How many of you actually have seen Van Halen live?

[Wayne L.]

I saw Van Halen live at the old Charlotte Coliseum in NC on 2/1/84 with Autograph as the opening act during my youth which I will never forget since it was one of the coldest days of year with mt fingers getting numb waiting for the arena doors to open then VH kicked out the jams playing their older songs & new songs from their latest album 1984 which was only a few weeks old besides I consider it one of the last great rock & roll tours of its kind. I know there is a bootleg CD of this classic VH concert which I hope to listen to someday when I get the chance to bring back some memories but experiencing Van Halen live in those days was like an atomic bomb exploding in your city if you were a young rock fan like myself at the time because you had to be there or be square but seeing VH live when they were the kings of rock with few equals is similiar to seeing the Beatles live back in the 60's

[Coyote]

Only seen a video of the '83 US Festival.

[guwapo_rocker]

Live Maple Leaf Gardens Diver Down and 1984 tours.

[TwoFoolsAMinute]

I have not seen Van Halen Live. Dave was out before I got into VH. Of course, after that, I had no desire to see Van Hagar. I saw the Skyscraper tour for DLR.

[lms2]

Yep, just once, but baby what a night! (I also saw Van Hagar live once as well.)

[Diamondjimi]

Women & Children First 1980 ,Fair Warning 1981( managed to fight my way to front row in front of EVH ,killer) ,Diver Down 1982,
And the "1984" tour . All were at Maple Leaf Gardens (R.I.P.).....
Ahh the good 'ol days .........

[Va Beach VH Fan]

May 20, 1984... San Diego Sports Arena....

Night BEFORE the "Sundown in San Diego" bootleg.....

[BigDaddyD]

I only got to see Van Hagar on the 5150 monsters of rock tour. I have pretty much every boot that I could find though. The one from Brazil in '83 is fucking killer. Thanks to whoever clued me in to that.

[moose]

Originally posted by diamondjimi
Women & Children First 1980 ,Fair Warning 1981( managed to fight my way to front row in front of EVH ,killer) ,Diver Down 1982,
And the "1984" tour . All were at Maple Leaf Gardens (R.I.P.).....
Ahh the good 'ol days .........

Hey Diamond if memory serves me correct they played C.N.E. Stadium on July 18th 1980.
Saw all the shows at the Gardens and more than a few in Buff/Detroit/Montreal.
And yeah "THE GOOD OLE'DAYS"

[Lou]

Saw Dave twice in 1999 and 2001. Seems to me that the best time to have been born was the early to mid 50's. Because you got EVERYTHING from The Beatles to Hendrix to Led Zeppelin to VH...man I was born at the wrong time.

[walterswoodman]

Jan 24, 1984 Little Rock, AR absolutely killer show, somebody threw a
glowstick and hit dave in the head, he stopped the song, which pissed
off eddie, and challenged the guy to come on stage so he could kick
his ass. I remember vividly because I was only 12 yrs. old. totally
fucking blew my mind.
1986 Little Rock, AR 5150 tour Show was allright but seemed like
it went on too long, I remember by the end of the show alot of people
had already left.
1988 Memphis, TN, don't remember much but how everybody I was
with was pissed Sammy was singing Running w/ the devil.
we left after about 4 songs.
1989? Skyscraper Tour Little Rock, AR, Great show, but the power cut
off before the first song, Knucklebones I think, and stayed off a few
minutes, the crowd started chanting Bullshit Bullshit , power was restored and dave come back out and said I know it's Bullshit Little
Rock! Steve Vai was amazing. Oh Yeah it's got to be the most Pussy
I've ever seen at a rock show, maybe because Poison was on the bill.

anyway my .02

[Fairwrning]

81 Fair Warning tour...to this day best show i have ever seen
82 Diver Down tour
84 tour

[horty07]

I Never seen V/H live but I did see the Skyscraper tour, and that show kicked ass.

[Reverberator]

I saw Dave on Skyscraper and Lil ain' t enough tours here in good old blighty , missed the mighty VH in 1980 & 1984 , bastard !

Fuck Van Hagar .

[Matt White]

Hide Your SHEEP Tour
1984 TOUR
EEAS TOUR
ALAE TOUR

Also seen the HORRIBLE:
5150 tour( B.T.O. blew 'em off stage. Helped that BURTON CUMMINGS came out & did 4 GUESS WHO SONGS!!!!

MONSTER OF ROCK tour: EVERYBODY else SUCKED when faced with a YOUNG & HUNGRY METALLICA!!!! NEAR FUCKING RIOT!!!:killer: :killer: :killer: :killer: :killer: :killer: :killer: :killer: :killer:

DAVE OR THE GRAVE BABY!!!!

[walterswoodman]

MONSTER OF ROCK tour: EVERYBODY else SUCKED when faced with a YOUNG & HUNGRY METALLICA!!!! NEAR FUCKING RIOT!!!

Yeah, I agree even the band I was dying to see DOKKEN, Big George
Lynch Fan, even sucked but Metallica blew them all away.
the crowd got into a , Taste Great Less Filling Chant War,
PA says the "yellow shirts are here to help you" about that time I see
a huge black security guard in a yellow shirt tackle a mullet, in stlye
then, made us real nervous.
Monsters of Rock 88 sucked, even though I kinda liked Kingdom Kome
Memphis Tn,

[walterswoodman]

Oh Yeah! not to mention the paper cup fight before the Scorpions,
by the way everybody thougt the Scorpions were lipping,
I believe there just that good.

[keith2]

I saw them @ Monsters of Rock - Donington 1984 - BLEW ME AWAY!
DLR Hammersmith Odeon 1988 - BLEW ME AWAY!
DLR - Donington Monsters of Rock 1988 - BLEW ME AWAY!
DLR - Peterborough UK 1991 - BLEW ME AWAY!

VAN HAGER - Sheffield 1993 - I STILL TO THIS DAY WAKE UP SCREAMING.

If DLR joined VH again i would travel to the US for a few shows.
Anybody in the UK up for it?

This site ROCKS!

[Nitro Express]

1980 1980 Invasion Tour
1982 Diver Down Tour
1984 1984 Tour (Had backstage pass:) )
1988 OU812 Tour (Arrested for public drunkeness and was hauled out of the venue by the police.)

[Terry]

St. Patrick's Day, 1984 Providence RI. One of two sold out dates (when Van Halen could still sell out an arena for multiple nights)

Tickets were around $13, give or take a buck either way.

Autograph opened.

Was the biggest non-stadium production I'd seen up to that point.

Dave did a lot of onstage raps that night. Ed took a long guitar solo. So long that 10 minutes into it people were yelling for the band to "PLAY SOME FUCKING SONGS!!" Although they were doing the same thing when Dave was rapping with the audience too.

Biggest applause of the night was when Dave held the mic out to the audience. People were going ballistic.

Roth also said something about the show being filmed, and there was a girl in our high school who claimed she could be seen jumping up in one of the Panama video audience shots (sitting next to the guy who looked like Weird Al Yankovic), but apparently she was bullshitting, as someone told me the Panama footage was taken at the Philly Spectrum.

[frenchie]

i saw them in 1984 in England
i saw david lee roth in 1988 in france (skyscraper) with amazing band
i saw van hagar in 1993 in france
i saw david lee roth in 1991 in england
i saw van hagar again (i know, everybody makes mistake) in 1995 in germany
i saw the sam and dave tour in your wonderful country call USA

[guwapo_rocker]

Originally posted by Nitro Express
1980 1980 Invasion Tour
1982 Diver Down Tour
1984 1984 Tour (Had backstage pass:) )
1988 OU812 Tour (Arrested for public drunkeness and was hauled out of the venue by the police.)

Tell us about your backstage experience.

[Louden]

I saw VAN HAGAR in 1995/1996? in WERCHTER (BELGIUM) - they were opening for Bon Jovi and only played for 1 hour...can you f**king believe this ?

[guwapo_rocker]

If they stick with Spammy they will be opening for

Olivia Newton John on the Australian leg of the tour.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Saw them in March 1984, AWESOME show. They opened with my favorite song UNCHAINED. Great stage show, great music. 2 years later out of curiousity, went to see them with Hagar. No stage show, left early due to intense feelings of sadness and boredom.

[Carmine]

never saw real VH. Saw the EEAS smile tour 4 times, Skyscraper tour 4 times, ALAE twice, saw Dave open for Bad Company in 00. Did see Van Hagar this year in Albany, and am going to CasinoRama on Nov 4th to see Dave...

[Matt White]

Originally posted by guwapo_rocker
If they stick with Spammy they will be opening for

Olivia Newton John on the Australian leg of the tour.

I don't think Olivia would stoop that low Guwpao-rocker!!! Maybe Rikki Martin will take them over seas!!!!!


DAVE OR THE GRAVE BABY!!!!

[ZahZoo]

Saw em on every tour 78 - 85 until Dave bailed...

[Carmine]

Originally posted by ZahZoo
Saw em on every tour 78 - 85 until Dave bailed...

you are a lucky man!! there are probably not to many who can say that.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Let's see, I've only posted this about 700 times ;).........San Francisco 1984.........like Terry said, one of my endurining memories is that it seemed like the band was hardly all on stage together at one time.

[NeilDiamondDave]

At the "Wistah Centrum" 1982.. Diver down. I was only 12 at the time, but had already been going to concerts for a few years( tom Petty, ZZ top, Ac/Dc, Kinks and Ozzy. At the time this was HUGE. VH were like ZEP or the Stones, they were the Biggest band on the planet. I waited in line and got tix. The show was as good as you could imagine. The thing I remember most is is that Roth said at one point " and the hits just keep on commin" and it was true... every song you knew by heart. Since that day, I saw Van hagar 3 times(I know, I know) on the 5150 tour, Monsters of rock tour, F.U.C.K. tour, VH3 tour(best post roth show) and this new Drunken sloppy Eddie tour. Each time trying to recapture the feeling of that 12 yr old boy being overwhelmed by the sheer force of the mighty VH, but sadly like a junkie, never quite getting there. Also saw Eat em' and smile(great), Skyscraper(o.k.) and believe it or not, the closest to the Real VH- the Sam n' Dave tour... That was the closest ive been to that feeling!.

[Terry]

Originally posted by Bill Lumbergh
Let's see, I've only posted this about 700 times ;).........San Francisco 1984.........like Terry said, one of my endurining memories is that it seemed like the band was hardly all on stage together at one time.

1984 tour was definitely an odd experience. Great show, but they'd do about three tunes as a band, start building up a little steam, then Mike would do a bass solo, Al would take a drum break, Dave would tell a few jokes, etc.

Another thing that stands out in memory is when they did Jump and Ed futzed around on the keyboard in lieu of the guitar solo. Granted, would have been a bitch to do the guitar solo and then go straight into the keyboard break, but I remember looking forward to seeing how he was going to pull that off live.

[ZahZoo]

Originally posted by DLRoswegony
you are a lucky man!! there are probably not to many who can say that.

Yeah I have to count my blessings and remind myself that I grew up in a time to remember the Beatles before they broke up... was lucky enough to see Hendrix at Monterey Pop in 67 (age 9... my parents worked some Arts'n'Crafts show) and all of the great rock bands of the 70's and 80's before a good portion of the Rock world went to shit...

[Samsonite]

Saw Dave last September and saw Van Hagar in Cleveland.

[franksters]

i saw vh with dave a few time in montreal
1980
27 oct 1982 diver down
april 19 1984

Dave era!!!

eat em n smile tour
sky scraper tour
philadelphia 1999
burlington 2002
and now i am going to see dave in orillia ontario nov 4th 2004

can't wait..

being in montreal is easy for me to travel a little bit ..

[guwapo_rocker]

Originally posted by franksters
i saw vh with dave a few time in montreal
1980
27 oct 1982 diver down
april 19 1984

Dave era!!!

eat em n smile tour
sky scraper tour
philadelphia 1999
burlington 2002
and now i am going to see dave in orillia ontario nov 4th 2004

can't wait..

being in montreal is easy for me to travel a little bit ..

Where are you seats in Orillia, I'll put you on our chart.

