The Official Worcester 11/6 Meetup/Review Thread

[Va Beach VH Fan]

New date announced....


VA

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Bump for WAR, who is apparently unable to hit the "2" button on the lower right hand side of the screen to display this thread....

[tjvhou812]

3 shows all around me...life is sweet

[Warham]

I need your help, VA.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Sticky, T minus one week....

[Dave's PA Rental]

Three-times the Van Halen in a little over a month for me...

Life is pretty sweet for me...but FUCK im tired...

[DLR'sCock]

Have a blast Dave's PA!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I sure as fuck hope they fix the damn sound issues for tonight's show...

[Carmine]

Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
I sure as fuck hope they fix the damn sound issues for tonight's show...

Agreed.



...or at least, bolted down the monitors.

:p

[arastar]

I know I don't post here often, mainly for posting pictures I've taken or reviewing Dave/Vh shows. So don't flame me for what I'm gonna say and if you're in doubt of which version of VH I like, check my pictures and review of the Boston show.

Just back from Worcester. This was (in my opinion) a totally differant vibe from Boston. Dave sounded good but a bit horse at times. Eddie changed his location and no longer is using the failed monitor from the night before. He's now up front of the stage.

There was barely any interaction between Dave and Ed. No hug's, no high fives. They seemed cordial towards each other at best.

Eddie's playing had a LOT to be desired. Dave even f'd up and not the typical "I forgot the fucking words" thing.

Anyway, still a great rock and roll show....but you could tell it was an off night. These things will happen and at their age they are still putting on the best show in the industry.

Ok, I'm done. Curious what some of the others thing.

[Deklon]

Just back from Worcester, my third show. That last review was being kind. I felt Boston was an A+, Worcester was a D at best. There is no question Ed was hammered. HIs movements showed it, his face showed it, and sadly, his playing was Jeckyl and Hyde. Just like 2004.
Yes it's still Van Hale at times....some songs were just phenominal, and others almost unlistenable.

There were many mistakes, mostly Ed, some Dave, none for Wolf and Alex that I heard. Ed needed to be carried all night, His drunkenness definitely brought the rest of the band down, and eventually the crowd. Honest to God, Cathedral must have been 4 hours long. A guy next to me actually yelled "Great Ed, you can move the volumn knob". At least three sections heard him. There were times when he was moving his fingers but nothing was coming out. Bad sound? No....he was missing the strings.

Ed also rarely faced the crowd and talked to someone side stage all night. He stood with Al a lot too. Al had to pull him away from the mike when Ed was about to speak.

Wolf smiled about three times all night. He sure seemed like he was annoyed/saddened by his father.

So This is Love was so bad, I figured Ed's guitar was WAYYY out of tune. Nope, used it right away on the next song and it sounded right again. Jamie would definitely be crying if she saw Ed play her song tonight. Absolutely not even playing the same song.

This could be the beginning of the end or just a slip and/or a bad night. But I think you'll start see future reviews focused on what's wrong with Ed.

You could still have been there tonight had had a great time and thought the band rocked. That I understand. But if you're someone who focused more on the playing than the song, you were pissed and left with a bad feeling.

Oh, and Ed wore a black rolled-up long sleeve black shirt (for the first time)and white cargo pants. Ed(when he remembered) and Wolf sang all live backups with no enhancements. And Wolf is truly a good bass player. Lots of close-ups of him, he was playing and playing well.

[ben halen]

What a difference a week makes!!!

Boston show was spot-on!!!

The first half tonight was pretty good.

Ed fucked up Little Guitars, and pretty much every song thereafter. Instead of playing fast runs, he just bends notes and "fakes" it- kinda like I do when I try to play VH. Solo was a mess. Couldn't get his volume right for Women In Love or Cathedral, and couldn't get the harmonics to sound good on Women In Love. Shrugged his shoulders a lot, and when it was over, said something like, "I was just fuckin' off".

I thought Dave was excellent. He forgot some words, but he held a lot of impressive long notes, and did his scream a lot. They brought back the "Shoobeedoowah" part in I'm The One.

Alex is a monster!

Wolf was steady all night.

They're basically carrying Ed, as he's the weak link.

[Dave's PA Rental]

It was an off night.

I agree that Boston was an A+, and Worcester was a D.

What a difference a week makes.

I do not think that Ed was drunk. He was having an off night. Would you guys agree with me that the solo was really good? I think that it was. There were spots where it seemed like he forgot what song he was playing...

Dave did sound a bit hoarse tonight...

I saw interaction between Dave and Eddie...it was all good. Dave busted Eddies balls at one point...it was early in the set, I forget which song, but Eddie had just butchered part of it and Dave says something like "Come on man, even a dog finds a warm spot on a sidewalk"...

Dave knew that Eddie was having a rough night...it happens.

I managed to sneak my video camera in and got about 35 minutes of video...my buddy got the whole show on audio...preliminary listen on the way home...not the best audio, but not the worst either...

