Van Halen to play private party Nov.15th in Toronto?

[binnie]

Originally posted by Keeyth
I'm fuckin speechless... I've got serious envy...

You and me both!

[CVH Rulz]

Balsillie hosts surprise Van Halen, Tragically Hip concert for employees
11 hours ago

TORONTO - Apparently, working for billionaire Jim Balsillie has its benefits.

Balsillie, the co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., booked the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night to host a surprise concert for some 14,000 employees and invited guests. One concertgoer said he'd been told in advance only that Balsillie had invited two of his all-time favourite bands to come and perform.

Turns out the bands were the Tragically Hip and the reunited Van Halen, which has earned rave reviews on its current tour.

It's not the first time Balsillie has staged such a show for employees of his Waterloo, Ont.-based company.

He arranged a similar gig with Aerosmith and the Barenaked Ladies a few years back.

Balsillie made news earlier this year when he tried unsuccessfully to buy the Nashville Predators, amid speculation that he wanted to bring the NHL team to Hamilton.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0wzhmMf8XVACLYcOVpm_P6VqobA

[chi-town324]

very cool!

[Hardrock69]

Damn....I would love to work for that motherfucker!!!

[Diamondjimi]

Had an awesome fuckin night!
Got some great pics and video. I'll post some tonight.....

[VAiN]

Was it the same setlist as the tour?

[thome]

I was wondering if they would play the whole set list, 2 hrs at a private gig?

Probably depends on the money..?

[Maggi]

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=84969

Reunited rock group VAN HALEN blasted out its hits for 14,000 Research In Motion employees, co-op students and invited guests at a surprise concert last night (Thursday, November 15) at Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Air Canada Centre. One concertgoer said he'd been told in advance only that co-CEO of BlackBerry maker RIM, billionaire Jim Balsillie, had invited two of his all-time favorite bands to come and perform. Also appearing on the bill was the TRAGICALLY HIP.

Check put pictures from last night's show at this location.

VAN HALEN capped a stretch of East Coast dates on Tuesday night (November 13) with a sold-out show at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Despite reports of sound problems on a couple of recent stops, the Garden show came off flawlessly, with the exception of singer David Lee Roth shouting, "I forgot the fucking lyrics!" during "Pretty Woman". The two-hour performance was packed from start to finish with classics from all six of the albums the band cut with Roth, including "Runnin' with the Devil", "Dance the Night Away", "Unchained", "Panama", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and show closer "Jump".

The quartet is now taking a week off before beginning a West Coast run on November 20 in Los Angeles that will end in late December.

Meanwhile, plans are moving forward for a 2008 slate of shows as well. In addition to a previously announced March 30 gig in St. Louis, VAN HALEN has added dates in Oklahoma City on January 22, Houston on January 28 and Omaha, Nebraska on February 4, with more sure to be revealed.

...

This just proves that there are indeed cool companies to be working for ...



Roth on !
Maggi

[diamondsgirl]

Now thats a cool boss!

Seriously...this guy kicks ass with his "incentive program".

Damn straight you wanna do a good job working for him!! keep that gig no matter what.

I wonder if he has much turnover...probably not.

[m_dixon1984]

DAMN!! I just applied for a job at RIM becasue of this thread. Cheap ass motherfuckers at EDS can suck my balls!!

Thanks diamondjimi. Hope you enjoyed the show.

M

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I'm in contact with various people at RIM just about every day. I was at the RIM compound in Waterloo last March.

Jim Balsillie (CEO) doesn't mess around with with these functions. The folks up there told me when I was there that Aerosmith was there last year.

[Big Troubles]

2 years ago i think. the big wig seems to throw a party every second year. i could be wrong tho.

[VH LINKS SUCKS]

Well what I can say? A magical night although it started out rather gloomy as the crowd started shuffling in to the Air Canada Centre just before 7pm and I stood there outside with my contact from RIM nowhere to be found! So much for relying on people to come through for you when it’s mostly words but no action! I didn’t give up hope though, and I as fate would have it I bumped into a diehard Van Halen fan outside the ACC (his name was Jeff ironically, lol) holding up a tiny cardboard sign he created that read “I need a ticket-Big VH fan!” We ended up speaking for a while as the crowd grew larger by the second, limo after limo, busses, cabs etc... and everyone else all but forming a line to get in. Man, we stood there for what seemed hours as people walked by and then all of sudden this guy walks up to Jeff (unlike the other corporate hags that actually had extra passes not wanting to give them up) as this generous person obviously noticed the cardboard message, and handed him an envelope! Jeff ripped it open and started freaking out when it included a pass and ticket! I thought to myself, my contact let’s me down here I am watching this guy go absolutely crazy! I was just about ready to give up and leave. Then, no more than 5 minutes later, Jeff walks up to me and hands me a pass and ticket! He said there was an extra pass and ticket and then I started shaking, lol! Talk about being surreal and I could not believe I was about to go in to see my favourite band! I seriously felt like the guys in the movie ‘Detroit Rock City’ where they end up getting tickets after all and end up seeing their favourite band! It was an incredible feeling! I immediately bought Jeff a beer inside and couldn’t thank him enough! It was extra special considering he was a diehard fan unlike the corporate crowd in which half of them sat on the hands and looked completely out of place for a band as great as this!

