EAT EM AND SMILE BAND reunion w/RALPH SAENZ on VOCALS-THIS WEDNESDAY

[Terry]

What if you don't try to hold this up to what they did 30 years ago? You go in with concessions fully made and just see if you enjoy yourself. That's what I do. Almost all of my favorite bands are well past their prime and have nothing but nostalgia to sell me. I'm OK with that because I have no choice. (Well, I have a choice, but it's not now vs. 1980. It's go to the show or stay home. I suppose stay home will win out eventually)

Yeah, I did that twice already. Once in 2008 and once in 2012.

I get that these guys are getting old. I'm not expecting Roth to start the show with a split off the drum riser, or shriek out those barefoot-on-hot-coals screams he used to do.

When it gets to the point where on balance the lead vocals are sounding shittier more often than not at any given show, it's time for me to pass on the band.

While I will say I'll only go to see a Roth-fronted Van Halen live, I can't be bothered continuing to see that Roth-fronted Van Halen if what they are doing live isn't at least passable. That includes Eddie, too. That drunk motherfucker skunked me out of a good show in 2008, when Dave brought HIS 'A' game to the stage. I gave the band a pass and saw them again 4 years later. On that show, Dave sounded awful roughly half the time.

Yeah, yeah, I know. In 2008, Eddie had 'problems with his hands'. In 2012, Dave had 'problems with the blowers'.

Shouldn't I only have to pay, say, $20 to see the band these days? Given that they can't produce a show worth much more than that anymore? Or am I just supposed to pay a premium to see living legends? Even though they can't quite cut the mustard anymore, they can still do a half-decent job of licking the knife? For all the great music they made and I paid for several times over in vinyl to cassette to cds to all the shows I've been to, am I just supposed to keep going to feather their nests, even if what they got isn't up to snuff anymore?

I trundled out and saw Dave at HIS solo career nadir in terms of drawing power in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2006. I went and continued to go because Roth never failed to entertain. He upped the ante in 2008. GREAT fucking show. 2012 he JUST barely squeaked by, and it was really only Eddie playing so well on the ADKOT tour that made that show memorable. 2015 was just a reprise of 2012, so I sat it out. I hate to say it, but I think Roth isn't able to get the job done anymore...at least not in a manner that I find acceptable.

Whatever. I've bitched, pissed and moaned about this topic long enough. Will STFU about it now.

[Von Halen]

I dunno...should I just stop being a cooze with a wet blanket over it and have a piping hot cup of STFU?

Hell no. Preach it!

[damngoodtimes]

While I will say I'll only go to see a Roth-fronted Van Halen live, I can't be bothered continuing to see that Roth-fronted Van Halen if what they are doing live isn't at least passable. That includes Eddie, too. That drunk motherfucker skunked me out of a good show in 2008, when Dave brought HIS 'A' game to the stage..

That is the one thing that pissed me off from that tour. They finally get back together, and Ed can't stay sober. I was there opening night in Charlotte and that night was magical and is my lasting memory from this era of the band. But lots of folks couldn't be there and got short-changed.

Even though Roth is a shadow of his former self these days, I find it hard to get mad at him, when it was Eddie that wasted away so many years. It's not Dave's fault that Eddie waited until Dave was nearly 60 before Ed got his shit together. I fault Dave a bit for some bad choices with how to attack some songs, but I really think some of these are all he can muster. I wonder if he can pull off EEAS any more, but it might be fun to watch him try. The John 5 record is probably the way to go now, if he's staying in the lower, bluesier register.

I refuse to be bitter about it. Got more than I would have ever imagined out of these guys after all that wasted time.

[Seshmeister]

I agree with a worrying amount of your last few posts.

When you get older things move slower but it seems quicker. The Van Halen reunion now in year 8 is crazy, stating the obvious that's longer now than the first time around if you only count the signed years.

It's like when you do the math on Ozzy's solo career and realize that almost all of the good stuff was the first 4 years (and his live setlist shows he agrees) and he's now been coasting on that for the next 30.

The one thing you didn't mention much in your last 3 posts is ADKOT. While I totally agree with the points about the live performances (I got lucky catching a sober Ed in 2008 although he still is much better now), I think ADKOT is a really good album. It's better than I thought it would be if I'm honest. Live shows are in the moment even if you are watching them on YouTube, but that album I'll still be listening to from time to time in 10 years time if I'm still around. If the only thing we got out of the reununion was that and really annoying Fat Sammy(and it wasn't) then that would still have been great.

[Terry]

That is the one thing that pissed me off from that tour. They finally get back together, and Ed can't stay sober. I was there opening night in Charlotte and that night was magical and is my lasting memory from this era of the band. But lots of folks couldn't be there and got short-changed.

Even though Roth is a shadow of his former self these days, I find it hard to get mad at him, when it was Eddie that wasted away so many years. It's not Dave's fault that Eddie waited until Dave was nearly 60 before Ed got his shit together. I fault Dave a bit for some bad choices with how to attack some songs, but I really think some of these are all he can muster. I wonder if he can pull off EEAS any more, but it might be fun to watch him try. The John 5 record is probably the way to go now, if he's staying in the lower, bluesier register.

