REPORT: =vh = to headline australian festival april 20-21

[DLR Bridge]

They had months...

I know, but didn't Wolf only recently ask for requests?

[ELVIS]

Yeah, but dude it's the whole package...

They used that gig as a rehearsal, instead of meeting up a week in advance and running through the set list, adding requests, and getting it down until it sounds good, like any band does and like they used to do when it used to matter to them...

On top of it being a rehearsal, they treated this like another date on the last lackluster tour and put that up against Aerosmith in front of the world...

They're a fucking laughing stock to the average young listener and that's what I'm pissed about...

It shouldn't be that way...

Van Halen could have and should have kicked Aerosmith's ass, with their crappy ballads and bullshit almost as bad as Jump...

And then people here defend the crappy set list...

[DLR Bridge]

Good points. It does seem as though they were supposed gear the show towards their hits.

For a group of people that don't have to work day jobs, they should get some new shit down stat for their next show. T'would be nice.

[ELVIS]

Hey, you wanna be big dogs and demand big dog prices, act like big dogs...

Areosmith had their shit down...

Playing like Van Halen did is a one-way ticket to the casino circuit...

[ELVIS]

"One empty floor, stands between the stage and the welfare door..."

[vandeleur]

Ok try this on for size ,
When the tour got postponed . Everyone was that's it dave's out
Dave posts a roth show with solo songs ... Dave's out.
Dave is off the leash pr wise ..... Throws a cat or two amongst the pigeons with some mike/ed/wolf comments ... Dave's out.
Tour cancelled ... Ed's dying ,cancers back it's all off .

So a bit if perspective ... They played oz . No one is dead .
Dave is in the band . Dave still can sing (dtna excluded)

Lets enjoy the little things ... Our fav soap opera is up and running .
Dave appears to be in all his videos chomping at the bit .

So fuck if they played a party set at the festival ,.. It is what it says on the tin a festival .
The band know that they will have to change it when they do old territories or their own tour .
Japan may be a greatest hits gig to .
Dave had cracked the James Bond gag on numerous occasions he knows they can't keep rolling into town and trot out the same old same old .

So in conclusion, vh they played and left more questions than answers .
Well that's never happened before .

Enjoy the little things, its vh you never know what will happen next .
Last time we whinged our collective tits off they slipped an album and a tour on us so watch ya backs.

Ok shoot away

[fryingdutchman]

Horrible writing...

Paints a false picture of the show...

Dovetailing off of Lou's comment, I would say it's really pretty accurate in the sense that the article minimizes Dave's role.

It's basically an idol-worship piece for Ed and and acknowledgement of the invaluable musical chops of Al and Wolf. Dave gets the customary "super showman and frontman" nod that all music journalists give him, but there's no mention of his actual SINGING performance.

There's never been an argument about how tight the Van Halen's are. Just watch those soundcheck videos and you'll see how flawless they are together.

Dave is the wildcard...you never know what you're gonna get. And that's cool when it comes to interviews and press conferences. But when it comes to the music it can be a fatal flaw.

[fryingdutchman]

Ok try this on for size ,
When the tour got postponed . Everyone was that's it dave's out
Dave posts a roth show with solo songs ... Dave's out.
Dave is off the leash pr wise ..... Throws a cat or two amongst the pigeons with some mike/ed/wolf comments ... Dave's out.
Tour cancelled ... Ed's dying ,cancers back it's all off .

So a bit if perspective ... They played oz . No one is dead .
Dave is in the band . Dave still can sing (dtna excluded)

Lets enjoy the little things ... Our fav soap opera is up and running .
Dave appears to be in all his videos chomping at the bit .

So fuck if they played a party set at the festival ,.. It is what it says on the tin a festival .
The band know that they will have to change it when they do old territories or their own tour .
Japan may be a greatest hits gig to .
Dave had cracked the James Bond gag on numerous occasions he knows they can't keep rolling into town and trot out the same old same old .

So in conclusion, vh they played and left more questions than answers .
Well that's never happened before .

Enjoy the little things, its vh you never know what will happen next .
Last time we whinged our collective tits off they slipped an album and a tour on us so watch ya backs.

Ok shoot away

Awesome perspective. Well said.

[fryingdutchman]

Yeah, but dude it's the whole package...

They used that gig as a rehearsal, instead of meeting up a week in advance and running through the set list, adding requests, and getting it down until it sounds good, like any band does and like they used to do when it used to matter to them...

On top of it being a rehearsal, they treated this like another date on the last lackluster tour and put that up against Aerosmith in front of the world...

They're a fucking laughing stock to the average young listener and that's what I'm pissed about...

It shouldn't be that way...

Van Halen could have and should have kicked Aerosmith's ass, with their crappy ballads and bullshit almost as bad as Jump...

And then people here defend the crappy set list...

I know where you're coming from, E. They should have sent Steven Tyler running back to American Idol with his tail between his legs. I like Aerosmith, but I LOVE Van Halen and there shouldn't have even been any possibility of drawing a comparison.

I never thought I'd see the day when I had to potentially "defend" a CVH live show to anybody, or make excuses for why it went down the way it did. But some of this stuff has me perilously close to doing that amongst my group of friends who know my devotion to CVH.

CVH concerts were always the gold standard by which all other hard rock concerts were judged. They came into your town, kicked the shit out of you, and left you gloriously battered and begging for more.

And yes, I know...it's not 1984 anymore. But that doesn't mean that you can't reinvent yourself in 2012 and find new and inventive ways to kick our ass that are more age-appropriate (e.g. not involving drum riser high jumps or running knee slides....)

It's not about the theatrics for any of us at our age or theirs. It's about the quality of the performance. About the only thing I would like to see out of the "theatrical" end of them is a better lighting show....

[Never was]

The Aussie and Japan shows are for crowds that have not seen Van Halen since 1984. The set is geared towards that audience not those of us who have seen every set list the past two tours. They come back to US play the same set then ding em but for a one off they did the set they had too maybe not the one we are perhaps even them wanted to.

Nice to see on a cold night Dave did not need fifty layers and scarfs to stay warm and suprise his voice was better. Glad to him sounding more like himself for good or bad.

[Zing!]

At least he didn't yell at them to turn off the fucking wind.

[Never was]

That would be the ultimate in old manhood, yelling at the weather.
awesome

[ELVIS]

Just watch those soundcheck videos and you'll see how flawless they are together.

You're telling ME to do that ??

I AM the CHOIR!!!





Yes, I know...

Just watch this show and their timing is not flawless by any means...

That article gives the the impression that Van Halen were fantastic overall with no real mention of Dave...

Nothing could be further from the truth...

[ELVIS]

About the only thing I would like to see out of the "theatrical" end of them is a better lighting show....

And ditch the Yngwie purple and green...

[ZahZoo]

Yeah, but dude it's the whole package...

They used that gig as a rehearsal, instead of meeting up a week in advance and running through the set list, adding requests, and getting it down until it sounds good, like any band does and like they used to do when it used to matter to them...

On top of it being a rehearsal, they treated this like another date on the last lackluster tour and put that up against Aerosmith in front of the world...

They're a fucking laughing stock to the average young listener and that's what I'm pissed about...

It shouldn't be that way...

Van Halen could have and should have kicked Aerosmith's ass, with their crappy ballads and bullshit almost as bad as Jump...

And then people here defend the crappy set list...

Nothing you've said is off base... But I think you and many of us really need to just accept what Van Halen is today, is as good as it's ever going to get as long as they are with Roth.

They did get together and rehearsed a time or two before this last gig with the singer. No, it wasn't enough...

But it's blatantly obvious... for the most part the band does not work together with Roth except a handful of cursory practices and the live performance.

They don't do sound check together... that definitely could have effected the sound quality of their performance. They don't record together...

They don't do press together. Billy Joel is a solo artist... Aerosmith as dysfunctional as they have been over the years are a band. Why the fuck was there not a single soul with the last name Van Halen... the fucking headliners... at the press conference..?

Look, the fans want a Roth fronted Van Halen... the guys recognize that, but the best they can do is spend 90 minutes together on stage. They could play a ton of other material. I can say with great confidence Ed, Al & Wolf can knock any song out of the park every night with little to no mistakes.

Who's playing it safe? Who struggles to even perform songs he's sung for the last 35 years even half decent... Who's not taking care of his instrument, Who's running around the globe acting like a clown and not keeping his focus on his job... It's not the bass player.

It's difficult to me to admit it because I find Dave quite interesting and entertaining... But I can also see, in it's current state... this is as good as it's going to get. Most likely ever... that's a tough thing to swallow and admit.