I cannot say enough about the evening! Moments like this don’t happen very often and I feel very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time! There was basically no way to get a ticket for this as there were no scalpers or anyone for that matter willing to give you a break to this event! Rightly so, this was a private corporate show for the employees/friends/family of RIM Blackberry and having a CEO like that just goes to show how special their Boss is! One story I heard about Jim Balsillie and what lead to him hiring Van Halen to play this gig is indeed the story behind Jeff Spicoli and Van Halen from the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Not only is the guy a huge VH fan but this was something they talked about in the office and I’m just passing on what I heard from others last night. Very Cool!

Anyway, the Tragically Hip as it’s already be written on here, went on about 7pm (I’m not a huge fan although they’re Canadian so I’ll give them props for that) and we didn’t actually take our seat until half way through their set. Nothing special and in my opinion as lead singer Gordon Downie looked like a total fool when he tries to come across as a frontman.

Van Halen hit the stage around 8:30 and I'm glad I took my camera just in case as I have for all the shows on the tour! The set list was the same as it has been for the entire tour! Now, correct me if I’m wrong and after seeing this band for the 4th time on this tour (I can't believe so soon since Montreal was just 6 days ago!) have they NOT sang the a-capella part of ‘I’m the One’ since the rehearsal? Because last night they did the a-capella! It was sweet and maybe I had not paid attention to this during the other shows, lol. Too busy snapping a zillion pictures! It was a lot different this time because I had been in the 'pit' all three shows and now I was sitting on Ed's side just up in the low stands. Talk about a different perspective and it was nice to view everything this way for once. Although there's nothing like being very close for these guys!

The crowd was lame for the most part as I mentioned and Dave pointed out and made a comment how this was a pleasant return to Toronto and a private gig blah blah blah. He did joke about saying things to the crowd he would normally not say in public. I think the band realized it would be somewhat of a more subdued crowd but they still gave it 110%! You could really notice particular Van Halen fans stand as opposed to the others with that stunned look on their face to go along with a lot of the people sitting there! One comment we heard from a girl sitting behind us (and please refrain from puking when I explain, lol) had both of us shaking our head and almost vomit, lol! She said “Is this the band that sings ‘I wanna rock’ ? Lol! I nearly dropped my drink! That about sums up nearly half the crowd that responded well to ‘Panama’ and ‘Jump’! In any event, it was total bliss to see this band again as I’m sure that’ll continue a few more times in 2008. Maybe catch them down in sunny Florida.

One thing I wanted to point out about Ed was the fact he certainly lit up a cigarette for most of his guitar solo and actually smoked more frequent then the other times I’ve seen the band on the tour. However what was noticeable this time is the problem he may indeed be having with the hip, again. Since I had a clear view of him, he was struggling to get down the stairs when he had to and almost had to grab the railing with both hands and sort of swing himself to each step. The only time I saw him do half a flying scissor kick was near the end of the concert and the pic that I have with Wolfgang. I know someone mentioned Ed’s problem in Montreal but I certainly didn’t notice that last Saturday unlike last night and the pictures I took that night show Ed in top form. I hope this isn’t a sign that he may need a new hip or that he won’t be able to give 100% in terms of having fun and jumping around. We’ll see what happens down the road.

That’s about it. Again I feel very fortunate to see the band again especially under different circumstances and cannot say it enough! I hope I can bring it to life a little bit with the pics for those who couldn’t be there. I did take some video clips and hope to get those up at some point.




















CEO-Jim Balsillie (The real Jeff Spicoli! )

[Sarge's Little Helper]