I refuse to be bitter about it. Got more than I would have ever imagined out of these guys after all that wasted time.

Yeah, I'm trying not to be too bitter about it, myself. Sometimes I wonder if my bitterness is less directed toward Van Halen than it is just a general grousing over the fact that I'm not exactly getting any younger, myself.

I'd agree from the boots I saw that the first leg of the 2007/2008 tour was pretty good. Ed, for the most part, was doing what he needed to and basically getting the job done. As you say, just to see those guys up onstage together again and playing fairly well in the beginning stages of that tour was somewhat astounding in some ways. When considering less than a year before those 2007 dates started Ed literally looked like he was drop dead any moment, never mind being in any condition to play well. And even Roth's last couple years of touring as a solo artist, entertaining as they were (in no small part because he had a slamming band as was playing smaller venues, which always sound better than arenas), weren't necessarily anything that I thought would immediately translate into being able to front Van Halen in front of 15,000 people. Going into that 2007 tour, I was wondering if Roth was going to basically keep doing his House Of Blues/"I'm only playing in front of 1,000 people, so I'm not gonna quite pull out all the stops" attitude. It was like, would Roth and Eddie even be able to get up in front of arena-sized crowds and serve up CVH stuff in a manner that wouldn't be embarrassing to watch? You can't blame someone for wondering, because it wasn't necessarily a given in my mind thinking back on the 2004 Van Halen tour and the Roth shows I saw in 2005 and 2006.

But they pulled it off, at least for the first leg of tour.

In 2012, all of the Van Halens were quite good. I will say that Alex was excellent in 2008 and 2012. Wolfie sounded good in 2012. Ed was playing better than he had in years...at least since the Van Halen III tour.

It sounds and feels to me that Dave could be doing better vocally live. Even with all the time that was wasted and the fact that he's old, it makes no sense to me that he's yelling out verses in a strained tone: why exert himself that way vocally, when all he needs to do is just sing the tunes? Is it that he's just bored singing them and yells out of key to keep things interesting for himself?

I'm not mad at Roth. I just don't hold with the approach he's taking live vocally anymore. It just doesn't sound good. Apparently none of the Van Halens or management are inclined to tell him the same, maybe because Roth and the Van Halens don't have any other options left other than the setup they have now if they want to tour and perform in front of sizable audiences.

[Terry]

I agree with a worrying amount of your last few posts.

When you get older things move slower but it seems quicker. The Van Halen reunion now in year 8 is crazy, stating the obvious that's longer now than the first time around if you only could the signed years.

It's like when you do the math on Ozzy's solo career and realize that almost all of the good stuff was the first 4 years (and his live setlist shows he agrees) and he's now been coasting on that for the next 30.

The one thing you didn't mention much in your last 3 posts is ADKOT. While I totally agree with the points about the live performances (I got lucky catching a sober Ed in 2008 although he still is much better now), I think ADKOT is a really good album. It's better than I thought it would be if I'm honest. Live shows are in the moment even if you are watching them on YouTube, but that album I'll still be listening to from time to time in 10 years time if I'm still around. If the only thing we got out of the reununion was that and really annoying Fat Sammy(and it wasn't) then that would still have been great.

A Different Kind Of Truth WAS pretty good in spots.

Not too crazy about Tattoo. Nor The Trouble With Never. Both of those come off to me like tracks that didn't make the cut of the 1998 DLR Band album - not in terms of origins, obviously, but in terms of tone and content. Stay Frosty and You And Your Blues kinda come off the same way to me.

As Is and HoneyBabySweetieDoll were quite good. Chinatown was a home run.

The rest of the tracks (if memory serves, along with Tattoo) were reworked Simmons/WB demos, and some of those revamps came out pretty good.

Overall, I'd agree ADKOT came out much better than I thought it would, considering the albums leading up to that were Van Halen III, the new Hagar tracks on BOBW and Dave's 2003 Diamond Dave album.

Put it this way: while I'm lukewarm at best regarding seeing the band live going forward, I'd still be interested to see what they could come up with in the studio.

[jero]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Van-Halen-David-Lee-Roth-Riaa-Platinum-Award-for-Eat-em-and-Smile-/231765583139?hash=item35f64e2523:g:544AAOSwgyxWVxkq

COOL!

[Carloscda]

Mike Portnoy was on WMMR here in Philly this morning and said Diamond Dave was supposed to be a surprise for the fans! And he also said that "They're" working on making that show happen in the near future!

[Anonymous]

I don't know about any of you fucks, but seeing Dave with a proper band, a band that really likes him, seeing everybody happy in the moment, even after the show was cancelled, makes me happy too.

That single picture washed away all the bizarre bullshit he's been pulling ever since he rejoined VH.

Dave, give us one last horribly sung concert with a proper, real band that respects you. Please!

[chefcraig]

I don't know about any of you fucks, but seeing Dave with a proper band, a band that really likes him, seeing everybody happy in the moment, even after the show was cancelled, makes me happy too.

