What Song Do You WANT As The Opener, and What Song Do You THINK Will Be The Opener?

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I'd like to see them shake things up just a bit, or at least back to 1983....


I WANT them to open with Romeo Delight, but I think they'll still open with Unchained.....

[Va Beach VH Fan]

A couple of people on FB (including Carmine) voted for this one, which I don't think is realistic with 2015 Dave....

[Jetstream]

DOA but they will probably start using Panama

[cadaverdog]

Rock and Roll.

[DLR Bridge]

They abso-friggin'-lutely need to go back to the old way of opening a show with the slow moving prison search lights and the band rumbling on their instruments in the dark. There is no greater way to pump a crowd's adrenalin. The last tour, they just walked on stage like 'alright, we're gonna start now'.

That being said, if the 3 twins have DLR on board with doing it, I'd say they rip into Light Up The Sky as an opener.

[Seshmeister]

I still doubt Light Up The Sky will make it.

Dave's solo band tried for a while to get him to do it and that was 13 years ago...

If they do it then people may wish they hadn't. My experience is that if a singer doesn't think he will do well with a song then it's a self fulfilling prophecy...

[IceCreamBlondie]

How about Little Guitars or Blood and Fire as an opener? Or, at least somewhere in the set list?

But I am fine with Unchained!

[vandeleur]

Love blood and fire but last time the played it live Dave didn't do it justice

[vaijuju]

in 2007 .they oponed with YRGM
in 2012.they oponed 5 shows with YRGM then they oponed with Unchained
in 2015 .. HFT

[DLR Bridge]

I still doubt Light Up The Sky will make it.

Dave's solo band tried for a while to get him to do it and that was 13 years ago...

If they do it then people may wish they hadn't. My experience is that if a singer doesn't think he will do well with a song then it's a self fulfilling prophecy...

I think he can churn out a more decent incarnation of this song than what he's done to a few others. I've heard some say this song is too fast for him. The guy is a motormouth. If he can do that silly "top of the pops" bit night in and night out, he can pull this tune off. No need to sweat the screams or high notes as he isn't sweatin' them anywhere else. Hell, do a trade off with Wolf on some of those pesky over-lapped verses that he did in the studio. They can dooo eeet.

[Never was]

I think actual opener will be Hot For Teacher

I'd like to see Mean Street or something way different like Stay Frosty with just a spot on Dave then bring it all on. That will never happen but could still pump that out as a summer single opener for a summer tour plus can merch it.

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

The Full Bug

[hambon4lif]

It doesn't matter to me what they open with. As long as D.O.A. is somewhere in the setlist, I'm cool with that.

[Grit]

Would love to hear "Everybody Wants Some" as the opener!

[FORD]

Would love to hear "Everybody Wants Some" as the opener!

Seems to be a natural opening song. You have each band member take the stage as their part in the song kicks in, starting off with Alex, then Wolf, then Eddie, and finally Dave. Can't believe they haven't thought of this.

[moose]

Well considering that there are no new tunes and they will NOT performing any of the songs that most of you attending the show would love to hear and are basically rehashing the last tour I think they they are gonna break out into a solid Van Halenized version of Dire Straits
" Money for nothing" to start off the show

[Seshmeister]

Jump may not be so bad as then you know it's out the way...

[moose]

all kidding aside I would like nothing more than for the band to break out into LUTS for the peeps attending the show but Dave has become a "dick" and will not agree to this
You would be better off to watch some of the old vids on YouTube
And I agree with DLR B and how the band should walk out on stage
That is true Classic Van Halen

[vaijuju]

must be a easy song for opener like YRGM..you can't do mistake on it

[chefcraig]

I'd opt for "Sinner's Swing," yet then again I'm fairly delusional.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Why not open with "Mean Street"... Not the easiest tune to open with, but it would kick ass.

The opening will probably be another, and other than "Unchained" or YRGM. Maybe HFT. Who knows...

[VAiN]

I'm cool with unchained.. it's a strong start. With that said, I hope they start with something else this time - preferably one they haven't played live yet.

[atomicpnk47]

House Of Pain

[Junglestud]

Open with Hot For Teacher and then Alex doesn't have to have a drum solo and they could play one more song, on the other hand I would love for them to open with Bullet
head

[FORD]

House Of Pain

Only if it's the original version......

[Terry]

I still doubt Light Up The Sky will make it.

Dave's solo band tried for a while to get him to do it and that was 13 years ago...

If they do it then people may wish they hadn't. My experience is that if a singer doesn't think he will do well with a song then it's a self fulfilling prophecy...

Never mind the screams on the original recording (clearly Dave wouldn't even try any of those these days), the verses themselves have too many words without an opportunity to take a breath. Even on the original studio recording during the verses you can hear edits where Dave sang a line and then the next line was clearly from another take.

