1984 Tour Stage

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  • rockhead
    Roadie
    • Jan 2006
    • 162

    1984 Tour Stage

    Hi Guys - just wondering is anyone has a photo of the 1984 stage.I know it was a huge production tour but i cannot find anything via google on what the stage looked loike.
  • Nitro Express
    DIAMOND STATUS
    • Aug 2004
    • 32794

    #2
    I worked the barricade in front of it. Right in front of Eddie's microphone. I couldn't see shit and had to watch the crowd anyways. What was cool is I could sense someone was behind me and when I looked, Ed was sitting on the edge of the stage with his feet dangling down behind me just ripping it up on his Kramer. He was like he was in a trance and he kept time with his tongue moving it back and forth in his mouth.
    No! You can't have the keys to the wine cellar!

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    • Nitro Express
      DIAMOND STATUS
      • Aug 2004
      • 32794

      #3
      I will say this about Van Halen in 1984. Their road crew were top notch. Kevin Dugan was the road manager and Ed Anderson was security manager. It didn't matter if you were just a day hire, for that day, you were one of the crew and they treated us as such. Ed Anderson himself showed us the in and outs of barricade crowd control and how to avoid getting puked on. LOL!
      No! You can't have the keys to the wine cellar!

      Comment

      • sadaist
        TOASTMASTER GENERAL
        • Jul 2004
        • 11625

        #4
        Originally posted by rockhead
        Hi Guys - just wondering is anyone has a photo of the 1984 stage.I know it was a huge production tour but i cannot find anything via google on what the stage looked loike.


        Isn't the same as in the Panama video?


        “Great losses often bring only a numb shock. To truly plunge a victim into misery, you must overwhelm him with many small sufferings.”

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        • Nitro Express
          DIAMOND STATUS
          • Aug 2004
          • 32794

          #5
          Yup. I remember four flat bed trailers of chromed trusses for the lights and stage. I think it was one of Van Halen's best stages.
          No! You can't have the keys to the wine cellar!

          Comment

          • CROWBAR
            Commando
            • Sep 2004
            • 1283

            #6

            Comment

            • jero
              Crazy Ass Mofo
              • Jan 2004
              • 2927

              #7
              Originally posted by Nitro Express
              I will say this about Van Halen in 1984. Their road crew were top notch. Kevin Dugan was the road manager and Ed Anderson was security manager. It didn't matter if you were just a day hire, for that day, you were one of the crew and they treated us as such. Ed Anderson himself showed us the in and outs of barricade crowd control and how to avoid getting puked on. LOL!
              Thats a cool story dude!

              Comment

              • Nitro Express
                DIAMOND STATUS
                • Aug 2004
                • 32794

                #8
                That lighting rig was heavy as hell. They didn't mess around on getting the hanging points right for it. We were waiting for the riggers to get done so we could start building the stage. The front of the lighting platform was on winches so it could tip down. It was kind of scary to so all that above your head thinking if somebody screwed up, it could come crashing down on you. All the lights had safety cables on them incase the mount failed. They also had guys suspended in the rig operating spots lights.
                No! You can't have the keys to the wine cellar!

                Comment

                • Nitro Express
                  DIAMOND STATUS
                  • Aug 2004
                  • 32794

                  #9
                  Originally posted by jero
                  Thats a cool story dude!
                  I had tickets to the VH show but the mom of a friend worked for the venue and they hired day laborers for all the acts that came through. She got us a day job with Van Halen Productions and the job did require heavy lifting. LOL! So you help set up the stage mostly moving equipment in from the trucks and placing it where they want you to. You can watch the sound check and then during the show you work the barricade. It was interesting and all the VH crew were really nice to us. A lot of those guys looked pretty hammered. It's a huge job setting up, tearing down, and moving it all. Plus, I imagined they partied pretty hard when they could.
                  No! You can't have the keys to the wine cellar!

                  Comment

                  • Jagermeister
                    Full Member Status

                    • Apr 2010
                    • 4510

                    #10
                    Dave did an interview where he talked about it briefly. I can't find it on Youtube but he said it was the largest production ever taken on a world your. That may have also been the one where he said they traveled with a band of harden criminals he perceived as a gang or something like that. My memory is not as good as it use to be.

                    Comment

                    • Nitro Express
                      DIAMOND STATUS
                      • Aug 2004
                      • 32794

                      #11
                      Lot's of steel trusses in that stage rig. It took three 18 wheeler flat bed trailer rigs to just haul those trusses. The speakers take up a lot of room to haul. The staging breaks down pretty compact.
                      No! You can't have the keys to the wine cellar!

                      Comment

                      • Va Beach VH Fan
                        ROTH ARMY FOUNDER
                        • Dec 2003
                        • 17913

                        #12
                        That fucking stage was HUUUUGE....

                        The truss coming down at the end of the show with the 1 9 8 4 flashing....

                        The big platforms on each side....

                        Ed's keyboards were up on the platform parallel to Al's kit.....
                        Eat Us And Smile - The Originals

                        "I have a very belligerent enthusiasm or an enthusiastic belligerence. I’m an intellectual slut." - David Lee Roth

                        "We are part of the, not just the culture, but the geography. Van Halen music goes along with like fries with the burger." - David Lee Roth

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                        • 78/84 guy
                          Crazy Ass Mofo
                          • Apr 2005
                          • 2557

                          #13
                          Loved all the speakers. They went to the roof . I don't think they were all working. Just the bottom row for Ed & Mike. I mean Bass player.

                          Comment

                          • vaijuju
                            Sniper
                            • Jan 2008
                            • 830

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
                            That fucking stage was HUUUUGE....

                            The truss coming down at the end of the show with the 1 9 8 4 flashing....

                            The big platforms on each side....

                            Ed's keyboards were up on the platform parallel to Al's kit.....


                            Only dave on stage
                            http://vhfrance.activebb.net/ (1 er Site Francophone sur Van Halen)

                            http://www.youtube.com/user/VHFranceVideos (Our new Channel)

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                            • chefcraig
                              DIAMOND STATUS
                              • Apr 2004
                              • 12172

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Jagermeister
                              Dave did an interview where he talked about it briefly. I can't find it on Youtube but he said it was the largest production ever taken on a world your. That may have also been the one where he said they traveled with a band of harden criminals he perceived as a gang or something like that. My memory is not as good as it use to be.
                              I think that is an excerpt from the Crazy From The Heat book. He devotes a couple of chapters to touring, including a hilarious segment about going into the T-shirt business to foil the bootleggers. The band wound up having the merchandise printed up at the same outfit the bootleggers used.

                              Originally posted by 78/84 guy
                              Loved all the speakers. They went to the roof . I don't think they were all working. Just the bottom row for Ed & Mike. I mean Bass player.
                              That wall of speakers was actually a curtain with speakers printed on it. Every so often a breeze would come from somewhere back stage, and the whole thing moved.
                              Last edited by chefcraig; 11-23-2010, 04:36 PM.









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