[Diamondjimi]

Originally posted by moose
Hey Diamond if memory serves me correct they played C.N.E. Stadium on July 18th 1980.
Saw all the shows at the Gardens and more than a few in Buff/Detroit/Montreal.
And yeah "THE GOOD OLE'DAYS"

I have seen it listed as @ The C.N.E. on a VH tour history list. They may have been scheduled to play there but they obviously did'nt.
Although i've been to a few @ the X , I'm glad they did'nt .M.L.G. ruled!
I have the ticket stub in front of me . I paid $ 9.55 + .95c. service charge . $ 10.50 well spent !! I sat in row MM seat 17 Floors.
I still have a bootleg shirt from that show ,cost me 10 bucks from some dude selling them out of his trunk . Not 30 seconds later I hear a lot of yelling,I turn around to see a couple of VH's finest tearing this guy a new one.. Hollering shit lie "You motherfucker ,you're takin food from their fuckin tables!!!" These fuckers were big. I noticed one of them confiscate a couple of these shirts off a fan so I took it as my cue to make tracks. The shirt could'nt have been made from cheaper material. The shirt is black with EVH cut out from the back cover of W.A.C.F. with a bubble next to him "Have you seen juniors grades", the back is a picture of Earth with " Van Halen world Invasion tour 1980".

New story : Got my Roth tickets today in the mail.
First time for a show at Casino Rama. I hear it's a sweet venue , not a bad seat in the house.........
Let the countdown begin....

[Nitro Express]

My backstage experience in 1984 was I got to meet Mike and Eddie. Both of those guys were actually real friendly to the fans. I was hoping to meet Dave but he was nowhere to be found and niether was Alex.

The Van Halen road crew were great and fun to hang around but as far as the band goes, it seemed real segrigated. Eddie seemed pretty happy backstage but during the show he never smiled and didn't interact with anybody.

I have no Soddom and Gamorah tales to tell. It was surprisingly sane but of course Mike and Eddie were P-Whipped by their wives by then.

[Cato]

I have.

but I don't boast of that unlike Wayne Fag.

[Cato]

Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
May 20, 1984... San Diego Sports Arena....

Night BEFORE the "Sundown in San Diego" bootleg.....
Va, Sundown In San Diego includes the show you attended on disc 1 & 2. it's a 4 CD set.

[dstanzler]

VH WISE:

I sucked it up and saw them -------------> 2004.

I payed something like $250 for 2 shity seats for my girlfriend and I, then we hopped a whole bunch of rails, ran into a near-blind security gaurd and ended up in the front row.

NOW WAIT! -- BEFORE YOU SLICE MY HEAD OFF -- I was born two years AFTER 1984 -- and only started listening to Van Halen this october -- so seeing them no matter what was important to me. I love DAVE...he > spammy.

Now, the review:

Never seen anything like it, though. Sammy signed my converse [when I had shouted at Eddie to sign them] but it's cool =D.

Really energetic show. You know, Sammy fucked up some GOOD songs like Jump and Panama...but he made up for it but drinking and toking on stage [i guess]. He let the guy next to me sing the part in Panama:

"Reach down between my legs...and ease the seat back...VROOM!"

They guy fucked it up =/, but I was shouting "EASE THE SEAT BACK!"

My girlfriend and I got on the big stadium cam too. Pretty cool.


BACKSTAGE WISE:

I've met the Blue Oyster Cult - they rule.

I've stood about 10 feet away from KISS. They just got onstage.

OTHER SHIT I'VE SEEN:

Iron Maiden - Fucking Amazing.

Neil Young/Pearl Jam/Willie Nelson/CSNY - Bridge School...shitiest show ever.

Rush - I still don't get why people like them. Peart is wicked though.

Slayer - Decent - I guess.

The Priest - Fucking amazing.

OZZY/Sabbath - Fucking amazing.

[frenchie]

pearl jam and neil young are great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dstanzler]

It was all acoustic. Veder was off key, and Neil Young played for about 2 minutes.

DAVE>spammy

Dave

[gary191265]

Saw Van Halen supporting Sabbath in 1978, at Birmingham Odeon around 1980/81 and at Donington in 1984

[secrets]

I envy you. I would've loved to have see Van Halen with Roth.

Unfortunatey that was just slightly before my time.

I saw Dave live for the ALAE tour, which was great.

Anyone who's seen Van Halen with Dave consider yourself very lucky.

[DrMaddVibe]

1979 - Lakeland Civic Center in support of VHII. That show made me a believer!


1981 - Tangerine Bowl warming up for the Rolling Stones in support of Fair Warning.

Dave had a break where he went off on a reporter that was supposedly in the crowd that had some unflattering things to say about Van Halen. At the end of his bender he says, "this is for you" and rushes to the edge of the stage and moons the crowd.

I've seen Dave 4 times and Van Hagar once at the Monsters of Rock.

DLR IS Van Halen!

The other memorable event was when Eddie, Dave and Mike did this hop kinda thing down the long ramp that made up their stage.

[Hummarstra]

Originally posted by diamondjimi
Women & Children First 1980 ,Fair Warning 1981( managed to fight my way to front row in front of EVH ,killer) I hate you you fucking BASTARD!!!! :)


I saw the Diver Down tour. Greatest concert experience of my life. Changed me forever. I can still remember hearing "Little Guitars" live for the first time..."senorita I'm in love with you.." NO MUSIC before or since has resonated with me like classic VH. And that goes for live performances, too.

[Hummarstra]

Originally posted by gary191265
Saw Van Halen supporting Sabbath in 1978, at Birmingham Odeon around 1980/81
Oh, and I hate you, too, you FUCKING BASTARD!!!!! :)

[gary191265]

Originally posted by Hummarstra
Oh, and I hate you, too, you FUCKING BASTARD!!!!! :)

Sorry !:)

I saw Roth on the Skyscraper tour at Hammersmith Odeon, Birmingham NEC and Donington . Also saw him on the ALAE tour at the NEC too.

The EEAS band never made it to Britain as Sheehan had bailed out before they got over here...and Matt Bissonette is the most one dimensional bass player I think I've ever seen (possibly even more so than MA !), what Satriani was thinking about when he replaced Stu Hamm with him, I do not know...

[monkeythe]

Never saw the real deal. Saw Van Hagar Monster of Rock tour and then a few weeks later the Skyscaper tour. No contest, Daves show blew Van HAgar away. Not only was Dave better than Sammy (obvious) but Vai blew Eddie away. What made it even worse was that on several songs Eddie played keybords leaving Sammy to play guitar.

The Van Hagar show had 2 things better than Daves: 1 - a hot chick sitting behind me that took her top off several times during the day, and 2 - better opening acts (Poison vs Metallica/Scorps & Dokken)

[diamondsgirl]

Saw VH in 1981, 1982, and 1984. Saw Dave many, many times solo starting with his first solo tour, right up through last year.

Roth is the best all around entertainer, bar none.

[scorpioboy33]

1984 tour...dlr eatem and smile toronto

[throatrocket]

Originally posted by diamondjimi
Women & Children First 1980 ,Fair Warning 1981( managed to fight my way to front row in front of EVH ,killer) ,Diver Down 1982,
And the "1984" tour . All were at Maple Leaf Gardens (R.I.P.).....
Ahh the good 'ol days .........

Same shows but different town. Hampton coliseum, home of the Eatum And Smile Tour kick off. I went to the dress rehearsal the night before and saw the entire show played to an empty 9,000 seat arena! AWSOME

[scorpioboy33]

i miss maple leaf gardens :(

[madraoul]

Remember $12 tickets? Yeah, I saw them every time they were in town.

[scorpioboy33]

on the 84 tour in toronto I remember seeing this person throw this huge penis on a board on stage and dlr grabbed it and was air humping...when I seen the eatem and smile tour I ran back to back stage door...near the ramp anyways...got to meet sheean and vai...they got into a mini van...ran over to the parking ramp...and a big limo comes up...daves cracks the window...he's with two blondes (just like a fuckin video) he does one of his face hand things..and he's gone....

[madraoul]

Originally posted by scorpioboy33
on the 84 tour in toronto I remember seeing this person throw this huge penis on a board on stage and dlr grabbed it and was air humping...when I seen the eatem and smile tour I ran back to back stage door...near the ramp anyways...got to meet sheean and vai...they got into a mini van...ran over to the parking ramp...and a big limo comes up...daves cracks the window...he's with two blondes (just like a fuckin video) he does one of his face hand things..and he's gone....

That's a pretty cool story. Damn, I thought they were the greatest thing in history so they'd never break up. I just went home with the girlfriend of the evening and had a great time. I was always confident they'd be back next year. Little did I know...

[thefive]

I saw them 3 times.

[diamondsgirl]

Originally posted by madraoul
Remember $12 tickets? Yeah, I saw them every time they were in town.

Yup, my ticket says $11.50. LOL.
Now it cost that much to go to the movies!

[allanshort]

Invasion tour

Fair warning

F.U.C.K. Tour (Hmm first time to see Hagar and kinda slow)

Balance (Europe. Opened for Bon Jovi. I thought WTF???)

VH 3 Berlin Germany. If Gary hadnt danced. I would have loved the show. As it is, I thought OOHH My God, I didnt know he's a Fag, and nope he's no Halford. He's (Gary) the Bitch.

Dave Berlin A little aint enough. AWESOME!!!

Sam and Dave Colorado. It rained during Spammy's set and I left early. Luckily Dave opened.

2003 Hog fest Colorado DAVE!!!!!!! Rocked

Van Halen 2004 Pepsi Center Colorado. HHHMMM. Brought back memories. Where's Dave????? Got my t-shirt and hat. I think this will be the last tour with Hagar (fingers crossed)

[throatrocket]

AAHEMMMMM! ***Attended the dress rehearsal for the 1986 EAS tour, Dave did the entire show before a handful of us in a 9,000 seat arena**** Now dont get me wrong, I dont need undo attention. This seems to me anyway, a rather interesting event for Dave fans to ponder or at least give a woppy de doo about. It was so cool and I still cant believe I got an up close and personal look at Dave and his new band the night before the wolrd tour began. Less than 200 people can say that. Come on! Throw me a fricking bone here! This is juicy stuff. I would love to answer a question or two about it.

[ineedwahwah]

Last Gig with Dave 1984 in Nürnberg, Germany. Hooray!

[Jamie(scryin')]

I'm old enough and lucky enough to have seen Van Halen 7 times between 1979 and 1984!!! The '79 show was life-changing (I was 17!) and they got better EVERY TIME! I try to tell my 17-year-old son how revolutionary they were - that NOBODY had ever played like Eddie and NOBODY had ever performed like Dave - but he can't truly grasp how amazing it was. I feel so fortunate to have lived through it.

In 1981, they played the university I attended. I, of course, was right up front, and ... get this ... Dave kneeled down on the edge of the stage, reached out and took my hand, licked his upper lip seductively and blew me a kiss. The entire time he never took his eyes off mine. OMG! I took home a piece of fabric that he tore off the front of his pants and one of his gloves that he handed to me as a souvenir. (Remember he used to wear those white gloves?) My friend got Eddie's JD bottle and a cigarette that he handed to her right before he played "Spanish Fly." It was truly our night! whew!

[Lou]

I continue to envy all of you who saw Van HALEN...I'd give just about anything to somehow travel back in time and see a Van HALEN show, even if it were a 1984 show (my least favorite tour).

[Matt White]

And one of the FUNNIER parts of the weekend, was when our "Cyber-stalker" spoke of having seen CLASSIC VAN HALEN...yet still railed against Roth fans for "living in the past". As if ANYBODY who saw the MIGHTY VAN HALEN live would have anything but CONTEMPT for Van Hagar!!! Unless they had the mental capacity of a SERF!!!


DAVE OR THE GRAVE BABY!!!

[Figs]

1981

[Matt White]

VERY COOL FIGS!!!


DAVE OR THE GRAVE BABY!!!

[Figs]

Best concert I ever went to. My friend got a pick, from Mike, not Ed.

[Cato]

Originally posted by thefive
I saw them 3 times.
if it's true, you are too stupid for your age.