That single picture washed away all the bizarre bullshit he's been pulling ever since he rejoined VH.

Dave, give us one last horribly sung concert with a proper, real band that respects you. Please!

And that is it in a nutshell. I don't wish to see Willie Mays stumbling about in the outfield, too old to catch his breathe or a ball. Muhammad Ali, fumbling through a speech about Parkinson's Disease. Brett Farve, refusing to give up with a final great season with the Vikings? Well hell yeah.

I want Dave to quit pissing about. Present an honorable, final performance, and allow me to purchase a DVD of it at Best Buy or Barnes and Noble on a Tuesday morning. Add a bonus disc of some of those hilarious vids from the 1980's, and I'm totally there for the send-off.

And a boxed set of the solo work (including outtakes, deleted tracks, live stuff from the EUAS band, and obscurities, (like "Tin Cup Chalice") and it would be a terrific Christmas present, as well as a fine, final dressing on the cake.

[Anonymous]

And that is it in a nutshell. I don't wish to see Willie Mays stumbling about in the outfield, too old to catch his breathe or a ball. Muhammad Ali, fumbling through a speech about Parkinson's Disease. Brett Farve, refusing to give up with a final great season with the Vikings? Well hell yeah.

I want Dave to quit pissing about. Present an honorable, final performance, and allow me to purchase a DVD of it at Best Buy or Barnes and Noble on a Tuesday morning. Add a bonus disc of some of those hilarious vids from the 1980's, and I'm totally there for the send-off.

And a boxed set of the solo work (including outtakes, deleted tracks, live stuff from the EUAS band, and obscurities, (like "Tin Cup Chalice") and it would be a terrific Christmas present, as well as a fine, final dressing on the cake.

Fuck yeah!

Who gives a shit about the Van Halen vaults of weird doodlings?

What we need is to raid Dave's vaults & release every single shit in there.

I bet one tape of Dave's puts the entire 10 albums - or maybe they're twenty by now, who knows? Might be thirty! - of Edtard's to shame.

Tin Cup Chalice... I forget how many times have I listened to that crappy recording of an absolutely fantastic music while lounging by the pool, eyes closed & the soft summer breeze caressing my sexy body. Great fucking song.

Baker's Street, Ain't that Peculiar, come on Dave! Give us a break!

[ZahZoo]

And that is it in a nutshell. I don't wish to see Willie Mays stumbling about in the outfield, too old to catch his breathe or a ball. Muhammad Ali, fumbling through a speech about Parkinson's Disease. Brett Farve, refusing to give up with a final great season with the Vikings? Well hell yeah.

I want Dave to quit pissing about. Present an honorable, final performance, and allow me to purchase a DVD of it at Best Buy or Barnes and Noble on a Tuesday morning. Add a bonus disc of some of those hilarious vids from the 1980's, and I'm totally there for the send-off.

And a boxed set of the solo work (including outtakes, deleted tracks, live stuff from the EUAS band, and obscurities, (like "Tin Cup Chalice") and it would be a terrific Christmas present, as well as a fine, final dressing on the cake.

Sorry to piss on your leg and tell it's raining... but... I think Diamond Dave's ability to present an honorable performance has reached the Mays stumbling and Ali fumbling realm.

We should appreciate this cancellation of the EEAS gang reunion as a gift for what our minds think it "could have been"... I'd lay good odds the positive vibe in this thread would have departed quickly on the ear cringing yelps and high pitched straining of Dave trying to belt out any of their former hits...

[damngoodtimes]

I agree with a worrying amount of your last few posts.

Hey, what the fuck is that supposed to mean!

I was really talking more about the live show, but yes, I also really think they outperformed expectations with ADKOT. I still listen to that one quite frequently. I think it holds up well. I don't really have a problem with the reworking of old demos. On the laziness scale, it's better than an album of half covers like Diver Down. At least it's their own songs.

In all seriousness, I think the use of the old demos was a smart move and probably critical to getting that classic vibe even on the all-new stuff.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to piss on your leg and tell it's raining... but... I think Diamond Dave's ability to present an honorable performance has reached the Mays stumbling and Ali fumbling realm.

We should appreciate this cancellation of the EEAS gang reunion as a gift for what our minds think it "could have been"... I'd lay good odds the positive vibe in this thread would have departed quickly on the ear cringing yelps and high pitched straining of Dave trying to belt out any of their former hits...

I think that by "honourable performance", Chef means doing a gig where Dave doesn't have to pretend he's in the band.

You make a good point, though. But maybe if the whole show was fun enough, we wouldn't give a shit about Dave fucking up the songs.

After all, I don't think the EEAS band is as serious a business as Van Halen. A lot more can be forgiven.

[chefcraig]

Fuck yeah!
Tin Cup Chalice... I forget how many times have I listened to that crappy recording of an absolutely fantastic music while lounging by the pool, eyes closed & the soft summer breeze caressing my sexy body. Great fucking song.!

For the uninitiated...and ferget the video clips, just dig the tune. This is from a live radio broadcast in sometime in 2002. Dig in and enjoy.