Tweet
One of the mods needs to embed it ?
-
fuck your fucking framing -
This is what it's all about and what some of these critics just don't get. Fans don't care that Dave isn't perfect! They want to have a good time and watch VH kick ass and that's exactly what they're getting! Glad you enjoyed the show and I hope the next one is just as good.Comment
-
Review: Van Halen rocks on with impeccable musicianship
AUGUST 10, 2015, 12:36 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015, 12:46 PM
BY JAY LUSTIG
Van Halen’s party-animal frontman David Lee Roth got serious, for a second, at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, Sunday night. “One of my heroes died today,” he said, before talking about the late Frank Gifford.
Roth, it seems, played on a Pop Warner League team – his father was one of the coaches — when he was growing up in Bloomington, Indiana, and he idolized football players along with musicians. Both the wholesome Gifford and Jimi Hendrix were on posters in his room, he said Sunday. Roth loved everything Gifford stood for, he added.
Roth is one of the goofiest figures in rock-and-roll: A lascivious, fast-talking, unhinged joker who manages to seem totally in love with himself while never taking himself too seriously. But there must be some discipline in there, somewhere: He’s the fittest-looking 60-year-old you’ll ever see, and for more than two hours on Sunday, he ran and slid around the stage, frequently high-kicking and twirling his mic stand for emphasis.
As a young football player, he said, his enthusiasm was outweighed by his lack of ability. But he still approaches his job, now, like a well-trained athlete.
While his body isn’t showing its age, his voice, unfortunately is. Most Van Halen songs require a roar, and at times, the best he could offer was a weak warble. Often, when guitarist Eddie Van Halen and bassist Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie’s son) chimed in on backing vocals, it came as a relief.
But while Roth’s vocals were uneven, at best, the instrumental attack, by Eddie, Wolfgang and drummer Alex Van Halen (Eddie’s brother) was impeccable.
No superlatives are superlative enough to do Eddie justice. In the ’70s and the ’80s, he did things with his guitar that no one else had ever imagined being possible; he’s 60 now, just like Roth, and is playing as well as he ever has, his hands a blur as they churn out powerful riffs or race up and down the fretboard.
Like Roth, Eddie projects a certain kind of agelessness. He looked relaxed and happy and often flashed his still-boyish grin on Sunday. He has aimed some barbs at Roth in the press lately, saying, in a Billboard magazine interview, “Roth’s perception of himself is different than who he is in reality. We’re not in our 20s anymore. We’re in our 60s. Act like you’re 60.” But onstage, they seemed delighted with each other, sharing some laughs and even hugging.
Roth, of course, left Van Halen in 1985 and didn’t return until 2007 (except to record a couple of tracks for a greatest hits album). The group’s hits with singer Sammy Hagar were ignored in Holmdel; as a result, there was plenty of space for old albums tracks such as “Dirty Movies” and “Drop Dead Legs” (both never played live before this tour) and material from the band’s 2012 reunion album “A Different Kind of Truth” (“She’s the Woman,” “China Town”).
Of course, it was the hits from Roth’s first stint in the band, though, that really pumped up the packed amphitheater, including “Runnin’ With the Devil,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Hot for Teacher,” “I’ll Wait,” Kinks cover “You Really Got Me” and the irresistible show-closing one-two punch of “Panama” and “Jump.”
Roth performed a solo number, sitting and playing an acoustic guitar and a harmonica on “Ice Cream Man.” And Eddie and Alex Van Halen got solo showcases as well, dazzling with their instrumental prowess. Wolfgang Van Halen, a veteran touring musician at 24, was solid throughout the show; while it would have been nice, sentimentally, to see original Van Halen bassist and backing vocalist Michael Anthony back up there, you can’t really make the case that he’s needed, musically, when Wolfgang plays so well.
The tour returns to the area Thursday and Saturday, for shows at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y.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 RothComment
-
I had a fantastic time with some good friends and I will either make my way out to long island or down to camden for another show! Eddie's playing is scary he is so on right now. A tone that envelopes space and time! The place was packed!!!!Comment
-
Damn, damn, damn...After the TV debacles I was glad they weren't coming to Western Canada but now? Grrrrrr..
"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
Comment
-
I'll be at Camden. Have front row for that one!!!Stay Frosty!
THE DAY IS DONZO LET'S HAVE SOME FUNZO!!Comment
-
Dave going in the crowd and doing selfies during Dirty Movies! That's awesome!Comment
-
Flying @eddievanhalen in #Holmdel pic.twitter.com/52haMXqdla— Bongano (@bonganorocks) August 11, 2015
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 RothComment
Comment