Do we expect too much?

[howie]

They will never look or sound like the eighties again...

And they are all millionaires because of you and me...why do they need to appease anybody?

It's not even the same band anymore...

Roth from 78 to 84 doesn't compare to the Roth of the day...and neither does Ed....

What is it we want so badly?

[ThrillsNSpills]

Quality. Nobody does it like they do and we all know what they are capable of musically. It comes down to the tunes whether or not it will be an instant classic.

[VAiN]

Quality. Nobody does it like they do and we all know what they are capable of musically.

Pow.

Exactly... I just want quality.. show us how you guys can do it. That's all I want... Oh, and a solid tour behind it would be nice as well.

[Terry]

It's not 1984 anymore, for sure.

CVH is gone.

Even if Mike Anthony came back, the circumstances today are just different. It's to be expected.

Far as the band owing their audience something, well, if they're charging $100 a pop for concert tickets, there is an implicit agreement that ALL of the band will be in a condition to give the best performance they're capable of. Ed may have been able to deliver the goods thirty years ago while drunk. He can't anymore, so he needs to sober the fuck up enough to play the goddamn songs correctly. I don't buy it for a minute when someone says "well, being too drunk to play is SO rock and roll"...seeing Eddie Van Halen shitfaced these days isn't like being at, say, the US Festival; it's not some historic rock moment. When 'Van Halen' are taking the stage these days flogging the oldies, people are paying to hear the tunes played properly. If I want to hear Eruption played badly, I can watch ANY number of wannabes on youtube doing that for free (there's one upside to the technological revolution - now I don't have to leave the house and go down to the local guitar center to hear strangers fumbling Eddie's licks).

Far as a new album, I don't expect 'Fair Warning 2'. What I'd like to hear is an honest effort with tangible traces of energy and enthusiasm, regardless of result.

Honestly, for me the band ended in 1985. There was a shot in 1996 of rekindling it, but that chance was blown, and they waited too long. What the band has done since Roth rejoined, in terms of pace and content, may well the best they're capable of...or the best they're willing to do, which amounts to the same thing. A bit sad that the bar has to be lowered for them now, but the chances they're gonna come up with something that approaches the intensity of CVH are very slim.

The best one can hope for is that they don't release something that embarrasses the CVH legacy any worse than any of the post-1984 output already has. Seemingly not too tall of an order, but considering Roth's last two solo releases (Dave ain't blameless here), Van Halen 3 and the tracks for BOBW, these guys might fucking well be tapped out.

If that IS the case, they should just call it a day, open the vaults and go onto other things.

There's plenty of aging, once-great rock bands out there now busking it with half-assed attempts at channeling former glories. Van Halen need not be one of them.

[howie]

Hopefully there won't be a cover of "Hot Dog and a Shake"...

[ashstralia]

it saddens me mostly because my other favourite band, iron maiden, are still producing great tunes, touring, and bringing it live. why not vh?

[kwame k]

it saddens me mostly because my other favourite band, iron maiden, are still producing great tunes, touring, and bringing it live. why not vh?

Man....it'd be soooooo much easier being a Maiden die hard than a CVH fan!

[sadaist]

Man....it'd be soooooo much easier being a Maiden die hard than a CVH fan!


Well, the 2 Eddies a few years back shared the same dentist.

[kwame k]

:lmao:

Set that one right up for you!

[DLR Bridge]

Far as a new album, I don't expect 'Fair Warning 2'. What I'd like to hear is an honest effort with tangible traces of energy and enthusiasm, regardless of result.

Sounds extremely doable. I'll take a platter of that. I'm hoping for some experimentation, but I don't expect they'll reinvent themselves too much. The whole 'give the people what they want' corner they're painted into has the potential to stifle creativity, somewhat. That's when things can get all ham fisted. They have to create not giving a shit about what we want. In that regard, I'm glad they've cut us completely out of their loop. I Just never thought we'd be waiting four years for a result. Hell, I'm not even lookin' for a hit, though, from the sounds of this Interscope deal, one can only imagine they are. That label doesn't particularly cater to cult following only type bands. In any case, I just hope it's not too late for Van Halen to veer down the avenue of a more Cheap Trick type career. Record new music, keep yourself out there and remain faithful to your fans. What a novel idea. Not necessarily rocket surgery, is it?

[DONNIEP]

Do I expect too much? Damn right I do. I expect the Mighty Van Halen to retake their place as the greatest rock band in the world! I expect them to put out a record that blows me away. I expect them to overcome the fact that Ed's kid is in the band, because daddy said so. I expect Dave to take the reins and overwhelm the media - and I expect Dave to tell Eddie fuck you very much, I'll talk to whomever I want to, whenever I want to. I expect the three of them to put on a tour of the world, tour until the wheels fall off the bus, and then to tour some more. And then I expect them to finally get the whole band back together and toss Wolfie out on his ass. Yep, I expect too much.

[Nitro Express]

Some guitarist are amazing to watch even when they are old fucks. Les Paul was always a pleasure to watch until he passed away and I still enjoy watching that corpse Keith Richards after all these years. Eddie just hasn't been up to snuff live since the Van Halen 3 tour which he played great but had the wrong frontman and the new songs sucked warthog shit.

[twonabomber]

i don't mind threads like these. it's the "they owe us!" ones that i think are really dumb.

[ashstralia]

i don't mind threads like these. it's the "they owe us!" ones that i think are really dumb.

agree mate. they could have imploded after 3 albums, and then we'd be on some other bands site debating this... no-one owes anyone anything.

[ashstralia]

Man....it'd be soooooo much easier being a Maiden die hard than a CVH fan!

it is. :)

[VHscraps]

They will never look or sound like the eighties again...

And they are all millionaires because of you and me...why do they need to appease anybody?

It's not even the same band anymore...

Roth from 78 to 84 doesn't compare to the Roth of the day...and neither does Ed....

What is it we want so badly?

... maybe because we want to feel again like we did then.

[Terry]

... maybe because we want to feel again like we did then.

Probably closer to the truth than anything else that could be said.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I think "expect" is too strong a word in this context....

Do I "expect" too much ?? Maybe some of my colleagues here would disagree, but I don't think I "expect" anything....

A lot of what has gone on with Van Halen in the last several years has nothing to do with expectation, but rather a simple courtesy, of more specifically, a lack thereof.

For most bands, especially when the Internet came of age in the mid-90's, it was simply common sense to use the quickly-developing Internet as a springboard for not only promotion of their album and/or tour, but as a way to interact, communicate and provide information to their fans, or anyone for that matter....

But that's not what Van Halen (read: Edward Van Halen) does....

Mind-numbingly, Van Halen (read: Edward Van Halen) does the exact opposite....

They DON'T interact with their fans....

They DON'T provide any material AT ALL to their fans, even though they've been around for nearly 40 years now....

I don't even remember if they've officially announced their were working on a new album? For every other artist, that is information that they would WANT to publicize at every outlet imaginable....

No, not Van Halen....

The disrespect that this band continues to show towards its fans is unconscionable....

So the only thing I "expect" is some fucking common courtesy....

That is all.....

[DLR Bridge]

A boss has expectations of his or her employees. They don't work for us. We may be their bread and butter, but we never put them on the payroll and offered them a shitty expensive benefits package that excludes dental (anyone else in my boat). I'd say we have collective hopes of what we'd like to see and hear rather than expect. I know this band, in the very least, can still create something that makes my hair on my arms stand up. How they look and what their live show will be like doesn't matter much to me. The arena shows all leave you doing the same thing which is sitting in a cheap seat, staring at a jumbotron. I'm more of a small club person these days. I don't expect they'll be hitting up any of those. All I hope for is something kick ass to listen to.

[slimdon]

... maybe because we want to feel again like we did then.


The best part of classic Van Halen is that when I hear anything from in between (and including) 'Running With The Devil' to House Of Pain', it makes me feel like it did the first time I heard them. The only thing that I want is more!

