Official August 9 Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center Meetup/Review Thread

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Eddie Van Halen is an Octopus on the Guitar #speechless— Bassam Barr (@puffpuffBass) August 10, 2015

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen just crushed PNC!!
EVH gets better every year!— John Woods (@JohnWoods332) August 10, 2015

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen was UNREALLLLL!!!!— Matt Horvath (@MattSk8s39) August 10, 2015

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen how are we? pic.twitter.com/M8Dbx6gILt— Brandon Scalea (@brandonscalea) August 10, 2015

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen was no bullshit— Pillo Pants (@VivaldoBarnabay) August 10, 2015

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen was great! I have about 15 videos of the legend, @eddievanhalen killing it and I want to share them all with you guys— Burt Macklin, FBI (@NJ_Rob93) August 10, 2015

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Eddie Van HALEN..... #fingerwork A video posted by Anthony "Mayhem" (@mayhemfilms) on Aug 9, 2015 at 8:14pm PDT

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen was awesome tonight, I'm so glad I got to see them live😈😍 @WolfVanHalen @VanHalen pic.twitter.com/AwKFvz0wxP— Villani ☪ (@ericaavillanii) August 10, 2015

[ZahZoo]

Van Halen is older than my parents and just put on the best show I've ever been to— Dan McGowan (@DanMcGowan44) August 10, 2015

Now there's a multi-generational statement...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

http://radio.com/2015/08/10/van-halen-new-jersey-concert-review/

Van Halen Bring the ‘Good Times’ to New Jersey

They didn't play their cover of "Where Have All the Good Times Gone." They did, however, show the New Jersey crowd a really good time.
August 10, 2015 6:46 AM
By Brian Ives

“My enthusiasm outweighed my abilities…”

David Lee Roth was talking about his skills as a football player during his extended solo acoustic intro to “Ice Cream Man,” during which he paid tribute to Frank Gifford, and to football in general: “Football has everything to do with who I am,” he said, noting that he had posters of Gifford and Vince Lombardi on his wall as kid, right next to Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. It sort of explains Van Halen‘s wide appeal: less creepy and less druggy their their ’70s and ’80s hard rock peers, Van Halen was loud guitar-based music that fit right in in the locker room.
Dave’s sermon came about three quarters of the way through Van Halen’s concert last night (August 9) at New Jersey’s PNC Bank Arts Center. This was David Lee Roth playing a “David Lee Roth solo”: there was a little acoustic guitar, a little harmonica and a lot of Dave being Dave. At other points in the concert, Edward Van Halen had a guitar solo; Alex Van Halen had a drum solo. The instrument that David Lee Roth excels at, of course, is wielding the personality of David Lee Roth. He does it well.

And the “enthusiasm > abilities” equation, it must be said, holds true for him today as a frontman. That’s not really a dig; you can’t expect a guy at 60 to be able to do the onstage jumps and flips that he did in his 20s. And I’m not saying that Dave’s “matured.” But he has adapted to the realities of being a middle aged dude. Instead of performing mind blowing athletic feats onstage while singing, he now spends more time mugging for the onstage cameras, and playing up his “char-AS-ma.” It’s like he’s become the Dave of the post-VH “Just a Gigolo” and “Yankee Rose” videos.

Vocally, he isn’t what he was either, which is the case for nearly every other iconic singer in their 50s or 60s. But here’s the thing: you can go see a cover band if you want to hear someone more closely approximate the band’s sound from the ’70s and ’80s. If you want to see the real deal, then go see it now, while Van Halen is still playing. Will it sound like the record? No, and that’s why you can play the record whenever you want to.

All that said, all three Van Halens are, remarkably enough, at the top of their game. Alex was solid on drums all night, and Edward blew minds, as always, with his lightning fingered playing. Also, despite his well-publicized health struggles, he looks amazing. Like, unfairly amazing.

