Dave 'I'm in...'

[Terry]

I will retract a little, my remark on the diminished abilities. There were many shows on the '15 tour where he not only sounded better than '12, but he popped out some howls that we thought were all but gone. He took ill at the end of July and it hampered is ability to finish the tour strong, but when you consider the fact that putzy pieces of shit like Justin Bieber cancel tours on account of a passing sore throat, Dave is a vintage showman of the likes we will never witness again.

To be sure, he was a one-of-a-kind frontman/'vintage showman'...and in the end, he was the only singer for Van Halen who really ever mattered in my book.

He and Ed had such a great blend, the result of which was never really equaled by either of them again once Roth left the band.

Should Roth retire from live performances, it will be a passing of an era. The question here is if Roth should stop touring now, or keep plugging away at it, keeping in mind that where he is at age-wise he's really not going to improve or get any better from this point forward.

I suppose as long as people are still willing to pay good money to see him, Roth should keep performing as long as he can. I can't blame the guy for wanting to stay active.

[Terry]

As a whole, I thought he sounded better on the '15 tour than the '12 tour and I think he can still deliver effective vocals, all things considered. Problem is that he doesn't appear motivated to try to work himself in to 07/08 shape and he still does himself no favors with some of his vocal choices, so yeah.

I can take or leave another tour, but I would like to squeeze another album out of these guys. Yeah, I know- good luck with that.

I'd be much more interested in another album from them than a tour.

[Seshmeister]

Problem is that he doesn't appear motivated to try to work himself in to 07/08 shape and he still does himself no favors with some of his vocal choices, so yeah.

Talking of vocal choices and future tours, here is something to think about.

Now that we have those choices recorded on the Tokyo Dome album, is that now laid down as the way these melodies should be done from now on?

Is Tokyo Dome canon?

[chuckjitsu]

Talking of vocal choices and future tours, here is something to think about.

Now that we have those choices recorded on the Tokyo Dome album, is that now laid down as the way these melodies should be done from now on?

Is Tokyo Dome canon?

I would certainly hope not. If, for example, he can go from singing DTNA properly to the poor (to me at least) way he's singing it now, I see no reason why he can't go back to singing it properly again other than simply choosing not to. Therein lies the rub- he can sing it correctly, he just chooses not to for whatever reason.

[Terry]

I would certainly hope not. If, for example, he can go from singing DTNA properly to the poor (to me at least) way he's singing it now, I see no reason why he can't go back to singing it properly again other than simply choosing not to. Therein lies the rub- he can sing it correctly, he just chooses not to for whatever reason.

THAT precise bad choice of vocal strategy of his as of late - that strained vocal yelp - ditching that would go a long way to making him listenable live again.

DTNA away is one of the more egregious uses of it . When he sang that tune in 2012, my reaction to hearing it at the show I went to was "why is he singing the song that way?" The same thing happened with Pretty Woman. Aside from it being a tune I could do without them playing live, all that is required from Roth is to sing it straight-up. And that is a tune well within his capabilities now to sing it exactly the way it was recorded.

It was the same thing with Dirty Movies during the verses on the last tour. That tune is the one that springs to mind first, but that 'technique' is one he drops into virtually every song in the set at some point during the tune.

Why is he doing this?

Is he bored with the tunes and doing this to keep things interesting for himself? Does he do this because he thinks it shows he's making an effort? Does he actually think it sounds good? Is it that nobody of consequence to him within the current Van Halen organization has the fortitude to tell him that the result sounds bad?

That's the shame of it, is that he could be doing much better (and the band on the whole would sound better) if he merely sang the tunes. And it would extend the lifespan of what he has left in the tank vocally.

[Seshmeister]

It's odd given the 100 interviews where he said everyone just wants Beethoven to play da-da-da-da.

[vandeleur]

Is Tokyo Dome canon?

I just stole it off the Internet and deleted it cos it wasn't very good but your way of disposing of it sounds better

[Satan]

The way Dave sings some of these songs now reminds me a little of how Joey Ramone sang some of his band's "biggest hits" late in his career. Sort of like "yeah, I'm goddamn sick of singing this song, but if I don't sing it, they'll never let me leave this concert alive, so let's fucking get it over with".

[chuckjitsu]

Why is he doing this?

Is he bored with the tunes and doing this to keep things interesting for himself? Does he do this because he thinks it shows he's making an effort? Does he actually think it sounds good? Is it that nobody of consequence to him within the current Van Halen organization has the fortitude to tell him that the result sounds bad?

That's the shame of it, is that he could be doing much better (and the band on the whole would sound better) if he merely sang the tunes. And it would extend the lifespan of what he has left in the tank vocally.

Million dollar questions right there. I honestly have no idea what he's thinking, but his vocal "stylings" are only making the songs worse. What I've noticed is that he seems to put more effort in to certain songs for whatever reason. Women in Love being a good example. He seems to focus and sing that one properly, including the lyrics. I don't know if that's a personal favorite of his or something, but the contrast between that song and DTNA or China Town (which was more about Dave singing the lyrics incorrectly 95% of the time) is jarring.

I think 80%-85% of the complaints about Dave live would go away if he just sang the fucking songs properly. <sigh> It is what it is at this point. This is why I'm pinning the hope I have left on a new album! Get off your god damn asses guys and get this done!

[DLR Bridge]

I'm down with them doing nothing but record from here on out, but it isn't going to go that way. I've immersed myself in so much other music out there since this last tour ended, knowing full well that a follow up to ADKOT would ridiculously take a couple of years. I wanted to get myself completely out of VH mode in the hopes of being pleasantly surprised for a change. Hearing Dave say "I don’t know that we’re going to record again – when that’ll happen – but I have a sense that it’s gonna happen" not only smacks of more wasted fucking time, it bolsters zero confidence that Ed has it in mind to do jack shit with Dave again.

Like Terry and so many here have said, if this is it, if this is where it all ends, I'm grateful they've given me so much to enjoy throughout the years. My biggest complaint us that they have no excuse for not doing more, besides possibly never really giving a shit in the first place. Giving a shit is a fan's job, and unfortunately, it doesn't pay very well.

[twonabomber]

No way they can just tour for the hell of it. Not in sheds, not the way the last tour sold, and even that was in support of the live album. There's a big drop down from 17,000 seat sheds and arenas, unless they put the stage in the middle of an arena floor and only made seats in front of the stage available. Or even tarp off the upper deck.

I don't even know if I'd be interested in a show where they played Fair Warning in it's entirety, with a shorter set of hits on either end. I doubt they'd cuntsider a tour like that anyways.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

It kills me that the writer thinks that saying nothing to fans and signing 2 guitars over 9 months counts as being busy.

You guys probably know this already, but that is Leslie, aka "Greeneyedmurder", who went to the Cafe Wha? show with WARF.....

[Va Beach VH Fan]

No way they can just tour for the hell of it. Not in sheds, not the way the last tour sold, and even that was in support of the live album. There's a big drop down from 17,000 seat sheds and arenas, unless they put the stage in the middle of an arena floor and only made seats in front of the stage available. Or even tarp off the upper deck.

I don't even know if I'd be interested in a show where they played Fair Warning in it's entirety, with a shorter set of hits on either end. I doubt they'd cuntsider a tour like that anyways.

I've been saying this for a while, but I think they should seriously consider teaming up with another band if they were to tour again....

Now, who would that be? Haven't given it that much thought, but it would have to get through the DLR/EVH/AVH ego machine....

[Seshmeister]

You guys probably know this already, but that is Leslie, aka "Greeneyedmurder", who went to the Cafe Wha? show with WARF.....

I didn't but either way it was kind of a silly line...

[Seshmeister]

I don't even know if I'd be interested in a show where they played Fair Warning in it's entirety, with a shorter set of hits on either end. I doubt they'd cuntsider a tour like that anyways.

Doing a full album is the fashion these days. I think if Wolfie said they were to do Fair Warning they would do it as recent years have confirmed he is definitely in charge of setlists.