[diamondsgirl]

Originally posted by Jamie(scryin')
I'm old enough and lucky enough to have seen Van Halen 7 times between 1979 and 1984!!! The '79 show was life-changing (I was 17!) and they got better EVERY TIME! I try to tell my 17-year-old son how revolutionary they were - that NOBODY had ever played like Eddie and NOBODY had ever performed like Dave - but he can't truly grasp how amazing it was. I feel so fortunate to have lived through it.

In 1981, they played the university I attended. I, of course, was right up front, and ... get this ... Dave kneeled down on the edge of the stage, reached out and took my hand, licked his upper lip seductively and blew me a kiss. The entire time he never took his eyes off mine. OMG! I took home a piece of fabric that he tore off the front of his pants and one of his gloves that he handed to me as a souvenir. (Remember he used to wear those white gloves?) My friend got Eddie's JD bottle and a cigarette that he handed to her right before he played "Spanish Fly." It was truly our night! whew!

Welcome! :cool:

Great post. What a great experience to always be remembered!!!

I'm in that, (cough cough), age bracket as well and have kids that have been well educated in Classic Van Halen. Home schooled, so to speak...:)

[beatsthatgoboom]

me and 110.000 others saw dave at donington 1988!
saw van halen in birmingham 1993
and saw dave again febuary this year in london.
love to have seen the 84 tour,but i was only 11 and to busy climbing trees and fingering girl guides!!!
anyone who saw them in 84 buy any of the tees?wonna sell em?

[Figs]

Great poster! That's a serious lineup!

[wombattt]

saw VH in '79, '82, & '84 all in Cleveland Oh.
saw Dave in 2002 & '03

[Angel]

Saw VH in 79 (twice) 80 (twice) and 81. Front row, center stage, every one... (I'm a pushy bitch).

Dave in 2003.

[tjvhou812]

Originally posted by Wayne L.
I saw Van Halen live at the old Charlotte Coliseum in NC on 2/1/84 with Autograph as the opening act during my youth which I will never forget since it was one of the coldest days of year with mt fingers getting numb waiting for the arena doors to open then VH kicked out the jams playing their older songs & new songs from their latest album 1984 which was only a few weeks old besides I consider it one of the last great rock & roll tours of its kind. I know there is a bootleg CD of this classic VH concert which I hope to listen to someday when I get the chance to bring back some memories but experiencing Van Halen live in those days was like an atomic bomb exploding in your city if you were a young rock fan like myself at the time because you had to be there or be square but seeing VH live when they were the kings of rock with few equals is similiar to seeing the Beatles live back in the 60's


i saw vh 10 times....

but i never got to see them w/dave

i saw dave solo about 6 times

it would be great if they toured the original line up
would love to see them on stage together

[MAX]

I saw them in June of 1984. It was my first concert. :D

[tjvhou812]

Originally posted by MAX
I saw them in June of 1984. It was my first concert. :D

lucky bitch:)

[MAX]

Originally posted by tjvhou812
lucky bitch:)


LOL! I know it. :D

[LadyTudor2711]

1982.....


My older cousin Lana too me to my first Van Halen concert. 1982

I was just 11 and pretty hot with my Sergio Valente's, feathered hair and lip gloss. Christ, I felt so cool.... God I feel old.


Be well,

ALM

[Lou]

Originally posted by tjvhou812
i saw vh 10 times....

but i never got to see them w/dave

Then you still haven't seen Van Halen.

[metrotac]

I saw them Halloween night 1982 in Hampton VA. I can remember Mikey coming out with some kind of lighted hat on...weird what I remember from that show. The song thats sticks out from concert was "Where Have all the Good Times Gone". I was up in the seats. When the 1984 tour rolled through I was down front of the stage. Took some 110 film photos. Didn't turn out great but are good memories of the show. Mostly Dave down front slapping hands with the crowd crushed against the barriers.He seemed to talk alot of shit about Al too. Who'd have thunk it then.... Sorry to say I saw them in '86 and '88. Eddie was right on, but the atmosphere in the arena just wasn't the same as before....Haven't seen them since.

[Angel]

Originally posted by LadyTudor2711
1982..... I was just 11 .... God I feel old.

HA HA! OLD??? Let's see, I was 16, in 1978... I must be a fucking dinosaur! ;)

[TongueNGroove]

I saw them on their last tour with Sammy, before this one. I guess it was 1996? Doesn't seem that long ago.

[ssomesweetsugar]

'81 Oakland, CA
'84 Daly City, CA (some folks consider this to be SF) Cow Palace

It was super loud at the Cow Place show. People were screaming so loud for them. It made it hard to hear them play. Dave forgot some of his lyrics.

I remember you BillL ....haha ;)

Back then, concerts were so crazzy and out of control, nothing like they are now a days.

[kentuckyklira]

With Dave in 1984.

With Sammy Hagar in 1992 :o

[GreenBayLA]

I'm from Madison, WI and saw them in 79, 80, 2x in 81, 2x in 82, 1x in 83, 85 and in LA 2008.
Classic VH were definitely one of the best live shows I've ever seen, the mass feeling at those shows was unreal.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Geez, you couldn't bump up an older thread ?? ;)

[sadaist]

I never saw them with Dave until 2007. Which made it a magical event for me.

As for seeing the "lesser" versions of VH, I saw these tours:

5150
OU812
Monsters Of Rock
FUCK
VHIII
2004 Reunion with Sam

also seen Dave:

Eat Em And Smile
Skyscraper
Mambo Slammers in Vegas
DLR Band
Random show in Vegas, 2000
Sam & Dave tour

[Hardrock69]

THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN!

9/29/78 Seattle, WA
7/19/79 Wichita, KS
10/16/81 Wichita, KS
11/24/82 Wichita, KS

vanhagar :barf:
5/28/86 Wichita, KS
7/10/88 Kansas City, MO

Dave

8/30/86 Wichita, KS
12/2/99 Wichita, KS
8/3/02 Gnashville

[DlocRoth]

I never saw them with Dave until 2007. Which made it a magical event for me.

As for seeing the "lesser" versions of VH, I saw these tours:

5150
OU812
Monsters Of Rock
FUCK
VHIII
2004 Reunion with Sam

also seen Dave:

Eat Em And Smile
Skyscraper
Mambo Slammers in Vegas
DLR Band
Random show in Vegas, 2000
Sam & Dave tour

For real.....

How were the Slammers? Tight, right?

[GAR]

to quote Eyes.. "bizzump"

[sadaist]

For real.....

How were the Slammers? Tight, right?


Actually saw them the opening show. We were driving down the strip and on the Ballys marquee the guys were putting the letters up. It said "David Lee R". As we passed I had my girlfriend look back hoping the opposite side of the sign was complete. It was, and it was for that very night. We whipped the U-turn & got 2 tix to the very first show.

It was cool...but very different. Only played 2 VH songs. Jump & Ice Cream Man. But honestly, the very most rockin' song he did all night was "Free Ride". Best version ever. But the whole show was very surreal. We sat very close & Dave did a lot of shtick (a lot). Funny stuff. Definitely a different experience than what I had thought going in. Was very cool, but I'm glad he only did that one run of it.

Oh...and the 2 girls he kept onstage in bikinis the whole show were exceptional. WOWZA! Brunettes...my fav.

Old man Edgar Winters was cool as usual.

[sadaist]

vanhagar
5/28/86 Wichita, KS

Dave
8/30/86 Wichita, KS


That's where I feel the most cheated. Those 2 shows. Eddie was at his very best, and Dave was at his very best. They should have been together. Can you imagine?

[Igosplut]

Twice in the early eighty's at the Cape Cod Coliseum........

[heartbreaker]

By "Van Halen" I assume you mean strictly the classic Dave, Eddie, Al, and Michael lineup or are you including any other version of the band with other members (Sammy, Gary, Wolfgang, etc.)?

[ace diamond]

i have seen van halen several times.

[rothschild]

Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 1980
Madison Square Garden, Ny 1983,1984
Brendan Byrne Arena, NJ 1983
DLR Brendan Byrne Arena 1986 (Cinderella opening)
DLR Brendan Byrne Arena 1988 (Poison opening)
DLR Canoe place Inn, Hampton Bays,NY 1999
DLR North Fork Theater, Westbury, NY 2003
DLR Beacon Theater NY 2004
Van Halen Izod Center, NJ 2008

[VanHalenFan5150]

I've seen them only as many time's as i've watched the bootleg videos I have... Hoping to see them when they finally get of their gearwhore asses and tour

[Terry]

Actually saw them the opening show. We were driving down the strip and on the Ballys marquee the guys were putting the letters up. It said "David Lee R". As we passed I had my girlfriend look back hoping the opposite side of the sign was complete. It was, and it was for that very night. We whipped the U-turn & got 2 tix to the very first show.

It was cool...but very different. Only played 2 VH songs. Jump & Ice Cream Man. But honestly, the very most rockin' song he did all night was "Free Ride". Best version ever. But the whole show was very surreal. We sat very close & Dave did a lot of shtick (a lot). Funny stuff. Definitely a different experience than what I had thought going in. Was very cool, but I'm glad he only did that one run of it.

Oh...and the 2 girls he kept onstage in bikinis the whole show were exceptional. WOWZA! Brunettes...my fav.

Old man Edgar Winters was cool as usual.

That would have been a fun show to see, although like you I'm glad he only did the Vegas bit for that one stint.

[Hardrock69]

That's where I feel the most cheated. Those 2 shows. Eddie was at his very best, and Dave was at his very best. They should have been together. Can you imagine?

What I have always thought was cool, was that I saw the 5150 tour in May, then Dave swung through town in August. I thought the Dave Show kicked the 5150 tour in the nuts.

[slage33]

82 coboa arena , 84 cobo arena (two best shows i have ever seen), 86 w/sammy was not even close to the same or as good(hated it) as with dave and six times on the last tour

[sonrisa salvaje]

I only saw VH on the last tour because i was too young to drive during the 1984 tour and i didn't know anyone older that was going.

However, saw Dave:

EAS tour - 3 times
Skyscraper
YFLM
Roth/Hagar tour
Diamond Dave tour - 2 times

[Hardrock69]

I did not see the last tour, as a) they did not play Gnashville, DESPITE playing numerous other cities TWICE (motherfuckers! :mad: ), and b) even though they played Atlanta twice, each time it was in the midst of the week, I could not get off from work, and I did not have the cash to do a road trip to see them anyway.

I surely hope they play Gnashville on their next tour.

[Combat Ready]

Seen some good shows. Seems like the list is missing a gig or two......Maybe not.

**VH**

81 Oakland

82 San Francisco

84 San Francisco

07 Seattle


^Van fucking Hagar^ (only once--proud to say)

93 Mountain View


***Roth***

86 San Franciso

88 Oakland

88 Sacramento

02 Fresno (w/the roun'clown)

05 Eugene

[chefcraig]

4/21/78 Hollywood, FL Sportatorium
11/05/78 Hollywood, FL Sportatorium
7/07/79 Miami, FL Miami Jai-Alai Fronton
12/09/82 Hollywood, FL Sportatorium

[Starwood]

Starwood has never met Dave, talked with Alex on the phone, his girlfriend never kickbox-trained Janie at 5150, owned a DLR autographed guitar, or seen over 20 VH/DLR shows.
Maybe one of these days....

[thome]

Both '78 visits to KC.

The only -Two- that count and -THAT- makes me -OWN- the rest of you FOOKS!

Mutha On Bitchez!

[thome]

P.S. However I am completely BURNED by anyone who saw VH before thier first recond deal.

[GAR]

I won't say nothing then..

[Hardrock69]

Good. Be sure to cuntinue to say nothing.

[VanHalenFan5150]

You shouldn't say anything at all. You should actually leave.

[Ruprecht]

I saw VH in 95 when they supported Bon Jovi

[sadaist]

I saw VH in 95 when they supported Bon Jovi


That was a low point, even by Van Hagar standards. How was the show? 95 is one tour I wasn't able to catch.

[kwame k]

Sadly, I've only seen Faux Halen........Monsters of Rock @ The Pontiac Silverdome and the San Diego Sports Arena later that year :(

[Ruprecht]

That was a low point, even by Van Hagar standards. How was the show? 95 is one tour I wasn't able to catch.

