Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 81 to 83 of 83

Thread: The Official Los Angeles 11/20 Meetup/Review Thread

  1. #81
    Sheep Pen Kiwi
    DIAMOND STATUS
    Dan's Avatar
    Member No
    246
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Last Online
    01-26-2024 @ 02:58 PM
    Location
    The Sheep Pen
    Age
    49
    Posts
    12,179
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,352
    Thanked 883 Times in 644 Posts


    Rep Power
    42
    Originally posted by Kennedy
    I Can't believe all the Guys I saw there.I Passed out my phone number and Got lucky three days later.I'm glad i had 10 cases of KY Jelly.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  2. #82
    Groupie
    Apocalypso's Avatar
    Member No
    23544
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Last Online
    01-06-2012 @ 12:32 AM
    Location
    Huntington Beach, CA
    Posts
    84
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post
    Rep Power
    17
    Better late than never, here's my uber-review of the opening night in Los Angeles at Staples Arena on 11/20/07.

    I picked up my ticket when I bid on an eBay auction ($300.00) about 3 weeks before the show. The auction that eventually went far beyond my limit by the time it ended, I think upwards of $500.00 for the single 5th row seat. A couple days after the auction, the seller contacted me saying the original winning bidder flaked out and would give me the ticket for my original high bid. I'm always a bit leery of such "2nd chance" offers, but it was obviously a ticket agency with a lot of positive feedback so I felt comfortable taking the offer and it turned out fine.

    I kept a close watch for tickets being released for that Staples show and it turned out to be one of the toughest tickets of the tour so far aside from maybe MSG as only fair to good seats on Wolfgang's side in the lower loges appeared to be released on TM and the Box Office the last 48 hours before the show.

    I got to Staples around 7:45pm and as expected with all the construction, plus the fact the brand new Nokia Theater literally right next door to Staples also had a show going on that night (Mary J Bilge), I avoided trying to park in the Staples lot and went a block away and parked in one of the private lots for 20 bucks which turned out to be a really smart move as it was easy to get out and on the freeway after the show let out.

    Staples has pretty tight security with metal detectors, it's basically just like entering a Federal Building or airport screening. However, despite the clear warnings posted outside and on the ticket that no cameras were allowed, I was able to walk in with my small digital camera in my hand and no one said anything, nor was I ever hassled by security during the show when I took a few pictures with a flash.

    Probably what made the show for me was my 5th row seat turned out to be right against the barricade running along the ego ramp on Eddie's (former) side so I only had people on my right side. It was kinda like having a window seat on a flight. I could lean against the railing the whole show and no one was blocking my view at all. The sound from where I was standing was really good, not overdriven or harsh at all. Fairly well balanced and I was getting a lot of guitar straight from the band's onstage monitors and I could really physically feel the kick from Alex's bass drums. A few times Roth was kind of buried in the mix but I really have no complaints about the overall sound mix. I did hear some people leaving the show whining how loud it was but I imagine the sound really depends on where you're at or I'm just going pleasantly deaf. As others have mentioned, the ego ramp was only used by Roth a handful of times and Wolfgang took maybe 2 or 3 walks to the front of it during the show. Eddie is simply tethered to a 20 foot radius around his mic stand/drum riser and never ventured on the ramp and barely even walked out to the lip of the stage either.

    I missed KY as I was browsing the merch stands during his set. Once I got down to my seat, I never saw the two VH blimps floating around and I doubt they used them inside Staples.

    Obviously as I expected, Van Halen brought their "A" game to LA for their first show. Really, an almost perfect performance, mostly exceeding my expectations except for Eddie's solo which was a bit too much "by-the-book" yet not quite played at Eddie's (former) peak but was still much more solid than most of the clips and bootlegs I've heard from this tour. No surprises in the setlist, the only real change was no "shoobie-doo-whop" accapella part in "Show Your Love, " they just stopped the song and soaked up the roar of the hometown crowd for a minute than crashed back into the finish of the tune. Also, maybe I was hearing things but during the "Magic Bus" break in Romeo Delight, it almost sounded like Dave said at the end of the "I want it" refrain, "Mike, you can't have it."

    The one thing that struck me more about how the setlist is arranged versus the actual performances is who the overall show kinda has several peaks spread throughout instead of consistently building towards one big climax near or at the end of the show. It's definitely a pacing issue over-riding how some songs should actually be arranged in the set (Mean Street followed by Pretty Woman?!? WTF?). If you look at the strange pairing of Cradle and I'll Wait, it's simply because it's a big break for Eddie who can pretty much coast through those two songs except for the solos, plus they're both keyboard tunes. It was like once they got through that kick ass version of Romeo Delight early in the show, I was kind of relaxed watching until Everybody Wants Some through Mean Street where I was really into the tunes. Then mellow through Al's drum solo than *Pow!*, Unchained, than mellow for I'll Wait and Cradle than KA-BOOM, great version of Hot For Teacher, than mellow til' the tail end of Ice Cream Man. I actually thought the show post Eddie's solo was almost anti-climatic.

