Horrible Review

[Rothone]

I saw The Who in 2000 and Daltrey was about 56 at the time (younger than Roth now). Daltrey couldn't hit hardly any of the high stuff when I saw them. Didn't matter. I was always fond of Dio as a vocalist and when I saw him with Sabbath a few years ago despite what many fan journalists had claimed his voice wasn't what it had been in the 80's (this was before he was ill too). Point is, almost NONE of these vocalists in rock beyond their 50's can do what they did in their prime. Alex is not what he was in the 80's either, the difference is that most people don't pay attention to the drums that much (or truly understand drums) like they do the vocals. I also have little doubt that the bad reviews that are coming in are from the hagar douche bags who think Why Can't This Be Love is "Van Halen". Dave sounds about like what I expect him to sound like in his late 50's. You'd have to pay me to see VH without him though.

[DLR Bridge]

I don't know about you guys but I couldn't care less what a newspaper critic says about Van Halen and DLR...Who cares?

Here's why I care a little. Not too much, but a little. Newspaper & magazine reviews all reach people who don't know any better than to take the critic's word for it. Blatant misrepresentation of this band, especially now is a bit irksome. They are phenomenal hard rock act that can't be reckoned with, yet still, there are those who will follow along with what these asshole critics say. It doesn't have to be that way, but what can ya do?

[fryingdutchman]

I saw The Who in 2000 and Daltrey was about 56 at the time (younger than Roth now). Daltrey couldn't hit hardly any of the high stuff when I saw them. Didn't matter. I was always fond of Dio as a vocalist and when I saw him with Sabbath a few years ago despite what many fan journalists had claimed his voice wasn't what it had been in the 80's (this was before he was ill too). Point is, almost NONE of these vocalists in rock beyond their 50's can do what they did in their prime. Alex is not what he was in the 80's either, the difference is that most people don't pay attention to the drums that much (or truly understand drums) like they do the vocals. I also have little doubt that the bad reviews that are coming in are from the hagar douche bags who think Why Can't This Be Love is "Van Halen". Dave sounds about like what I expect him to sound like in his late 50's. You'd have to pay me to see VH without him though.

Well, compared to Daltrey Dave sounds INCREDIBLE.

Watching Daltrey sing over the last couple of years is actually painful. That voice is completely shot, and it looks like his vocal cords are about to rip clean through his neck....

[loucap81]

That's a great point, just about every singer when they get older simply can't maintain what they were in their prime. In an extreme example Robert Plant's voice was permanently damaged at 24 and ever since the 80's I find him almost unlistenable. Sting's voice got so bad that they had to lower the keys on a many of the songs on the Police reunion tour. Geddy Lee's voice is way deeper now than it used to be and he has to strain to hit even moderately high notes. Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins have to sing in lower keys. James Hetfield doesn't sound bad but his voice doesn't have anywhere close to the power it did. Chris Cornell lost the operatic quality he had around 1992 and has to strain. The list just goes on and on. But when you consider their ages, Van Halen are putting on such a close facsimile of what they were in their heyday it's incredible to me. I like this version of VH a hell of a lot better than what they were in 1984, when by that point they weren't really a band up there.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Even Sinatra's voice was a shell of his old self when he was DLR's age....

And not even trying to compare DLR to Sinatra, but if you recall, Sinatra started talking the lyrics a lot more at this point in his life....

[Blaze]

It is Miami, was this review the only review out of Miami? On a side note, Dave spanked certain folks in Miami for an attempted use of his name in conjunction with a questionable event of a questionable charity.

[lesfunk]

If you ask me, and nobody did, Dave was obviously sick and the blowers were aggravating his voice. Dave has to work in order to rise to the occasion vocally even when he's 100% nowadays.
Everybody gets sick, and the show must go on. It seems pretty simple to me. Dave had a bad stretch of shows. How's he doin now?

[loucap81]

Yeah since they've restarted the tour in Florida he's been great and it's unfortunate that people don't understand that his voice has held up incredibly well over the years. My main issue with him wasn't so much his voice (when it was raspy) but how he was noticeably upstaging Eddie to the point of talking over the solos and just rambling and making the show too much about him. But Greensboro was a damn-near flawless performance by everyone. Dave had it going on with his voice and had the perfect amount of flair, energy, improv, everything. Anyone who criticized Dave in that show could only do so for the things he's always been and always done, and if that's your criticism then you're just not a fan of classic VH or don't understand the appeal. Go to a Paul Rodgers show if you want technical singing prowess, seriously.

[Nickdfresh]

Whatever issues there are with Dave's voice and aging, I got the feeling (and wasn't the only one) that he was being dogged by a virus during the Buffalo show. It's quite possible he's been a bit sick and is now just recovering...

[BumBahDeeDah]

Dave talkin over solos?! Nah.

[gene]

This ass hole talks about ticket prices when he got in for FREE!!! Shut the F@#K up and just enjoy life as it is and the great Van Halen. Go swim some where ass hole!!