FT. LAUDERDALE SHOW reviewed by Vain
This was my 4th show of the tour. So far I was 4th row, center for the first show in Charlotte, hit Greensboro and saw them at MSG. The excitment of Charlotte was amazing.. but MSG was the show to be at. Everything about that show was amazing. Edlie was playing like you'd expect him to - his solo was AWESOME at that show.
I totally agree with csgdemon - the band came out of the box really strong... they killed it for the first hour. I was really pleased with Eddie's playing - he seemed to be sober and very focused. The new Wolfgang guitar that he was playing sounded and looked great as well. Dave & Eddie were interacting and having a great time up there. However, Eddie seemed to be playing the show in 'safe' mode... he played well, but really wasn't pushing it... more on that later.
That being said - the show was very rushed... I first noticed it when Dave caught Eddie of guard during the 'improv' in 'Somebody Get Me a Doctor' - Eddie was jamming Spoonful, and seemed to be enjoying it when out of nowhere Dave went back into the song... Eddie wasn't in front of his pedals and almost blew the riff coming back in - but no big deal.. it all worked out. The next one for me was during 'Unchained' where Dave really rushed through the middle section, and caught Wolf off guard a bit with the 'Give him a break' part... the band wasn't ready for it. Also noteworthy, Dave didn't do the ICM story for this show... he just launched right into it, and played through 1 verse rather quickly. Eddie totally BLEW the solo for ICM - so bad that there was just silence and clunking notes for the first section of the solo. Just terrible. I knew we were in trouble after that... they ran through Panama in record time... Dave didn't really talk in the middle... they just ran back into the song and that was it.
Up next was Eddie's solo... he basically ran through 316, the tapping part of Spanish Fly, made some feedback, Cathedral - which was unimpressive - he seemed to lose his place a few times, then into a half-assed version of Eruption... I felt so flat after the solo, that I just wanted the show to end. I have never felt that at a VH show. Eddie messed up the beginning of Ain't Talkin Bout Love, but recovered it...
Overall, a good show. Dave was on the mark, Al was solid as ever, Wolf played great... but I just can't figure out Eddie. He plays the songs well enough.. but can't nail down a solo spot lately. I think Eddie has wrist issues that we don't know about preventing him from doing the crazy runs that we've all come to love and appreciate... I'll be seeing them again for the 2nd round on Feb 20 - and I'm hoping they don't rush through the set and Eddie can get his shit together... we'll see.
JACKSONVILLE SHOW reviewed by Firebrand
Old Rockers Reunite - with Kids
I’ve been a rock music fan since the day I arrived on this earth some 44 years ago. For around 30 of those, I’ve actually made a stab at being a rock guitar player – and some folks have told me through those years I’m pretty good at it.
As a teacher, I get the opportunity to spend time around today’s teenagers, and the more time I spend around them the more I learn they have about as much use for much of today’s rock music as I do – which ain’t much.
Some of my ‘coolest’ students today have Boston music on their cell phones as ring tones. I bought my first Boston LP in 1976. I saw Boston live in 1977.
And kids are using their music for their ring tones today.
In fact, I will go as far to say that most kids who listen to rock today are listening to almost the exact same music I listened to when I was a kid. Furthermore, in some cases, the parents and their kids are today listening to the same music.
This point was illustrated perfectly this week.
On Saturday, my favorite band from my younger years, Van Halen, played in Jacksonville with their original lead singer, David Lee Roth, for the first time in 23 years ago. So Gene Carlton – with whom I have played in a band with for the last 25 or so years – and I loaded up to go to a real rock concert together for the first time since the last time we saw Van Halen in 1984.
On the way down, we reminisced about all of our rocker glory days. Neither of us played because we were wild men – actually, quite the opposite. We played because we loved the music.
I wondered out loud if this tour, with 50-something rockers starring, might be sponsored by Metamucil.
When we pulled into the parking lot, I got out of the truck to hear “Mr. Young!, Mr. Young!”, and lo and behold up pulls one of my students and his family – mom, dad, and brother – parking right beside us.
His dad asked how the young man was doing in my class, whereupon I told him he had missed a major project, what he could do to improve the grade, etc., and the dad responded he would get with me to talk about it.
In other words, I had a teacher/student/parent conference in the parking lot of a Van Halen concert. Wow.
Once inside, we settled next to a 50-something Gator fan sitting next to us who had the worst breath in the western hemisphere, and of course who proceeded to talk my head off at close range for an hour.
I scanned the room constantly, not just to avoid his halitosis, but mainly to take in all the moms, dads, sons and daughters who were in attendance together. In fact, out of the 11,000 or so there, probably near half were families.
The concert itself continued that theme. The band’s original bass player has been replaced with the 16-year old son of genius guitarist Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang. There was something inspiring, if not cool, to see this god of rock and roll onstage with his own son - and Eddie’s pride in being up there with him beamed through his countenance.
See, Eddie Van Halen has had his share of rock star troubles, and then some. He had hip replacement surgery over a decade ago, the socket worn out from all the wear and tear of years on the stage. His bouts with severe alcoholism led to a well-publicized divorce from actress Valerie Bertinelli. Then his smoking led to oral cancer, which led to part of his tongue having to be removed, reconstructive surgery, depression, another bout of alcolohism, etc.