    The only song that I think they didn't play well was "Panama" which sounded like Eddie was a bit out of tune although the crowd didn't seem to mind.

    Eddie was really on for most of the show. No major flubs at all except the intro to Mean Streets was a bit short and ragged, Panama sounded "off" and his solo spot was kind of boring - he seemed really into Cathedral and dragged it out to the point he was losing the audience. He is indeed positioned almost directly in front of Alex's drum kit now onstage and rarely
    even ventured to the lip of the stage or the far stage right. It didn't seem like he was right dead center in front of Alex in '04 but I'd bet he's where he is on stage now because it's easier for him to walk over to Wolfgang with less chance of getting tangled in his cord than if he was closer to his old stage left spot on the stage and crossing over the width of the stage to be next to his son and simply because he gets a more satisfactory mix of what he want's to hear onstage and less feedback from his speaker cabs on his old side of the stage. It also appears his cord is now hooked up somewhere on Wolfgang's side of the drum riser instead of leading from his floor peddle board or the (stage right) side of the stage were his amps are. No major issues with his gear although he did occasionally wrestle with his cord and at one point before he started his solo spot, he wrapped it around his neck and played most of his solo like that.

    Wolfgang is a puzzle. Most of the show, it seems he's doing an excellent job on bass and he *is* playing live. Notably, he's really adding to several songs including Romeo Delight and So This Is Love. However, there was a couple instances where it just seemed like he wasn't playing what I was hearing. Part of it I'm sure is a lot of the bottom end is actually coming
    from Alex and the way his bass drums sound. Also, there's clearly "help" of some sort on the backing vox at times. Some songs it's 100% live, and a few songs it isn't.

    Alex is simple rock solid. He's really starting to physically look old and kinda craggy - almost Keith Richards/David Carradine. But when they busted into a fucking amazing version of Hot For Teacher, Alex was incredible.

    Dave is simple singing better than he has since the late 70's/early 80's. He doesn't have the sheer power to bust out those yells anymore, but his overall singing is far better than I can ever recall prior to the VHII or WACF 1980 tours. I also noticed Dave is using the props far less than what I saw on various videos from earlier in the tour. For "Unchained," he didn't even fuck around with the big phoney plastic chains in the song except to pick them up briefly at the end of the tune off the drum riser as if to say "Oops, I forgot to play with this stupid prop during the song." I don't think he rode the inflatable mic at the end of Jump either, he just carried it back to the stage from the center of the ramp.

    Which brings me to the only real letdown - the hometown audience. Really nowhere near as loud and rowdy as I expected for big chunks of the show. Not even the standard "Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!" chants during his solo spot. The crowd was certainly into the show, but I think part of the problem is that Staples is such a huge, cavernous arena that it's really tough to generate enough noise to compete with what a really loud audience can generate at a place like the old LA Forum. The arena was completely sold out although behind the stage was curtained off even with the video screen.

    As for the pit, it was kind of like a holding pen for celebrities and wanna-bees at Staples. I noticed about midway through my show that some drunk guy about 4 rows behind me also at a seat right against the barricade ringing the ramp was spitting/hocking lungers(sp?) over the ramp at people's backs in the back few rows in the ring when security wasn't looking as if he as a peasant pissed at the bourgeois. I imagine he either got busted or simply left around Alex's drum solo because I didn't see him after that.

    As it stands, I took last week's show as almost closure for me regarding the band. It mostly erased the bs of the past decade and I can almost say I have no driving need to see the band again although if I happen to snag a great seat at one of the Anaheim shows, I'll probably go one more time..

    For everyone's amusement:



















    T.B.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  3. #83
    Full On Cocktard

    Member No
    3408
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Last Online
    04-13-2010 @ 12:29 AM
    Location
    monterey park
    Posts
    34
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
    Rep Power
    0
    Just want to say "THIS WAS A FUC**N GREAT SHOW" , couldnt have ask for more I tell you. I hope all CLassic Van Halen fans dont miss these concerts just because a certain bassist isnt playing with them. Rock On people.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. The Official Philly 10/1 Meetup/Review Thread
    By Va Beach VH Fan in forum Main VH/DLR Discussion
    Replies: 70
    Last Post: 03-23-2012, 09:14 PM
  2. The Official Jacksonville 2/16 Meetup/Review Thread
    By Va Beach VH Fan in forum Main VH/DLR Discussion
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 02-18-2008, 10:02 PM
  3. The Official Milwaukee 4/28 Meetup/Review Thread
    By Va Beach VH Fan in forum Main VH/DLR Discussion
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 02-04-2008, 07:56 PM
  4. The Official Los Angeles 12/14 Meetup/Review Thread
    By Va Beach VH Fan in forum Main VH/DLR Discussion
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 12-15-2007, 05:43 PM
  5. The Official Detroit 10/20 Meetup/Review Thread
    By Va Beach VH Fan in forum Main VH/DLR Discussion
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 10-23-2007, 01:30 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •