Any tour disappointments

[ThrillsNSpills]

Keep in mind the guys who are "critics" never factor in the physical fact that the voice is a limited commodity- if you do 2 hours every night you are going to have peaks and valleys regardless of who the singer is. You've heard Dave not showing up for soundcheck to save his voice. That's a very real reality for anyone doing that full time. A critic has never been in that realm.
I'd love to hear one critic make an album half as good as Different Kind of Truth. It's like the album you can't get sick of. That in itself is a serious accomplishment.

[ZahZoo]

From most of what I've read... I don't think most folks are expressing that Dave has lost it.

Most the negative comments seem to be around Dave's choice to sing in the high register on songs previously performed in his lower (normal) vocal range. I've seen several performances where clearly Dave is forcing it beyond his range... mostly it doesn't come off well, sometimes it does.

Comparing to the 07/08 tour Dave kept most of his performance in his normal range. It also appeared Dave had worked with a vocal coach as he was hitting more of the melodies during that tour. This followed his participation in the Strummin w/ the Devil bluegrass thing. I noticed some of that work seemed to spill over into his 07/08 singing intonation and delivery of those classics he performed bluegrass style.

That mode seems to have left and he sounds more into the vein of high pitched stuff he did during the Bar-B-Q project... Not sure why Dave likes this stuff... but he does. Just isn't his range though.

BTW paragraphs are not a bad thing...

[moose]

This is all very simple folks.

Alex comes down from his drum set after Jump, the boys all take a bow, then........




HAPPY TRAILS!!!

Imagine that.
standing up, whistling, yelling clapping going bonkers at the end of the show elated that you just witnessed the greatest band on earth and sad that this might be the last time you see them together on stage.......place goes completley dark........spot light shines centre stage on Dave and all your hear is...Bum Ba Dee Dah

Damn fuckin place would go apeshit and the fucking building will come crumbling down!!

[moose]

One thing that is missing from this tour is a fucking
PROGRAM
They are selling all sorts of swag but not a fucking tour program
How sweet would that be??

[Terry]

I don't expect him to sing like 1984 but we should not pretend that Dave is doing well on this tour. He has serious issues and you can hear it.

I'd say the roles have reversed somewhat from last tour, where Dave was in about as good a form vocally as I could have expected, whereas Ed was clearly not up to it...

From the youtubes I've seen, Ed is fuckin' blazing this time around, while Roth does seem to struggle vocally at points...I mean, it can't really be denied by anybody unless they don't have a discerning ear or are just up Roth's ass to the point where the truth can't be said.

I'll reserve a final call until 4/14, when I see 'em live.

[Carmine]

You're right, Terry. I've seen 2 shows so far and it seems as if...I'm gonna say it...Dave is a little bit intimidated by Ed, Al and Wolf at this point. Those 3 are monsterous...Edward is playing better than I've ever seen...Alex is just god-like back there...he is on fire, as always...and there is no denying the kid...he's the shit...on bass and with the backup vocals...

Dave has not been...either trying to go to high when it's not necessary...fuckin up lyrics or just mush-mouthin them to get through the song...

He was magic on the 07/08 Tour...I'll Wait, Little Dreamer, I'm The One come to mind...he never missed a beat and I saw 5 shows last tour...

I hope he finds it before this tour closes...

Greensboro or bust, April 21....

[78/84 guy]

Keep in mind the guys who are "critics" never factor in the physical fact that the voice is a limited commodity- if you do 2 hours every night you are going to have peaks and valleys regardless of who the singer is. You've heard Dave not showing up for soundcheck to save his voice. That's a very real reality for anyone doing that full time. A critic has never been in that realm.
I'd love to hear one critic make an album half as good as Different Kind of Truth. It's like the album you can't get sick of. That in itself is a serious accomplishment.

So true. I can't get sick of it myself. I could do without Big River & Maybe Tattoo. I like both enough but the rest of the album kills them !! Dave is doing fine. This break should help. I think he should just tell the band the songs he can sing the best at this point and stick with them. Throw in a bonus deep cut at a few gigs here and there to get on tape. I can see why we might not get Light Up The Sky. I bet he told the band are you serious !? My only thing still is the show should be 3 or 4 songs longer. Meen Streets needs to be played every night. It's a top 5 VH song of all time !! I don't get how they can leave that out for I'll Wait ?

[Zing!]

So true. I can't get sick of it myself. I could do without Big River & Maybe Tattoo.

Funny how this varies from song to song, depending on who you ask. Some folks wouldn't drop a track from ADKOT, others might pick a completely different song that could be cut. For me, 'Big River' falls into the category of: "Man - if Van Halen did nothing else, at least they gave us this one song..."

But then again, there are about 10 or 11 other songs that fall into that category as well.

[78/84 guy]

Funny how this varies from song to song, depending on who you ask. Some folks wouldn't drop a track from ADKOT, others might pick a completely different song that could be cut. For me, 'Big River' falls into the category of: "Man - if Van Halen did nothing else, at least they gave us this one song..."

But then again, there are about 10 or 11 other songs that fall into that category as well.

I like them all. But Big River gets lost in the mix for me. Tattoo was killed on the radio. I don't skip anything on the disc though. Just listened to it.

[DLR Bridge]

I've seen 2 shows so far and it seems as if...I'm gonna say it...Dave is a little bit intimidated by Ed, Al and Wolf at this point.

Agreed. I've never seen him do so much standing over Ed's shoulders before. Or Wolf's for that matter. I know that Argentina clip that has recently surfaced is 29 years old, but in that, you can see Dave was in a totally confident, crowd winning zone. I feel he was in that same zone all through '07 and '08. His confidence has clearly been shaken a bit by two big things. A fading vocal power and diminishing mobility. I think he's done a great job at adapting to what paces Father Time has put him through. The dance floor thing is clearly to make up for the lack of running all over the place. He's still doing some kicks and splits that defy just about anything this fan who's 15 years his junior could ever do. By and large, he's been doing very well vocally with the majority of the tunes they've been playing, and there mostly challenging tunes at a rapid-fire pace. From a You-Tube point of view, Chinatown and Dance The Night Away seem to be the songs I've read the most criticism for. Anyone I've spoken to who's seen them live echoes my opinion. He sounds fucking great and thank God he's there. Plain and simple.

[sadaist]

thank God he's there. Plain and simple.

enuff said

[rocking ron]

I've seen some dvd bootlegs of Van halen's 2012 ( Febr.) tour and they really surprised me with changin' their setlist once in a while, something they've never done before..

Also Dave during his solo shows never did !!

I've seen they did : HEAR ABOUT IT LATER // GIRL GONE BAD // OUTTA LOVE AGAIN // WOMEN IN LOVE // FULL BUG and from ADKOT : TATTOO //

SHE'S THE WOMAN // BLOOD & FIRE // THE TROUBLE WITH NEVER // CHINA TOWN...........

Question...?? Have they done more 'new' old songs......?? in the mean time.............??

[vaijuju]

i've seen some dvd bootlegs of van halen's 2012 ( febr.) tour and they really surprised me with changin' their setlist once in a while, something they've never done before..

Also dave during his solo shows never did !!

I've seen they did : Hear about it later // girl gone bad // outta love again // women in love // full bug and from adkot : Tattoo //

she's the woman // blood & fire // the trouble with never // china town...........

Question...?? Have they done more 'new' old songs......?? In the mean time.............??

and hang em' high

[DavidLeeNatra]

in the mean time.............??

while the tour break?

[unchain09]

The hero has fallen

Sorry guys, keep drinking the VH kool aid but the hero has fallen, big time. It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.