Dave opening for KI$$...

[silverfish]

Buffalo setlists & some photos:

Kiss and David Lee Roth Stampede Through Buffalo: Photo Gallery

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-david-lee-roth-photos-2020/

[cadaverdog]

Honestly dude you're just a dick hater saying that. Why are you here ?

Sorry if you can't handle someone criticizing your hero. I missed the memo that said never criticize Roth and make sure you mention Hagar in every post when I joined this group. You must have missed the one that explains how the quote function works.

[78/84 guy]

Sorry if you can't handle someone criticizing your hero. I missed the memo that said never criticize Roth and make sure you mention Hagar in every post when I joined this group. You must have missed the one that explains how the quote function works.

Oh honey get over the hate. Mentioning that Hagar stinks at 71 is just a fact. It must suck to once be considered a great singer with range then lose it. Remember I mentioned about 10 other singers also. You had no comment because it doesn't fit your agenda to say Roth is the ONLY guy with beyond lost abilities. In closing fuck off troll.

[ZahZoo]

Opinions vary depending on the perspective of each person... 2 people can experience the same performance in the same time and space and walk away with completely different takes. Neither being wrong... As with virtually any activity involving the human body... very little improves with advanced aging. Especially singing...

For this Diamond Dave outing... I'm very appreciative of the widespread negative criticism voiced far and wide by fans after his opening night performance. It mirrored the half-assed, phone it in™ bullshit Dave pulled far too frequently during the 2012/2015 tours.

The amazing part is someone got out in front of this... or got it in front of Dave and David Lee Roth got caught paying fucking attention... for once!

I think most would agree that Dave still has a vocal range that plays to his true strengths and aged abilities. It ain't in the gawd-damned high register... He also retains memory of the correct melody of most of his top material. Stay in that range and follow the original recipe and hot damn... the magic lives to fight another day!

With that... thank you to all who called bullshit on poor performances. It had to be said... and the performance quality is approaching the fair value of the ticket price now.

[Terry]

Truth ? Some. But to just dismiss Roth's improved vocals is just the haters at this point. Sure he needs to pick the correct songs. Dance The Night Away & Just Like Paradise aren't good choices. That falls on Dave. He shouldn't be doing them. Otherwise he seems to be doing fine. I'd be glad to go through the names of the millions of other singers that are way below their original talents that get a free fucking pass because they're not Roth. Or the list is shorter for the guys that still are decent. Maybe 10 guys. Starting with Paul Rodgers. Bruce from Maiden ????? Maybe it's less then 10......Hag sure the fuck isn't on it anymore....

Keeping in mind what ZahZoo said re: opinions/individual perspective, while Dave's vocals have certainly improved since the opening night of the Vegas stint (a point I made earlier) that isn't quite the same thing as saying Roth is singing particularly well. His live vocals from 2012 onward have been dicey at best, and the bar I set for him in terms of acceptable vocals wasn't a high one to hurdle even given his age.

Not to be cheeky, but sitting in an audience listening to Dave yell off-key, I tend to doubt thinking that most other rock vocalists Roth's age are struggling makes the experience any easier to listen to. I do readily agree with the idea that Dave needs to pick the correct songs that his present abilities play to the best - sticking in his lane - and drop the ones that don't: he has enough material to choose from where he can swap the two that don't work well with others that would (ex. one would think he could still knock Little Dreamer right out of the park...and that would be an acceptable to substitute for, say, JLP).

It has been an odd thing for me post-2007/2008 tour, in that Dave's live vocals are very hit or miss, oftentimes within a singular tune. Like, he'll sing a line of a verse and it will sound fine, then he'll yelp the next line...it comes across like he's bored with simply singing the tunes in key so he will speedtalkalineofasongreallyfast then YELL THE NEXT LINE REALLY LOUD in order to...keep it interesting for him, maybe? Yet he's still capable of singing the odd line in key when he wants to, which makes me think he (even at this late date) could be sounding much, much better than he does with minimal effort, but simply chooses not to. At that point, what am I to conclude other than he's just up there more for himself than the audience paying to see him? And that's fine if one accepts the premise that Dave will be Dave and you either take it or leave it.

[Terry]

I really don't know what fucking planet some of the posters here live on with their expectations.

They should all post naked looking in a mirror.

Simple fact is he could be singing much better than he does with less physical effort re: lungpower than he is expending to sound worse than he does.

My expectations are ground-level: I don't expect anything in the way of movement from him onstage other than what he's doing. I don't expect anything by way of banshee shrieks. I don't even expect him to sing half or more of the choruses anymore. Goofy jokes/comments are a given. Furiously mugging with Cheshire Cat grin firmly affixed to his mug? Check. Flamboyant and anachronistically-muddled wardrobe? Double check. Listenable lead vocals? Nope.

Did you want that nude selfie posted to the public board, or should I just PM you one like last time?

[cadaverdog]

Mentioning that Hagar stinks at 71 is just a fact.

Fact, obsession, whatever.

[cadaverdog]

Not to be cheeky, but sitting in an audience listening to Dave yell off-key, I tend to doubt thinking that most other rock vocalists Roth's age are struggling makes the experience any easier to listen to.

I agree. I imagine some of these aged vocalists keep performing because they need the money. Some do it because they think they still have "it" even though they don't. Dave does it because he needs the spotlight. He needs it to convince himself he's still Diamond David Lee Roth the character not David Lee Roth the man.

Yet he's still capable of singing the odd line in key when he wants to, which makes me think he (even at this late date) could be sounding much, much better than he does with minimal effort, but simply chooses not to.

I think he thinks that's what his fans want. Some probably do. I don't.

[Nickdfresh]

At KeyBank Center show, a Kiss is still a Kiss

As has been true for years, the Kiss performance at KeyBank Center was more spectacle than traditional concert. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)
By Jeff Miers
Published February 6, 2020|Updated February 6, 2020

What a long, strange, pyro-heavy trip it's been.

Kiss rolled into town with its greasepaint and electrified boogie in tow Wednesday for a KeyBank Center stop on its “End of the Road” tour, a lengthy sojourn that the band insists will be its last. And for so many rock fans spanning several generations, saying farewell to the glam/power-pop/hard rock quartet bears significant emotional weight.

Becoming a Kiss fan and catching one of the band’s over-the-top, gloriously bombastic live shows is, for many, a rite of passage, and something that has been passed down to — and experienced alongside of — their kids.

The concert, with former Van Halen frontman and current uber-hilarious lounge lizard David Lee Roth opening, was not sold out, with the uppermost tier of the arena largely vacant. Still, considering that Kiss already played our market once on this tour – in the Darien Lake Amphitheater in August – the turnout was impressive.

The mellow-ish crowd did not deter Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer from exerting the full force of their gloriously trashy and explosive production and celebrating the highs (and occasional lows) of their 45-years-deep song catalog.

Paul-Stanley-Sports-Scull-David lee Roth-Keybank-Center-Kiss-2020
Paul Stanley of Kiss mugs it up for the fans — and the cameras — at KeyBank Center. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)

The band took to the stage following the time-honored “You wanted the best, you got the best” intro announcement with the road-battered warhorse “Detroit Rock City,” and yes, I immediately felt like a giddy 12-year-old again, as Stanley strutted to the microphone atop his 10-inch platform heels like some ageless dandy from the underworld, exhorting us all to “get up” and then immediately “get down” again, as if presiding over an aerobics class in hell (or Las Vegas). There, to Stanley’s right, was the “bat-lizard,” the “demon,” or just plain old Gene Simmons if you prefer, half-crouched, oversized tongue wagging, wielding his bass like a sweaty, makeup-encrusted warlord with a battle-ax. It was gross — and awesome.

The hits came like clockwork then – “Shout it Out Loud,” “Deuce,” “Calling Dr. Love,” all played with gritty precision, even if Stanley’s acrobatically soulful vocals occasionally capitulated to the insistent ravages of time. The guy turned 68 last month, but for the most part, sang like a man half that age.

My favorite Kiss tunes have always been the deeper cuts, but the band tends to shy away from those. However, we were treated to a stellar take on “Parasite,” the Yardbirds-inspired nugget penned by former guitarist and founding member Ace Frehley. But if you’re a Kiss fan coming to see the band for what it insists will be the last time, do you really want to hear “Say Yeah,” “Heaven’s on Fire,” “Psycho Circus” and “Crazy Nights” instead of, say, “Strutter,” “Firehouse” and “Hotter Than Hell”? I doubt it.

The occasional inexplicable setlist inclusion was largely smoothed over by the immaculate pacing and ceaseless spectacle of the show, with Simmons blowing fire from a sword-shaped torch during “War Machine,” Stanley flying above the heads of the crowd to a satellite stage via a trapeze-like contraption during “Love Gun,” Simmons being hoisted to the rafters after spitting stage blood to sing “God of Thunder” and Singer performing “100,000 Years” atop his elevated drum riser.

It was impressive, it was ridiculous, and it was a helluva lotta fun.

Sports-Scull-David Lee Roth-Keybank-Center-Kiss-2020
David Lee Roth put on a show for the crowd as a warm-up for Kiss. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)

Speaking of ridiculous, David Lee Roth’s opening set was partly that and partly high-octane “big rock,” as the singer used to describe the Van Halen he fronted back in the day.

Roth's set was almost exclusively culled from the Van Halen catalog, and his insanely tight backing band – lead guitarist Al Estrada, rhythm guitarist Frankie Lindri, bassist Ryan Wheeler and drummer Mike Mussleman – delivered the goods, including startlingly full three-part harmony vocals. “You Really Got Me,” “Unchained,” “Panama,” “Jamie’s Cryin’ ” – all classics and all impeccably performed by the band Roth assembled for the Vegas residency he recently interrupted to hit the road with Kiss.

Roth let the band carry the songs, while he clowned with the crowd like some kind of demented Rat Pack extra, and this was smart – his voice is not what it once was, and he had trouble hitting the highest notes, so sticking to his lane was a wise move.

Sadly, as strong as the set was, its most notable achievement was making the listener long for the real Van Halen. C'est la vie.
\
The Buffalo News

[Nitro Express]

It’s this simple folks. If you have to stop and think if it’s good or not it’s not good. You should immediately sense the goodness of something. That happened to me the first time I heard Van Halen in the late 1970’s. I’ve watched several of Dave’s performances and I want to say it’s good but emotionally it does nothing for me. Music and performance is a form of art. The old Dave just doesn’t do it for me. I saw The Rolling Stones up in Seattle last year and enjoyed it. Saw Van Halen with Dave and Wolfie and appreciated how well Eddie played but other than that, it was kind of blah.

[Nitro Express]

As has been true for years, the Kiss performance at KeyBank Center was more spectacle than traditional concert. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)
By Jeff Miers
Published February 6, 2020|Updated February 6, 2020

What a long, strange, pyro-heavy trip it's been.

Kiss rolled into town with its greasepaint and electrified boogie in tow Wednesday for a KeyBank Center stop on its “End of the Road” tour, a lengthy sojourn that the band insists will be its last. And for so many rock fans spanning several generations, saying farewell to the glam/power-pop/hard rock quartet bears significant emotional weight.

Becoming a Kiss fan and catching one of the band’s over-the-top, gloriously bombastic live shows is, for many, a rite of passage, and something that has been passed down to — and experienced alongside of — their kids.

The concert, with former Van Halen frontman and current uber-hilarious lounge lizard David Lee Roth opening, was not sold out, with the uppermost tier of the arena largely vacant. Still, considering that Kiss already played our market once on this tour – in the Darien Lake Amphitheater in August – the turnout was impressive.

The mellow-ish crowd did not deter Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer from exerting the full force of their gloriously trashy and explosive production and celebrating the highs (and occasional lows) of their 45-years-deep song catalog.

Paul-Stanley-Sports-Scull-David lee Roth-Keybank-Center-Kiss-2020
Paul Stanley of Kiss mugs it up for the fans — and the cameras — at KeyBank Center. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)

The band took to the stage following the time-honored “You wanted the best, you got the best” intro announcement with the road-battered warhorse “Detroit Rock City,” and yes, I immediately felt like a giddy 12-year-old again, as Stanley strutted to the microphone atop his 10-inch platform heels like some ageless dandy from the underworld, exhorting us all to “get up” and then immediately “get down” again, as if presiding over an aerobics class in hell (or Las Vegas). There, to Stanley’s right, was the “bat-lizard,” the “demon,” or just plain old Gene Simmons if you prefer, half-crouched, oversized tongue wagging, wielding his bass like a sweaty, makeup-encrusted warlord with a battle-ax. It was gross — and awesome.

The hits came like clockwork then – “Shout it Out Loud,” “Deuce,” “Calling Dr. Love,” all played with gritty precision, even if Stanley’s acrobatically soulful vocals occasionally capitulated to the insistent ravages of time. The guy turned 68 last month, but for the most part, sang like a man half that age.

My favorite Kiss tunes have always been the deeper cuts, but the band tends to shy away from those. However, we were treated to a stellar take on “Parasite,” the Yardbirds-inspired nugget penned by former guitarist and founding member Ace Frehley. But if you’re a Kiss fan coming to see the band for what it insists will be the last time, do you really want to hear “Say Yeah,” “Heaven’s on Fire,” “Psycho Circus” and “Crazy Nights” instead of, say, “Strutter,” “Firehouse” and “Hotter Than Hell”? I doubt it.

The occasional inexplicable setlist inclusion was largely smoothed over by the immaculate pacing and ceaseless spectacle of the show, with Simmons blowing fire from a sword-shaped torch during “War Machine,” Stanley flying above the heads of the crowd to a satellite stage via a trapeze-like contraption during “Love Gun,” Simmons being hoisted to the rafters after spitting stage blood to sing “God of Thunder” and Singer performing “100,000 Years” atop his elevated drum riser.

It was impressive, it was ridiculous, and it was a helluva lotta fun.

Sports-Scull-David Lee Roth-Keybank-Center-Kiss-2020
David Lee Roth put on a show for the crowd as a warm-up for Kiss. (Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)

Speaking of ridiculous, David Lee Roth’s opening set was partly that and partly high-octane “big rock,” as the singer used to describe the Van Halen he fronted back in the day.

Roth's set was almost exclusively culled from the Van Halen catalog, and his insanely tight backing band – lead guitarist Al Estrada, rhythm guitarist Frankie Lindri, bassist Ryan Wheeler and drummer Mike Mussleman – delivered the goods, including startlingly full three-part harmony vocals. “You Really Got Me,” “Unchained,” “Panama,” “Jamie’s Cryin’ ” – all classics and all impeccably performed by the band Roth assembled for the Vegas residency he recently interrupted to hit the road with Kiss.

Roth let the band carry the songs, while he clowned with the crowd like some kind of demented Rat Pack extra, and this was smart – his voice is not what it once was, and he had trouble hitting the highest notes, so sticking to his lane was a wise move.

Sadly, as strong as the set was, its most notable achievement was making the listener long for the real Van Halen. C'est la vie.
\
The Buffalo News

Good review. KISS is fun and Dave’s band is tight and Dave is well Dave.

[Terry]

I agree. I imagine some of these aged vocalists keep performing because they need the money. Some do it because they think they still have "it" even though they don't. Dave does it because he needs the spotlight. He needs it to convince himself he's still Diamond David Lee Roth the character not David Lee Roth the man.

I think he thinks that's what his fans want. Some probably do. I don't.

That's the thing, in that some of those seeing Dave nowadays may not particularly care beyond just wanting to go, hear a few CVH tunes, and whatever Dave does...well, it's gonna be what it's gonna be, so why bother bitching if Dave doesn't sound particularly good?

Probably a healthy attitude to have. Much more than investing any emotional weight to lamenting that Dave could be singing/sounding better. Mostly because even if he were, the reality at this stage of the game is it isn't going to make much of a difference, anyway.

I dunno. It's been this up and down line for me with Roth since 1993, where I keep rooting for the guy to get back on top without realizing that his peak - even back then - was already behind him. I thought his first Vegas period was mildly ridiculous, was psyched when he was recording with Van Halen in 1996, bummed when that didn't culminate into a full-fledged CVH reunion, enjoyed the DLR Band album, enjoyed the Bar-B-Que, thought he looked ridiculous during the Sam and Dave tour and when the Diamond Dave CD was released it has been more down than up for me.

