EAT EM AND SMILE BAND reunion w/RALPH SAENZ on VOCALS-THIS WEDNESDAY

[Terry]

I stand by my statement - Dave is up there doing everything and anything he can visually to put on a show while Old Bitter Cunt and Wolf stand there like two idiots who don't realize they're putting on a rock show. Should Dave put more effort into his vocals? Well hell yes he should! But the visual is important too and at least he's trying in that aspect.

And honestly I could care less about Ed's playing ability. I can go out and find five guys who can play those songs better than he can. And it ain't like he's shooting magic out of his old worn out fingers - it's the same shit he's been doing for 30 + years. Hell he SHOULD be good at it by now.

The "magic" of seeing Dave on stage with OBC wore off not long after the first show of '07. I enjoyed the hell out of the two tours I caught but it's done. If they ain't gonna do a proper reunion then fuck the Van Triplets or whatever they call themselves. There ain't gonna be anything new happening there, there's zero excitement from the three faggity sisters, and honestly I could give a shit less about seeing the same old crap tour.

I honestly hope this EEAS gig happens and it kicks Dave in the Bawllz and gets him in the frame of mind to do something, anything. Anything other than playing Ninja in North Korea or where ever he spends his time being a hermit. But who knows, Dave could come out on stage and suck ass singing those songs like he did half the last tour with Van Failin.

I take no great joy in pointing out Roth's lack of abilities these days, but to claim otherwise would be disingenuous.

At this point, perhaps an EEAS reunion WOULD be preferable, because although we disagree with exactly which members the current version of Van Halen are carrying the load I think we both agree that this current version of Van Halen has little left to offer that they haven't already provided. Short of getting Anthony back in the band for a proper reunion tour and maybe unearthing some other less popular CVH tunes for a live dusting off, there's nothing else Van Halen have left to do that is of any importance. At least not to me. They've devolved into yet another aging rock band who tour periodically to fill their coffers. And I get that. It's not as if these guys are going to become something other than what they are at this point in their lives. Even Anthony rejoining now would be of minimal interest to me. My whole reaction to their 2015 undertakings, from the Tokyo Dome to their tv appearances to their tour was just "meh". What would they do for another studio album? How many more unreleased old demo tracks are there left for the band to tinker around with and re-record?

I think it's just that sense of urgency and innovation the band had back in the 1970s and 1980s has been gone forever for quite some time now, and they can't get it back. It's just...done, you know? Too many years apart, too much ego nonsense, too much self-abuse...too much success, perhaps?

[WARF]

[chefcraig]

I take no great joy in pointing out Roth's lack of abilities these days, but to claim otherwise would be disingenuous.

At this point, perhaps an EEAS reunion WOULD be preferable, because although we disagree with exactly which members the current version of Van Halen are carrying the load I think we both agree that this current version of Van Halen has little left to offer that they haven't already provided. Short of getting Anthony back in the band for a proper reunion tour and maybe unearthing some other less popular CVH tunes for a live dusting off, there's nothing else Van Halen have left to do that is of any importance. At least not to me. They've devolved into yet another aging rock band who tour periodically to fill their coffers. And I get that. It's not as if these guys are going to become something other than what they are at this point in their lives. Even Anthony rejoining now would be of minimal interest to me. My whole reaction to their 2015 undertakings, from the Tokyo Dome to their tv appearances to their tour was just "meh". What would they do for another studio album? How many more unreleased old demo tracks are there left for the band to tinker around with and re-record?

I think it's just that sense of urgency and innovation the band had back in the 1970s and 1980s has been gone forever for quite some time now, and they can't get it back. It's just...done, you know? Too many years apart, too much ego nonsense, too much self-abuse...too much success, perhaps?

It is pretty much the same scenario (puddle of shit) the Who stepped into after Keith Moon decided to drop off the planet...Now what?

Great, get a drummer who was brilliant with the Faces, and allow him to be crummy as all hell and let your reputation fall straight onto the roadside. And, golly...what a fucking unexpected surprise. Van Halen has consistently been shooting themselves in the foot for decades now.

The EUAS band would be something terrific, if Roth discovered how to sing again. Screaming and yelping are not exactly helping, ya know?

[Angel]

Here's a little flashback and preview of what's to come. This is hands down my favorite VH performance ever.

I never get tired of watching that. Sam looks like a complete fuckin idiot and he couldn't sing that song if you put a gun to his head. He just can't do it. And Eddie's drunker than Warf on Welfare Check Day. I love me some shit faced drunk Eddie. Now that's entertainment. Not only does he jerk around like Michael J Fox without his meds, you just have no idea what he's gonna play on that electrified geetar of his. If somebody put together a Worst Of DVD from that tour I would pay 100 bucks for it and watch it every single nite. I wish I could set up a big screen right outside Ed's gate and play that on a loop.

Agreed with everything you said, except...

It's the Parkinson's meds that cause Fox's Dyskinesia (sp?).

