Official 5/22 Kansas City Meetup/Review Thread

[SunisinuS]

Fuck it's a Hagar shirt tho

lol that is why I was laughing.

[Molly Blue]

What a show... my first concert ever and my last concert ever...both Van Halen. I can now die a happy woman. I can think of way I could die happier but I guess you get what you get in life right.

Whoever said Sprint Center doesn't have any bad seats was dead wrong... anyone wondering if is worth the extra money for better tickets... I would say if you don't care if you get to see anything, then no... but if you actually want to SEE Van Halen when you see them, then yes... spend the extra money. Otherwise, a blind sardine would have been quite happy with my vibrating seat.

It was an AWESOME show! I read the thread and see you have the set list already so I guess there is not much else to add. People have been saying that Ed is playing at his best, and I have to agree. People been dissing on Dave, and I have to disagree. But... and maybe its just me... if I wanted to understand what David was saying, singing, I had to put my fingers in my ears. Does this mean I am getting old? Could be. I met two gentlemen in the hall that had gotten upgrades on their seats, to what they said were better seats... but I wouldn't have been happy with them since they were somewhere in my vacinity... but I think the lady two seats down from me did get a decent upgrade-and though I was a little jealous it wasn't me, I was also happy it was her. She was there with her kid and they were dancing in the aisle and having a grand ole time.

There were a few things that could have made the show a little better for me... but a girl's gotta have her fantasies, even when she is more of an old woman than a girl!

[Molly Blue]

Not sure that it matters and thats probably why no one else posted... but there were some sort of religious presence with their signs across from Sprint before the show. They were not as entertaining as the preacher dude we saw vidoe of with the "No running with the devil" and "No hot for teacher"... but I found it curious anyway. There were signs that the Jews killed jesus, against gays, against Obama, and one dude was just carrying a sign that said I was going to hell-but didnt say why and another guy had a sign that said God was coming, but he didn't say when...

[Nick Graham]

The protestors were from the infamous Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka. I guess since they were just a couple of hours down the road in Joplin for President Obama's commencement speech for Joplin High School last night, they figured they would swing by KC on their way home.

I had a blast at the show - Eddie clean and sober is genuinely amazing, and Wolfie has now grown into his genes - he's now got stage presence and confidence, can hit and sustain Mike's old high backup vocals, and (in my opinion) is now a better bassist than Mike. That's not a knock against Mike - Wolfie just has magic genes. Kool & The Gang was AMAZING. When they were first announced as the opener, my first thought was "HUH?!", but Dave was right on the money. With every song, more and more hardened rock fans got out of their seats and started signing and dancing. By the time "Celebration" hit, they had melted the hearts of even the most hardened rockers. Dave put on a great show, but I felt horrible for him by the end. His vocal chords are obviously taking a thrashing. The spirit was more than willing, but there were times when the flesh was just too weak. That said, Wolfies vocal picked up the slack, and unlike the great show in 2007, this time Dave felt like Dave, and it felt like a real band again. In the '07 show, Dave was great, but he seemed to be restraining a lot of his innate Daveness so as not to rock the boat. Tonight he was full on Diamond Dave, and it was great to see him and the band genuinely getting a long and getting laughs out of each other, as opposed to the very forced feeling hugs and smiles from the 2007 show. If only Dave still had the pipes from that 2007 show, tonight would have been an amazing show as opposed to just a great one. Hopefully the break will let him get those pipes healed up.

[RedEye]

Just made the three hour drive home.
Need sleep but wanted to get some thoughts down.

This is only my third time seeing them... All with Dave in the last 4 years. Having watched all of the you tube videos so far this tour and many from last... I have to honestly say that I haven't seen Dave more animated, more on... He was funny, active, cool and just killer.

Eddie blew me away as did Alex and Wolf...

Not only do I think this whole set of rumors about fighting is BS... I think they are honestly having the times of their lives together. Dave and Alex were joking a lot, Dave and Wolf were interacting a lot. Dave and Eddie were enjoying one another.

They were TIGHT. Holy crap. The music was played to perfection. The sound on the floor in front was amazing. Dave sounded stellar... I admit I was really worried having seen some of the struggles recently. I have been sub a huge fan for so many years I never wanted to see him struggle in person. Folks he nailed 95% of the vocals tonight. Some rough spots. It NOTHING like recently. I stood there with a big ass grin taking it all in... My phone crapped out but I had my Flip video and shot some songs... I need to create a YouTube account and post them soon. I hope some folks got good video o Dave being the ultimate Dave... Clever, cool, fun.

The soundcheck... What can I say. Never in my life did I ever think I would get to see a Van Halen soundcheck... Maybe i am easy to impress... But I could barely contain myself. A memory I will never forget. And Dave gave me the show of a lifetime. I saw him 3 times solo and now three times with Van Halen. This was tops. I am almost scared to see them again and lose this feeling of magic they had tonight.

Sorry this is rambling... It is 3am... I need sleep.

[sadaist]

Thanks RedEye. Glad you had a great time. YouTube is fairly easy to start & upload videos so get on it. look forward to seeing what footage you got.

[sadaist]

one dude was just carrying a sign that said I was going to hell-but didnt say why and another guy had a sign that said God was coming, but he didn't say when...

Dammit!

Can't believe they would leave you hanging like that.




At least when Van Halen say they are coming back, they not only give us the date, but down to within a 30 minute window.

[sadaist]

Fuck it's a Hagar shirt tho

But Balance is the best Van Hagar shirt.......since that was the album that busted em up & all. Couldn't be happier they recorded that shit album. Road to Diamond Dave is paved with unsold copies of Balance & VH III.

[Momshell]

Not one single YouTube. Come on Kansas City - WAKE UP!! Guess I'll check again later.

[sadaist]

I don't know what's going on here with the Rock, but that picture is in front of palm trees. There aren't many palm trees in Kansas City, so unless those are fake trees, he's not in KC in that picture.

HAHA! Good eye. You are right though.

[ALMOSTsaved]

So far only the drums...

[vandeleur]

But Balance is the best Van Hagar shirt.......since that was the album that busted em up & all. Couldn't be happier they recorded that shit album. Road to Diamond Dave is paved with unsold copies of Balance & VH III.

Oh , I see your point a little pain to get to the promised land .. I like it

[Angel]

Hate reading the tweets. Lots ragging on Dave's vocals. I have no doubt the reason for the break is behind that. Of course, in 2017 they'll tell us that was the reason.

Dave's so freaking confident in himself, he probably figures he can "do it" and no one will be the wiser. Us die-hards know him so well, but for those who haven't thought of him in years, well, they don't look and go "hmmm, what's up with Dave's throat?"

I just hope whatever it is, can be "repaired", and that no irreparable damage is being caused by not stopping sooner.

[Never was]

I'm curious what percentage of people ragging on his voice have actually seen him live before. Now he is not as good as 07 and has consistency problems but he is Dave. For Dave its about what I would expect from a near 60 smoker. He also seems to be getting stronger as the tour goes on. I think has been as expected, expectations are a large part of how unhappy or happy you are with Dave's voice. That said I do expect when they come back he will be sounding a bit better but again better for a 60 year old smoker.
Now is there anyway to get him to stop smoking? Good luck

[Angel]

Yeah, there is a lot of bitching about "talking" the lyrics and forgetting words as well. Hell, even my room-mate who is only a casual fan (but does not like Hagar), even knows that's just Dave!

As for the smoking, good luck with that. I'm a smoker too, and haven't managed to quit, although of course I know I should. BUT, I don't need to get onstage and sing, and when I'm doing a play, I just need to stay in character and clear my throat. AC blowing directly on me KILLS me. I've been so stuffed up from it that I couldn't even talk. Conclusion: yup, it's the smoking.