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Dave 3:16 says God so loved the world, He gave us Edward Van Halen— Martin Boulevard (@superstarsleeze) August 2, 2015
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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 Roth -
@prowresonly Dave hilarious spoken word shit Eddie 9+ minute solo needs to be heard live 2 hour exhibition of why Van Halen is the greatest— Martin Boulevard (@superstarsleeze) August 2, 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
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Boston!!! Ya'll killed it tonight. Thank you! #VanHalen A video posted by Wolf Van Halen (@wolfvanhalen) on Aug 1, 2015 at 8:37pm PDT
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
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Pretty damn good review, I say....
Last Best Show: Van Halen at the Xfinity Center
Sunday, August 2, 2015
By:
Jed Gottlieb
If you were born during the Nixon administration and love loud, sustained booming, you probably lined up an epic summer: Rush’s (maybe) last tour, Motley Crue’s (probably) last tour, the Def Leppard/Styx combo and AC/DC. But Eddie and Diamond Dave must to be brightest jewels in your epic summer crown.
Oh yeah, Van Halen has worked tirelessly to destroy its fan base. Eddie and Alex Van Halen booted the beloved David Lee Roth out of the band then, after we spent a decade learning to accept replacement Sammy Hagar, the brothers booted him. Van Halen fans haven’t had it easy.
But how can we stay mad at them if they’re not staying mad at each other? Last night at the Xfinity Center, Dave and three Van Halen family members -- Eddie’s kid Wolfie plays bass now -- showed the love. Love for their classic catalog, love for their fans, love for each other.
OK, maybe, they’re just very, very, very good actors. Dave and Ed’s smiles looked wide and genuine. And they’re live show sounded better than it looked.
Like any 37-year-old band, the guys rolled through rough patches during the two hour show. Piping in the keyboards on “I’ll Wait” detracted from the these-four-guys-can-do-it-all vibe. Roth forgot the words to the nearly-never-played “In a Simple Rhyme.” Dave’s voice-- Well, let’s talk about Dave’s voice.
I specifically ignored the new live album because I wasn’t interested in hearing what so many fans described as a sad, even pathetic performance because Roth’s voice has never been a draw for me. His cheek and moxie, his dumb, fun clown-prince-meets-sex-god persona, matters more than hitting the high notes. He acted as ringmaster, did a karate kick, changed jackets four times and rode the crowd through half a dozen singalongs. He did his job.
Dave’s character and Eddie’s guitar, that’s Van Halen. And Ed’s guitar remains a flawless force of nature. A good chunk of my career has been spent trying to describe Eddie’s guitar work. Listening to him make those noises during “Everybody Wants Some!!,” I realized his skills will forever outpace mine. But, I spent three to four years thinking “Hot For Teacher” contained the greatest guitar work ever put down on tape. Last night’s performance of the tune convinced me I had some good insight in my prepubescent years.
As deeply as I love Jimmy and Jerry, Trey and the Edge, I never want to hear them play solo for four minutes. But I love to have Eddie and one guitar take me through "Eruption" and “Spanish Fly” and “Cathedral” and loads more blended into a Gordian knot of jam.
To the silly Eddie haters: It was never about the speed. OK, maybe in 1978 is was about the speed. But to me and so many others it’s about his tone and taste and swagger.
The setlist blended obvious picks with deep rewards for the dedicated — “Dirty Moves,” what? “Drop Dead Legs,” wow! Roth still looks and moves like Liberace and Baryshnikov stuffed the body of 22-year-old Navy Seal. Eddie still dominates the field. Wolfie and Alex still, well, they do what’s needed of them.
See this band now. History tells us this lineup won't last.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
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Hot For Teacher
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Beautiful Girls
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Drop Dead Legs
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Unchained
Dave shows his back tattoo at 5:24
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my daughter and I went to this show last night! It was epic. Dave looks INCREDIBLE!! You just don't see a body like THAT everyday.
He owned the stage and the crowd. And his voice... wabi sabi, baby.
Of course Ed was killer!
I asked my daughter to be objective because we all know I can't be. LOL. And she thought it was all pretty sensational. Everyone in the crowd was having a blast and thats what it has always been about!“Why do people say "grow some balls"? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding” ― Betty WhiteComment
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Great audio/video of the mostly-complete Boston show....
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
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Man I LOVE how they come out with LUTS, fucking fantastic, can't wait....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
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Great-sounding crowd on that one too!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
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Is there some different, other-dimensional tour that some of the journalists are attending?Comment
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Yup, here's another phone-in article for tomorrow night's show in London... Talking about the 4,000 horseshit....
CONCERTS
Van Halen tour hit by low attendance
By James Reaney, The London Free Press
Tuesday, August 4, 2015 9:51:20 EDT PM
U.S. rock icons Van Halen give the Western Fair District’s new outdoor concert facility at the racetrack its first big blast on Wednesday.
Van Halen’s road to London has it in the same touring universe as rock giants like The Rolling Stones and The Who and fellow 1980s titans Def Leppard.
Earlier this week, Van Halen was in the Cleveland area for a two-hour concert. Rock writers have been praising the band for set-list surprises to go with the mega-hits. Among the VH rarities are 1979’s Light Up The Sky, which hasn’t been played live in more than three decades. Making first-time landings on the way have been Drop Dead Legs from 1984 and Dirty Movies from Fair Warning.
Van Halen has good reason to share such songs. Among the VH product in 2015 are remastered versions of Van Halen, 1984, Diver Down, Women And Children First, Van Halen II and Fair Warning.
Also in evidence on the road to London have been extended guitar solos from Eddie Van Halen and drum excursions from his brother, Alex Van Halen. They are touring with Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie’s son) on bass and frontman David Lee Roth.
The concert comes in a summer when Billboard is reporting superstar Taylor Swift can pull in a capacity crowd of more than 115,000 fans at a New England NFL stadium, good for more than US$12.5 million at the box office.
Billboard magazine reports Def Leppard is enjoying its best ticket counts in years, with figures of 12,000-plus in amphitheatres and several small-arena sellouts. Canadian rock icons Rush are grossing more than $1 million a show, the magazine says.
Since this is the year of the declining Canadian dollar, the cost of artists for local promoters — whether it’s at the WFD’s racetrack or Rock The Park — has an added hit.
Back in the spring when the Van Halen concert was announced as the first in a partnership between concert promoters Live Nation and the fairgrounds operation, capacity at the site was estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 fans.
Fast forward to July and Billboard had the Van Halen tour as a target for music biz speculation.
“Another tour on the receiving end of negative industry chatter: Van Halen,” Billboard magazine says in a July report on summer tours. “One source says that the Live Nation shed trek is suffering from ‘some real bad counts’ — as low as 4,000 out of the gate — and another notes that the outing, which began July 5 in Seattle, is ‘definitely one in trouble.’”
Live Nation could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
james.reaney@sunmedia.caEat 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
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