A sad day for VH supporting BJ, that was a BAD idea.I remember lots of people seeing them for the first saying things like "is that it? The mighty VH" very weird

They where better in 93 on the UK tour with Little Angels as support.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

A sad day for VH supporting BJ, that was a BAD idea.I remember lots of people seeing them for the first saying things like "is that it? The mighty VH" very weird

That's because it wasn't the mighty VH.....

[sadaist]

Sadly, I've only seen Faux Halen........ San Diego Sports Arena later that year :(


You were at the same show as me. 20+ years ago and we may have stood in the concession line next to each other. Weird.

I was the kid with the kinda long hair wearing a Metallica shirt. I'm sure you remember.

:hee:

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I remember when I saw the Eddie and the Hagaritas up at Merriwether Post Pavilion outside of DC in '93....

I spent the night up on the lawn drinking beer and arguing with those idiots all night long....

[diamondsgirl]

Twice in the early eighty's at the Cape Cod Coliseum........

I remember that place! LOL. I saw a few shows there!:baaa:

[diamondsgirl]

Saw VH in 1981, 1982, and 1984. Saw Dave many, many times solo starting with his first solo tour, right up through last year.

Roth is the best all around entertainer, bar none.

this was my post from 9/11/2004.

Now I can add one more Roth solo show in September 2006 (Foxwoods) and two more VH shows, October 2007 (Boston) and May (Providence)2008.

and Roth is STILL the best all around entertainer, bar none! :hitch:

[kwame k]

You were at the same show as me. 20+ years ago and we may have stood in the concession line next to each other. Weird.

I was the kid with the kinda long hair wearing a Metallica shirt. I'm sure you remember.

:hee:

That was you, dude!!!!!!!!

Small world.

[vh rides again]

first time i seen vanhalen was at a local outdoor concert called the credit island jam, it was 1978-79 i think.

i was 12 years old and it was my second concert, my first being BTO at the old orpheum theatre in davenport iowa.

i went with a few friends who im still friends with today. we couldnt get permission or money to go to the concert so we all lied to our parents and said we were staying at each others houses, which was a regular occurance.

we rode innertubes across the mississippi river during the night and hid in the woods till 10 am when they were letting people in the gates.

people who brang coolers were not allowed to bring them in and were tossing beer over the fence i musta grabbed at least a 12 pack off the ground that day. mmmm warm beer and sun.

i didnt even know who vanhalen was but i did after they played, they were loud and kicked ass, eddie vanhalen really stood out and so did dave of course. i got the worst sunburn in the history of the world that day, i have the freckles to prove it.

the doobie brothers were there and sammy hagar.

in those days you could smoke a joint right in front of a cop and he would do nothing, oz of redbud was 25 bucks and filled the bag.

i seen vanhalen every tour after that usually in cedar rapids iowa, desmoines iowa or peoria illinois.

those were the days.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

first time i seen vanhalen was at a local outdoor concert called the credit island jam, it was 1978-79 i think.

i was 12 years old and it was my second concert, my first being BTO at the old orpheum theatre in davenport iowa.

i went with a few friends who im still friends with today. we couldnt get permission or money to go to the concert so we all lied to our parents and said we were staying at each others houses, which was a regular occurance.

we rode innertubes across the mississippi river during the night and hid in the woods till 10 am when they were letting people in the gates.

people who brang coolers were not allowed to bring them in and were tossing beer over the fence i musta grabbed at least a 12 pack off the ground that day. mmmm warm beer and sun.

i didnt even know who vanhalen was but i did after they played, they were loud and kicked ass, eddie vanhalen really stood out and so did dave of course. i got the worst sunburn in the history of the world that day, i have the freckles to prove it.

the doobie brothers were there and sammy hagar.

in those days you could smoke a joint right in front of a cop and he would do nothing, oz of redbud was 25 bucks and filled the bag.

i seen vanhalen every tour after that usually in cedar rapids iowa, desmoines iowa or peoria illinois.

those were the days.

Here ya go.... [ And yes, it's in the calendar ]

7/16/78 Credit Island, Davenport, IA

Note: Known as the Mississippi River Jam 1978 and sometimes the Iowa Jam, the bill included: Journey, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and the Doobie Brothers. This outdoor festival took place in a sweltering Iowa July heat and was plagued with delays. David Lee Roth told the nearly 35,000 fans in attendance to "Get your minds off the heat and put it in the beat." Almost 50 people were treated for heat exhaustion throughout the festival. The intense temperature also created havoc for the bands. It took over an hour for
the sound crew to set up Journey's equipment, which was longer than their 45-minute set. In addition, at the end of the Atlanta Rhythm Section's 50-minute set a piece of their stage equipment caught fire, sending up flames from a nearby electronic panel.
After waiting for nearly two hours close to 4,000 over-zealous fans crashed a fence before the venue opened (authorities had attempted to keep the concert-goers away from the performance area until the stage was completely erected) and almost as many
left the performance early due to all of the delays.

[vh rides again]

Here ya go.... [ And yes, it's in the calendar ]

7/16/78 Credit Island, Davenport, IA

Note: Known as the Mississippi River Jam 1978 and sometimes the Iowa Jam, the bill included: Journey, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and the Doobie Brothers. This outdoor festival took place in a sweltering Iowa July heat and was plagued with delays. David Lee Roth told the nearly 35,000 fans in attendance to "Get your minds off the heat and put it in the beat." Almost 50 people were treated for heat exhaustion throughout the festival. The intense temperature also created havoc for the bands. It took over an hour for
the sound crew to set up Journey's equipment, which was longer than their 45-minute set. In addition, at the end of the Atlanta Rhythm Section's 50-minute set a piece of their stage equipment caught fire, sending up flames from a nearby electronic panel.
After waiting for nearly two hours close to 4,000 over-zealous fans crashed a fence before the venue opened (authorities had attempted to keep the concert-goers away from the performance area until the stage was completely erected) and almost as many
left the performance early due to all of the delays.

wow thats pretty cool, where the hell did you find that at? .

yep that is the concert i was at, thanks for finding that tidbit of info.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

It's burned into my memory... ;)

J/K, it's in the VH Encyclopedia, you can download it for free here....

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/the-van-halen-encyclopedia/4467885

It's not as accurate as the authors portray it to be, but it's still a very good compilation of VH information....

[Hardrock69]

I remember when I saw the Eddie and the Hagaritas up at Merriwether Post Pavilion outside of DC in '93....

I spent the night up on the lawn drinking beer and arguing with those idiots all night long....

:lmao:

That is grate! Hope you ruined their concert experience! :biggrin:

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Yeah, pretty much...

Not as good as Pojo when he flipped Sambo the double bird in '02, but right up there....

[CROWBAR]

Saw them in '84, great show. Second night of a two night stand and both were sold out. Ticket was about $13.50. Good times.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

May 20, 1984... San Diego Sports Arena....

Night BEFORE the "Sundown in San Diego" bootleg.....


Nice time for a bump, since we have a lot of new members....

It was 27 years ago today.....

Some blurry thoughts of that time....

I was going to Navy schools in San Diego for most of '84 until I transferred to Japan late in the year.....

Van Halen was in San Diego for three nights in '84, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.... I went to the Sunday show (hence my avatar).....

The entire city was all Van Halen.... Everywhere you went, whether it was downtown, in the bars or on the beach, the city was abuzz because Van Halen was in town....

And that's the biggest thing that the youngin's just don't understand about how huge Van Halen was then.... They totally engrossed the city that they came to, in the newspapers and TV and radio.....

My friends and I had upper deck tickets, but we never got close to those.... We walked around the inner concourse until the houselights went down then snuck by the usher to one of the lower bowl seats on Eddie's side....

And, of course, because the 1984 stage was so HUGE, once the spotlight hit on Eddie, and he started wailing on "Unchained", Ed was right fucking there....

There's not too many moments in the show that I remember now that many brain cells have been fried.... I do remember that "I'll Wait" was my piss break song.....

Probably the best memory is just the sense of how frenzied the crowd was.... Van Halen was basically playing in it's backyard, they were on top of the music world, and it just made for an incredible show....

[chefcraig]

It was April of 1978. My friends and I had gone to Sid's Records in the Lakes Mall to get tickets for Ronnie Montrose, who was touring on his amazing Open Fire instrumental solo album. We were perplexed that Montrose was not at the top of the bill, instead sandwiched between two bands we'd never heard of, Journey at the top and Van Halen at the bottom. Having unknowns open the show was nothing new at the Hollywood Sportatorium, which was little more than a concrete bunker with a leaky roof a million miles from no where in the middle of the Everglades, used to promote live stock sales, car shows and the occasional concert. Usually, these groups would be made up of has-beens and never-will-be types like Ginger Baker's Air Force, delivering unwanted drum solos on unsuspecting ticket buyers.

So it was with this sense of chagrin the news that VH and Journey were on the bill was greeted by me and my friends. That was until one of the record shop workers spun the first VH album for us, as a preview. The album had only been out for a couple of months by then, and since there was no radio play (let alone no internet), nobody had ever heard of it. Needless to say, it sounded pretty good, this despite the fact that the singer apparently stole everything he had from Black Oak Arkansas' Jim Dandy Mangrum. The guitar player was pretty astounding, too. Right then and there, it was agreed that we'd get to the show and rather than kill time in the parking lot getting loaded in order to miss the opening act, we'd get there early in order to get loaded in the parking lot and not miss the opener.

Van Halen did not disappoint, even though they only played for what seemed like 25 minutes. The singer pointed to the back in order to acknowledge his grandmother, who lived locally and never missed Dave when he pulled through town. (True story, this delightful little old lady became quite the fixture at VH and Roth solo shows over the years. I met her a few times, and she was always charming as hell. She really seemed to enjoy the attention she was receiving from all of the concert goers, and seemed to become everyone's favorite grandma.) The band played about seven or eight songs from that first album, the guitarist did a jaw-dropping solo, and then they were gone, despite pleas from the audience for more (so much for being a band low on the totem pole).

Ronnie Montrose came on, standing center stage and surrounded by two keyboards, a massive drum set and bassist, who were all above him on these tower-like structures. It was an astounding performance, as he worked his way through his solo record and one or two Montrose tunes done as instrumentals. To say these songs were vastly improved without Sammy Hagar's caterwauling would be an understatement. Anyway, these losers Journey (touring the ghastly Infinity album) finally came on, and roughly 3/4 of the audience headed for the exits, us included. Nobody had ever heard of them, and the reason for this was made abundantly clear by their first song, which consisted of some la-de-dahs, some fruity chord changes and a lead singer who seemed to believe he was the white Sam Cooke.

That was my very first exposure to live VH. Even playing for less than a half hour, they managed to make an impact on me during that first tour, and it would appear that I was not alone in that reaction. It also probably explains my life-long, sheer and utter contempt for Journey.

[VAiN]

It was April of 1978. My friends and I had gone to Sid's Records in the Lakes Mall...

Holy shit! I remember Sid's! They hosted record shows in that mall all the time. That's actually where I bought my first VH boot on CD - Dressed to Kill. Ahhh, the memories...

[PETE'S BROTHER]

never got to see the o.e. lineup :(

[chefcraig]

Holy shit! I remember Sid's! They hosted record shows in that mall all the time. That's actually where I bought my first VH boot on CD - Dressed to Kill. Ahhh, the memories...

Yep. Technically, it was Sid's West, as there was another location down on Sunrise Blvd about a block before the ocean. That was where you'd have to go to get all of those cool imports and bootlegs back then. Peaches opened up sometime in the mid-seventies, but if you were a dedicated rock music fan, you simply cruised right past it and went to Sid's East.

There was another great music store located near Sears'town called Open Books And Records. It was in that weird little plaza by the railroad tracks on Andrews called (I think) Viscaya Center.

[bb64]

July 25th 1981 at the old Boston Garden. I stood in line at the old Ticketron Outlet with a hundred other kids when they went on sale. It was located in the Sears dept. store at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree and we were all snaked around the store. I think I paid $10.50 per ticket, hehe. Me and 3 friends went in on the train, people were passing joints up and down the seats on the train,lol. We had lower loge seats which were great!! Awesome view!! I actually have a boot of that show and can remember when Dave was talking about seeing the circus there when he lived in Brookline, cause I used to see it there when I was a kid!! Lol...It was a great show and now it's one of my sons favorite bands!! We saw them together 3 times when they came around here in 07-08...can't wait to go again...Maybe we'll take my grandson...Jeez I'm gettin old LOL!!

[PETE'S BROTHER]

July 25th 1981 at the old Boston Garden. I stood in line at the old Ticketron Outlet with a hundred other kids when they went on sale. It was located in the Sears dept. store at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree and we were all snaked around the store. I think I paid $10.50 per ticket, hehe. Me and 3 friends went in on the train, people were passing joints up and down the seats on the train,lol. We had lower loge seats which were great!! Awesome view!! I actually have a boot of that show and can remember when Dave was talking about seeing the circus there when he lived in Brookline, cause I used to see it there when I was a kid!! Lol...It was a great show and now it's one of my sons favorite bands!! We saw them together 3 times when they came around here in 07-08...can't wait to go again...Maybe we'll take my grandson...Jeez I'm gettin old LOL!!

:rockit2: 3 generation show is what gettin' old is about !!!

[hideyoursheep]

The VH Encyclopedia! Ha! Cool!


The 1980 show @ Riverfront....I thought it was in March..but I guess it was April. I mean, I was 15, don't expect me to remember!

What I do remember, is that it was the first ROWDY rock show after The Who stampede, and the cops were kicking ass and taking names...just for smoking...ANYTHING..inside the building. The house ligts came on several times, and it began to annoy Dave, and that's when I first heard DLR rant. Not only did he tell everyone to "light up", he busted the Hamilton county Sherriff's balls as well as the Fire Marshalls', along with some other city officials...when it became evident that they weren't going to stop turning the lights on and ruin the show, Dave pauses and says, "It don't fucking matter if they turn the lights on!" The goddam law was creating more of a problem than the band or the crowd was, and we all knew it..it got tense in there for a few minutes...and when you're 15 at your very first rock show, you get nervous!

But they continued, played "Light Up the Sky", finished the show with 3 high-energy, kick-ass encores, and I got outta there a changed human being.:)






Funny story about the 81 show tho.....Middle of football season, on a Saturday, no school, game was the night before, I'm chillin' at the house, and this guy shows up at my house to pick up my older sister, who was 20 at the time, for a date.

SO he's there to pick up my sister (who stood him up, obviously) accompanied by his friend and some girl his friend was with.

I tell him she's not here, and he says to his friend, "well fuck! What am I going to do with this ticket?"

I said "what ticket?" (I didn't know VH were even in town)

He said, "We were supposed to go to the VH concert tonight."

I knew the guy. He graduated the previous year.


I said," Van Halen?!?! Scoot over, motherfucker!!"

An that was it...:cool:

[PETE'S BROTHER]

i'm gonna run out of thanks in this thread quickly....

[6discs2die4]

Ive seen DLR 4 times: 6/99 8/02 8/03 9/03 VH 3 times on last tour: 10/30/07 11/07/07 5/28/08

[BrownSound1]

7 year old thread...talk about necromancy.

[VAiN]

Yep. Technically, it was Sid's West, as there was another location down on Sunrise Blvd about a block before the ocean. That was where you'd have to go to get all of those cool imports and bootlegs back then. Peaches opened up sometime in the mid-seventies, but if you were a dedicated rock music fan, you simply cruised right past it and went to Sid's East.

There was another great music store located near Sears'town called Open Books And Records. It was in that weird little plaza by the railroad tracks on Andrews called (I think) Viscaya Center.

I recall a record shop on Sunrise, east of the Intracoastal next to Pizza Shack - I assume that was it? I remember going when I was very young, like maybe 7 or 8 with my dad. There were tons of posters everywhere... and nothing but vinyl ...

I was shocked when Peaches closed... it was an institution! And now it's a Hustler store... sign of the times?

[hideyoursheep]

7 year old thread...talk about necromancy.

:lol:

When a band leaves such an impression on you for 30 plus years, I guess it's expected.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

7 year old thread...talk about necromancy.

And ??? ;)

[chefcraig]

I was shocked when Peaches closed... it was an institution! And now it's a Hustler store... sign of the times?

That really told you that the internet had pretty much doomed the record business. Then again, that entire area has become fairly creepy after dark in the past 7-8 years.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

I stood in line at the old Ticketron Outlet with a hundred other kids when they went on sale. It was located in the Sears dept. store...

those were the daze :cool8:

[Terry]

Let's see, I've only posted this about 700 times ;).........San Francisco 1984.........like Terry said, one of my endurining memories is that it seemed like the band was hardly all on stage together at one time.

Bill Lumbergh...now THERE was an ace dude...shit, approaching ten years since the Army came back up online fulltime...Tom Vu, Millionaire!

[Dan]

Please Note:Bill Is Still On The WHAM World Tour.:D

[ODShowtime]

I was shocked when Peaches closed... it was an institution! And now it's a Hustler store... sign of the times?

Haha I've been to that Hustler store, must have been a pretty big record store back in the day. Probably the fanciest sex shop I've ever been to.

I've seen the last two tours... the 2004 show was a huge waste of money. How do I know when it's love or whatever as the encore was an insult to VH fans. Back in 1998 I saw them in Hershey in the 12th row and they burned the house down. It was the best concert I'd seen at that point, and the Westwood One recording is a nice memento. Unchained and Mean Streets were the highlights. Gary Cherone didn't bother me that much. Hey that's what you get when you were born in 1979.

[chefcraig]

Haha I've been to that Hustler store, must have been a pretty big record store back in the day. Probably the fanciest sex shop I've ever been to.

It used to be an old A&P supermarket before Peaches moved in. The thing is, it took so much money to stock all that square footage that the store was losing money from the beginning. You could go in there at times and there would be little on the shelves, but the cut-out bins (records sold at a loss or free record company promos with a slash or part of the sleeve "cut-out") would be overflowing. Between 1977 and 1979, it was a wasteland. When CDs came along it briefly saved things, but once again the problems with keeping the store filled with product came back. Next thing you know, they were selling guitar accessories, clothing, sunglasses...you name it. This failed too, and the store closed. It remained vacant until Larry Flynt came along, and just like when it was Peaches, it has become a money losing tourist attraction more than a store. And as I said earlier, the surrounding neighborhood is dubious at best once the sun goes down.

[Terry]

Haha I've been to that Hustler store, must have been a pretty big record store back in the day. Probably the fanciest sex shop I've ever been to.

I've seen the last two tours... the 2004 show was a huge waste of money. How do I know when it's love or whatever as the encore was an insult to VH fans. Back in 1998 I saw them in Hershey in the 12th row and they burned the house down. It was the best concert I'd seen at that point, and the Westwood One recording is a nice memento. Unchained and Mean Streets were the highlights. Gary Cherone didn't bother me that much. Hey that's what you get when you were born in 1979.

Ed could still bring it live when Cherone was in the band.

The waste of it was that the VH3 period SHOULD have instead been used to write, record and tour an album with Roth, simply because Ed still COULD play well and was capable of coming up with decent ideas.

Nothing that has transpired since the new millenium rolled around convinces me that Ed has either compelling musical ideas or the technical ability to execute them; when he clearly struggles to play his old material, it ain't a good sign for the future. I hope the dude is able to conjure up the fire to make those Aussie dates worthwhile for the Army members down there. There's really no excuse for him not to, and any EVH apologists can spare me the "oh, Ed's got arthritis/complications from cancer" biz as an excuse: if he can't cut the mustard, he shouldn't be charging money for people to watch him futz around onstage.

[Romeo Delight]

Yeah, pretty much...

Not as good as Pojo when he flipped Sambo the double bird in '02, but right up there....

I don't think Sam's ever been quite the same since...with his Alien abdusction and all = delusional :clown:

[Romeo Delight]

Ed could still bring it live when Cherone was in the band.

.

He sure could. The fact that he looks like he is living a relatively healthy lifestyle bodes well. A name producer involved with Shanks means we won't have a revisit of VH III.

[sadaist]

I have seen Van Halen beginning with the 5150 tour. The 5150 show was incredibly good. I have never seen Eddie so full of energy & geniune happiness. The guy was relentless that night. Was at his prime and it is a crime it wasn't with Dave as he was also at his prime on the EEAS tour.

OU812, FUCK, Balance steadily declined in the goodness of the shows. Still better than what most bands were giving out. Also saw them in 1988 headlining the Monsters Of Rock shows. Metallica owned.

Saw them at the Del Mar county fair with Cherone. I left 2/3 of the way through. Gary was just horrible and it just ruined the whole fucking thing for me. Only song I truly enjoyed was 'Somebody Get Me a Doctor' with Michael Anthony singing. They should not have hired Cherone and just had Mike sing and be a 3-man band. I remember walking through the parking lot & hearing Panama. I was crushed cause it was not Van Halen anymore.

Saw the 2004 reunion with Hagar. HORRIBLE. And NOT because of Sammy. Sam did his best & gave 100% on the night I saw them. The problem was Eddie. He played sloppy, you could cut the tension on stage with a knife it was so apparent. And he kept his back to the crowd most of the night. It was very weird and a shitty way to treat a paying audience.

Saw them in 2007. First time with Dave singing. It was like a religious experience for me. Was the greatest show I have ever seen. Thousands of grown men with tears of joy in their eyes when the lights hit and Dave was waving that red flag. It was great...beyond great.

Saw Dave on EEAS, Skyscraper & A Little Aint Enough. EEAS was mind blowing. The others you could see a steady decline...very much mirroring the decline in the Van Hagar shows. Also saw him in Jan 2000 at the House Of Blues. DLR band tour I think.

Saw Dave opening night at Ballys in Las Vegas for his Vegas show. Was very cool and weird at the same time. He played only 2 VH songs. Jump & Ice Cream Man. Oddly, the best song of the night was 'Free Ride'. Dave nailed the hell out of it.

Oh...and in 2002 I saw the Sam & Dave show. Funny, it was at the US Fest grounds in San Bernardino. Dave opened. Both put on great shows but Dave clearly won the night. Mike came out & played a few with Sammy. I wish he would have done the same with Dave. Would also have been cool to see Sam & Dave do a closing number together. I bet that tour really got under Eddies skin...which made it all the better.

Lastly...I have seen the Atomic Punks about 6 times. That was always a fun show.

[sadaist]

F.U.C.K. tour I ponied up for front row seats for 6 of us. At the ticket agency they had front-center available, but I wanted section C which is the side Eddie is on. The lady thought I was crazy for not getting center, but I wanted to be as close to Eddie as possible just once to watch him perform up close. Fucking worth every cent once he did that solo.

Disposable camera and the negatives got tossed around over the years. Sorry for the shit pics. But gives you an idea. I love EVH!

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa214/sadaist/Van%20Halen/EVH1.jpg

Touching my girlfriends hand. She was so fucking happy and that was all she talked about for a week after. Bitch! Should have been me.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa214/sadaist/Van%20Halen/EVH2.jpg

[sadaist]

couple more

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa214/sadaist/Van%20Halen/EVH3.jpg

...getting the crowd to cheer..
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa214/sadaist/Van%20Halen/EVH4.jpg

[Hardrock69]

Necropost....

THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN!

9/29/78 Seattle, WA
7/19/79 Wichita, KS
10/16/81 Wichita, KS
11/24/82 Wichita, KS

vanhagar :barf:
5/28/86 Wichita, KS
7/10/88 Kansas City, MO

Dave

8/30/86 Wichita, KS
12/2/99 Wichita, KS
8/3/02 Gnashville

[Halen High]

I saw Dave on Skyscraper and Lil ain' t enough tours here in good old blighty , missed the mighty VH in 1980 & 1984 , bastard !

Fuck Van Hagar .

I hope you are not a Birmingham City fan......

[Halen High]

I have only seen them with Gary Cherone. CVH and Van Hagar never toured Australia so I was desperate. I would have gone to see a Van Hagar show in Australia during the Van Hagar era, but had they come here in 2004 - no way.

The VH3 show wasn't bad and, funny enough, Adelaide's 10,000 capacity Entertainment Centre was packed to the rafters.

So you can imagine how having never seen Dave-VH, Australia is getting VERY excited about the 2011 VH tour Down Under.

[Halen High]

Ed could still bring it live when Cherone was in the band.

The waste of it was that the VH3 period SHOULD have instead been used to write, record and tour an album with Roth, simply because Ed still COULD play well and was capable of coming up with decent ideas.

Nothing that has transpired since the new millenium rolled around convinces me that Ed has either compelling musical ideas or the technical ability to execute them; when he clearly struggles to play his old material, it ain't a good sign for the future. I hope the dude is able to conjure up the fire to make those Aussie dates worthwhile for the Army members down there. There's really no excuse for him not to, and any EVH apologists can spare me the "oh, Ed's got arthritis/complications from cancer" biz as an excuse: if he can't cut the mustard, he shouldn't be charging money for people to watch him futz around onstage.


Yes - Eddie was amazing on the VH3 tour. I'm not a guitar player but I spent most of the show being amazed by him.

[bantonelli]

DLR Solo (which, BTW) was almost as awesome as the actual VH thing with a tight crew:
House of Blues, Sunset Strip (Hollyweird)
House of Blues, Anaheim
Universal Studios, Orlando, FL
Catalyst, Santa Cruz
Nugget, Reno, NV (weird audience & strange room)
Pala Casino, San Diego (Outdoor Concert - Rocked!)

VH (w/DAVE):
Charlotte, NC - Start of 2007 Tour
Los Angeles, CA - Tour 2007
Los Angeles, CA - Tour 2008
Had ticket (still have) for Cow Palace, San Francisco (1982) - didn't go in favor of hanging w/new boyfriend...WHAT A MISTAKE I MADE! Major Regret...

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Had ticket (still have) for Cow Palace, San Francisco (1982) - didn't go in favor of hanging w/new boyfriend...WHAT A MISTAKE I MADE! Major Regret...

that is a goddam shame

[Jagermeister]

I saw the original line up twice. I don't have any real big stories about it though. Saw a ton of concerts back then.

[mug]

Every tour but the 1st. That was supposed to happen but the whole show was cancelled .VH was kicking journys ass so it never happened. Was supposed to happen in seymour wis, at the fairgrounds. Still have the ad for the show.

[Dan]

Every tour but the 1st. That was supposed to happen but the whole show was cancelled .VH was kicking journys ass so it never happened. Was supposed to happen in seymour wis, at the fairgrounds. Still have the ad for the show.

It's True,I Have Seen The Ticket Stubs.:D

What Up,Brother Mug?

[fwacf]

1981 Fair Warning tour Lake land Fla General admission !....Hitchhiked from Brooksville to Lakland,back when you could do that.
Oct 15th 1982...Brenden Byrne(now Izod) Original show was canceled due to Eddie wrist injury.
April 2 1984....Same arena...little did I know that was the last time I would see the original line up!:fuhagar:

[Hardrock69]

As amazing as it was to see CVH, it was equally amazing to see the audience at a CVH show. Never in my life have I witnessed any other band who could cause 12,000 people to go absolutely nutso-bonkers and ROAR at the top of their lungs.

NO OTHER BAND has EVER been able to consistently create that extreme level of out-of-control fanatic response on such a consistent basis. At least in the US. Now if you go down to South America, those rock and metal fans down there go absolutely ape-shit when attending concerts.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

As amazing as it was to see CVH, it was equally amazing to see the audience at a CVH show. Never in my life have I witnessed any other band who could cause 12,000 people to go absolutely nutso-bonkers and ROAR at the top of their lungs.

NO OTHER BAND has EVER been able to consistently create that extreme level of out-of-control fanatic response on such a consistent basis. At least in the US. Now if you go down to South America, those rock and metal fans down there go absolutely ape-shit when attending concerts.

Well said....

[Warham]

July 30, 1993 - Right Here, Right Now Tour
May 16, 1998 - III Tour
November 6, 2007 - Van Halen Fall 2007 Tour

[sadaist]

As amazing as it was to see CVH, it was equally amazing to see the audience at a CVH show. Never in my life have I witnessed any other band who could cause 12,000 people to go absolutely nutso-bonkers and ROAR at the top of their lungs.

NO OTHER BAND has EVER been able to consistently create that extreme level of out-of-control fanatic response on such a consistent basis.



Dude, when I saw the 2007 reunion tour, it was the first time for me seeing Dave & Eddie together. In my late 30's and I was a little worried I would tear up being so happy once the curtain dropped. As soon as You Really Got Me started and Dave was waving that flag & Eddie was ripping the notes...I looked around me.

I saw hundreds (if not thousands) of other grown men tearing up as well.

WOW!

Fucking Van Halen! Very few bands can get that type of emotion from a fan. I mean, a few people might tear up during any given show when a special song is played. But 12,000 people all at once?! Only VH.....and only Dave & Ed at that.

It wasn't about Alex or Wolfgang or even what song they were playing. It was the fact that Dave & Eddie were actually on the same stage playing any song together.

There were no fights in the parking lot after. No honking during the traffic jam. Just thousands of car stereos cranking CVH tunes and people hanging out the car windows high fiving everyone else & screaming the songs. 100% of the crowd would have U-turned if an announcement came out that they would play just 1 more song.



*hoping to add San Diego 2011/2012 to this list very soon. :)

[sadaist]

I saw the original line up twice. I don't have any real big stories about it though.


I'd say seeing the original line up twice are your big stories. Good enough for me. Don't really need to add anything else.

[VAiN]

Dude, when I saw the 2007 reunion tour, it was the first time for me seeing Dave & Eddie together. In my late 30's and I was a little worried I would tear up being so happy once the curtain dropped. As soon as You Really Got Me started and Dave was waving that flag & Eddie was ripping the notes...I looked around me.

I saw hundreds (if not thousands) of other grown men tearing up as well.

WOW!

No kidding.. I know I got teary when they launched into it... It was like a religious experience for me.

I can't wait to have the 'I'm going to see Van Halen' feeling again, soon!! Wherever show #1 is - I am there.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

No kidding.. I know I got teary when they launched into it... It was like a religious experience for me.

I can't wait to have the 'I'm going to see Van Halen' feeling again, soon!! Wherever show #1 is - I am there.

Oh no.... That point, for me and Poj anyway, was when both Dave and Ed teared up during the stop in the middle of "I'm The One" in Greensboro (about the 7:40 mark) .... By the way, wanted to also mention that video doesn't do the crowd justice... When they stopped playing in the middle, that crowd was fucking ROARING !!

You were there bro, there wasn't a dry in the house !!

[VAiN]

Oh no.... That point, for me and Poj anyway, was when both Dave and Ed teared up during the stop in the middle of "I'm The One" in Greensboro (about the 7:40 mark) .... By the way, wanted to also mention that video doesn't do the crowd justice... When they stopped playing in the middle, that crowd was fucking ROARING !!

You were there bro, there wasn't a dry in the house !!

Yeah, that fucking place went nuts! I know I did my part.. I believe Dave & Eddie were also a bit overcome with emotion...

This has me feeling all sentimental and shit... I may have to dig out my Charlotte & Greensboro DVDs and relive some of this shit!

[VAiN]

Oh, and to stay on topic...

I've seen VH

December 13, 1991 - Miami, FL - My first time seeing Eddie in person.
March 14, 1995 St. Petersburg, FL
March 17, 1995 Miami, FL
September 16, 1998 - Orlando, FL
September 17, 1998 - Fort Lauderdale, FL
June 11, 2004 - Greensboro, NC
September 11, 2004 - Fort Lauderdale, FL (hearing spambo ruin Unchained was like an act of terror)
November 4, 2004 - Ames, IA
November 19, 2004 - Tucson, AZ ('Black Friday', I was certain this was the last time I'd ever see Eddie alive again)
September 27, 2007 - Charlotte, NC (Show #1 - Dave is back motherfuckers!)
September 29, 2007 - Greensboro, NC
November 13, 2007 - New York City, NY (MSG)
February 12, 2008 - Sunrise, FL
February 20, 2008 - Sunrise, FL (Last show before Ed's "break")
April 26, 2008 - St. Louis, MO
2011/2012 - Comin' Up!!!!!

[jero]

New York 2007!

[george]

I've seen the original line up for Diver Down, 1984 and two for the 07/08 shows.

I almost had a chance to go to the Hershey PA show in 2008 but it didn't work out. I have a boot of that show and it sounds like Ed and Dave were on better than ever.

What is the best show video? I've seen a bunch of the YouTube vids people have posted (much appreciated, btw) but I didn't know if there was a pro-shot one running around on the torrents. Love to see that if it exists.

[FORD]

As far as I know, no pro-shot videos of the 07/08 tour have surfaced yet. But since a DVD of the tour was supposedly planned, I'll bet there's all kinds of footage in the vault at Howdy Doody Mountain.

Audience boots of this tour seem to range from a B- to Absolute Crap in terms of sound/video quality. Probably the closest thing to a pro-quality was the rehearsal gig right before the start of the tour.

I'm hoping that maybe some pro shot shows escape from Down Under on the upcoming tour.

[Sweet Irony]

Well as long as we're talkin old news....NYC in 07...me & Jay....incredible!
(In depth reviews were posted on DDLR and here...way back when/then!!)

[VAiN]

Audience boots of this tour seem to range from a B- to Absolute Crap in terms of sound/video quality. Probably the closest thing to a pro-quality was the rehearsal gig right before the start of the tour.

I'm going to disagree here... A few DVDs that instantly come to mind as being A+ are Charlotte - which has virtual soundboard audio from Steeco, San Diego 07 - shot from the first 3-4 rows with incredible waist to head close-ups and Grand Rapids 08, the final show of the tour... There are several more in there, but those 3 are the ones that I instantly think of.

So, what's this rehearsal gig you speak of? I'm pretty on-point with the boots and have never even heard of this... do tell..

[Fairwrning]

Its coming up on 30 years to the day..I just remember being in complete awe of these guys...and the fact I was finally going to see em live..July 27, 1981,,Roanoke,Va. Also saw the 82 and 84 shows here..Greensboro 07..God willing, Greensboro again soon.

[jhale667]

I too was in awe of them when I saw them in '84, but I could tell they were kind of phoning it in at that point. I would've looooved to have seen them earlier, but wasn't allowed to go when they came to town on the WACF and Fair Warning tour, I was (still young enough to be) grounded for some dumb reason that I can no longer recall, but both times! I'm still amazed I was ever let out of the house to go see Ozzy in Feb '82 - and if that hadn't happened, wouldn't have met Randy Rhoads for 5 minutes, and got an autograph and a pep-talk that are part of the reason I am where I am today...


Not sure in regards to the VH shows I was grounded for any other reason besides the fact that Mom had seen DLR on Entertainment Tonight and didn't want me "associating with those types of people". Little did she know then I WAS that type of person. :lmao: She thought Ozzy was just theater like Alice Cooper, though, so I got to go to that show! By '84 I could buy my own concert tickets, and was like "I'm going whether you like it or not."

[ZahZoo]

78 - 81 were really the best years IMO. Especially the 2 shows I saw in Oakland in 81.

[VAiN]

78 - 81 were really the best years.

Amen, brotha!!

[Hardrock69]

I agree. When they were shit hot. Complacency and inter-band rivalries/arguments had not crept in yet. The first 2 tours were the shit.

[Cato]

btw, what tour was Sean Penn gonna see in his movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Fair Warning or Hide Your Sheep?

[chefcraig]

btw, what tour was Sean Penn gonna see in his movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Fair Warning or Hide Your Sheep?

Neither. Since he hired the band for a private party, it's arguable that Spicoli would have had some input on the set list.


http://img1.imagehousing.com/52/543ac6bb68dca20a3668186bbd7f8f90.jpg (http://www.imagehousing.com/)

[Cato]

I remember a scene. he's trying to get the VH tickets....
haven't you seen that movie?

[chefcraig]

I remember a scene. he's trying to get the VH tickets....
haven't you seen that movie?

Only about a million times, and you are wrong. For one thing, Spicoli never had any money, so just how was he supposed to be paying for the tickets he intended to buy?

