Best of Both worlds tour has begun

[Seshmeister]

I was talking to someone last week who had 2nd row tickets for this crap in Winnipeg a couple of nights ago and they were $1000+ each. He was thinking about selling them before the show and I said he should. Don't know yet if he did.

[Nitro Express]

I don’t know about best of both worlds. More like blow at both ends. That’s what would be happening if I went to a Sammy show.

[Nitro Express]

Some of us have played in bands and the reality is the band is part of the party. Frankly, I’m not so sure anyone would come to see any of the bands I was in if there wasn’t booze being served. Ha! Ha! Basically you are enhancing the drinking experience. Sam sells a party and is good at doing it. He’s got several types of hooch to sample, he’s got beautiful women serving it. The band and music is not great but Sam has charisma and he’s like, let’s do some shots! That’s what people are buying. After a few shots of Santo even Sammy Hagar sounds good.

[Nitro Express]

One of my college buddies hired on with Proctor and Gamble out of college. That company believes you can keep a product going with marketing. I think Sammy is the Proctor and Gamble of rock. He’s the Prell shampoo people buy and you have no idea why.

[Nitro Express]

Funny. I was talking to someone who worked for Sammy Hagar’s travel agency. They said Sam puts on the act of the laid back beach bum but the guy actually is really aggressive, intense and hungers for success. In short Sam is really driven. You don’t accomplish what he’s done in business being laid back. He’s not the surfer supporting his lifestyle by selling drugs. Sam is a shark. It’s why the Van Hagar stuff is being repackaged and sold. It’s why nothing comes from the classic VH camp. There’s no greedy hungry drive there.

[Nitro Express]

Was that strictly because you dislike Singapore, or...?

Nope. Been spending a lot of time in Singapore.

[twonabomber]

Show's in town tonight. Blossom...outdoors. It's raining now and forecast most of the day. Couldn't happen to a better group of fans.

[Terry]

I guess to some people it may seem strange that I'm absolutely fine with any bar band or pretty much any band in the whole world attempting Panama or ATBL apart from the Sammy Hagar band.

It was one thing when Hagar was in Van Halen, perhaps more so on the first tour Hagar did with the band, where a few CVH tracks were played live.

Why Hagar feels the need to play CVH tracks now, on this tour...I mean, are the people coming to see the shows on this tour expecting to hear Hagar play CVH tunes? I'm assuming not, since I'm assuming Hagar hadn't been playing CVH tunes live at his solo gigs since he left Van Halen...or had he been? I mean, I don't know.

It'd just be plain weird seeing one of these Hagar shows and watching the band play a CVH tune, unless one was really, REALLY into the bass playing on those CVH albums.

It'd be sort of along the lines of when Ed's kid played CVH tunes with Dave Grohl and whoever else at those one-offs...like, okay, none of the people onstage played on the albums, so...?

If somebody is gonna do a cover tune, it's gotta be special, otherwise why bother? Like, say, I dunno...how CVH Van Halenized You Really Got Me, for example.

[Seshmeister]

I guess to some people it may seem strange that I'm absolutely fine with any bar band or pretty much any band in the whole world attempting Panama or ATBL apart from the Sammy Hagar band.

[Terry]

Taylor Swift played Singapore. I didn’t bother to go.

Was that strictly because you dislike Singapore, or...?

[Nitro Express]

Taylor Swift played Singapore. I didn’t bother to go.

[Vinnie Velvet]

I saw that recently, where Glenn Tipton is either no longer playing at all with Priest live or just doing a few tunes a night depending on how his health is doing at any given show. By saying I saw that recently, that is to say I read the news of it recently. I loved Priest back in the day, through to Painkiller. After that, in all honesty I really didn't care much about the band re: post-Painkiller albums, or who was in the band. So, I'm supposing the band is now down to Halford and...Ian Hill? So, at this point, it's basically a Rob Halford solo band and Judas Priest in name only.

I guess a few years back (or perhaps more than a few now) with AC/DC after Malcolm passed on the band at one point had Brian Johnson, Angus, Cliff, Phil Rudd and Steve Young. Which I suppose was as close as one could get to the Back In Black lineup. So, now it's down to Johnson and Angus? Much like Priest, with AC/DC I haven't followed any of their studio releases since the late 1980's/early 1990's. Not since The Razor's Edge.

I suppose rock fans are just so starved for the older stuff that they'll accept whatever facsimile can be trotted out these days. Me, I was lucky to see a shitload of these bands from 1983-1989 back when they were all in or near their primes. I saw AC/DC in 1985 with Yngwie Malmsteen opening (now THERE was a contrast in rock guitar playing!). My then-15-year-old self thought the show was great even if I didn't really care much then for the Fly On The Wall album or the Who Made Who single. My now 54-year-old self recently saw a current picture of Angus playing live, and the sight of the man still plodding around onstage in that schoolboy uniform made me derisively chortle out loud, but as you say, they're still packing them in and getting paid.

