Oh man, sorry about that. Got home tired and stupid. It was Romeo Delight. Where I got TYWH I will never ever know.
http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/...for-two-hours/
Review: Van Halen can still keep an arena full of people on their feet for two hours
Posted on Mar 22, 2012
Years ago, Van Halen famously imploded amid the usual internecine rock and roll warfare, but at Scotiabank Place Wednesday night it was soon clear that despite all those years apart, the band is still as tight as David Lee Roth’s pants.
Reunited and slightly reconfigured – bass player Michael Anthony is gone, replaced by Wolfgang, the son of guitar god Eddie Van Halen – the band tore through a 23-song set in under two hours. The fiftysomething trio of Dave, Eddie and brother Alex Van Halen, on drums, may not have the volatile energy that made them stars back in 1978, but they’ve lost nothing musically. They still pack a punch, though these days it’s thrown more by Eddie’s furious fingers, and less by Dave’s acrobatic vocals.
The two of them appeared entirely comfortable together on stage, despite the years of animosity, and that’s the way it should be, for Dave and Eddie can only fully be Dave and Eddie if they’re together, as two forces alternately attracting and repelling one another and finding creativity and energy in the tension. There’s “Diamond” Dave, the peacock lothario frontman who lets it all hang out, and then there’s Eddie, the quiet, quasi-reclusive whiz bang of a guitar player. Without both forces on stage, the band could never really be Van Halen.
Dave (only first names used here, what with all those Van Halens about) almost did let it all hang out mid-show, during the song Tattoo. He pulled down his pants — black leather, cross-stitched, tight and sparkly, a bold choice for a 56-year-old man — and showed off a tattoo on his butt. It was a gun, and on the giant, stage-wide screen behind him it looked as big as a Howitzer. Dave did more showing off later, and it revealed that he’s not still entirely the incorrigible hedonist. As he strummed the acoustic guitar notes of Ice Cream Man, he showed a video of his border collies and spoke of them lovingly as they expertly herded sheep and cattle. When the video ended he quipped, “I’m the only rock and roller who owns livestock for non-recreational purposes.”
His voice was good enough, though without its former range, and nowhere was it more clear than on Beautiful Girls. The song, from way back in the 1970s, was always a grand example of his vivacious vocal power — all yowls and yelps among the devil-may-care lyrics like “I’m a bum in the sun and I’m havin’ fun,” a line surprisingly well suited to a 27 C day in Ottawa in mid-March. Dave couldn’t hit the high notes on the chorus, so he did what any wise frontman would do: he held out the mic and let the audience sing the words.
Otherwise his voice was enough to belt out a setlist full of classic rock-radio staples, including Running With the Devil, Dance the Night Away, Hot for Teacher, Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, and Panama. Also in were the band’s two massive-selling cover versions, of Roy Orbinson’s Oh, Pretty Woman and the Kinks’ You Really Got Me.
Curiously enough, those two covers may be the most effective examples of Eddie’s signature sound. In both cases he managed to take a song that was universally known in its original version, and make it his own merely by pumping the riffs up to about a thousand pounds pressure.
An Eddie Van Halen riff is something tremendously sharp and electric, a wild thing on a leash that only he can hold. Near the end of the show he did a six-minute guitar solo — a tired tradition, but worth seeing when it’s Eddie, especially displayed on a giant screen where you can see it up close. His fingers move so fast that they cannot be measured by science or technology. There’s more to guitar than speed, of course, but speed is something that Eddie does uniquely, and exceptionally well.
The audience lapped it up, reveling in the reliving of their youth, (judging by the average age of those in attendance, which was surely north of 40). It wasn’t a big crowd — no attendance number was released, and there were lots of empty seats — but it was enthusiastic. Everybody stood up during the first song, Unchained, and stayed on their feet for the rest of the show.
Dave played to the fans shamelessly. He was energetic and animated, and predictably full of camp — kicking the mic stand up onto his shoulder and strutting, promenading, with swagger in every step. When the show ended with (of course) their biggest hit, Jump, Dave even gave up a couple of high kicks. They weren’t as high as they once were, but it’s impressive that he can still do them at all. If any other man that age in the building had tried a kick like that, his groin would have landed in Belleville.
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
One of the fun moments of the show was when Dave demanded the security guy move out of the way in the front of the stage and said something to the effect of "I don't share the spotlight with anyone." Not sure if this was spontaneous, or one of the things he does in every town?
Stay Frosty, muthas!
"Ya know what they say about angels... An angel is a supernatural being or spirit, usually humanoid in form, found in various religions and mythologies. Plus Roth fan boards..."- ZahZoo April 2013
Wolf's freakin killing it man. Damn, that kid is GOOD! You can tell Dave's really getting off on the Wolf/Ed magic inATBL. We need to get the women in Wolf's life to get him out shopping though...
Got this from a link off of the Ottawa clip.
And this is why Dave is Dave and Sebastian just... isn't. Steve Stevens is still awesome though.
I brought my pencil!!!
that was up a couple of months ago ... it aint even the same sport
fuck your fucking framing
Apparently Sebastian is a big Dave fan though. I remember when Sebastian was doing that super group reality show thing ("Supergroup" actually). He showed off some of his comic book collection and then some original artwork/drawing that he possessed, done by none other than Dave himself ! He was really proud of it.
good shit
Originally posted by RIKK
Now, tj was indeed a major cunt. Indeed, he probably still is.
“Great losses often bring only a numb shock. To truly plunge a victim into misery, you must overwhelm him with many small sufferings.”
the band is still as tight as David Lee Roth’s pants.
Still waiting for the image of Dave's tattoo!!!
Stay Frosty!
THE DAY IS DONZO LET'S HAVE SOME FUNZO!!
Great pics - great show! Not sure why anyone would question empty seats, though. This place seats 20,000+ and the tour probably averages between 12,000 and 15,000+ a show (that's just a guess on my part - I admit I could be way off on that). For the third Canada show in a giant arena, I think the attendance would be pretty consistent with what they're doing stateside.
My karma just ran over your dogma.
That arena is miles from downtown, and on a weeknight? If I lived there I would have
road tripped to Toronto for the Saturday night show.
WE'RE ON A MISSION FROM ROTH.
I like Ed in all black. Maybe the red pants got mustard on the leg (deep deep joke for those who remember Ed's interviews from 30 years ago like my sorry ass.)
That man is bat shit crazy. I mean that in a good way.
That didn't look like a gun - COME ON DAVE let's see the whole thing!!!!
Oh dear.
Such a wonderful ass it is. Been staring at it for years!!
“Why do people say "grow some balls"? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding” ― Betty White
I have to say that I intentionally don't read reviews of shows I'm going to see to avoid spoilers, so it was so good that Dave came out with a Mic and stand. I was expecting the headset.
AWESOME!!! Dave, you made this Ice Cream Blondie's heart smile!!
Special request: Please remember your hometown crowd when you get here in June and show us your special Tattoo!!!
THANKS FOR POSTING VA BEACH!!!! Kudos!!!
Last edited by IceCreamBlondie; 03-23-2012 at 10:03 PM.
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