Dave and Ed seem to have a real rapport onstage, which is why I kept thinking about that head-scratching interview that Ed gave to Billboard a few weeks back, where he said of the singer, “He does not want to be my friend.” That just didn’t jibe with what we were seeing from the audience. There was a lot of smiling at each other, back slapping, and Dave even grabbed an inflatable Ed Van Halen guitar from the audience and jammed with his bandmate. Are they not friends? Well, they do a great job playing friends on stage. But they sure seem like they’re having fun.

Wolfgang Van Halen is the band’s secret weapon; however you feel about their firing of founding member Michael Anthony, you have to acknowledge that Wolf’s playing is on point; he’s also the guy who selects the setlist, so we had him to thank for bringing non-hits into the show including opener “Light Up The Sky,” “Romeo Delight,” “Drop Dead Legs” and “In a Simple Rhyme.” (Much of the rest of the set was the more expected hits, along with “She’s the Woman” from their 2012 reunion album, A Different Kind of Truth.) Ed’s comments about Michael Anthony’s backing vocals in the aforementioned Billboard interview seem unnecessarily cruel (“That’s a blend of Mike’s voice and my voice” on the Van Halen records, he said, “It’s not just him”); but it has to be said that Ed and Wolfgang do a great job on backing vocals.

So, when Van Halen come to your town, do you want to go? That’s the question. The answer will be based on how much you expect them to be exactly like the Van Halen of 1978-1984. You have every right to decide not to go to the show, of course. But you’d be missing a great time. And besides, can you do everything you did 30+ years ago?
If you do go to see them, though, make it a point to get there early to catch opening act the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band; like VH, they’re named after their mostly non-singing guitarist. And like EVH, KWS blows minds with his playing; in his case, it’s a much more down-the-middle blues style, influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan (and Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton is in his band). Singer Noah Hunt is like the opposite of Roth: a great singer, but without much stage presence. He seems happy to yield the attention to his boss. It’s probably the way Ed Van Halen wishes things went in his own band. Of course, if they did, Van Halen would be a lot less exciting.

[vandeleur]

The inflatable guitar pic is funny

[Momshell]

https://vimeo.com/135870490

Momshell was at this one!! Check out the scroll at the bottom. Will post more later!

[Momshell]

Hope that worked! The show last night blew my mind. BEST show I've ever seen...VH or other. Dave was ON. He didn't miss a note..didn't miss a lyric (well...almost). He even nailed Chinatown. He had his badass attitude...drinking Jack, struttin around the stage, talking to the ladies..even grabbing someone's camera and taking pix of his..you know! The inflatable guitar moment was awesome! Eddie never ceases to amaze. He was more energetic than I've seen him...running, high-stepping, laughing. During his solo the packed house was almost silent and mesmerized. For the rest of the show, everyone in the place was, like me, screaming every lyric. Same set list..but those deep cuts are insane! DDL, FYLT, LUTS, IASR..every song blew me away. Growth was powerful!! As everyone was walking to our cars, everyone was saying the same thing...they seem to get better with age. Can't wait til Tuesday..7th row in Hartford!!!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Another review.... { Got a good video in the link }

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2015/08/van_halen_rocks_pnc_moments_highlights_photos_vide.html

Van Halen rocks PNC: 5 monster moments (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)


HOLMDEL — Amid his glittering costume changes and relentless preening, David Lee Roth was momentarily earnest, as he discussed the death of one of his childhood heroes.

The typically bombastic frontman sat down and explained to the Holmdel audience Sunday that football star Frank Gifford's poster hung next to Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix in his '60s bedroom. The Hall of Fame player died Sunday morning.

Rock icons Van Halen played a two-hour set at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel Sunday night. (Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Roth said Gifford inspired him to play Pop Warner football in 1963, although he wasn't really any good.

"My enthusiasm far outweighed my abilities," he laughed.

But that's always been the case for Roth, hasn't it?

His sunny, California bravado, flirty innuendos and high-kicks have kept him in rock n' roll -- and one of most successful American rock bands of all-time -- far longer than his unspectacular singing ever could have.

