Official 5/11 Edmonton Meetup/Review Thread

[loucap81]

I'm guessing the reviewer didn't listen to the album and only heard of the setlist mainstays. I do think that VH are doing themselves a disservice by playing what I feel are the three weakest songs off the album--Tattoo, STW and TTWN. I wish they'd go for it and play As Is and HBSD in place of two of those three.

And by the way it's not about Canada "deserving shows," whatever that means, it's about the band playing where they feel they can make money.

[Angel]

No knock against Canada but do they really deserve all these shows? Winnipeg next? yikes...

Canada's a huge country, and CVH played here a lot back in the day. Yes, we do "deserve" it.

Probably more important for the promoters: economically, we're in pretty damn good shape, especially in the West. The "prairie" provinces are booming thanks to oil. Go where you know they have money to spend...

[Angel]

I'm guessing the reviewer didn't listen to the album and only heard of the setlist mainstays. I do think that VH are doing themselves a disservice by playing what I feel are the three weakest songs off the album--Tattoo, STW and TTWN. I wish they'd go for it and play As Is and HBSD in place of two of those three.

And by the way it's not about Canada "deserving shows," whatever that means, it's about the band playing where they feel they can make money.

Agreed, on all points.

[Nitro Express]

The economy is mostly about how competent your leadership is and how productive the citizens are. Japan built itself into an economic powerhouse with very little natural resources. You have countries full of natural resources that go nowhere.

Currently in the US the state that I reside in has the highest bond rating. People say it's because we have oil and natural gas. The largest oil producing states in the US in order are: Texas, Alaska, California, and North Dakota. Nobody ever mentions California but it's the third largest oil producer in the US and has the lowest bond rating in the country.

So you can have a lot of oil and fail. Governor Brown of California is now going to up the state income taxes. Here in Wyoming we have no state income taxes. We tax our oil exports.

I have a friend who works in the motion picture industry. He says a lot of the production has left the state of California. Some of it has come up there to Canada.

So it really still boils down to good leadership and how industrious your citizens are probably more than what resources you have. I would say California right now is the poster child of failure. In the mid 80's it was the seventh largest economy in the world. Amazing how fast things can fail.

If you let corrupt politicians rule they will destroy everything you built up in surprisingly quick order. Like everything else, it's hard to build something up but it doesn't take long to destroy it.

[So this is love]

When VH drops Canada they will drop doing the US as well. Canadians love Van Halen ....and fuck the reviewers...

[Nitro Express]

The thing about Canada is yes the country is huge and full of open space but the cities are big. They have nice venues and the audience is there. Many of the cities are close to the US border as well. It's not like you have to go to the top of the Yukon Territory to play a gig.

[So this is love]

The economy is mostly about how competent your leadership is and how productive the citizens are. Japan built itself into an economic powerhouse with very little natural resources. You have countries full of natural resources that go nowhere.

Currently in the US the state that I reside in has the highest bond rating. People say it's because we have oil and natural gas. The largest oil producing states in the US in order are: Texas, Alaska, California, and North Dakota. Nobody ever mentions California but it's the third largest oil producer in the US and has the lowest bond rating in the country.

So you can have a lot of oil and fail. Governor Brown of California is now going to up the state income taxes. Here in Wyoming we have no state income taxes. We tax our oil exports.

I have a friend who works in the motion picture industry. He says a lot of the production has left the state of California. Some of it has come up there to Canada.

So it really still boils down to good leadership and how industrious your citizens are probably more than what resources you have. I would say California right now is the poster child of failure. In the mid 80's it was the seventh largest economy in the world. Amazing how fast things can fail.

If you let corrupt politicians rule they will destroy everything you built up in surprisingly quick order. Like everything else, it's hard to build something up but it doesn't take long to destroy it.

Corruption is alive and well in Canada too...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

http://www.gigcity.ca/2012/05/12/concert-review-van-halen-a-strange-brew-at-rexall/

CONCERT REVIEW: Van Halen a strange brew at Rexall
May 12, 2012 By Robin Schroffel


The jump kicks may be no more, but that doesn’t prevent David Lee Roth from executing some impressive moves for a man his age. Flamboyantly sparkly, all smiles, he shimmies and slides across the stage with the Van Halens rocking out behind him – guitarist Eddie, Alex on drums and Eddie’s son Wolfgang on bass.

Their performance Friday night at Rexall Place didn’t quite blow the roof off the house, but the band brought forth a loud, solid stream of hits from the glory years, from Dance The Night Away to Jump, songs that went over like magic.

There wasn’t a lot to Van Halen’s stage show. The reunited band opted for a minimalist approach: a gigantic stage backed by walls of signature amps, dwarfed by a huge video screen showing a mix of live and pre-recorded footage in crisp black-and-white. Instant slow-motion replays of Roth’s more intricate dance moves made certain no one missed a thing.

The band’s popular cover versions of Roy Orbison’s “(Oh) Pretty Woman” and The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” sandwiched a drum solo, played with the aid of backing tracks. The night wouldn’t be complete without an over-the-top guitar wank. Eddie delivered, spending a good ten minutes tapping away and wailing on his whammy bar, to the cheers and delight of the audience. A thousand iPhones recorded the epic solo for posterity.

