother of Wolfgang] was with Wolf as were about five of his friends from school, I'm guessing. (They all looked the same age.) Alex and Ed spent about 15 minutes on stage noodling while Wolfie was showing his friends the venue. The three of them then met on stage and Eddie said into the P.A., 'We're not opening with it, but let's play 'I'm The One' just to warm up. And that they did. A funny moment occurred when Ed screwed up the bit right before they usually go acapella. He spoke into the mic, 'Did I mess that up?' Wolf confirmed, 'Yeah, you were late.' Both were smiling.

After 'I'm The One', there was a bit more noodling and then some down time as people waited for Dave [Lee Roth, vocals]. I'm not sure if he was running late or if that's just how the schedule was.

When Dave did show up, right from the start, he was all smiles. He was dressed in tight, flared out leather pants and a black/striped dress shirt.

The rest of the account is going to contain, for lack of a better word, "spoilers" of the show, including the set list, all though not in order. If you don't want to know, fair warning.

Dave addressed the crowd and treated us as if we were guests in his arena sized house. He thanked us for coming and talked about how excited he was to be here and what a 'privilege and honor' it was to play with his 'bruthas from another mutha.' (And yes, that's a quote.) He then went on to great lengths to explain what we would be seeing tonight: that it was a rehearsal where they would be stopping and starting, testing things out, etc. (And he did this all very eloquently with many one-liners, as only Dave does.) Right before the band began, he explained, 'Okay as soon as you hear the first note, that's when the curtain comes up.' He did that throughout the show; stopping to tell us what we would be seeing if this were the actual concert. The constant commentary and casual asides reminded me of that story I've heard where at a concert he wanted to turn the P.A. around so that 'everyone could be backstage.' That's how this show felt. As if we were being let it on the secret.

The show started with 'You Really Got Me'. Dave was standing on the high part of the 'S' stage above Alex waving a giant red flag as the show began. Then he threw the flag down, and for the first time in over 22 years, David Lee Roth sang on stage with Eddie Van Halen.

I'd say there were only about 40-50 guests there that night who were lucky enough to get in. Most of us sat in the 'five-star' section inside the loop of the 'S' runway, but there wasn't even enough of us to fill it up. And there was a silly L.A. attitude amongst the crowd of 'Oh-I'm-so-hip- I-don't-need- to-sit-in- the-front-row' thing going on, as if this event was an every day occurrence. (After the first song, I couldn't stay away, and moved from the fifth row to right up front, just off center towards Ed's side.) The stage setup has at least 8 speakers just for the people in the first few rows, so you don't have to worry about hearing only the echoey remnants of the main P.A. You'll get the full mix nice and loud. But Holy God, bring earplugs.

Wolfgang did a fine job, even providing decent sounding backup vocals. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about him, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that Michael Anthony was missed. While Wolf competently filled the position, he doesn't have the same sound, either in his playing or in his voice, as Michael. It's such a shame that silly personal conflicts can't be resolved so that people can finally see the classic lineup again. I do have to say though, it's obvious how much Ed loves playing with Wolfgang. He would be all smiles when he walked over to Wolfie and after one song, stepped up to the P.A. and said, 'Great job, Wolf. Great.'

Over the next hour and a half or so the band played classic after classic that VH haven't done in years. The Sammy Hagar era is dead now, as far as I can tell. (Although when warming up, Eddie ran the VH-stripped drill across his guitar as if he was was starting 'Poundcake', but no more than that.) I was surprised by some of the gems they brought out. I'll post the songs I remember at the end of the article, but the order will be completely wrong except for the first song and the encore.

The great thrill of the show was seeing Dave and Ed interact. If there's any animosity between them, it didn't show at all. Both were constantly smiling, and Dave often did the schtick where he holds his mic to Ed's guitar during a solo while he looks at the crowd, open mouthed in astonishment.