First Van Halen reunion tour, Roth upped his game to about as good as one could have expected. The longer he has hung in there post-2008, for the most part I have gotten the feeling he should have just packed it in after that first Van Halen reunion tour in terms of him going out on a high note. But, he kept hanging around, because what the fuck else is he gonna do, right? Open a Starbucks franchise?

It's just hard for me to accept what he has been doing the last 8 years in terms of the performances he has been turning in. But, people are still willing to pay money to see what he's bringing to the stage, so - honestly - who the fuck am I to complain?

[78/84 guy]

That's the thing, he hasn't really performed on a daily basis for 8 years Terry. It's been 3 tours. One was great. Dave almost at his best. Then 2 mediocre ones. Yeah it sucked it happened to him for whatever reason. But he seems to have bounced back pretty good after the first miserable Vegas gig. I'm amazed how people get so hung up on Roth's vocals like he's the only guy out there at an older age struggling a little. Hell since when was Roth ever considered great live anyways ? Maybe that's were it comes from ? So people pile on. But funny you got Joe Elliott & Paul Stanley lip syncing. Don Dokken talking through EVER song on the reunion shows he did with George a few years ago. Talk about awful ! Axl Rose shrieking through half the Guns catalog. Roger Daltrey lost his range 2 decades ago. Bon Jovi ? Don't even get me started on his awful live vocals. Still selling out arenas though right ? YUk. Just watched a newer Scorpions show. He is cooked. Stood there like a statue talking the words. I mean it was so bad I turned it off. Who was better live then him ? Bruce from Maiden maybe ? He is one of the few who still have it. Alice Cooper sounds good. & Paul Rodgers. Who has the crowd sing half the words. I guess that's how he saved his voice ? Dave's voice was horrible in 94 when I saw him. I thought He was cooked. Then he disappeared until 99 and sounded pretty good touring steady up through 2006. I went to see him about 4 times. Ever show he was great. Then somehow he stepped it up another notch for Van Halen for the 07/08 run. Sadly his voice issues seemed like they were not going to get better. But like after 94 they have. As good as 07/08 ? No. But he's doing Just as good as the many other guy's I've mentioned. Yet they all seem to get the free pass. Maybe all that Dave bashing the sisters Van Halen started after he bailed really sunk in with the masses. Talk about the heard following the sheep. Then Hag can't help himself & jumps on board with his delusions of grandeur. Don't even get me started on how great people still think he is live. in closing, My two cents are if you're going to be ripping Roth you should all be on these other bands boards ripping them. I'll start with Robert Plant doing Black Dog country style. Yeah, such integrity Bob. But playing it correctly with Page is sacrilege in his eyes. Spare me.

[cadaverdog]

First Van Halen reunion tour, Roth upped his game to about as good as one could have expected. The longer he has hung in there post-2008, for the most part I have gotten the feeling he should have just packed it in after that first Van Halen reunion tour in terms of him going out on a high note. But, he kept hanging around, because what the fuck else is he gonna do, right? Open a Starbucks franchise?

I was going to say relax and enjoy retirement but that's not what most old rock and rollers do. I'm sure Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend , Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Roth and countless other old rockers could live out the rest of their lives in luxury without ever singing or playing another note but they choose not to. With Roth I think it has more to do with loneliness than a need to make more money. But I'm basing that on what I think I know about the man. I'm not married or "living in sin" either but I have a large extended family to keep me company. I'm not sure Roth does.

[cadaverdog]

I'm amazed how people get so hung up on Roth's vocals like he's the only guy out there at an older age struggling a little.

This is a David Lee Roth message board. Most of the members here are fans of his because he was a decent singer at one time. Unlike you and Sesh they listen to what he does now and realize he's no longer willing or capable of doing that at a decent level anymore. You obviously can't accept that fact and lash out at others who can by calling them haters and trolls. Comparing him to other musicians who aren't what they once were doesn't make what he does now any better no matter how many times you do it.