[golitely]

A business that wants to sell its product caters to its customers. A band that wants to sell records and concert tixs caters to its fans—unless they’re VH. You could try to justify it by saying that they aren’t like any other band, they’ve always done it differently, etc., etc., but that’s just bullshit.
Even if the novelty factor of being famous wore off about 30 years ago so that they don’t feel a “personal” connection to the people who buy their records, it is just plain stupid and lazy to not make even a semi-professional effort to market themselves, to just leave so much money on the table (boxed sets, DVDs) if, in fact, this is all merely a cash grab for Dave and the Brothers Van Halen.
So, I “expect” them to behave like professionals in the music industry and hire people to market the VH brand in some way other than by hawking guitars and flip-flops. Plus, where is the pride factor? Don’t they want to be considered on the same level as some of the biggies?

They sold out 07/08 on the nostalgia factor, with the return of Roth in itself practically marketing the tour. Can they do it again this time, especially given the competition next year (Springsteen, Stones, Sabbath, and a bunch of not-quite-that-tier acts), which could draw off the more casual fans (if you’ve got to spend $250+ conservatively per couple, how many concerts are you going to go to in a year)? Again, it’s just mind boggling that they don’t try to stir up interest when other big acts do so months before any dates are even announced.

On a more fan emotional level, it became for me, about 10 years, not will DLR reunite with VH (because I think VH is a dead entity even if they do put out an album), but will they be able to get together one last time so they can go out on top, reminding everyone why they were so great.

I hope the record will be great, but I don’t expect it to hit me like the 6 pack did. That time is long gone and any chance to recover it was lost in 1996.

[binnie]

I'm not expecting anything close to the glory days. What I am expecting is for them to respect their fans and their legacies enough not to continue this soap opera bullshit for too much longer.

[ZahZoo]

Expect too much... Fuck NO!!!

You reach a certain point in life when you have less summers ahead of you than you had behind... I've logged 53 great ones so far. The music along the way has been nothing short of fucking stellar. I was lucky enough to experience Hendrix at Monterey Pop as a kid in 67. Led Zeppelin, Sabbath, SRV, Jeff Beck, Sanatana, ZZ Top all in their prime. The icing on that musical cake started with Van Halen at Day on the Green in 78, 2 of the infamous Oakland 81 shows and every tour up thru 5150... then the dark times.

You only get one shot at life... why the hell would you not want the best our times have to offer??

Just because I was blessed to live in this time period. I ain't gonna sit back and say... ah well I should be happy with what I've had. Well hell yeah I'm happy with the opportunities I've had!!! But I ain't fucking dead yet, folks!! Neither is Eddie, Al, Michael or Diamond Dave...

Is it selfish of me to want more... probably... but who gives a shit? When I go to my favorite restaurant... I expect to be fed and I expect to get a good meal. Just because the last 20 trips were great... should I settle for some thing less? Hell no. If the doors are open I expect the best...

Van Halen hasn't shut the doors nor put up the going out of business sign yet... so let's get something done. As I said we ain't dead yet.

In case your aren't clear on this... this sums it up:

[DLR Bridge]

[QUOTE=ZahZoo;1577337] I was lucky enough to experience Hendrix at Monterey Pop as a kid in 67. Led Zeppelin, Sabbath, SRV, Jeff Beck, Sanatana, ZZ Top all in their prime. The icing on that musical cake started with Van Halen at Day on the Green in 78, 2 of the infamous Oakland 81 shows and every tour up thru 5150. QUOTE]

Holy crap. If they ever find a way to put memories on a computer chip, I'd like to download all of the above.

[Seshmeister]

You reach a certain point in life when you have less summers ahead of you than you had behind...

I just checked this and apparently I'm not at that point yet! Hooray! :)

http://www.livingto100.com/

[Zing!]

I expect: A sober Ed. An unleashed Dave willing and ABLE to speak his mind to the press. A neck-brace-free Alex. A bass-player that can hit the high notes. All in all that doesn't seem like I'm asking for all that much. Other than Al, three out of the four could go either way...

