VH is over for me

[DLR Bridge]

Word.

[nitroDave23]

It's fucking Diamond David Lee Roth for Christ's sake.....

He's always been like this, sure when he was younger it wasn't as toned down, and he would jump higher,and sprint around faster, but still, he's the same old goofy Dave we all love, with some age,experience,and like other have said, a second chance.Doesn't kick as high,or shuffle as fast,and maybe he is a little less than his prime. (Then again what artist from the 70's isn't different today by comparison?)

I bet if you could go back and ask the Dave of 1983 what he thinks of the Dave of 2012, he'd be happy as fuck that he's still alive, let alone performing.(and performing well might I add).

If I'm honest, sure- I suppose I could do without the dancing,he could be a little less campy,but I'm more than happy to just see him up there with Eddie,Alex,and Wolfie performing the songs that made him.The new album is fantastic,and this tour has been really great so far, dancing or not.

Dave's just enjoying the ride, and if he wants to wiggle his ass for the whole set, then so be it, as long as he and Eddie are happy and not tearing each others heads off, Dave could be waving his Vegas Flags around for every song for all I care.No complaints here, we have Dave back in Van Halen,and that's all we need.

Just happy to see Roth back on board and leading the way is all, just found it crazy that any fan of Dave would complain about the way he performs these days....at least he's still doing it!!

Roth On Guys.

[Diamondjimi]

The ultimate VH days are behind them no doubt.

Exactly. Can't think of a band who's been around for 30+ years who's "ultimate" days aren't behind them.

But there are quite a few who still (as =VH= do) "bring it"...

[SNIPER]

It's too bad the music to Dirty Water Dog didn't get held in the "Save 4 Dave" cache. That riff is bad ass and has a nice Panama pounding to it in the verse.

I like that tune the best on that album other then the Journey build up intro. I try to play that album every year or so but I have to shut it off mid way through One I Want.

[SNIPER]

Totally agree. Objectively speaking, there were some good riffs on it. And I get that as an artist, you want to do different things. You want to play around with tones, you're always craving something new. I'll give it credit for at least trying to do something more than generic rock, which is the comfort zone that most Van Hagar songs settled into. But even if you judge it as an Ed solo album (let alone a Van Halen album), most of the songs were just jumbled messes, like a child incorrectly putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Ed can sure as hell write riffs and licks, but without a songwriter to collaborate with him, he has no idea what to do with them.

A clear example would be Ballet Or The Bullet.

[SNIPER]

Aside from Cherone, the music on that album just didn't groove & flow. It seemed really choppy to me. Like if ADD had a sound.

I remember how I tried to push this album on everybody when it came out. I wanted to believe so badly that it kicked ass but when it was all said and done I didn't buy my BS anymore either.

[loucap81]

A clear example would be Ballet Or The Bullet.

That is EXACTLY what I had in mind. The opening riff is an attention-grabbing, crunchy, nasty piece of work that Dave could have done something well with. And then after that the song just kinda sprawls all over the place with a God-awful refrain.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

What in the hell am I reading....

[Terry]

About the only aspect of Roth's current live approach that raised my eyebrows when I saw the band last month was the choice he made to sing in that strained mid-register throughout the set, applying that range to songs that didn't always benefit from it (eg. Pretty Woman doesn't sound too hot when Dave decides to yell all the verses, especially when that is a tune he is still clearly capable of singing in the original recorded style without difficulty - I can understand him utilizing different vocal techniques to navigate verses that contained his high-pitched shrieks on the original recordings, since that part of his vocal arsenal is pretty much tapped out, but why yell lyrics on tunes that are still within his capabilities to simply sing? just makes it needlessly hard for him, and doesn't really sound too hot).

There are some other odds and ends in 2012 that aren't quite up to the standards Roth set in 2007-2008. Dave is frequently forgetting or just failing to sing verses throughout the set. This has been a longtime aspect of his live work, but it is a little bit of a letdown now because he was so focused and on-point 4 years ago far as that went. Honestly, the last tour was one where Dave exhibited such a high degree of preparation and concentration that really hadn't been on display in quite a while. His solo gigs in 2005 and 2006 were full of instances where Roth wasn't singing verses, and when he was singing he was often all over the place in terms of singing in a really low octave, then a really high octave, then back to a low octave within the same song which was originally sung in one range. It came across as if he were just bored with singing the tunes the way they were originally written and was trying to keep things interesting for himself, or he just couldn't be bothered. In 2007-2008, he buckled down and had his act wired tight. Like, honestly, with the condition Eddie was in 4 years ago, had Roth performed then like he is now THAT would have been a pretty weak display.

Matter of fact, the high point of 2007-2008, far as I was concerned, WAS Roth! Eddie wasn't up to snuff, Wolfgang was inaudible...Alex was on the money. This last time around, all of the Van Halens were charged up and fucking ready to go and Dave...just wasn't able to quite match them. Ain't referencing his physical stage presence or the relative lack of kung fu acrobatics. That aspect has been waning for years, as well it should.

All of the above may piss a few people off, and many may disagree or just aren't seeing what I did at the shows they attended this time around. Hey, that's cool. Have been on these boards more than a few years now, and anyone who knows me also (I hope) knows I have a deep, abiding appreciation for this band. However, that doesn't mean I'm gonna load up my opinions with bullshit as a way to go along and get along. Last time around, Eddie was a bit of a wreck, Wolfie was almost a nonentity, Alex served it up well and Roth was easily the strongest link. This time around, the Van Halens are fucking BRINGING it, and Roth isn't really up to par with them yet. I'm totally stoked about the new album and very grateful the band (such as it is) is still out there doing it: if someone told me in 2006 that by 2012 we would have seen two tours with Roth and a new album, I would have laughed at them. Yet it happened. Pretty fucking sweet overall. Still gotta keep the critical eye out. I wasn't someone who lowered my standards when Hagar joined the band in order to nod my head and say Van Halen was 100% as good as they could possibly be, and I'm not about to start now. The good news is that, unlike the Van Hagar years where the inclusion of Sammy was a hurdle the band wasn't gonna overcome no matter what, today's problems with Van Halen are easily fixable: Roth just needs to sing the tunes.

[Hardrock69]

OOOOOooooOOoOoOoooo.......

David Lee Roth is DANCING?

NONSTOP?


GOOD GAWD!

HEY EVERYBODY!

WOLFSBANE SAYS DAVE IS DANCING!!!!!

Gee....I did not know that......How SHOCKING!

O MI GAWD!


SHRIEK!!!


OH THE INHUMANITY OF IT ALL!!!!

[Hardrock69]

I took this picture of Dave in 1979. He appears to be smiling.

NOOOO......REALLY?

[Hardrock69]

Cabo Cunt

I'm surprised Sam doesn't fly onto the Chickenfoot stage on a giant bottle of Cabo Wabo tequila wearing a big sombrero throwing cheese curds to the audience.

[Nitro Express]

This is Sammy's personal bodyguard and man toy.

[sadaist]

When VHIII came out the band was on Rockline I believe. Mighta been Jim Ladd. But Eddie & Gary both said Gary would write these lyrics, verses, chorus and bring them to Ed. Eddie would then write music around them. he said it was totally opposite of anything he had ever done. And it is backwards from the norm. Maybe that's part of the reason the songs sound kinda out of focus.

[Jetstream]

Now you've done it!!!

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the literal video is even better