And Sunday, the 60-year-old's agonizing vocal performance at PNC Bank Arts Center was thankfully upstaged by his superb showmanship, as Van Halen rolled into New Jersey as part of the band's latest North American tour.

Somehow, Roth's operatic squawking and questionable vocal improv did not ruin the fun, hits-heavy show, which was shouldered almost exclusively by Eddie Van Halen's inspired guitar work. To see the band's namesake has only improved his trend-setting skills was refreshing.

Both Eddie and thunderous drummer Alex Van Halen broke out blistering solos to woo the packed amphitheater, in between a set dedicated to the group's first six albums, and a few tracks off 2012's "A Different Kind of Truth." Of course, no Sammy Hagar tunes were revived.

HIGHLIGHTS

- Perhaps more agitating than Roth's clearly spent voice -- his once-acrobatic instrument has not aged well -- were the altered vocal parts he tended to employ, with often upped his parts' difficulties. "Hot For Teacher," "Unchained" and "Jump" each felt like self-sabotage as Roth screamed for new, higher notes and painfully missed.

The crowd's relief was nearly palpable whenever Eddie and bassist Wolfgang Van Halen's clean, background harmonies hopped in to save the hooks. Considering the band's anthem-focused set, the audience's inability to sing along was at times a true frustration.

- But Roth's boundless energy, comedy and poise kept the ship from sinking. After more than 35 years, he still feels like a bonafide rock star, with every shimmy, spin and over-exaggerated gesture. A polished, wooden dance floor at center stage allowed the entertainer to operate more smoothly, and he slid from one dance move to the next. Roth may look older than 60 but he still moves like the man from "Fair Warning" and "1984."

And then there's that ever-beaming, toothy grin. It's tough to criticize someone who maintains a perfect smile for two hours. Early on, Roth made time with a girl in the front row: "You look a little young, do I know your mom?"

- Late in the set, wedged between the band's debut album hits "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" and "You Really Got Me" was Eddie Van Halen's incendiary solo. On his visibly worn, cream-colored EVH Wolfgang, the 60-year-old's fingers fluttered up and down the frets, tapping and plucking a fierce melody weighted by distortion pedals. The trek transitioned into psychedelia as Van Halen used rapid volume changes to create a more drawn, atmospheric sound. Bits of his original shred "Eruption" were worked in, most prominently the jam's challenging end, which he saved for the finale.

Alex Van Halen's spotlight was also powerful, and a representation of the drummer's penchant for innovation. Speedy, intricate rhythms from his monster kit were splayed over a simple melody and showed great polish.

- For true fans of the pre-Sammy days, this was a well-rounded set list. Of course, the big hits sans "Jamie's Cryin'" were included, but so were lesser album tracks like "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" ("Van Halen II") and "Romeo Delight" ("Women and Children First"). Patrons who only knew the singles were dutifully presented an Intro to Early Van Halen course.

- Throughout the night, Roth pretended his lightweight microphone stand was a: conductor's baton, marching band baton, cane, golf club, pool cue, sledgehammer, flag pole (when his scarf was attached), samurai sword (impressive twirls), rifle and some sort of vague phallus. That's Diamond Dave.

THE SET LIST
"Light Up the Sky"
"Runnin' With the Devil"
"Romeo Delight"
"Everybody Wants Some!!"
"Drop Dead Legs"
"Feel Your Love Tonight"
"Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
"She's the Woman"
"China Town"
"I'll Wait"
"Drum Solo"
"Little Guitars"
"Dance the Night Away"
"Beautiful Girls"
"Women in Love"
"Hot for Teacher"
"In a Simple Rhyme"
"Dirty Movies"
"Ice Cream Man" (John Brim cover)
"Unchained"
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
Guitar Solo
"You Really Got Me" (The Kinks cover)
"Panama"
"Jump"

[Momshell]

RWTD..with inflatable guitar!