Van Hagar: Runnin' With The Devil, Philadelphia 6/17/04

[MUSICMANN]

Your right on that, When i say improvise i don't mean just going off on some other tangent. I mean he plays the song as close as he can, but sometimes his runs are not even near perfect and can sometime's go off a little bit. He's always said when going out and playing live you need to try and be as accurate as possible, but what i heard, it sounded like RWTD being played live. He hit the signiture riffs and played both solo's, what's the fucking big deal.

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by Matt White
Sorry to disagree Bro, but I'm not sure What you mean by this. I have seen Van Halen several times, as well having several concerts on video (Boots & otherwise) and I have never seen EVH improvise in a song. I've spent countless hours watching EVH perform and I really don't think of him as an "improviser".
Don't get me wrong, it might not be the EXACT same as the record, but its always very close. His solo, some, but generaly speaking he plays it the way it is on the cd/cassette/album.

DAVE OR THE GRAVE BABY!!!

Well, Matt, I'm going to take it a step further. I've seen VH live twice, both with Hagar (forgive me), and seen the Without a Net VHS once, heard more than my fair share of boots, and I don't think his solo's changed at all since 1986. 316, noodling, mean street intro, noodling, tapping, cathedral, noodling, tapping, eruption, noodling, tapping, done. Maybe not necessarily in that particular order, per se, but the track pattern of an Edward Van Halen guitar solo post 1986 has been, for me, pretty easy to guess and with very little surprises.

This is not to say that it's a good solo and on occasion he pulls out some interesting shit...but nothing that's really surprising.

I can't recall having been truly amazed by an Ed solo for a long ass time....

[Matt White]

Originally posted by MUSICMANN
Your right on that, When i say improvise i don't mean just going off on some other tangent. I mean he plays the song as close as he can, but sometimes his runs are not even near perfect and can sometime's go off a little bit. He's always said when going out and playing live you need to try and be as accurate as possible, but what i heard, it sounded like RWTD being played live. He hit the signiture riffs and played both solo's, what's the fucking big deal.

Yup, and I see what your saying. But, what I think evrybody else here has been saying is that the solo that EVH played in that HORRIBLE vid was both WRONG and TERRIBLE. And that is something I can ASSURE anybody ahs NEVER been said about EVHs playing.......EVER!!!! That was like seeing and hearing BABE FUCKING RUTH pop out to the catcher and CRY like a girl when he did it!!!!! FUCKING EMBARESSING AND HEARTBREAKING!!!!!


FUCK YOU Van Hagar!!!!

[MUSICMANN]

I wish someone could put the vid back up so i could watch it a few more times, and see for myself how Ed fucked up. The first time i watched it, i wasn't paying that close of attention to Ed, as i was laughing my ass off at Spammy.

[Panamark]

Originally posted by MUSICMANN
Panamark, i am no Ed sheep, I simply state the facts. I am a guitar player myself, going on about 8 yrs. and i know when someone hits a bad note and when someone is improvising a solo. And i can't believe that by all the posts and topics i have started here, that you or anyone else here would even think that about me. The thing is that seeing the RWTD vid, it surely sounds like RWTD, and sure the solo is one of the easiest to play, but i just can't see how anyone can say he was just so fucking out of it that he fucked it up. If it was fucked up, there was only two guys fucking it up, and that was Spammy and Anthony.

Dude, Im totally convinced we must have watched different vids.
In this one he starts to play the riff correctly, but fucks up
the last notes everytime. Its *SO* obvious its embarrasing.

Im giving you the benefit of the doubt, you are a good poster,
Im sure you are watching/listening to something different.

He fucks this up almost as bad as unchained.

[Don Corleone]

Originally posted by Panamark
:He fucks this up almost as bad as unchained.

I think that sums it up perfectly.

[BigDaddyD]

I have the vid if someone wants to host it.

[darkknight]

I've seen VH with Dave and Sam numerous times. I can say that Ed improvised on songs and solos. Watch the video of Unchained from the Oakland show in 81. He doesn't even come close to the recorded solo. He doesn't even play the intro the same. But, since they got Sam in the band, he has pretty much stuck to the albums as much as possible.

I watched the RWTD vid and Ed screws up. It's not improvised. Mike is off key and Sam is....well, Sam is his goofy self.

Oh, and I've been playing guitar for 25 years. I think I know when someone screws up.

[Matt White]

Originally posted by darkknight
I've seen VH with Dave and Sam numerous times. I can say that Ed improvised on songs and solos. Watch the video of Unchained from the Oakland show in 81. He doesn't even come close to the recorded solo. He doesn't even play the intro the same. But, since they got Sam in the band, he has pretty much stuck to the albums as much as possible.

I watched the RWTD vid and Ed screws up. It's not improvised. Mike is off key and Sam is....well, Sam is his goofy self.

Oh, and I've been playing guitar for 25 years. I think I know when someone screws up.

Good Work DARKKNIGHT. I've been playing for 24 years and I don't agree with you, not completely. While EVH has been known to play a DIFFERENT solo or intro from time to time and tour to tour, I think it's different from playing something TOTALY "off the CUFF" or UNREHEARESED. From watching that RWTD vid, it's clear that EVH is NOT up to his USUAL HIGH STANDARDS. He is struggling and his technique is extremely SLOPPY, something NOBODY has ever said of him in his ILLUSTRIOUS CARRER!!!!HELL, it's not even C.C. deville standards!!! And that is a FUCKING EMBARESSEMENT!!!!


FUCK YOU Van Hagar!!!!

[Lou]

Originally posted by Matt White
Sorry to disagree Bro, but I'm not sure What you mean by this. I have seen Van Halen several times, as well having several concerts on video (Boots & otherwise) and I have never seen EVH improvise in a song. I've spent countless hours watching EVH perform and I really don't think of him as an "improviser".
Don't get me wrong, it might not be the EXACT same as the record, but its always very close. His solo, some, but generaly speaking he plays it the way it is on the cd/cassette/album.

DAVE OR THE GRAVE BABY!!!

Well I wouldn't go THAT far. On Phoenix 9/28/81 he improvises during the middle of Romeo Delight, and on the Hide Your Sheep tour he did improvise during the Somebody Get Me A Doctor/I'm So Glad jam, especially as the tour went on. SGMAD/I'm So Glad though is probably the only song you can point to where you can truly say that every night was a different performance.

Actually there's also one more--Las Vegas 5/15/84. The first 40 minutes of this was spread on DVD recently. Dave got hit in the eye with a coin that someone threw from the crowd, and he didn't come out for I'll Wait. So after Eddie does the keyboard bit and goes into the first verse, and it's clear that Dave is getting medical attention, him and the band just go off and stall for 5 minutes. So it's unfair to say that he didn't improvise or that he can't improvise.

However there is NOTHING improvisational about this horrid performance of "Runnin' With The Devil." He couldn't even get the RHYTHM down! I mean if you can't get the notes at least get the rhythm.

So MUSICMANN, I'll say it again, you are an idiot if you think this performance was even average. It was BAAAAAAAAD. BAAAAAAAHHH!

[Lou]

Bump. I want to know, from those who were OK with this performance, what did you hear GOOD about it? What was pleasing to hear? The fact that they simply tried to play it?

[MUSICMANN]

Lou, i understand where you are coming from. i never said it was a great performance at all, i just said that from time to time throughout the yrs., that Ed does go off track a little during live performances. That's all. And i think calling me a idiot is very pussified of you dude.

[BigDaddyD]

pussified is such a pussified word.

[MUSICMANN]

Yea, i could sit here and call him a cock smokin, fuck stick, shit for brains, but i will not go that route. i have respect for everyone's opinion's here, that's what makes this site rise above the rest.