Is This It?

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Flappo is the gratest. I demand his return!

Under his own name, that is?

[philouze]

Under his own name, that is?

Obviously!

[DaveTheScott]

Followed these guys for the better part of my life. My favorite band of all time. Every fucking important memory, good and bad, between the ages of 10 and 43 is set to a Van Halen soundtrack. It's a bit of nostalgia, a bit of not knowing when we'll see them again (in one configuration or another), and that's what they're selling.

I went to the San Diego show prepped to say my goodbyes and make my peace. Went to the show by myself. Drank half a case of beer and a bottle of Bushmills with some other fans I met in the parking lot. Reminisced about past shows and the bullshit in between. Threw around our best theories on what we believe will (and will not) happen from here. It was a great show (all things considered) but for a lot of us, I dare say it was more like a wake.

There was a part in the show where Dave asked the camera guy to pan in on Ed's face "to see by his reaction if I'm lying with what I'm about to say". Dave said he was just telling them before they came out that after all the shit he's done musically and otherwise, he considers walking out on stage to play with the Halens the apex of his career, and his favorite place to be. Ed just kind of smiled at him, probably wondering what the fuck he was going to say next. Dave walked over, gave Ed a modified bro hug (Ed was sitting on the drum riser) and kissed Ed on the head. When Dave first started I thought for sure it was scripted. After a few minutes and by the look on Ed and Wolf's face (I was only 12 rows back), I wasn't sure how scripted it was.

Given the state of mind I was already in, being ready to part with the past and close the book (plus waaaaaaaay more booze than I needed), that single bit set the tone for the rest of the show for me. Again, not sure if it was scripted...I know these guys are entertainers...but for me, that confirmed what I was already feeling and it was if Dave was confirming that we were watching the final curtain.

I stayed through Ed's solo. When he finished and looked out at the crowd (I was 12 rows back, center) I stood on my empty chair hoping he'd see me (ya ya I know) and I shot him a salute. I climbed down, took a draw of special smoke from the generous fellas in front of me, and walked my ass out of the orchestra section, towards the exit. I could hear fucking Panama as I walked to the car.

With that, I was done. said my goodbyes. Closed the book.

Show was last Wednesday. Haven't listened to Halen since then. Deleted the songs in my workout playlist, deleted the downloads off my phone. Replaced their music with Winery Dogs (good shit - playing San Diego on Nov 8!!!) and some old Leadbelly.

I'm not mad. I'm not sad. I'm just. Done. And I got the feeling Van Halen was too. And I feel that's exactly the way I should feel.

Just my opinion. Not wishing for it. But I'm telling ya, I felt it.

It's not like these guys are the type to turn to social media and keep the fans updated weekly on what they're up to. If they were going to retire/quit/give up/cease making records together, I don't think they'd make a big deal out of it. I think they'd just stop.

There's already multiple "Well...now what???" threads here, and music writers are already in full gear trying to predict the future. I haven't seen any comment from any of the band on the topic. I don't think we will. Nothing we can count on, anyway.

Wolf will focus on making new music and going forward. Everything else will probably remain a mystery, the proverbial interview question about his dad's old band that he'll just never agree to answer.

Not hoping for it. Hoping I'm wrong. Hoping there's a new double record full of new music and a 12-country world tour.

But not waiting for it.

Stay Frosty, guys...

EDIT: Apparently much of the same material found it's way into the LA shows as well...so who the fuck knows. Standing my ground on this one, boyos.

[Von Halen]

Damn dude. Great post, but you didn't need to delete the VH from your catalogue!

[DLR Bridge]

Dave, Ed and Al have come full circle. In the very beginning, Dave dressed flashy and wore shoes just like the ones he wore on this tour. When Dave met Ed and Al, they were in jeans, T-shirts and sneakers, like what they're wearing today. Perhaps, the sun is setting, with all of them doing whatever it was they wanted to do when they got this thing started. If this should be the end, it was one hell of a ride.

[Romeo Delight]

And then there's DLR.... Will his supposed refusal to make more new music be the tipping point? Who the fuck knows at this point, but as I said, if the VH bros are willing to go back on the road a year or two or three from now without new music, they'd better be ready for smaller crowds.... The question is at that point, how much worse off is DLR's voice going to be then? By then he could be at Paul Stanley level, realistically...