The scene you are thinking of is at the beginning of the film, when the character of Damone the scalper is first introduced. Two young kids (neither being Spicoli) ask about VH tickets, then complain about the price.

You can view a clip of the scene HERE (http://www.anyclip.com/movies/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high/scalping-tickets/).

[Cato]

oh sorry for my bad memory craig-san :cato2:

you seem to know everything

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Technically it would have been the Hide Your Sheep Tour.... DD was released in Apr 1982, Fast Times was released in Aug 1982.....

[chefcraig]

you seem to know everything

Nah, only about the dubious and insignificant stuff. Whatever is truly important (and commonsensical) completely eludes me. :ashamed:

[hideyoursheep]

Technically it would have been the Hide Your Sheep Tour.... DD was released in Apr 1982, Fast Times was released in Aug 1982..... I think the book came out in '81?

[Jagermeister]

Oh no.... That point, for me and Poj anyway, was when both Dave and Ed teared up during the stop in the middle of "I'm The One" in Greensboro (about the 7:40 mark) .... By the way, wanted to also mention that video doesn't do the crowd justice... When they stopped playing in the middle, that crowd was fucking ROARING !!

You were there bro, there wasn't a dry in the house !!


I didn't cry but I saw them on that tour also on Ed's birthday. 8th row stage right. I couldn't walk for a week from jumping around like a damn kid at a rock concert. Really I was that sore. I learned a valuable lesson. :(

[KTC5150]

I saw VH in MSG, NYC 1981, and haven't missed a tour since.. My best one w/ DLR was the 1984 show in Biloxi, MS on Jan, 1984, which was I believe the 3rd show of the tour.... I went back to the beach condos me & my buds were renting for the w/e, then went to the bar next door to party... I'm shooting some pool, hear some whooping & hollering, somebody slams quarters down on the table & asks if he can get the next game w/ me... I look up & I almost sh!t myself by seeing none other than EDDIE! Al & Mike were there too! We hung & partied for about 3 hours, then they took off. The next day, I saw DLR @ the local mall(but he wasn't as cordial...) and it capped off my best time w/ classic =VH=... I've seen VH about 25 times in my life, the last one being Nov.25, 2007 here in San Diego. I must say that show was one of the best of any of the 07/08 shows I've seen on youtube.... SOUND-WISE, OR PERFORMANCE-WISE! Ed's guitar sounded a little too over-processed, but overall great tone! It was also the 1st show he perfomed w/ the cream colored Wolfie...

[Jagermeister]

oh sorry for my bad memory craig-san :cato2:



:lmao:

[PETE'S BROTHER]

twice on the 07-08 tour. once in glendale and once in vegas new years eve eve, i think. and soon to be once in '11 :baaa:

[Switch84]

I've mostly seen Dave solo, but went to the somewhat-reunion tour when they came to Atlanta. I regret not seeing the complete VAN HALEN (with Mike on bass instead of Wolfie), but I guess I'll have to be happy with this version. Truth is, as long as Dave's on the mic, I don't care who's backing him, LMFAO!

[VanHalener]

Please forgive me if I do not read every post here before I testify...

Van Halen

That's all you cats ever need to know

[Hardrock69]

That's all that needs to be said!

[Heater]

Saw them BOTH nights in Philly on the 1984 tour. That was where they shot the "Panama" video. I think that tour was when they peaked and those 2 nights were probably the best of the tour, a shame they didn't record the entire shows, those were the best shows they ever played, everything seemed to be in line, the perfect storm. Got a high five from Ed as he left the limo to go into the hotel, They weren't letting many into the hotel bar that night but it didn't matter, I will always be one of the fortunate people to proclaim, "I WAS THERE!!!".

[GreenBayLA]

Van Halen is first band I was onboard with from their debut album. I'd have to dig out my ticket stubs to be sure but I mostly saw them in Madison, WI on tours for VH II, WACF, FW, Diver Down 2x and 1984 2x. Each tour was a bigger show but they always had crappy opening bands. Classic Van Halen were the best concerts I've ever seen. Dave always made you feel like you were at the biggest, best party of the year. :baaa:
Saw Van Hagar on 5150 tour and it was over for me. Never bought any post-Dave VH albums or saw another concert until the reunion w/ Dave.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Van Halen is first band I was onboard with from their debut album. I'd have to dig out my ticket stubs to be sure but I mostly saw them in Madison, WI on tours for VH II, WACF, FW, Diver Down 2x and 1984 2x.

So you saw them in Madison when they trashed the Sheraton Hotel on the VH II tour....

[Sgt Schultz]

So you saw them in Madison when they trashed the Sheraton Hotel on the VH II tour....

VH trashed the Madison Sheraton on their first tour and they mention it on their II album.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

VH trashed the Madison Sheraton on their first tour and they mention it on their II album.

Yup, you're right, I stand corrected....

[PETE'S BROTHER]

i remember the EEAS tour in madison. they were filmin' and takin' photos that night. the next week or so, the new mags came out and we all had tried to get in the pic with dave turned around on the stage with the crowd in the background. our friend jim was the only guy that got in the pic. :(

[Sgt Schultz]

Yup, you're right, I stand corrected....

No worries. VH's visit to Madison in 1978 is well documented in the book "Rock and Roll Fantasy" by Susan Masino.

[mug]

I have that pic on the front of my concert log i keep along with my ticket stubs. I too was on the floor for that pic, Dave said i got the people mag
photographer here tonite, Dave pulled him up on stage. Seen Dave there twice and VH on 1984 tour. Dane county coliseum sept,12 1986.Then seen him on feb,6 1988 in Green bay which is were i live.NOTE= Now called the Alliant energy center.

[Dan]

I have that pic on the front of my concert log i keep along with my ticket stubs. I too was on the floor for that pic, Dave said i got the people mag
photographer here tonite, Dave pulled him up on stage. Seen Dave there twice and VH on 1984 tour. Dane county coliseum sept,12 1986.Then seen him on feb,6 1988 in Green bay which is were i live.NOTE= Now called the Alliant energy center.

One True Van Halen Fan.:D

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I have that pic on the front of my concert log i keep along with my ticket stubs. I too was on the floor for that pic, Dave said i got the people mag
photographer here tonite, Dave pulled him up on stage. Seen Dave there twice and VH on 1984 tour. Dane county coliseum sept,12 1986.Then seen him on feb,6 1988 in Green bay which is were i live.NOTE= Now called the Alliant energy center.

** Verified by the #1 CVH/DLR Calendar on the Internet Tubes **

This Day in CVH/DLR History

1974
Van Halen plays at Gazzarri's in West Hollywood, CA.

1978
Van Halen plays the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. Black Sabbath is the headliner.

1980
Van Halen plays the McNichols Arena in Denver, CO.

1981
Van Halen plays the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, TX. G-Force is the opening act.

1982
Van Halen plays the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles, CA. ATF is the opening act.

1986
David Lee Roth plays the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, WI.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

i was just old enough to drive myself there! new license and all.:drive:

[Dan]

i was just old enough to drive myself there! new license and all.:drive:

Driving Miss Daisy?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

nope, miss tracy :hee:

[Dan]

Sweet As.:D

[mug]

The ticket says sept.12. College was in session. We partyed at some campus parties.ummmmmm

[GreenBayLA]

Emerald City Chronicle was local paper in Madison, WI (Home of The Onion) that had write-up on Van Halen and their 1978 club date at The Shuffle Inn. Note Michael wearing a Mad City t-shirt.
http://i17.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/f0/81/13dc_2.JPG

See story of that issue here http://cgi.ebay.com/1978-Emerald-Milwaukee-Madison-WI-MAGAZINE-Van-Halen-/390312610350

[clarathecarrot]

Both dates in Kansas City in 1978 the first one I had heard them on the radio but they were so knew I didn't really notice who was on the ticket with I believe Ozzy we were all standing around bs'ing and the warm up band was setting up then Ed struck a cord and started Eruption, maybe ? I just remember the whole concert hall stopped talking and every head slowly turned towards the stage in awe....within seconds my world changed and I found what perhaps is the greatest band in history, in front of my naked steaming eyes.

Great music, from other acts I like a varied book, great music after, many shows never a Hagar w VH and as I have stated here before I haven't purchased any of the original 6 since DLR split I didn't want any national record of sales enabling anyone to think I didn't leave when Dave left.

I have always thought in my head that I was perhaps to biased but that night in 78 was reallly something outstanding.

It's just like this folks, It's only Rock and Roll and if it is good done well, I am down.

Not looking for a miracle from a some new music, just good done well...

[Hardrock69]

I recall that band G Force opening for them in 1981. They fucking sucked. Loud ass bullshit music, with the lead shouter (who played "SYNTHESIZER") screaming into the mic once in awhile "OK LET'S SEE HOW IT SOUNDS ON SYNTHESIZER!!!!!" and then he would play a bunch of fucking bullshit.

Just one of many bands VH had open for them who were lame, or outright sucked fucking ass. :hee:

Their 1979 tour they had some band from Illinois (I think) open for them in Wichita called Screams. They did not suck, but they were extremely lame. Like a lame cover band from a shit-hole club that got lucky and was asked to open for VH.

[chefcraig]

I recall that band G Force opening for them in 1981. They fucking sucked. Loud ass bullshit music, with the lead shouter (who played "SYNTHESIZER") screaming into the mic once in awhile "OK LET'S SEE HOW IT SOUNDS ON SYNTHESIZER!!!!!" and then he would play a bunch of fucking bullshit.

Just one of many bands VH had open for them who were lame, or outright sucked fucking ass. :hee:



When they played South Florida on the HYS tour, they had some ghastly horn band opening for them. To this day I couldn't name the band with a gun to my head, but I do recall that they took home quite a collection of batteries, bottles, cups and wadded-up garbage as a souvenir of the experience after the crowd pelted them off the stage.

[VAiN]

When they played South Florida on the HYS tour, they had some ghastly horn band opening for them.

Was that at the old 'Snortatorium'? :hee:

[chefcraig]

Was that at the old 'Snortatorium'? :hee:

Oh, hell yes. Also (not-so) affectionately known as the "Puke-atorium", the list of groups that played that hole in the Everglades over the years is astounding. It boggles the mind to think that Zeppelin once played there. Here's a partial list:

Hollywood Sportatorium (http://www.classic-rock-concerts.com/venues/933)

[Nitro Express]

In 1984 I was in front of Van Halen's stage and this rock a billy band called The Velcros were the opening act. The audience hated them. People started throwing shit at the band. A half pint liquor bottle flew over my head. Some dude threw a handful of loose change as hard as he could at one of the guitar players and you could hear all the coins hit the hollow wood body of it. Anyways, the audience drove the fuckers off the stage early. It was great. :biggrin:

[PETE'S BROTHER]

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=2zTazVv6OIs

I remember seeing The Velcros. They opened up for Van Halen in Los Angeles in 1984. We nearly booed them off the stage. In fact, I think they were booed off stage. They don't seem so bad now that I see them 25 years later.

cvjucla3 2 years ago
Whatever booking agent put these nice fellas on the same bill as Van Halen was a sadist. In their defense this band ALWAYS got people up and dancing when they played the Northeast club scene. In retrospect what they/we needed was originals. But hindsight is, as they say, 20/20. Cheers.

usmcfutball 2 years ago
Reply
@cvjucla3 They Got Booed but never left

uhad2bethere100 9 months ago



i never knew sadaist was in the biz :biggrin:

[Nitro Express]

I recall that band G Force opening for them in 1981. They fucking sucked. Loud ass bullshit music, with the lead shouter (who played "SYNTHESIZER") screaming into the mic once in awhile "OK LET'S SEE HOW IT SOUNDS ON SYNTHESIZER!!!!!" and then he would play a bunch of fucking bullshit.

Just one of many bands VH had open for them who were lame, or outright sucked fucking ass. :hee:

Their 1979 tour they had some band from Illinois (I think) open for them in Wichita called Screams. They did not suck, but they were extremely lame. Like a lame cover band from a shit-hole club that got lucky and was asked to open for VH.

I think VH purposely had very lame bands open for them. What's funny is when VH was the opening act they upstaged the headliners. Anyways having a shitty band piss the audience off primes them to go totally ape shit when the lights go down, Eddie's guitar starts making noise and Roth comes out in some crazy outfit yelling that the audience are the biggest bunch of crazy motherfuckers he has ever seen. Of course he said that in every town but the audience would respond with high decibels of craziness and then it was off to the races.

