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.
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.
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.
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!Originally Posted by Nitro Express
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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 at 03:36 PM.
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking
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.[/QUOTE]
The backdrop with the speakers was from Diver Down. The three bacdrops for 1984 was the sky/clouds with the rigging, hammer guy and the same pattern as the stage floor.
When the shit hits the fan, close your mouth and duck.
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.
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.....
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Only dave on stage
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Jeez, don't give up the day job Ed...
What day job? Demonstrating organs and keyboards trying to impress grandma at the Kerwitzel & Baldwin piano dealership?
I was on the stage when that truss was down during set up. That stage was actually dangerous with lots of sharp corners. You really could hurt yourself on the steps going up the drum riser or not paying attention. Not the day I was working but a few shows back someone was walking back on the stage looking at something and walked right off the stage and fell on some equipment below and ended up hurting themselves really bad. All that stuff is dangerous. It's heavy, it's sharp, there are high voltages feeding the lights that can make parts of the stage hot. A lot of performers have stories of getting shocked on stage. It happened to Ace Frehley and he put that in his book.
All this stuff has to be put together and time goes by fast. It has to be ready for the show. You have tired crews and it's easy to miss something. Van Halen actually had checklists and everything had to be marked off to make sure this was grounded or that safety cable was on. The Grateful Dead can tell some scary stories about pushing the envelope with big equipment in an atmosphere that was less professional To be honest, I don't think I would want to be under some big speakers or lights some stoned hippies threw together. I want professional riggers and checklists with people that know what they are doing checking it. Not some stoners that rented a bunch of Safeco scaffolding. LOL!
Last edited by Nitro Express; 10-27-2012 at 05:12 PM.
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.
You are correct. Not the whole bottom row. Some were used as monitors. Most those speakers were just props.
The top rows were and then the projection screen had speakers as one of the scenes it would project. The stage was set up differently according to the venue.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.
Basically, the '84 stage was the same as the '81, with the exception of more lighting and a wider stage with platforms, and a different backdrop. They used the same speakers, but not staggered like in '81, Alex had the gong, although another drum kit, and keyboards. I guess they had some kind of a deal to use a southern California's company logo too. The famous hammer man was (and still is) Western Exterminator's logo.
http://www.west-ext.com/
It was, without a doubt, one of the biggest productions (stage size both height and width, amount of lights, etc.) I've ever seen for a rock band in an indoor arena.
Scramby eggs and bacon.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a pro shot dvd of this tour !!! Fucking Ed.
VH stages became boring and dorky after Dave left the band. The 5150 stage was bland, and then the OU812 stage was completely stupid with the drum riser being a big ass fake cog that looked fake as hell. The VH3 stage was a fucking circus ring. Just dumb shit after Dave.
Agreed, I had the pleasure of seeing the 84 show in DC and out of curiosity a buddy and I went to the Van Hagar show at the same arena in 86. The HUGE stage production was gone. With Dave's departure, Van Halen went from theatrical, arena rock giants to a top 40 Reo Speedwagon clone. We actually left early, due to extreme boredom.
We got to see the 84 stage in it's glory during sound check but during the show I was right smack in front of it. Dave's little platform was off to the right of me and he would come out on it and do his thing but everything was up and behind me for the most part. So I was there but really missed the show.
This should be in Main. It's an extremely great change of pace and the best thread I've read in a long while. I'd love to see comparisons of all the VH/DLR stage setups.
I brought my pencil!!!
This is the 1980 stage. Had the cool VH lion with shades for a backdrop..
These are from the 1981 Fair Warning tour
The city lights backdrop...
why is Mike's pussy wet?This is the 1980 stage. Had the cool VH lion with shades for a backdrop..
Don't notice most of my posts are less than 2 lines...
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Thank God Eddie never played a keytar on stage. He fucked himself badly with VH3 but at least Ed never got crazed enough to go out with a keytar strapped on him.
More 1981...
Gong was lit for this tour, but not for the 1984 one...
If you'll notice, they basically recycled certain items for the next year's tour. As far back as the '80 tour, that mesh grate surrounding Al's drums was used again for the 5150 tour. Those speaker cabs were too.
More '81 glory...
1979, second tour, Alex always lit his drums on fire...
Ed's solo, he always jumped at the amps and they would rock, but never fall...
US Festival...
1980 tour where Mike played keys for "Cradle"...
Orlando Florida, opening act for the Stones...Diver Down tour...
Club days or 1978, not too sure...
US Fest stage in 1983. Notice the backdrop from 1980.
in 1981...
He had just came from a Japanese restaurant
Fan-fucking-tastic pics, Crowbar...However a few of the tour years are a little off.
Nah, not really. I don't claim to be a VH historian, but know that most pics are the correct years. Prove me wrong if ya want. The fact that they brought back certain items for their next stage show can confuse. I'm old enough to know as I grew up with them.
As did I. For starters, the Mike with the wet pussy pic is the 1982 "Diver Down" tour...as is the one of Dave showing ass in the "more '81 glory" shot...Also, the Orlando opening for the Stones shot is actually on the back of the "Diver Down" album...can't be the "Diver Down" tour....Still great photos and I definitely mean no disrespect.
You are correct sir. I am digginthose shots though. Do I see Ed's Marshall's off to the right in one of the FW pics? Also, what were the other, if any backdrops for FW other than the city scene? That one where I thought I saw his Marshalls looks like the backdrop is a pile of rubble.
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