Video probably wont be worth posting, as some fucking 60 year old DCU security douche kept coming over and standing RIGHT FUCKING NEXT TO ME...so it's real choppy...lots of starts and stops...maybe, we'll see...

Boston was so good...so on top of their game...tonight, not so much.

[Dave's PA Rental]

ben halen stole my line...

[ben halen]

Originally posted by Dave's PA Rental
ben halen stole my line...

Sorry, dude.

Hey, wait a second...

[jgdrag]

Thanks for the reviews

[Va Beach VH Fan]

What did you guys think of the overall sound and Ed's rig tonight ??

[arastar]

Ed's sound was ok minus the few issues he had. At one point during the solo I could actually hear the crowd more than him and usually he's super loud. Also, during his Cathedral stuff some weird loud hum was coming out of the speakers.

Otherwise great! I still think they are a bit too loud overall...but I'll get my hearing back in a day or two.

[vimalakirti]

From what I've heard, Ed only fucked up on the Ice Cream Man solo, Cathedral, and the Women In Love intro. The Mean Street intro was perfect.

Dave missed a line on Little Guitars, but really did a great job handling the high parts.

Boston was better, but I'd definitely say the Worcester show was higher than a D.

[Bullethead #1]

Originally posted by Dave's PA Rental
It was an off night.

I agree that Boston was an A+, and Worcester was a D.

What a difference a week makes.

It was "So This Is Love" where Eddie was lost going into the 2nd chorus"

It was an off night. It happens on a lot of tours.

The progression seems to be that after a band shakes of the rust early in the tour, they have a stretch of really solid confident shows, and then have a few sup par shows.

By no means does this mean that the rest of the tour will be sub-par.

The band is AWESOME!

I did record the entire show(took a piss during drum solo) in .wav form on my M-Audio Microtrack.

I'll post it by this weekend.

[Warham]

I'd give it a A, but I'm biased.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I love how fickle Van Halen fans are....

Most of the posters here are giving last night's show a D, but if you read two pages of reviews at the Links, it was the best thing since hot buttered popcorn.....

Not that I don't believe the Linkers, or those here either for that matter, just that it goes to show you what some think is a poor show is great to others....

Personally, I'm at the stage that I don't give a shit if Ed screws up a solo from a song or Dave messes up the words.... I just want them to start having a string of shows where there's no sound issues and Ed's rig doesn't cause him problems.... If those two things are OK for the show, then the other stuff is just nitpicking, 'cause the show itself is fucking awesome...

[Deklon]

My D grade was not because Ed missed a couple solos. He missed several parts of several songs. He made glaring mistakes on at least 7 songs. He litterally missed picking the strings many times. He was shithoused, there is no question in my mind. I'm positive they actually turned Ed down in the mix at points. He's still Ed and had many amazing Ed runs and riffs. The band was still generally tight, heavy, and loud. They still rocked. But you can't ignore it when Ed needed to be carried by the band most of the night. For $145 per ticket, Ed can at least try to stay sober enough to play like Ed for more than half the set.

[Warham]

I loved it. I was in heaven last night.

Ed probably did fuck up half a dozen songs, but I didn't care.

[jgdrag]

Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
I love how fickle Van Halen fans are....

Most of the posters here are giving last night's show a D, but if you read two pages of reviews at the Links, it was the best thing since hot buttered popcorn.....

Not that I don't believe the Linkers, or those here either for that matter, just that it goes to show you what some think is a poor show is great to others....

Personally, I'm at the stage that I don't give a shit if Ed screws up a solo from a song or Dave messes up the words.... I just want them to start having a string of shows where there's no sound issues and Ed's rig doesn't cause him problems.... If those two things are OK for the show, then the other stuff is just nitpicking, 'cause the show itself is fucking awesome...

I believe I am at the same point as you. Funny thing, I was one of those same people until my second show and said to myself, just go
and enjoy the show, and that is what I will be doing this weekend again !

[arastar]

Yea, I sort of agree with you guys too even though I was first to post that it wasn't a "great" show.

I guess, for me, I just want to really believe that these guys can keep it together and I don't just mean musically. I mean as a band. So anytime I see in clips or live that there isn't that comradery, I tend to start thinking, "well, at least I got to see it before it collapsed."

Trying to keep the faith though. Any classic VH show is a good one!

[Dave's PA Rental]

I didnt say it sucked...it was just an off night.

The crowd was really into it the whole night though...

That was my third VH show in five weeks...and the Boston show a week before was absolutely perfect IMO.

[jgdrag]

Bro, you gave it a "D"

[Dave's PA Rental]

A "D" to me means below average. It was also based on what I saw the week before in Boston. Boston was off the charts good. Worcester, not so much.

Who fucking cares?

[jgdrag]

Who fucking caree? How about the people who are going to the next shows? How about the people thinking of buying tickets? How bout the people reading the reviews?
That's who fucking cares?

[Dave's PA Rental]

Originally posted by jgdrag
Who fucking caree? How about the people who are going to the next shows? How about the people thinking of buying tickets? How bout the people reading the reviews?
That's who fucking cares?