[Heater]

The music world is way too different to hope vh will be the biggest band in the world again. But big like U2 ain't gonna happen, big like the Stones if they tour ain't gonna happen. they might be able to give Bon jovi a run for their money. As others have said, we wish it was 1984 again and that the guys who played that album were who they were then, only now. Are we expecting too much? Yes. Will we be forgiving, lower the bar and change our definition of "stellar"? He'll yes. Once the single is released, Dave gives his screech and sings about some type of excess, at night , in a car and Ed hammer/taps those same notes, all will be forgiven. Then there will be petitioms to radio stations to play the record to give it a chart boost. They will tour, play. 3 songs from "N****m S*****", (piss break), continue to close the show with JUMP for some reason. Everyone will exit and say it was better than they expected. That's how this kinda thing works, when you have devoted all that you have devoted to this band on this and other boards, you will not let them fail, you are not going to trash their new music and effort. If you were to do that, you would be mocking all that you have written of them before this. If you go in with the attitude it is going to be awesome, you won't let it be anything else.

[Hardrock69]

Damn, ZahZoo....you lucky goddamn motherfucker. Just to even have SEEN Hendrix live would have been the high point of my life, much less it being an iconic performance like that.

And Beach? You brought out a major point. NO, they did NOT announce SHIT about recording an album.

They disregard and disrespect their fans so much that they do not tell us shit!

In fact, they SHOULD get back with Mikey as an apology to the FANS for treating us all like fucking shit over the past......well...25 fucking years. :mad:

Goddammit ZahZoo...I am envious man. Not often I say that. I have a friend who saw Hendrix in Memphis in 1969. Not only did he get to be up front, he took photos and snuck a tape recorder in as well. I think sometimes I would like to be 10 years older.....only problem is that if I had been born 10 years earlier, I would have been at the perfect age to have been murdered by our government in the Vietnam conflict. So in that aspect, I am glad I was only 14 when Vietnam was over.

But musically...man...the shows I missed because I was too young....

[DONNIEP]

In fact, they SHOULD get back with Mikey as an apology to the FANS for treating us all like fucking shit over the past......well...25 fucking years. :mad:

Exactly! But instead we get Ed's kid - and I don't care if he's the greatest bass player ever. He's a fucking kid that has no business in the greatest band that ever stalked the Earth. I know I piss and moan about this too much, but he's just got no business being up on that stage. I know, Mikey is out of the band, permanently according to Ed. But how many years did we listed to Ed and Al tell everybody that Dave would NEVER be back in Van Halen???

[Hardrock69]

True dat!

[Zing!]

As for Mikey - I miss him like everybody else does - but I hold out hope that he might one day return. Here's my logic: The upcoming tour looks to be bigger than the last =VH= tour since Van Halen (supposedly) has a new album with Dave behind the mic to support it. So how do they top that four, five, six years from now when they decide to get around to touring again? A new album isn't going to be enough to fill venues - the thrill of having Dave back was done the first time - the thrill of having him back on a new record will have been done, too. After this tour, I see a new non-Mikey album a few years down the road, but he will be asked to join the band on tour, playing as a 'guest-star' on a few songs, maybe while Wolfie takes over on keyboards. That way they are almost guaranteed to have another tour that continues the tradition of each one being bigger than the last. I know it's a long-shot of a dream, and I know it's incredibly folly to speculate about Van Halen years from now (it's dangerous to speculate about this band even weeks from now...) but we can dream, no?

[Seshmeister]

it saddens me mostly because my other favourite band, iron maiden, are still producing great tunes, touring, and bringing it live. why not vh?

Bruce Dickinson is the Sammy Hagar of Maiden. They haven't been the same since Paul Dianno left.

[Seshmeister]

It's surprising that Van Halen can still get insurance to tour.

If you worked for an insurance company would you underwrite them with millions so that they could do another big tour without Eddie falling off the wagon, splitting up due to infighting, Wolfgang having a breakdown or even one of them getting ill or dying?

[ZahZoo]

Whoever insured the 2004 tour had to have been suicidal... or believed in the Mayan end of the world boloney.

2007/8 was nearly a bust twice and almost didn't make it off the ground.

No idea, if any of the same risks exist today but Ed appears to have stayed clean or at least stayed home when not. If Ed's sober though odds are fear is his biggest enemy...

[kwame k]

I think the 07-08 tour went a long way in showing that the band was bankable again and Ed was capable of doing a tour. Yes, barely but he did it.

2004 had to scare off any sane insurance company.........

Now they have a record company and a pending [or pretending] tour in the works. With Ed's history, anyone investing in VH would have to be very cautious about Ed's sobriety. Might explain why it took so long to get a record company to sign the band........more along the lines of, "Look Ed's been clean and sober for 4 years now, his hand surgery was a complete success and Ed and Dave have found a way to work together without actually being in the same room.

All the objections any sane exec would have when considering investing in this band have been addressed.

Ah fuck.......just when I think I'm above baseless speculation about this band, I get pulled right back in:pullinghair:

[Seshmeister]

Or arguments. Sounds like things are no better than they have ever been. If I was a promoter I would want huge penalty clauses for non performance because apart from the Wolfgang factor after the last tour we are back in the 80s where they are all rich enough to throw the toys out of the pram. All it will take is someone to get an extra towel or eat someone else's sandwich backstage and it's all over.

[kwame k]

Any sane business person would want huge insurances that the band can actually pull off any contract or commitment they make, period.

Ed seems to be the only wildcard in the deck.......Dave, it seems, comes off as a guy willing to work things out and Ed comes off as a spoiled, drunk 4 year old.

So it would seem that Ed would be the one who has to prove himself to the powers that be.......

[Hardrock69]

Whoever insured the 2004 tour had to have been suicidal... or believed in the Mayan end of the world boloney.

:lmao:

[VHscraps]

All it will take is someone to get an extra towel or eat someone else's sandwich backstage and it's all over.

Heheh - man, I love this. I mean, I actually like the fact that they could implode at any moment. Keeps it interesting.

The happiness of thousands - tens, hundreds of thousands of patient obsessives - could be riding on Ed and Dave not looking at each other the wrong way, or not sharing a cigar. Remember in Dave's book after the 96 MTV Awards show - he gave Ed one of his prized Cuban cigars, probably to try and keep the peace when it was too late. Didn't he write something like, 'I gave that little fucker one of my rare Cubans' !!!

[Seshmeister]

Heheh - man, I love this. I mean, I actually like the fact that they could implode at any moment. Keeps it interesting.


Less interesting when you are flying a few thousand miles to the gig...

[SunisinuS]

The music world is way too different to hope vh will be the biggest band in the world again. But big like U2 ain't gonna happen, big like the Stones if they tour ain't gonna happen. they might be able to give Bon jovi a run for their money. As others have said, we wish it was 1984 again and that the guys who played that album were who they were then, only now. Are we expecting too much? Yes. Will we be forgiving, lower the bar and change our definition of "stellar"? He'll yes. Once the single is released, Dave gives his screech and sings about some type of excess, at night , in a car and Ed hammer/taps those same notes, all will be forgiven. Then there will be petitioms to radio stations to play the record to give it a chart boost. They will tour, play. 3 songs from "N****m S*****", (piss break), continue to close the show with JUMP for some reason. Everyone will exit and say it was better than they expected. That's how this kinda thing works, when you have devoted all that you have devoted to this band on this and other boards, you will not let them fail, you are not going to trash their new music and effort. If you were to do that, you would be mocking all that you have written of them before this. If you go in with the attitude it is going to be awesome, you won't let it be anything else.

Was that supposed to be one paragraph?

[Hardrock69]

Seems like some kind of fart, actually. But when the trolls open the asshole under their nose, what can one expect?

[ashstralia]

Bruce Dickinson is the Sammy Hagar of Maiden. They haven't been the same since Paul Dianno left.

we both know that's complete rubbish, mate.

it's been more like britains bruce lee roth dickinson. fly the plane? no probs. :)