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[BITEYOASS]

How long before Eddie does his "You can't be in two bands at once...." bullshit? Frankly, this latest =VH= sting was fun while it lasted. I can't wait for the EEAS band to do a legit tour. The audience sure as hell will be a lot more fun. Because those Eddie fans are boring as fuck.

[Terry]

It is pretty much the same scenario (puddle of shit) the Who stepped into after Keith Moon decided to drop off the planet...Now what?

Great, get a drummer who was brilliant with the Faces, and allow him to be crummy as all hell and let your reputation fall straight onto the roadside. And, golly...what a fucking unexpected surprise. Van Halen has consistently been shooting themselves in the foot for decades now.

The EUAS band would be something terrific, if Roth discovered how to sing again. Screaming and yelping are not exactly helping, ya know?

The music Van Halen made when Roth was in the band way back when meant a lot to me. Still does.

For me to say what the band is doing now in any real sense approaches what they were doing 30 + years ago would really be a case of wanting to experience something that is gone forever so badly that I'd be making allowances, concessions and rationalizations of what they are doing now vs. back in the day which just don't hold up if I'm being honest about it.

In 1985, for a variety of reasons, Van Halen no longer wanted to work together. Van Halen got another singer and carried on. They had a degree of commercial success that not many other bands had been able to replicate after losing a key member. I don't blame the band for carrying on (although changing the name of the band after Roth left would have displayed a larger set of balls and integrity). I mean, was Ed supposed to just shrivel up and die once Roth quit? So, I don't really consider what the band did from 1985 to 1995 'fucking up', whatever musical/content misgivings I have about the Hagar years to one side.

From 1996 onward, the band that could once do no wrong has gotten so little right it's difficult at times to reconcile that these are the same people who once set the rock world on fire. And even Roth from 1996 to 2006 had been in a sort of holding pattern. Sure, I enjoyed the 1998 DLR Band album. I enjoyed his autobiography and the No Holds BBQ vid. I can't say the same of his last full-length solo album, or his jaunt with Sam Hagar, or his Van Strummin' material...or his radio show. By the time 2006 rolled around, both Roth and the Van Halens NEEDED to rejoin forces, because without one another what other options did they have left even in a strict earning sense?

So we finally got a not quite complete reunion that would take it on the road. Anthony was gone, but at least Ed got a shine and buffer rehab treatment prior to the beginning of the 2007 shows. Even that comment is indicative of the qualifications one always has to attach to the band these days: phrases like 'all things considered' peppering my thoughts about where they are and have been since 2007.

Van Halen now has become just too safe and predictable. Roth in particular has been coasting post-2008 with the band, mostly because he realizes that people want to recapture some of that old CVH magic so bad they will make allowances, rationalizations and excuses for the shortcomings of what Van Halen bring to the table these days. It allows him to take a half-assed approach to his own performances. I say that because the alternative would be Dave thinking what he is doing live now is the shit (rather than just shit). The first scenario is one that can be fixed. The second isn't. Beyond all that, even if Dave starts singing properly, all that would mean is Van Halen would start sounding more listenable live but the show would still be the same thing it has been for the last 8 years: The Van Halen Greatest Hits Experience Featuring David Lee Roth. The degree to which people want to see that depends on how many viewings it takes to satisfy the yearning for experiencing a semblance of what the band once was. For me, seeing them in 2008 and 2012 fulfilled that need. Beyond that, it would be a case of diminishing returns. This year, seeing what the band had lined up (which was more of the same from the previous two tours), I found it more appealing to watch old live boots of the CVH era than watch the current remnants of the group try and replicate what the band was.

[Von Halen]

For me to say what the band is doing now in any real sense approaches what they were doing 30 + years ago would really be a case of wanting to experience something that is gone forever so badly that I'd be making allowances, concessions and rationalizations of what they are doing now vs. back in the day which just don't hold up if I'm being honest about it.

Terry, you are really going to piss off a couple of motherfuckers around here, with this reality!

[DONNIEP]

Agreed with everything you said, except...

It's the Parkinson's meds that cause Fox's Dyskinesia (sp?).

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

Yeah and I hated to post that about Fox cause I think the guy is awesome but it gets the visual across. Forgive me Marty!!!

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Yeah and I hated to post that about Fox cause I think the guy is awesome but it gets the visual across. Forgive me Marty!!!

ok

[PETE'S BROTHER]

[chefcraig]

The music Van Halen made when Roth was in the band way back when meant a lot to me. Still does.

For me to say what the band is doing now in any real sense approaches what they were doing 30 + years ago would really be a case of wanting to experience something that is gone forever so badly that I'd be making allowances, concessions and rationalizations of what they are doing now vs. back in the day which just don't hold up if I'm being honest about it.

In 1985, for a variety of reasons, Van Halen no longer wanted to work together. Van Halen got another singer and carried on. They had a degree of commercial success that not many other bands had been able to replicate after losing a key member. I don't blame the band for carrying on (although changing the name of the band after Roth left would have displayed a larger set of balls and integrity). I mean, was Ed supposed to just shrivel up and die once Roth quit? So, I don't really consider what the band did from 1985 to 1995 'fucking up', whatever musical/content misgivings I have about the Hagar years to one side.

