Official October 4 Hollywood, CA, Hollywood Bowl Meetup/Review Thread

[katina]

What a killer shows!!! I took a lot of pictures and filmed some song,but I don't have any idea how to transfer them. here, I have a picture of myself on my Facebook from yesterday before going to the Bowl, I. Don't know how to put it. here, can someone of my FB friends transfer it here please ?

[katina]

Before the show, One of the ladies at the front desk took that picture, but I don't know how to upload it,I went to the bar and while drinking a Lemon Drop, I asked the bartender for help, and he uploaded in my FB.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

i can do it when i get home

[PETE'S BROTHER]

[clarathecarrot]

PB to the rescue !

Katina, I hope you have good memories of your stay and a safe trip. Pete's Bro is good people.

Back to back VH shows what more could you ask for when traveling......sweet!

[cadaverdog]

The only concert I've ever seen while on a road trip was a Blue Oyster Cult performance at the Freemont Street Experience in Vegas. The people I rode there with left Saturday morning but I stayed one more night to see BOC. Crashed at a friends house in Boulder City and rode home the next morning. Even though I had to take a 70 mile detour on the way home it was still worth it.

[IceCreamBlondie]

Spot on review!

Great review, maybe the best of the tour....

http://lamusicblog.com/2015/10/review/show-review-van-halen-the-hollywood-bowl/

SHOW REVIEW: VAN HALEN @ THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
It felt as good as 1984
October 5th, 2015
Anthony Marks

I used to watch Van Halen music videos on VHS when I was a child. That’s right. Friday night at the age of 8 meant a gathering of cousins and good friends, a nice session of VH music videos and live takes, jumping on the bed and dreaming of being a rock ‘n roll star (I’m still chasing that dream, but lost the VHS). Those were some of the best times of my life, and never in a million years did I think I’d have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the band, but Friday night at The Hollywood Bowl, my fantasy was fulfilled.

From the moment Van Halen came out swinging, the crowd was going ballistic. At many shows, the crowd only stands up during the hit songs, which is irritating, but the energy from Van Halen kept the audience on its feet, with everyone happily “[dancing] the night away.” The band members seemed almost immune to the audience’s ecstatic response, but also grateful for it. You could see and feel the energy instantly.

Before I joined that audience for one of the best shows of my life, I had the pleasure of photographing Van Halen for first six songs of their set, and I knew the night was off to an amazing start when Eddie and Diamond Dave looked right at me and posed for the camera as I excitedly screamed their names, thanking them for the inspiration and musical foundation that has since guided my musical path.

This show came near the end of a long summer tour, and I could tell Van Halen had spent a lot of time on stage this last year. Every song was a crowd-pleaser, and the set felt polished and effortless from beginning to end.

David Lee Roth was instantly twirling the mic stand and enjoying being the classic frontman that he is, while Eddie jumped around the stage and shredded through the guitar parts like only he can. Drummer and brother of Eddie, Mr. Alex Van Halen, hid behind his massive, double-kick-drum set, but played beautifully. He’s always been the shy one. Maybe it’s because he has no choice but to be, disguised by his fortress of a drum set.

The night was a family affair between the band and the audience, and I felt like a part of the family for sure, but it must be amazing to be Wolfgang Van Halen, who replaced Michael Anthony a few years back when the mudslinging between bandmates started. Your dad is Eddie Van Halen, and by the age of 15, you’re playing stadiums.

Wolfie may look more like his mom, Valerie Bertinelli, but boy do his chops come from his dad. How can you NOT pass down the gene? With that amount of talent, it’s impossible. Lineage aside, though, he did the band justice. His bass playing was heavy and on-point, and he and his father recreated the perfect, timeless Van Halen harmonies. Within the first minute of their performance, Eddie gave his son a high-five, which was endearing and showed that Eddie got exactly what he wanted with the replacement.

David Lee Roth’s humor throughout the night was appropriate and so were his dance moves. For being 60 years old, he still does the splits and other gymnastic-style moves of a kid. He had as many wardrobe changes as Cher, while also commenting on the stage antics of different frontmen such as Bon Jovi and Bono, and quite honestly, his voice was stronger than any other time I’ve seen the band. Now that they’ve been touring as this particular outfit for a while, he must have gotten some voice training because when I saw them in 2012…well, let’s just say he was struggling.

Eddie was playing through the songs so proficiently, he almost sounded better than he had in the band’s heyday. I give the credit to the fact that he’s sober now, so there’s no comedown or strange energy from him anymore. It’s just direct, rehearsed wonderfulness. His solos were colorful, and the performance of “Eruption” was extended to almost 10 minutes. He was having fun playing in his hometown, and everyone could feel it.

Oh, I loved that, too. I grew up in Pasadena, and so did everyone in the band. I think that’s partially why I’ve always felt a closeness to Van Halen. Coming from the same high school and middle school always made me feel extra proud and enthused. When David Lee Roth began his story of how they met and where they rehearsed in the San Gabriel Valley, I couldn’t contain my screams. “Me too!” I yelled and didn’t care how crazy I looked to the fans next to me.

