There is something missing in the stage act

[Northern Girl]

We share that...

Good for you! You're smart and funny too...you've got it all!

[ashstralia]

[envy_me]

That's hardly his usual attire...just an affectation.

I don't know too many old men that look or behave like this...



YUM!

Thats what i'm talking about. Jaw-dropping!

[Yount]

DLR to the wooz: "You're gonna have to drop your jaw to fit it all in, honey sugar."

[ashstralia]

shoo be boppa got lost in a jetstream.

i want some too!!

[Angel]

I don't consider the overalls/cap "old man" clothes. Probably because I know a young cattle rancher out here that dresses like that, lol.

[fraroc]

That's hardly his usual attire...just an affectation.

I don't know too many old men that look or behave like this...



YUM!

That's 56?! If I didn't know any better I'd say he's in his mid 40s in this pic!

Hey, as long as Dave remains young at heart, he could be doing high kicks at 66!

[katina]

Not many old men look and behave like this.........

Watch throu 1.22 when Dave shows his tattoo !!!

[PETE'S BROTHER]

It's not black or white. There is a whole spectrum of grey in between. There are a million different styles in between "trying desperatelly to look young" and "old".

like, more than 50 shades?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

nah, only 50 shades.

dammit, didn't see it. atta boy...

[envy_me]

DLR to the wooz: "You're gonna have to drop your jaw to fit it all in, honey sugar."

What is wooz?

[envy_me]

Are you trying to pick a fight

[Terry]

A portion of the high energy bombast that made CVH the top of the rock heap in the early 1980s is no longer to be found in the stage act.

Partly a function of aging...perhaps also the result of having long ago scaled to the top of the heap.

Back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, Van Halen were climbing the ladder, and expending the energy necessary to make that a successful effort.

Now, it's 30+ years later. Also, the musical climate has changed (not for the better, far as I'm concerned). All the folks who were teens back when CVH ruled are now pushing forty...or fifty...Van Halen probably isn't gonna make a new album that is gonna sell millions of records within the initial year(s) of being released. A large chunk of the physical prowess that defined their stage act is now gone forever (never mind Roth; it ain't like we're gonna see Eddie doing his Pete Townshend-style jump shots much more either).

I'm not sure if it's really useful to lament what the band is today vs. what they were three decades ago yet continue to see their shows. There are very, very few bands that reached their highwater mark when they were in their twenties and can keep that energy level up in their fifties. Be it tuning down to accomodate aging vocal cords, rearranging some songs and even dropping some songs altogether because (not talking just Van Halen, here) because the passage of time has rendered the members incapable of doing them justice, adding additional musicians/backing vocalists onstage...showmanship standards of youth just become harder to replicate as time goes on.

When I go to a Van Halen show now, I'm really going to celebrate what the band has already accomplished years ago. Yeah, ADKOT was a really good album (actually far better than I thought they were capable of), but had the band not played a single tune off it live I wouldn't have been all that upset. It's just a chance to see them get up there once again and breathe some life into all those timeless classic rock tunes they came up with. I mean, I haven't been too complimentary about how Roth performed this last go-around, but if I step back and look at it from a wider perspective, in some ways it's pretty amazing they were able to pull their shit together as well as they have.

For me, the key to enjoying what the band is today is to dig what they are, rather than grouse about what they no longer are. Realistically, one would be forgiven for assuming Van Halen as an active live and recording unit probably have more yesterdays behind them than they have tomorrows in front of them. That part of the tour had to be postponed because the band booked more than they were physically able to handle is an indication of this.

After all the years of being pissed off at the brothers, rolling my eyes at some of Roth's career decisions and getting irked at some of the idiotic bullshit that came out of Hagar's mouth, as a fan I just wanna put all of that in the past and enjoy what time the band has left...and enjoy the music. Because that's what got me hooked on Van Halen in the first place. When CVH was around, there wasn't a lot of talk about anything beyond how bitchin' the music was, how bitchin' the band was, what a great frontman Roth was and what a phenominal guitar player Eddie was. Then Roth left and for twenty-odd years the focus shifted at times to speculation of the backstage soap opera dramatics.

Now Roth is back. There's some new music and the band is playing well. Yeah, it's a bummer that it took so long to happen (ten years too long), but better fucking late than never. I mean, for me even a slightly diminished Van Halen (long as Dave is in it) is still miles beyond what most other bands are capable of doing.

[katina]

A portion of the high energy bombast that made CVH the top of the rock heap in the early 1980s is no longer to be found in the stage act.

Partly a function of aging...perhaps also the result of having long ago scaled to the top of the heap.

Back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, Van Halen were climbing the ladder, and expending the energy necessary to make that a successful effort.

Now, it's 30+ years later. Also, the musical climate has changed (not for the better, far as I'm concerned). All the folks who were teens back when CVH ruled are now pushing forty...or fifty...Van Halen probably isn't gonna make a new album that is gonna sell millions of records within the initial year(s) of being released. A large chunk of the physical prowess that defined their stage act is now gone forever (never mind Roth; it ain't like we're gonna see Eddie doing his Pete Townshend-style jump shots much more either).

I'm not sure if it's really useful to lament what the band is today vs. what they were three decades ago yet continue to see their shows. There are very, very few bands that reached their highwater mark when they were in their twenties and can keep that energy level up in their fifties. Be it tuning down to accomodate aging vocal cords, rearranging some songs and even dropping some songs altogether because (not talking just Van Halen, here) because the passage of time has rendered the members incapable of doing them justice, adding additional musicians/backing vocalists onstage...showmanship standards of youth just become harder to replicate as time goes on.

When I go to a Van Halen show now, I'm really going to celebrate what the band has already accomplished years ago. Yeah, ADKOT was a really good album (actually far better than I thought they were capable of), but had the band not played a single tune off it live I wouldn't have been all that upset. It's just a chance to see them get up there once again and breathe some life into all those timeless classic rock tunes they came up with. I mean, I haven't been too complimentary about how Roth performed this last go-around, but if I step back and look at it from a wider perspective, in some ways it's pretty amazing they were able to pull their shit together as well as they have.

For me, the key to enjoying what the band is today is to dig what they are, rather than grouse about what they no longer are. Realistically, one would be forgiven for assuming Van Halen as an active live and recording unit probably have more yesterdays behind them than they have tomorrows in front of them. That part of the tour had to be postponed because the band booked more than they were physically able to handle is an indication of this.

After all the years of being pissed off at the brothers, rolling my eyes at some of Roth's career decisions and getting irked at some of the idiotic bullshit that came out of Hagar's mouth, as a fan I just wanna put all of that in the past and enjoy what time the band has left...and enjoy the music. Because that's what got me hooked on Van Halen in the first place. When CVH was around, there wasn't a lot of talk about anything beyond how bitchin' the music was, how bitchin' the band was, what a great frontman Roth was and what a phenominal guitar player Eddie was. Then Roth left and for twenty-odd years the focus shifted at times to speculation of the backstage soap opera dramatics.

Now Roth is back. There's some new music and the band is playing well. Yeah, it's a bummer that it took so long to happen (ten years too long), but better fucking late than never. I mean, for me even a slightly diminished Van Halen (long as Dave is in it) is still miles beyond what most other bands are capable of doing.

Great words, Terry !!!!

[ZahZoo]

Good for you! You're smart and funny too...you've got it all!

Oh geez... now you've gone and done it... Please don't feed the animals!!