Well what I can say? A magical night although it started out rather gloomy as the crowd started shuffling in to the Air Canada Centre just before 7pm and I stood there outside with my contact from RIM nowhere to be found! So much for relying on people to come through for you when it’s mostly words but no action! I didn’t give up hope though, and I as fate would have it I bumped into a diehard Van Halen fan outside the ACC (his name was Jeff ironically, lol) holding up a tiny cardboard sign he created that read “I need a ticket-Big VH fan!” We ended up speaking for a while as the crowd grew larger by the second, limo after limo, busses, cabs etc... and everyone else all but forming a line to get in. Man, we stood there for what seemed hours as people walked by and then all of sudden this guy walks up to Jeff (unlike the other corporate hags that actually had extra passes not wanting to give them up) as this generous person obviously noticed the cardboard message, and handed him an envelope! Jeff ripped it open and started freaking out when it included a pass and ticket! I thought to myself, my contact let’s me down here I am watching this guy go absolutely crazy! I was just about ready to give up and leave. Then, no more than 5 minutes later, Jeff walks up to me and hands me a pass and ticket! He said there was an extra pass and ticket and then I started shaking, lol! Talk about being surreal and I could not believe I was about to go in to see my favourite band! I seriously felt like the guys in the movie ‘Detroit Rock City’ where they end up getting tickets after all and end up seeing their favourite band! It was an incredible feeling! I immediately bought Jeff a beer inside and couldn’t thank him enough! It was extra special considering he was a diehard fan unlike the corporate crowd in which half of them sat on the hands and looked completely out of place for a band as great as this!

I cannot say enough about the evening! Moments like this don’t happen very often and I feel very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time! There was basically no way to get a ticket for this as there were no scalpers or anyone for that matter willing to give you a break to this event! Rightly so, this was a private corporate show for the employees/friends/family of RIM Blackberry and having a CEO like that just goes to show how special their Boss is! One story I heard about Jim Balsillie and what lead to him hiring Van Halen to play this gig is indeed the story behind Jeff Spicoli and Van Halen from the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Not only is the guy a huge VH fan but this was something they talked about in the office and I’m just passing on what I heard from others last night. Very Cool!

Anyway, the Tragically Hip as it’s already be written on here, went on about 7pm (I’m not a huge fan although they’re Canadian so I’ll give them props for that) and we didn’t actually take our seat until half way through their set. Nothing special and in my opinion as lead singer Gordon Downie looked like a total fool when he tries to come across as a frontman.

Van Halen hit the stage around 8:30 and I'm glad I took my camera just in case as I have for all the shows on the tour! The set list was the same as it has been for the entire tour! Now, correct me if I’m wrong and after seeing this band for the 4th time on this tour (I can't believe so soon since Montreal was just 6 days ago!) have they NOT sang the a-capella part of ‘I’m the One’ since the rehearsal? Because last night they did the a-capella! It was sweet and maybe I had not paid attention to this during the other shows, lol. Too busy snapping a zillion pictures! It was a lot different this time because I had been in the 'pit' all three shows and now I was sitting on Ed's side just up in the low stands. Talk about a different perspective and it was nice to view everything this way for once. Although there's nothing like being very close for these guys!

The crowd was lame for the most part as I mentioned and Dave pointed out and made a comment how this was a pleasant return to Toronto and a private gig blah blah blah. He did joke about saying things to the crowd he would normally not say in public. I think the band realized it would be somewhat of a more subdued crowd but they still gave it 110%! You could really notice particular Van Halen fans stand as opposed to the others with that stunned look on their face to go along with a lot of the people sitting there! One comment we heard from a girl sitting behind us (and please refrain from puking when I explain, lol) had both of us shaking our head and almost vomit, lol! She said “Is this the band that sings ‘I wanna rock’ ? Lol! I nearly dropped my drink! That about sums up nearly half the crowd that responded well to ‘Panama’ and ‘Jump’! In any event, it was total bliss to see this band again as I’m sure that’ll continue a few more times in 2008. Maybe catch them down in sunny Florida.

One thing I wanted to point out about Ed was the fact he certainly lit up a cigarette for most of his guitar solo and actually smoked more frequent then the other times I’ve seen the band on the tour. However what was noticeable this time is the problem he may indeed be having with the hip, again. Since I had a clear view of him, he was struggling to get down the stairs when he had to and almost had to grab the railing with both hands and sort of swing himself to each step. The only time I saw him do half a flying scissor kick was near the end of the concert and the pic that I have with Wolfgang. I know someone mentioned Ed’s problem in Montreal but I certainly didn’t notice that last Saturday unlike last night and the pictures I took that night show Ed in top form. I hope this isn’t a sign that he may need a new hip or that he won’t be able to give 100% in terms of having fun and jumping around. We’ll see what happens down the road.

That’s about it. Again I feel very fortunate to see the band again especially under different circumstances and cannot say it enough! I hope I can bring it to life a little bit with the pics for those who couldn’t be there. I did take some video clips and hope to get those up at some point.




















CEO-Jim Balsillie (The real Jeff Spicoli! )

Oops. I wasn't paying attention. Tell me again what is going on.

[thome]

I think we all knew that CVH wasn't just blasting out the windows of cool cats cars ,at the burger king window.


But, it is cool to see that fer shure, it is blasting out the speakers in big dog ceo's office stereos.

Whata cool dude, these are the things that make people want to work for you.

Rite On!