From 1996 onward, the band that could once do no wrong has gotten so little right it's difficult at times to reconcile that these are the same people who once set the rock world on fire. And even Roth from 1996 to 2006 had been in a sort of holding pattern. Sure, I enjoyed the 1998 DLR Band album. I enjoyed his autobiography and the No Holds BBQ vid. I can't say the same of his last full-length solo album, or his jaunt with Sam Hagar, or his Van Strummin' material...or his radio show. By the time 2006 rolled around, both Roth and the Van Halens NEEDED to rejoin forces, because without one another what other options did they have left even in a strict earning sense?

So we finally got a not quite complete reunion that would take it on the road. Anthony was gone, but at least Ed got a shine and buffer rehab treatment prior to the beginning of the 2007 shows. Even that comment is indicative of the qualifications one always has to attach to the band these days: phrases like 'all things considered' peppering my thoughts about where they are and have been since 2007.

Van Halen now has become just too safe and predictable. Roth in particular has been coasting post-2008 with the band, mostly because he realizes that people want to recapture some of that old CVH magic so bad they will make allowances, rationalizations and excuses for the shortcomings of what Van Halen bring to the table these days. It allows him to take a half-assed approach to his own performances. I say that because the alternative would be Dave thinking what he is doing live now is the shit (rather than just shit). The first scenario is one that can be fixed. The second isn't. Beyond all that, even if Dave starts singing properly, all that would mean is Van Halen would start sounding more listenable live but the show would still be the same thing it has been for the last 8 years: The Van Halen Greatest Hits Experience Featuring David Lee Roth. The degree to which people want to see that depends on how many viewings it takes to satisfy the yearning for experiencing a semblance of what the band once was. For me, seeing them in 2008 and 2012 fulfilled that need. Beyond that, it would be a case of diminishing returns. This year, seeing what the band had lined up (which was more of the same from the previous two tours), I found it more appealing to watch old live boots of the CVH era than watch the current remnants of the group try and replicate what the band was.

I hate shit like this...Terry, you write in such a superior fashion to my prose, it makes me want to urinate on your car's bumper out of jealousy. Or send a dog to do so.

Nicely done, and finely played.

Total respect.

craig

[Terry]

Terry, you are really going to piss off a couple of motherfuckers around here, with this reality!

I dunno...should I just stop being a cooze with a wet blanket over it and have a piping hot cup of STFU?

Few things online are lamer than someone going on a site dedicated to whatever and saying that said subject stinks. Many of you here have known me for years. I don't feel I have anything to prove re: how much I dig (or dug) Van Halen.

It's just...shit, what does it say about me that I enjoyed the last Roth solo show I saw in the summer of 2006 in Orlando quite a bit more than I did either of the Van Halen reunion tours I saw Roth on? Ever since Roth rejoined the band, it's either a case of Ed still not being able to play well and Dave getting the job done or the exact opposite. Man, in 1996 I was fucking STOKED when it looked like the CVH lineup was gonna take a victory lap. As it turned out they all got into the car, turned the engine over, revved it up a couple of times then shut it off. Ten years after that, instead of a victory lap we get...bumper cars: somewhat fun considering frustration is a built-in feature of the undertaking.

Sometimes I think the luckiest fans are those who salivate over every single thing Eddie or Dave do, either in Van Halen or solo. They never experience disappointment.

[damngoodtimes]

We've seen two Hagar era songs be released in instrumental form over the past week or so at the VHND. Jeff mentions that they are nothing official on the band's part, but still makes one wonder, wassup wit dat?

Well, they just put CGTSNM up there, so there goes the theory that these are Sammy related. Maybe the band wants to continue as a threesome.

More likely Jeff at VHND is just finding content during the inevitable two-year or longer downtime and NOTHING is happening.

[damngoodtimes]

For me to say what the band is doing now in any real sense approaches what they were doing 30 + years ago would really be a case of wanting to experience something that is gone forever so badly that I'd be making allowances, concessions and rationalizations of what they are doing now vs. back in the day which just don't hold up if I'm being honest about it.

What if you don't try to hold this up to what they did 30 years ago? You go in with concessions fully made and just see if you enjoy yourself. That's what I do. Almost all of my favorite bands are well past their prime and have nothing but nostalgia to sell me. I'm OK with that because I have no choice. (Well, I have a choice, but it's not now vs. 1980. It's go to the show or stay home. I suppose stay home will win out eventually)

[damngoodtimes]

Almost all of my favorite bands are well past their prime and have nothing but nostalgia to sell me. I'm OK with that because I have no choice. (Well, I have a choice, but it's not now vs. 1980. It's go to the show or stay home. I suppose stay home will win out eventually)

Hope I die before I get old!thewho.jpg