Although the band has had their ups and downs (including 5-10 year breaks from talking), they seem to have buried the hate in the past. Roth, while telling one of his many between-song stories, even put his arm around Eddie and admitted, “The best years of my life have been on stage, next to you.” It was a touching moment.

I brought my mom with me to this show, and she couldn’t have had more fun. The only thing we were missing was a vial of cocaine but, oh, that’s right — it’s not 1984 anymore. This sober show was the best a fan could’ve asked for. The entire Bowl was sold out with dedicated followers of the band, many of whom have sung the lyrics and indulged in the finger-tapping since the start. I loved being around these people. Me and the ’80s had a great time.

[IceCreamBlondie]

Two Concerts of Mighty VH Awesomeness! ( Oct 2 and Oct 4 reviews!)

I went to both the Friday Oct 2 and Sunday Oct 4 shows at the Hollywood Bowl, and all I can say is :

WOW WOW WOW!


Both shows were totally great and I had a complete BLAST at both of them!

Where to begin?

First of all, VH put on an energetic yet polished performance. They actually acted like a well rehearsed, cohesive unit - all members were on fire! The band acted like they meant it and must have rehearsed their asses off it was so polished. This was WAY better than the "going through the motions" 2012 tour!


Our man Roth did an outstanding performance, high kicks , sequined costume changes and all. I loved his stories during DTNA and ICM. During one DTNA interlude story, he started waxing nostalgic about songs played at their high school graduation ceremonies, and he told Ed - "I bet you guys had "Smoke on the Water" playing at YOUR high school graduation, Ed!" And sure enough, the band broke into "Smoke on the Water". Sunday night was also touching, as Dave said something about "the best nights of my life were on stage with you, Ed!" and then Roth put his head on Ed's shoulder briefly. No kidding.
Dave also gave a funny ICM story about meeting James Brown - - thankfully gone are the shepherd dog ICM stories from the 2012 tour.

I know Dave's voice isn't what it used to be, and there were some times he was reaching for the notes, but Dave sure performed his damndest this tour. He really did try hard and sing his best - and that's all right with me. This isn't 30 years ago - - but he was damn good for a guy who is turning 61 in a few days. Energetic and sexy and a helluva front man all in one. WE LOVE YOU DAVE!!


Ed was brilliantly on fire for both shows. Sobriety suits him well, and it shows what a god he is on guitar. I couldn't believe how fast - yet flawless - his solos were. I think they were the fastest I had ever seen him play. WOW.


Al was the monster on drums. I LOVE his drum solos, ever since I saw him for the first time back in 2007. (I'm glad I didn't go to the bathroom!) There was even a nice touch on the light show board behind Al during his solo - a "ring of fire" appeared behind him during the solo, ala the Oakland 1981 Unchained youtube clip. Cool!

Wolfie hardly got any face time at all on the big screens. Sounds like he did all right.

The song selections were the classics - the ones we all expect- and some more deeper cuts, like Drop Dead Legs and Dirty Movies. My biggest surprise was that they played Little Guitars - since they dropped that song halfway through the 2007 tour, and didn't play it all during 2012, I was really surprised to hear it.
A GREAT TOUCH came on the Sunday night show during Unchained. Just as "Unchained" started, people in the front box section started throwing beach balls around all at once! It seemed like a choreographed moment- - where did all the beach balls come from ? But, it was great and fun to see - a few beach balls even made it on stage! Neat!

The set design here was GREAT and the lighting was so on target for each of the songs. Someone here said, I think it was DLR Bridge, said that the light rigging seemed to be designed for the bowl shows. Agreed - the rigging definitely seemed designed to fit to the Hollywood bowl. Right on Target!

The crowd at both shows were on Fire - especially for the Friday night show. The Sunday crowd was more mellow but just as enthusiastic. It was VH TShirt Heaven, to be sure!

All in All - GREAT TIME , GREAT SHOWS! THANK YOU =VH= FOR TWO ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC ROCKIN' SHOWS IN YOUR HOMETOWN!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

ROTH ON!

[DLR Bridge]

That was fantastic ICB!

Well, as far as their next move goes, only time will tell if they stand... I'm just kiddin'. They'll be fine as long as they employ the old Yogi Berra adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Before/After #HollywoodBowl #VanHalen A photo posted by Wolf Van Halen (@wolfvanhalen) on Oct 6, 2015 at 6:38pm PDT

[IceCreamBlondie]

That was fantastic ICB!

Well, as far as their next move goes, only time will tell if they stand... I'm just kiddin'. They'll be fine as long as they employ the old Yogi Berra adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Thanks Bridge and I agree with your assessment - time will tell! As always, we hope for the best.

[Northern Girl]

Glad the tour went well and so many people had such a blast. I'm jelly (as the kids say).