That's not to say that Dave didn't get pissed, however. He was standing out by the far tail of the 'S' runway when, in the middle of a song, he yelled at the soundboard crew with intense anger, 'TURN THE FUCKING VOCALS UP! Don't make me ask you again!' I turned to Ed to see his reaction, thinking he would be pissed at Dave's behavior, but incredibly, Ed just smiled even wider. As Dave walked past him returning to the stage, they did a mini-hi-five, low and behind each other's back. I don't know what it meant. I'm guessing it's one of those things that only makes sense to two people who have known each other for decades.

I never got to see Dave sing with VAN HALEN live. I got into the band in 1984 when I was 12 and didn't see them until the 'OU812' tour. I've seen Dave solo multiple times, but am always wonderfully caught off guard by his stage antics. He really is the clown prince of rock 'n' roll, and I say that with as much affection as I can. There's not a moment that goes by where he's not trying to entertain you, whether it be with silly facial expressions, dance moves, jokes, props or stories. He is the former 5-year-old kid who ran up to every new adult and wanted to show them everything he owned and all the things he could do and wouldn't stop talking until his parents told him it was bed time. And that attitude has never quite gone away.

Thinking about the whole experience, I can't help but smile. I was going to write a few more details about the show, (like the brilliant way Dave introduces 'Somebody Get Me A Doctor' or the intensity from Dave that makes 'Mean Street' one of the great live VH songs) but I think it's probably better to let you all discover that for yourself.

Songs that were performed (not in order):

******Song list spoiler space*******

You Really Got Me

Romeo Delight

Somebody Get Me A Doctor

I'm The One

Mean Street

Unchained

Pretty Woman

Dance The Night Away

Ice Cream Man

Beautiful Girls

[Guitar Solo]

So This Is Love?

And The Cradle Will Rock

Everybody Wants Some

I'll Wait

Runnin' With The Devil

Little Guitars

Jamie's Cryin'

Atomic Punk

Feel Your Love Tonight

Little Dreamer

Panama

Hot For Teacher

Ain't Talkin' 'About Love

Encore:

1984

Jump

[Kanada Kev]

After the hilarious fuckup with the backing synth track at this show:

Looks like more Eddie problems happened a couple of nights ago too:

Subject: VanHalen Meltdown

Meadowlands 11/03/07:

The show is in the category of forgettable (or unforgettable..depends how you look at things). I guess the high point of the evening's drama was Eddie Van Halen stomping around like a 3-year old because his guitar cable kept getting tangled (as he yanked on it violently)...no wait...it would have to be him screaming..SCREAMING at the tech guys on the side of the stage for the better part of the show...no...the part where he flipped the monitor over, because it was either too loud, or he didn't like what was coming out of it..no...maybe it was when he picked said monitor up and threw it across the stage...NO..I got it..it was when he proceeded to pick up the monitor and throw it OFF the stage. That was it.

I'm not making any of this up.

There were some other noteworthy occurrences..like during one of Ed's fits, where he was switching guitars.."and the Cradle Will Rock" starts..only problem is..Ed is not holding a guitar..but it starts nonetheless, with the swoosing flanged guitar..that's he's not playing..it's pre-recorded..so is the rhythm part..I'm pretty sure it's a keyboard, but I never noticed it, because he was usually playing. This show seemed to measure up to the KC show everyone was talking about..except Dave was great. I gained a newfound respect for him tonight, as he was the consumate professional as his bandmate stomped, sneared and screamed through 90% of the show, during which he paid little attention to his playing, stopping at times, screwing up at others. After the monitor toss, he pretty much threw and swatted at anything and everything in his path.

I feel bad for Wolfie too. I can tell this is all getting to him fast. He looked like he wanted to be ANYWHERE else for pretty much the entire show. At times I caught him staring at Ed with this "what the f*ck??" look on his face. At one point, after one of his meltdowns, I guess Ed realized that yeh..there are like 10,000 people watching this, he tried to do his goofy dancing and jumping pikes, then he goes over to Wolfie's side and picks up a straw cowboy hat, puts it on, then tries to put it on Wolf, only Wolfs backs up, slaps the hat away, then proceeds to kick it off the stage into the crowd.