Roth enjoyed his own moment alone under the spotlight as well: filmed footage of a dog in a field played as Roth emerged with an acoustic guitar. The singer picked absently as he launched into a detailed anecdote about his beloved pet dogs and his favourite hobby, competitive sheep and cattle herding. It was a cute story, and a perfect lead-in to “Ice Cream Man,” from the band’s debut.

Despite the highlights, there were some questionable moments. Roth had an annoying habit of yammering into the mic during some of Eddie’s guitar solos. He just generally seemed a bit off: skipping lines in certain songs and at one point forgetting the words entirely. It’s bound to happen sometimes, but unfortunate considering that he’s surrounded on all sides by Van Halens who knew exactly what they were doing.

Soul and funk group Kool and the Gang was an odd choice for opener, but turned out to win over the audience with its amazing arsenal of hits. With choreographed dance routines and an insane horn section, the band managed to get everyone singing along to tunes like “Too Hot,” “Celebration” and grooving to “Jungle Boogie.” Who knew?

In the end, Van Halen unleashed a bit of a Canadian tribute: cannons stuffed with red and white confetti exploded onto the crowd, as Roth paced the stage back and forth in a fur hat waving a checkered flag and yelling “It’s cold outside!”

What a strange brew.

[Nitro Express]

Corruption is alive and well in Canada too...

That's because all our central banking systems are tied into the BIS and that whole system is corrupt. You guys just don't have the big military machine the bankers have hijacked to grab oil with. Basically Europe, Canada, and the US are being screwed by the same bankers. That's why South Africa, China, Russia, India, and Brazil have started BRICS and want to use a different reserve currency than the US Dollar. The Federal Reserve Note (The US Dollar) is the world's oil reserve currency. That whole system has been horribly abused. In other worlds the more power and resources your country has the more damage it does when it get's hijacked. The Amercian people have lost control of their government and now the banks run it because they control the money supply. All they have to do is drop the interest rates, create a balloon economy make money on the up side and then let it crash and make money on downside and then buy everything pennies on the dollar.

We are fighting World War III and the weapon is debt. Debt is being used against all the western countries. The asian countries are the world's biggest creditors so they are telling the western banking oligarchs to fuck off and going out on their own. The western banks are losing their control of countries they used to control so now they are clamping down on north America and Europe more than ever. They don't want to lose their power here. The banks are the main problem.

[loucap81]

And this is why I have no intentions of going into the politics forum.

[TJMKID]

Finally ---- a fair and accurate review from Canada. Although the other Edmonton reviewer was dipping heavy into the douche sauce.

Strange brew killing insides of you.

http://www.gigcity.ca/2012/05/12/con...rew-at-rexall/

CONCERT REVIEW: Van Halen a strange brew at Rexall
May 12, 2012 By Robin Schroffel


The jump kicks may be no more, but that doesn’t prevent David Lee Roth from executing some impressive moves for a man his age. Flamboyantly sparkly, all smiles, he shimmies and slides across the stage with the Van Halens rocking out behind him – guitarist Eddie, Alex on drums and Eddie’s son Wolfgang on bass.

Their performance Friday night at Rexall Place didn’t quite blow the roof off the house, but the band brought forth a loud, solid stream of hits from the glory years, from Dance The Night Away to Jump, songs that went over like magic.

There wasn’t a lot to Van Halen’s stage show. The reunited band opted for a minimalist approach: a gigantic stage backed by walls of signature amps, dwarfed by a huge video screen showing a mix of live and pre-recorded footage in crisp black-and-white. Instant slow-motion replays of Roth’s more intricate dance moves made certain no one missed a thing.

The band’s popular cover versions of Roy Orbison’s “(Oh) Pretty Woman” and The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” sandwiched a drum solo, played with the aid of backing tracks. The night wouldn’t be complete without an over-the-top guitar wank. Eddie delivered, spending a good ten minutes tapping away and wailing on his whammy bar, to the cheers and delight of the audience. A thousand iPhones recorded the epic solo for posterity.

Roth enjoyed his own moment alone under the spotlight as well: filmed footage of a dog in a field played as Roth emerged with an acoustic guitar. The singer picked absently as he launched into a detailed anecdote about his beloved pet dogs and his favourite hobby, competitive sheep and cattle herding. It was a cute story, and a perfect lead-in to “Ice Cream Man,” from the band’s debut.

Despite the highlights, there were some questionable moments. Roth had an annoying habit of yammering into the mic during some of Eddie’s guitar solos. He just generally seemed a bit off: skipping lines in certain songs and at one point forgetting the words entirely. It’s bound to happen sometimes, but unfortunate considering that he’s surrounded on all sides by Van Halens who knew exactly what they were doing.

Soul and funk group Kool and the Gang was an odd choice for opener, but turned out to win over the audience with its amazing arsenal of hits. With choreographed dance routines and an insane horn section, the band managed to get everyone singing along to tunes like “Too Hot,” “Celebration” and grooving to “Jungle Boogie.” Who knew?

In the end, Van Halen unleashed a bit of a Canadian tribute: cannons stuffed with red and white confetti exploded onto the crowd, as Roth paced the stage back and forth in a fur hat waving a checkered flag and yelling “It’s cold outside!”

What a strange brew.

[Light Em' Up!]

[Light Em' Up!]

[Light Em' Up!]

Eddie Solo:

[Light Em' Up!]

Just a short little blip of RWD....