But it isn't really Dave refusing to make new music... its Dave refusing to make new music without it being a true organic process versus listening to Desmond Child or whoever tell him what to sing and where... Can't say I blame him

[Romeo Delight]

There's more to come...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

But it isn't really Dave refusing to make new music... its Dave refusing to make new music without it being a true organic process versus listening to Desmond Child or whoever tell him what to sing and where... Can't say I blame him

True organic process? Well, we don't know who is to fault, but I mean unless we're all mistaken, Dave doesn't even go to Howdy Doody Mountain to work on new music....

And while I understand with today's technology he doesn't necessarily NEED to be there, c'mon, that IS part of the process....

[Von Halen]

Dave didn't even rehearse for this fucking tour. At all.

If you can't get him to rehearsal, how are you going to get him to the studio to do an entire album, at this point? Especially since there's really no money in a new album in this day and age.

Does anyone really believe Dave will be motivated to go right into the studio, from this tour to knock out an album, and then be ready to tour behind it next year? Especially since he's the one that stated they are on a 3 year cycle these days?

Remember, these guys CHOSE to release an abortion, an abomination, of a live album, because they were too fucking LAZY to do the necessary work to release something respectable! That's a fucking FACT! They said it themselves!

Yeah, there's more to come. A lot more wasted time to come.

[Anonymous]

Damn dude. Great post, but you didn't need to delete the VH from your catalogue!

Yup. The post was hella entertaining & it *seemed* to be calm, clear headed & concise.

But deleting the songs is just an overreaction for dramatic effect. I'm not a fan of that sort of thing.

[private parts]

Damn dude. Great post, but you didn't need to delete the VH from your catalogue!

Taking down his Roth in Ass-less Chaps poster would have been enough in my opinion.

[Romeo Delight]

True organic process? Well, we don't know who is to fault, but I mean unless we're all mistaken, Dave doesn't even go to Howdy Doody Mountain to work on new music....

And while I understand with today's technology he doesn't necessarily NEED to be there, c'mon, that IS part of the process....

Wasn't the need to use Hanson studios for ADKOT in part to increase the chances it would be a true collaboration versus entering Ed's bedroom essentially?

I think what Dave is looking for is a little bit of collaboration for the music versus him coming to the studio and having someone tell him the lyrics and how he will sing on a song he had no input into.

[DLR Bridge]

Wasn't the need to use Hanson studios for ADKOT in part to increase the chances it would be a true collaboration versus entering Ed's bedroom essentially?

I think what Dave is looking for is a little bit of collaboration for the music versus him coming to the studio and having someone tell him the lyrics and how he will sing on a song he had no input into.

Agreed. Around the time during the ADKOT tour that he made the remark that a conversation can't be had about Michael Anthony being in the band, he also mentioned his invitation to the brothers to "woodshed" new material at his friends house in Hawaii. I'll have to try to find that interview. Pretty sure he said those things.

[chuckjitsu]

To me, any work ethic issues are on the Van Halens, specifically Ed. Dave's talked about the 3 year work cycle, but is that really his preference, or is he merely accommodating Al and Ed? He did record/complete the album with John 5 during their last hibernation. What the hell did Ed and Al do during that period? And didn't they just leave it to Dave to find the audio for the live album because they didn't want to take the time to sift through all the tapes? None of that stuff screams "great work ethic" to me. I have no way of knowing this for sure, but I'm guessing that if Dave had his druthers, he wouldn't be sitting on his ass for 3 years waiting for Ed and Al to get motivated to do something.

As it seems to be the way it is these days, it'll probably take a push from Wolfgang to get Ed off his ass. He's got the Tremonti stuff going on and there seems to be talk of him doing his own stuff, so who knows if/when he'll turn his attention back to VH. He seems smart enough to realize that the sun is setting on Van Halen, so I hope he can squeeze one more album out of his dad before the sun finally sets.

[DLR Bridge]

Dave was totally reiterating the Van Halen mandate when he spoke of the "James Bond" turn time. Those guys have been on a 3 year (or much more) cycle since 1986.