[Nitro Express]

Whatever booking agent put these nice fellas on the same bill as Van Halen was a sadist.:biggrin:

I thought the drunk rednecks in the audience in Idaho were going to kill them. It reminded me of that scene in the Blues Brothers movie.

[riggodrill44]

Diver Down and 1984 tours at Capital Centre in Largo, MD.

[rocking ron]

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF first time I saw VH live was in 1993 during their European tour.

Second time was an open-air show in , I guess 1995 and, they had to open for ...............................BON JOVI !!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it ????????????/:biggrin:

I do, :baaa: why??? Because this was ( also ) a Van Hagar show, that's why !!!!!

I've seen Dave 5 times playing live and met him during an interview in Holland for Dutch TV !!!

The shows I've been were : 4 Sept 1988 during the Skyscraper-tour (1st Monsters of Rock ever in Holland ) outdoor show this was a KICK-ASS show
1988 also Skyscraper-tour// indoor// full show , show above was more like 'greatest hits' happening
1991 Little ain't enough tour //indoor//full show
1999 Amsterdam Paradiso
1999 Tilburg 013 both in Holland, those were the 2 'warm-up' shows for the European tour

There are bootlegs ( got them all ofcourse ) from all of these shows but from 1 of the '99 shows is the title : Pot is legal around here!!! ( Tilburg, June 1999)

You know why??? Çause me and my pal were smokin' pot in front of stage and throwed a half joint to the guitar player during the song Ain't talkin' bout love,
Dave was talking during the break in this song and the giutar player started to early with playing, so Dave was yelling at him , take it easy Bud take it easy,( or don't get nervous ) you know :
Pot is legal around here hahaha!!!

During the day we've met the band members and some roadies in town already and buyed some pot for them and we're having dinner with those guys!! I've talked a lot with the bass-player Todd Jensen ( real nice guy ) but we didn't met Dave!!!

We get some backstage passes so we thought to met him later BUT!!! At the end of the show ( during Unchained ) there was something not right on stage ( some cables !! in the way) and Dave went completely pisses off and no one could use their backstage-passes after the show because he left the building immediatly after the show ( asshole!!)

I think he was a little "tired":smiley-sniffer: from the show one day before in Amsterdam!!! There they did their sound-check 15 minutes before the show!!! Why??? because
of a little too much : :smiley-sniffer: & :stoned-smiley: & :indifferent0020:

[rocking ron]

So after the 'Tilburg' show ( 1999 ) we did get some tour shirts from one of the roadies because he felt sorry for us!!!:baaa:

My pal was that frustrated that he isn't a Roth fan anymore, and he was a big one.

From bootlegs till ciggi-butts, he collected everything from VH & DLR till that fxxxxx moment !!!


"So this is :love:"?!

[sadaist]

Second time was an open-air show in , I guess 1995 and, they had to open for ...............................BON JOVI !!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it ????????????/:biggrin:

I do, :baaa: why??? Because this was ( also ) a Van Hagar show, that's why !!!!!




Ugh. That still stings.

The might Van Halen reduced to opening for Bon Jovi. I remember a clip of Jon Bon Jovi saying something along the lines of "we knew we were finally the biggest band in the world because we had Van Halen opening for us"

Made me sick to my stomach. Now that Dave is back as captain of this ship, it ain't gonna happen Jon. Hope you got that show on tape, cause that's the only way you will see that bullshit happen again.

[Carloscda]

"I remember a clip of Jon Bon Jovi saying something along the lines of "we knew we were finally the biggest band in the world because we had Van Halen opening for us"

Wow after hearing that I would've been doubled over sick!!

[sadaist]

"I remember a clip of Jon Bon Jovi saying something along the lines of "we knew we were finally the biggest band in the world because we had Van Halen opening for us"

Wow after hearing that I would've been doubled over sick!!


I swear I am not making that up. I can't remember if it was a Behind the Music or some other type thing that followed them around. But Jon said that. Someone here has to be able to concur.

For the record...I kinda liked Bon Jovi in the early 80's. Still think Runaway is a decent tune. Saw them with 2 girls in 88' or so. TWO GIRLS! TWO! 2! Holy fuck I thought I was hot shit that night. The whole show I was thinking of the awesome 3-some that was coming. Sadly I got nothing. But motherfuck if I didn't look like a cool dude walking around with a rocker chick hottie on each arm that night. That was awesome!


*Jodi and Tiffany.....hell yeah I remember

[little_dreamer]

They opened for Bon Jovi? Dude, that's an insult and a half. :barf:
Unfortunately I've never seen them live in person, but it's top of my To-Do-Before-I-Die list. Along with kicking that Bieber kid in the face. :biggrin:

[rocking ron]

Also God've cried:( that day, it was raining during the VH show hahaha

[Carloscda]

Wasn't it said that when Autograph opened for them they asked them to pull back on the guitar playing because he sounded like Ed?

[chefcraig]

Yes, but it wasn't because of the "Ed" you are thinking of...


http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/DETEARL68/mr-ed1.jpg

[rocking ron]

It wasn't Ed Zeppelin either??!!!:biggrin:

[tjvhou812]

i have been to 13 vh shows and counting

[Chong Li]

Dave solo in 1986. My first concert. NJ

Van Hagar-88 Worcester MA

Sans Halen--- 2003- CT

Van Hagar 04--Meadowlands

VAN HALEN- October 2007- CT, Mohegan Sun.

[John_Downing]

Texxas Jam 1- Cotton Bowl: 7/1/1978
Texxas Jam II- Cotton Bowl: 6/9/1979
Midland Texas Chaparral Center: 7/15/1979: Stage Barricade collapse almost got smashed to death. Nice scars to remember the event.
Texxas Jam 1986 (Van Hagar) 7/19/1986

Never too old to Rock and Roll

[mohican]

Ugh. That still stings.

The might Van Halen reduced to opening for Bon Jovi. I remember a clip of Jon Bon Jovi saying something along the lines of "we knew we were finally the biggest band in the world because we had Van Halen opening for us"

That quote was painful to read even knowing the fact. It was in Europe but still, how badly did vhagar need the money? No way would vh with Dave be reduced to opening for bon jovi which I thought would be a one-album kind of band. Was I wrong. They have become the most successful American band. VH should've been in that spot.

[sadaist]

That quote was painful to read even knowing the fact. It was in Europe but still, how badly did vhagar need the money? No way would vh with Dave be reduced to opening for bon jovi which I thought would be a one-album kind of band. Was I wrong. They have become the most successful American band. VH should've been in that spot.


Agree.


Don't get me wrong, I kinda like some Bon Jovi for what it is. Chick & radio friendly pop rock. Catchy tunes & all, good looking guys fronting the band, million dollar smiles, etc... I don't begrudge Bon Jovi any of the success they have received.

But in no universe should their supporting act be the mighty Van Halen. (luckily for us it was NOT VH that opened, but Van Hagar. I just wish next time Jon Bon Jovi mentions it that someone reminds him of that very important fact)

Sorry to correct you Mr Bon Jovi, but Van Halen never opened for your band. It was Van HAGAR.

Would love to see his expression.

:lmao:

[indeedido]

I've never heard of VH ever opening for Bon Jovi. In '95? VH was still going strong even w/ Hagar, why would they have done that??

[NATEDOG001976]

I have. Hoooah.

[mohican]

Agree.


Don't get me wrong, I kinda like some Bon Jovi for what it is. Chick & radio friendly pop rock. Catchy tunes & all, good looking guys fronting the band, million dollar smiles, etc... I don't begrudge Bon Jovi any of the success they have received.

But in no universe should their supporting act be the mighty Van Halen. (luckily for us it was NOT VH that opened, but Van Hagar. I just wish next time Jon Bon Jovi mentions it that someone reminds him of that very important fact)

Sorry to correct you Mr Bon Jovi, but Van Halen never opened for your band. It was Van HAGAR.

Would love to see his expression.

:lmao:

I hear ya. They seem like a group of nice guys. They stuck together as a band and kept playing music. They took breaks in between and rejoined. If only VH have done that.


Dave, is that your girlfriend?

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1961/bonjoviroth19858pr.jpg

[mohican]

I've never heard of VH ever opening for Bon Jovi. In '95? VH was still going strong even w/ Hagar, why would they have done that??

It was at Wembley. Not sure for how many nights at Wembley or were there other European cities. This was part of the Balance tour's european leg. They were supporting act for bon jovi even though they were introduced as special guests.

This is from wiki ... It's probably accurate:

"These Days Tour 1995, Van Halen opened for Bon Jovi on twenty of the European dates during the second leg promoting their album Balance. On this tour the band played in the DVD Live From London at one of the three Wembley gigs. The band played 126 shows in 35 different "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/These_Days_Tour

[gbranton]

July 24, 1982 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, MS. Opening band was After the Fire.

November 28, 1982 at the Mobile Civic Center, Mobile, AL. Opening band may have been called Chuck Wagon (?)

January 22, 1984. Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, FL. The first date of the 1984 tour, I believe. Autograph opened.

January 28, 1984 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, MS. Again Autograph.

I also saw Van Hagar a few times but we won't discuss that here.

[Green Manalishi]

Fair Warning tour - Sunday Night , October 18th. , 1981 - The Checkerdome - St. Louis - warmup band : G- Force

Diver Down tour - Friday Night , August 6th. , 1982 - The Checkerdome - St. Louis - warmup band : After The Fire

1984 tour - Tuesday Night , June 26th . , 1984 - The St. Louis Arena - warmup band : The Velcroes

1984 tour - Wednesday Night , June 27th. , 1984 - The St. Louis Arena - warmup band : The Velcroes

I saw Van Hagar a number of times as well as solo Dave in the '80's , '90's , and in the last 10 years as well .

Reunion tour - April , 2008 - Savvis Center - St. Louis - this show was cancelled and

re-scheduled at least twice starting in 2007 - no opening band .

[Va Beach VH Fan]

All of which are included in the "This Day in CVH/DLR History" calendar.....

[VAiN]

Fair Warning tour - Sunday Night , October 18th. , 1981 - The Checkerdome - St. Louis - warmup band : G- Force

Diver Down tour - Friday Night , August 6th. , 1982 - The Checkerdome - St. Louis - warmup band : After The Fire

1984 tour - Tuesday Night , June 26th . , 1984 - The St. Louis Arena - warmup band : The Velcroes

1984 tour - Wednesday Night , June 27th. , 1984 - The St. Louis Arena - warmup band : The Velcroes.

Nice!

[Heater]

I hear ya. They seem like a group of nice guys. They stuck together as a band and kept playing music. They took breaks in between and rejoined. If only VH have done that.


Dave, is that your girlfriend?




http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1961/bonjoviroth19858pr.jpg

Dave looks SOOOO happy, I bet Bon Jovi opened that night, too. Opened Dave's pudding pack. Nice combover too. It wasn't VH in '95, and it wasn't in '07 and it ain't now!

[sonrisa salvaje]

Dave looks SOOOO happy, I bet Bon Jovi opened that night, too. Opened Dave's pudding pack. Nice combover too. It wasn't VH in '95, and it wasn't in '07 and it ain't now!

Sorry dickford. You have the wrong thread. Go over to House of Music and open up an "I saw Right Said Fred" page. You can stay there all day and play with yourself.

[SunisinuS]

Lol Heater thinks Dave is gay. So when we all like tell him...ok since Heater thinks he is...we all at the David Army say he is....will he shut the fuck up? Then we can all gang bang heater in the butt...and his fantasy world will be complete!


Heater....Dave is Gay....so is all of the military...so come out of the closet and let us fuck you up the butt ok?

Heater it will be ok.....honest...lube for you.


Now as my dick that you suck now taste's like your ass.....are we kewl yet?

I mean...you will keep talking as I pump me meat into your mouth.....and will be waiting for your wife to scream to me "Fuck him in the ass"....but it is just between you and me bud.


Lick it and let me Stick it to you.....my cock is a ragin' for your ass and mouth.


Heater says thus: