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Monday, October 25, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
Concert Review
Few hits or surprises from big-time rockers
By Patrick MacDonald
Seattle Times music critic
You'd think a major rock band that hadn't toured in eight years — and was charging premium ticket prices — would reward its faithful fans with a show filled with hits, and maybe some surprises.
But Friday night at KeyArena the revitalized Van Halen played few of its signature tunes, ignoring many of its most popular hits.
Most of the two-hour set was wasted on the two horrible new singles — the embarrassingly juvenile "Up for Breakfast" and the boring cliché, "It's About Time" — as well as extremely long, pointless solos from each of the four members, and such deservedly obscure songs as "Humans Being," "The Seventh Seal," "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" and "When It's Love." The latter was the second encore, ending the show with a relatively slow song.
The show opened promisingly with "Jump," with lead singer Sammy Hagar and spectacular guitarist Eddie Van Halen leaping all over the huge, three-tiered stage. It was good to see shirtless Eddie looking fit and energetic, after hip surgery and a bout with cancer. But he was, or at least was acting, tipsy, and he was smoking — disheartening to see from a guy who survived tongue cancer.
After that powerful opening, the show bogged down for the next 90 minutes, except for the fun, chugging "Unchained."
It got better in the last half-hour, starting with "Dreams" (although Hagar, at 57, can only scream, having lost his high and low registers) and an intense "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love." But they ended the set with "Right Now," one of their weakest hits. They seemed to finally become the Van Halen of yore with the first encore, although it consisted of only two songs, "You Really Got Me" (a Kinks cover) and "Panama." But they were lots of fun, the only two songs worth getting up and dancing to.
Friday night at KeyArena, Seattle Center
Where was "Runnin' With the Devil," "Everybody Wants Some!!," "Dance the Night Away," "Hot for Teacher," "Beautiful Girls," "Jamie's Crying"? A couple of those songs would have given the show the kick it needed.
The big audience reacted enthusiastically most of the time — as audiences who pay high prices tend to do (the tickets topped out at $125), because they want to have an experience that was worth it. But it's hard to imagine any true fan being satisfied with such a lackluster performance.
Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312, pmacdonald@seattletimes.com
Concert Review
Few hits or surprises from big-time rockers
By Patrick MacDonald
Seattle Times music critic
You'd think a major rock band that hadn't toured in eight years — and was charging premium ticket prices — would reward its faithful fans with a show filled with hits, and maybe some surprises.
But Friday night at KeyArena the revitalized Van Halen played few of its signature tunes, ignoring many of its most popular hits.
Most of the two-hour set was wasted on the two horrible new singles — the embarrassingly juvenile "Up for Breakfast" and the boring cliché, "It's About Time" — as well as extremely long, pointless solos from each of the four members, and such deservedly obscure songs as "Humans Being," "The Seventh Seal," "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" and "When It's Love." The latter was the second encore, ending the show with a relatively slow song.
The show opened promisingly with "Jump," with lead singer Sammy Hagar and spectacular guitarist Eddie Van Halen leaping all over the huge, three-tiered stage. It was good to see shirtless Eddie looking fit and energetic, after hip surgery and a bout with cancer. But he was, or at least was acting, tipsy, and he was smoking — disheartening to see from a guy who survived tongue cancer.
After that powerful opening, the show bogged down for the next 90 minutes, except for the fun, chugging "Unchained."
It got better in the last half-hour, starting with "Dreams" (although Hagar, at 57, can only scream, having lost his high and low registers) and an intense "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love." But they ended the set with "Right Now," one of their weakest hits. They seemed to finally become the Van Halen of yore with the first encore, although it consisted of only two songs, "You Really Got Me" (a Kinks cover) and "Panama." But they were lots of fun, the only two songs worth getting up and dancing to.
Friday night at KeyArena, Seattle Center
Where was "Runnin' With the Devil," "Everybody Wants Some!!," "Dance the Night Away," "Hot for Teacher," "Beautiful Girls," "Jamie's Crying"? A couple of those songs would have given the show the kick it needed.
The big audience reacted enthusiastically most of the time — as audiences who pay high prices tend to do (the tickets topped out at $125), because they want to have an experience that was worth it. But it's hard to imagine any true fan being satisfied with such a lackluster performance.
Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312, pmacdonald@seattletimes.com
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