Just curious about your particular story when this happened...
Did you see it live, or did you hear about it that night or the next day?
If you saw it live, did you fucking freak out?
Me? I was stationed in Italy, and of course the Internet was in it's very crude beginnings. I found out about it a day or two later in the Stars and Stripes... My friends and I were drinking beer outside at their half-assed villa, and I had to read it 2 or 3 times to make sure I got it right....
1996
Van Halen makes a surprise appearance with David Lee Roth at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, generating a raucous and prolonged standing ovation. They present the award for Best Male Video to Beck. The reunited quartet receives a standing ovation from the shocked and delighted crowd. At the backstage press conference, emotions flare as Ed and Dave argue about answers to give the reporters. Frustrated with the reporters' questions, Ed attempts to set the record straight saying that the only thing happening between the band and Dave at the time is the Best Of Volume I project. Dave's reaction reportedly leads the rest of the band to consider never working with Dave again.