Wolfgang Van Halen, his son, told his father that it was a mistake for him to continue his near quarter-century feud with Roth because, as he has been quoted as saying to the press, “together the two of them made some of the best rock in history.” Eddie asked his son to mediate, and eventually be in, the reunion of the band.
Now, I don’t know this for a fact, but it seems common sense. I believe Eddie discovered several things along the way to this years’ tour. He discovered that, yes, he and Roth still made magic together. But he also discovered that it is far more difficult for a father to self-destruct under the watchful guise of his own child.
In the past when Van Halen played, Eddie endlessly chain-smoked and drank. In fact, on their last tour, things got so bad that at times the man generally regarded as arguably the single best rock guitarist in history was booed by his own adoring fans, nauseated at the sight of what he had become.
On Saturday, Eddie never lit up. He drank bottled water. He was fit, tan, clear-eyed, and beaming from ear to ear, playing and moving around the stage like he did 25 years ago, glowing like a man reclaiming years of time lost.
And when he prowled to the side of the stage where his son played, he looked – well, he looked like a proud daddy.
Roth and Eddie hugged, winked, sang, hugged, and played together throughout the set. Whatever venom that existed between them seems almost an afterthought. Could be that the demons that had possessed Eddie through his self-destructive spiral have finally been exorcised – all by the hands and heart of his own son.
I watched the show unfold, and at times I found myself with tears in my eyes. Why, you ask? Maybe it was because for one moment in time, I was 19 again, taken back to those glory years through that music I loved. Maybe it was because someone I have admired so much – Eddie -had triumphantly, finally returned with his elixir - David Lee - and his tonic – Wolfgang – on either side.
But in the end, looking around the room and seeing mothers, fathers, sons and daughters dancing, clapping, and singing together, I was reminded of my own son and daughter. In the end, they are what it is all about, the greatest blessing in our lives.
All the mom and pop rockers with their kids in the stands knew it – and thankfully, now so does a living legend who was blessed to be given the opportunity to be onstage with his.
ATLANTA SHOW reviewed by rwc
A few quick notes from the show...
1. Damn, they sounded great. Fantastic even. The sound was awesome until about 3/4 of the way through Eddie's solo then something blew. The sound sucked from that point on. Not sure what happened, but someone will probably lose a job over it.
2. Eddie is playing a different guitar from the first leg of the tour. Also, his mic and monitor are setup more toward the center of the stage.
3. Wolfie sounds great - much better than the earlier shows. They went out of the way to show him playing the intro to "So this is Love?"
4. No story before ICM. Also the stage props were limited (no chains and no hat trick).
5. Ed was definitely sober & he was on!!! The band looks really happy. Hopefully we'll get a new album out of this reunion!!!
6. It wasn't very loud compared to the other shows. But then again, my ears checked out after 10/16 in Chicago.
Des Moines Show reviewed by dirty dave;
i was there, hooked up with jim shetterlini a bit, and the show ROCKED.
let me first say though that dave had to walk out on the middle of the ramp and tell the crowd "wake up boy".
i was row 13 dead center 10 feet from the ramp and dave was clearly not pleased with the lame crowd as far as singing along.
soon though the crowd woke up and started interacting as van halen kicked butt for the next 1 1/2 hours.
the weather was crap and the crowd seemingly sort of sleepy drunk (kansas city i was on the floor and i could hear the crowd singing LOUDLY every song), here the crowd took some coaxing to get going but they finally did.
eddie played very well,better than kansas city more controlled, eddie was far more wreckless and crazy on guitar in kansas city (which i dug as well).
wolfie is getting BETTER on bass,alex his usual KICKASS self on drums (his solos went over very well at kc and des moines).
eds solo at des moines was a long cathedral style affair, i was impressed but i sensed some of the crowd got lost in the long chord swells, myself i will take all of the eddie i can get but others want to hear just songs
one complaint it was very HOT on the floor especially at the first of the show,dave was sweating and singing his ass off,so was wolfie but they soldiered on.
i think all of the bad weather-booze and being a wednesday night kind of slowed the crowd response a bit plus the damned heat inside the building,but the crowd pulled it together and ended up loving it,i talked with a dozen at least on the floor after the show and all were blown away
OMAHA SHOW - Reviewed by RedEye
A-MAZ-ING show.... the KC show was a C cause this one was an A++++
Dave was ON... Eddie was ON... Wolf can play.... Alex was a monster.
The band in KC looked like they were going through the motions... hardly any interaction with the crowd.
Last night... COMPLETE opposite. THIS was the show I had dreamed of seeing. I lucked out and got a seat in the pod at 4:30 day of show for face value... $147 Apparently the VIPs didn't sell out and they released a few inside the pod for face value... I wasn't prepared for that and left my camera at home... got cell pics which are blurry as hell.
I only saw one flaw in Eddie's playing at the end of Little Guitars... other than that he looked fresh, sober, and his playing was spot on almost all night.
Dave was a different man than in KC... spoke to us A LOT.... he and Ed were having a great time. Being 6th row center in the pod.... the show of a lifetime. 20+ years I waited for THAT show (I thought KC was good until last night)... and to luck into the pod seats.... frickin' unbelievable.