I think maybe I'm just becoming frugal in addition to grumpy as I age but fuck me if I'm gonna shell out premium prices to see these name brand bands that have varying fractions of original/definitive members and hear a bunch of geezers who have to tune down a whole step or more from the original recorded versions of their hits because their lead singers can't cut it live anymore. By that logic, if these creaky geezer rockers are only half as good as they once were, I should be paying $50 or less a ticket. However, no shortage of punters willing to empty their pockets, thus the diminished standard will remain.

I too was fortunate to see these bands with either their original or more known members.

And yeah, AC/DC is now down to Angus and Brian. And from the youtubes ive seen lately Johnson struggles a lot with the vocals. And Angus just looks so old. Having said that his playing isn't that bad these days.
But again, they are still packing stadiums. Go figure.

[Terry]

There's a lot of bands that are still going with barely any original or even more "definitive" members. Its all about $$$ for these heritage acts.

Judas Priest for instance are still out there but without the two guitarists who pretty much made the JP sound (KK and Glenn).

AC/DC has a new drummer and bass player. And while Stevie Young is still family he's not Malcolm. That leaves Johnson (not the OG singer of course) and Angus. Despite that they are packing stadiums in Europe right now.

I saw that recently, where Glenn Tipton is either no longer playing at all with Priest live or just doing a few tunes a night depending on how his health is doing at any given show. By saying I saw that recently, that is to say I read the news of it recently. I loved Priest back in the day, through to Painkiller. After that, in all honesty I really didn't care much about the band re: post-Painkiller albums, or who was in the band. So, I'm supposing the band is now down to Halford and...Ian Hill? So, at this point, it's basically a Rob Halford solo band and Judas Priest in name only.

I guess a few years back (or perhaps more than a few now) with AC/DC after Malcolm passed on the band at one point had Brian Johnson, Angus, Cliff, Phil Rudd and Steve Young. Which I suppose was as close as one could get to the Back In Black lineup. So, now it's down to Johnson and Angus? Much like Priest, with AC/DC I haven't followed any of their studio releases since the late 1980's/early 1990's. Not since The Razor's Edge.

I suppose rock fans are just so starved for the older stuff that they'll accept whatever facsimile can be trotted out these days. Me, I was lucky to see a shitload of these bands from 1983-1989 back when they were all in or near their primes. I saw AC/DC in 1985 with Yngwie Malmsteen opening (now THERE was a contrast in rock guitar playing!). My then-15-year-old self thought the show was great even if I didn't really care much then for the Fly On The Wall album or the Who Made Who single. My now 54-year-old self recently saw a current picture of Angus playing live, and the sight of the man still plodding around onstage in that schoolboy uniform made me derisively chortle out loud, but as you say, they're still packing them in and getting paid.

I think maybe I'm just becoming frugal in addition to grumpy as I age but fuck me if I'm gonna shell out premium prices to see these name brand bands that have varying fractions of original/definitive members and hear a bunch of geezers who have to tune down a whole step or more from the original recorded versions of their hits because their lead singers can't cut it live anymore. By that logic, if these creaky geezer rockers are only half as good as they once were, I should be paying $50 or less a ticket. However, no shortage of punters willing to empty their pockets, thus the diminished standard will remain.

[Vinnie Velvet]

That Foreigner band - which now doesn't even include Mick Jones anymore - is doing their second show in my area in less than a year. At a venue that seats upwards of 18,000 if memory serves.

Like, there's literally NOBODY in the band anymore that even as much as played on any of the albums which comprise 95% of the setlist, aka 'The Hits'. Yet without even looking, I'd be willing to bet the tickets are being priced upwards of $75 a pop or more.

Good work if you can get it, I guess. Still, though...Foreigner?

There's a lot of bands that are still going with barely any original or even more "definitive" members. Its all about $$$ for these heritage acts.

Judas Priest for instance are still out there but without the two guitarists who pretty much made the JP sound (KK and Glenn).

AC/DC has a new drummer and bass player. And while Stevie Young is still family he's not Malcolm. That leaves Johnson (not the OG singer of course) and Angus. Despite that they are packing stadiums in Europe right now.

[Terry]

Because he's a self absorbed capri pant wearing faggit.

The suckers going to this show are the same suckers going to see fake Foreigner, and going to see Journey, Motley, Def Leppard and whoever else, in a stadium. Facebook fags.

That Foreigner band - which now doesn't even include Mick Jones anymore - is doing their second show in my area in less than a year. At a venue that seats upwards of 18,000 if memory serves.

Like, there's literally NOBODY in the band anymore that even as much as played on any of the albums which comprise 95% of the setlist, aka 'The Hits'. Yet without even looking, I'd be willing to bet the tickets are being priced upwards of $75 a pop or more.

Good work if you can get it, I guess. Still, though...Foreigner?