I think that it's pretty well established on this tour that the performances can vary from night to night, so who gives a fuck what 'Dave's PA Rental' thinks of the show. Go see it for yourself, and you decide if you like it.

If there exists a person out there who is riding the fence right now about whether or not to get a ticket for an upcoming show (assuming that they can even get a ticket) and they log on here and read that good 'ol 'Dave's PA Rental' says that the Worcester show was an off night, and that makes them say to themselves: "Nah...fuck that. I ain't goin' now..." Well, lets just say that I don't think that person exists.

The people reading the reviews? And WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN, Dave's PA Rental? Won't you think of the children???!!

You seem like an alright dude. Just take it down a notch or two.

[jgdrag]

Hey PA, been to 2 shows and a 3rd this weekend coming up. I care what Dave's PA Rental says., otherwise I won't read your post or log into here.
There are people on here and other boards talking about selling their tickets becasue of bad reviews.

Asking me to turn it down a notch is odd cosidering you were the one saying "who fucking cares?"

What the hell is "what about the children?"

[Bullethead #1]

Originally posted by jgdrag
Who fucking caree? How about the people who are going to the next shows? How about the people thinking of buying tickets? How bout the people reading the reviews?
That's who fucking cares?

Didn't they say "Judge us harshly"?

These guys are supposed to be pro's.. They work 2 hrs a day!

I saw all three shows that Dave's PA rental was at, and I agree this was an off night.

If i had only gone to this show I would have to say that I'd have been dissapointed. It might have even changed my opinion of this tour.

That being said a "D" Van Halen is still better than most concerts.

[jgdrag]

As far as Dave saying," judge us harshly" strictly a marketing quote to sell more tickets. Yes they are pros and should be bang on. Yes they play for 2 hours and 10 minutes most nights. But, shit happens.
I am sure Sped wants to play perfect everynight, but shit happens.
I too bitched about the first show I went to. But, after reading a few bad reviews, the fuckups didn't bother me anymore. I was there for the party, the fans getting together to celebrate Van Halen. These little things didn't seam to matter as much once I went to just enjoy the whole show and shrug off the mistakes, as live performances are always on the edge of fucking up. This may be the best we wiill ever get again, so I am going to enjoy it even if they fuck up. It was a nice ride again after 23 years of waiting. I really don't think there will be anything more after this tour.

[arastar]

Originally posted by jgdrag
Who fucking caree? How about the people who are going to the next shows? How about the people thinking of buying tickets? How bout the people reading the reviews?
That's who fucking cares?

Well, I can see your point and honestly when I read the review of the show right before the Boston one, I went in with low expectations but was blown away. I had to remember, it was someone's opinion and most likely, we don't see things the same way.

Everyone is going to be so critical of this tour and this band because of it's recent past. I guess if I hadn't seen Boston, then Worcester would have been considered great but unfortunately we had something to compare it to that was simply much better.

In the end, if people don't want to hear the HONEST truth about the shows, don't read the reviews and go experience it for yourself. Best way to get experience is first hand.

[Deklon]

Let me try to clear up the confusion. Especially for those reading thes reviews o decide if they ant to go. Even on a off night like Worcester, I gave the performance a D, but I can give the experience an A. Even with Ed's struggles, he's still amazing 80 to 90 percent of the night. It's like before the Pats/Colts game, I was hoping for a 34 to 10 rout, yet I was still thrilled with the win, even though the Pats didn't play as well as they had been.
I'm a guitar player so I focus on Ed most of the night. I think it's fair given his troubles on the 2004 tour to review his playing critically. Especially with his drinking issues. When you see a performance like Boston, then you see what Ed did in Worcester, it's important to remark on the big difference in playing and wonder why.
But again, Ed's struggles aside, you'll still have an amazing experience seeing this band.

[arastar]

Originally posted by Deklon
Let me try to clear up the confusion. Especially for those reading thes reviews o decide if they ant to go. Even on a off night like Worcester, I gave the performance a D, but I can give the experience an A. Even with Ed's struggles, he's still amazing 80 to 90 percent of the night. It's like before the Pats/Colts game, I was hoping for a 34 to 10 rout, yet I was still thrilled with the win, even though the Pats didn't play as well as they had been.
I'm a guitar player so I focus on Ed most of the night. I think it's fair given his troubles on the 2004 tour to review his playing critically. Especially with his drinking issues. When you see a performance like Boston, then you see what Ed did in Worcester, it's important to remark on the big difference in playing and wonder why.
But again, Ed's struggles aside, you'll still have an amazing experience seeing this band.

Amen

[Bullethead #1]

At around 5:30 before the show I took a walk over to the arena (I work a block away). I could hear the soundcheck from outside the arena. They played the set in order from You Really Got me through Atomic Punk. There were no Lead Vocals. Just instrumental. They did however sing backing vocals and you could really hear Wolfgang's voice during the parts where he normally doubles Dave. Also on the chorus of Romeo Delight.

I think his voice works so well because it's still got a youthful sound.

I also think its interesting that this kid sounds more like VH than any bass player from Dave's solo bands. At least vocally