This thing is unravelling..fast. After the monitor throwing incident, Ed came back up and looked almost possessed. Very sad indeed. Sad for everyone involved. Sad for the fans that shelled out $500 to be in the VIP circle. Actually, it was sad for any fan who shelled out even $1 to see this charade tonight. Saddest of all for the multi-millionaire guitarist whose band is making 1.5 million per show that he can't put everything aside for 2 hours a day, play his music and act like a swell guy.

In any event..here it is. The recording matches the performance. BTW - I'm not on the whole VH-bashing bandwagon either. I'm just really disgusted at the show Ed turned in last night.

[celticwolfsun]

I went to both shows in Toronto.. and it was fuckin' awesome.. I would totally go and see them again.. with DLR of course...

[bokonon]

I don't understand why anybody likes Van Halen, I really don't get it at all. I think they are one of the most over-rated groups of all time. I can usually at least see merit in music that I don't exactly adore, but I see none in VH. I don't mean to insult anyone on the board for liking them, it just boggles my mind that people enjoy their disasterous assembly of noises from instruments. If someone could enlighten me as to why they are so popular it would solve one of those things that keep me lying awake and wondering at night.

[NewRider]

If someone could enlighten me as to why they are so popular it would solve one of those things that keep me lying awake and wondering at night.

Three words my friend

DAVID LEE ROTH!!!

[bokonon]

He looks like my sister.

[bokonon]

[Gr8FuL]

I dont get the hype with Van Halen either, I would have to be paid big bucks to go to a van halen show...Fuck the 80's

Edited November 7, 2007 by Guest

[Ol'Hickster]

Yea Im not a fan but I guess differnt strokes for differnt folks

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I think I'd get a kick out of it, if only because I used to be excited about them twenty years ago when I was discovering music, and always appreciated the fact that they didn't take themselves too seriously (and maybe that's the DLR charm).

I can't imagine enjoying more than one show, though; I pulled my one mixed Van Halen cd off the shelf a couple of weeks back for a listen, and don't think I'll need to revisit it for a while.

[Velvet]

Well, for one thing EVH completely reinvented electric guitar. Really, if the guy had just recorded Eruption and nothing else his influence would still have been huge.

[bokonon]

Yes, he did take the art of wanking to a whole new level.

[Ms Zimmy]

Well, for one thing EVH completely reinvented electric guitar. Really, if the guy had just recorded Eruption and nothing else his influence would still have been huge.

Exactly, and that's why my phone number ends with 5150!

[Velvet]

Yes, he did take the art of wanking to a whole new level.

Precisely.

[bokonon]

Yes' date=' he did take the art of wanking to a whole new level.[/quote']

Precisely.

Just because it's different doesn't make it good. Just because other people elaborated on what he has done, doesn't make it good. I still don't get why people think Van Halen is good. I just don't understand.

[Velvet]

Seems to me if something is different, inspires and changes what's happening, and lasts for three decades...well that sort of is a measurement of whether or not it's 'good'.

Just because you don't like it doesn't make it bad.

[bokonon]

Just because you don't like it doesn't make it bad.

It does in my opinion.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

subjective/objective

[bokonon]

Objectively: You can't deny that VH is really cheesy. There are facts in life and this is one of them.

[MarcO]

Van Halen plays (played) big, shiny, stupid rock and roll, just how I like it.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

one woman's cheese is another man's velveeta

subjectively the music may or may not appeal, objectively the musicians have or don't have chops, technical ability, tone and everything that musicians learn, hone and polish

[bradm]

Van Halen plays (played) big, shiny, stupid rock and roll, just how I like it.

Exactly. Their live shows had a profound wildness to them, an audacious, bad-boy nature (especially in the DLR years), along with a juvenile sense of humour and heavy antics. EVH's guitar playing fit in beautifully with that, too: while his chops were fearsome, there were much better players around then (some inspired and/or influenced by him, to be sure, especially the "classical metal" shredders like Yngvie Malmsteen and most of the artists on the Shrapnel record label), but none of them were part of the same kind of over-the-top in-your-face party form of show.

Aloha,

Brad