I'm sure the band could handle the tune just fine, but with the way Roth is approaching live singing these days Light Up The Sky wouldn't sound so hot. Even back in the day, that tune wasn't one the band even really did outside of (I think) the VHII tour...they might have done it on the W.A.C.F. tour (I can't remember off the top of my head).

[Terry]

Seems to be a natural opening song. You have each band member take the stage as their part in the song kicks in, starting off with Alex, then Wolf, then Eddie, and finally Dave. Can't believe they haven't thought of this.

That's really a smart idea. For some reason, I always associate EWS for a mid-set selection, but the way you described opening with it would totally work.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

That's really a smart idea. For some reason, I always associate EWS for a mid-set selection, but the way you described opening with it would totally work.

Yeah, but the problem with that lucid rationale and reasoning is that it's obvious the band is not devoting hardly anything towards what the aesthetics will look like...

I mean, they couldn't have come out any more lame than they did last tour, and besides their instruments that stage was fuckin' bare.....

[moose]

[QUOTE=hambon4lif;1886894]It doesn't matter to me what they open with. As long as D.O.A. is somewhere in the setlist, I'm cool with that.[/QUOTE


They will play this....
It's a great song

[DLR Bridge]

That's really a smart idea. For some reason, I always associate EWS for a mid-set selection, but the way you described opening with it would totally work.

It's a good idea, but just a bit to lumbering of a way to literally start the night. Cheap Trick came up with the song Hello There for the sole purpose of what FORD mentioned. The sound guy could give each member of the band a final tweaking of the knobs at the mixer as they entered the song individually. That song is a barn burner and that's more how I envision a night starting off. As I said earlier in #10, I think LUTS isn't far out of their reach as many fear.

[chefcraig]

It's a good idea, but just a bit to lumbering of a way to literally start the night. Cheap Trick came up with the song Hello There for the sole purpose of what FORD mentioned. The sound guy could give each member of the band a final tweaking of the knobs at the mixer as they entered the song individually. That song is a barn burner and that's more how I envision a night starting off. As I said earlier in #10, I think LUTS isn't far out of their reach as many fear.

Cheap Trick Chicagofest, 1981 Pretty damned good and amazing live show, the way I've seen them. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cheap+trick+chicagofest+81



I really, really need to find a some of those old Cheap Trick, Cheap Trick shirts at a mall to wear to work... Long sleeves, please. That would be awesome.

[lindaem]

Unchained opening number

[TwoFoolsAMinute]

Seems to be a natural opening song. You have each band member take the stage as their part in the song kicks in, starting off with Alex, then Wolf, then Eddie, and finally Dave. Can't believe they haven't thought of this.

That's more or less what I'm thinking except with Hot For Teacher.

[Grit]

Well considering that there are no new tunes and they will NOT performing any of the songs that most of you attending the show would love to hear and are basically rehashing the last tour I think they they are gonna break out into a solid Van Halenized version of Dire Straits
" Money for nothing" to start off the show

They have been rehearsing a few deeper tracks. Hope they do for those that will make a show.

[Edwards3rdWife]

" They abso-friggin'-lutely need to go back to the old way of opening a show with the slow moving prison search lights and the band rumbling on their instruments in the dark. There is no greater way to pump a crowd's adrenalin. "

Preach ! I'd also like for someone to come out on the mike in the dark and loudly give us the Mighty Van Halen like in the day, then open with HAIL or Full Bug.

[ZahZoo]

They have been rehearsing a few deeper tracks. Hope they do for those that will make a show.

I think it's a fairly safe bet that the Van Halens can pull off an excellent rendition of any song in the entire catalog... and be happy to do so.

Note the absence of the Singer™ in all those rehearsal teasers... That's where things get murky quick where deep tracks are concerned.

[BumBahDeeDah]

Hang 'em High!

But it'll be Unchained, and I'm cool with that. I always love the idea of them going back to attacking the audience with Romeo Delight tho.

[WARF]

Dirty Movies!!!!

[Terry]

They should open with One Way To Rock, followed up by a Poundcake/Three Lock Box/Mas Tequila medley.

Hey, if Dave sounds so goddamned awful singing CVH stuff these days, maybe he'll sound better singing Hagar material.

Maybe they should open with Just A Gigolo and Dave can scat out a ten minute "humulay-zebulay-humulay-zebulay-bozde-boze-bop-diddy-bop" Al Jolsonesque acapella burst of sheer brilliance. Such a strategy would easily illuminate who the "true Roth fans (meaning the ones that salivate over every mundane live utterance of Dave's and claim he 'hasn't lost a step since 1984, man')" really are and distinguish them from the jagoffs who prefer CVH tunes sung properly.

On a slightly more serious note, maybe they should open up with I'm The One. That would be as good an opener as any to kick off the festivities.

[WARF]

After listening to the LIGHT UP THE SKY cover maybe they should hire Jeff Scott Soto, Ralph Saenz, anyone... anyone who can sing with the melody without yelping and hurting my ears...