Van Halen

[BigChill]

I walked up to the Pond last night on a last minute whim and snagged a nice lower ticket for $35.00. I know someone was going to see them in Vegas on News Years Eve ( Flap ?), so a few quick notes.

Eddie can still play like a madman, seems like he is always playing on the neck of the guitar, and rips it up. Wolfgang filled in nicely, that kid seems to be having the time of his life. Alex can still hit the skins, even has a very nice solo in the middle of the set.

Dave from what I heard still has the chops, but that is where the dissapointment comes in. I am not sure if it was the Honda Center or just bad sound, but you could barely here Dave's voice above the music. Was the music just too loud, or has Dave lost his voice so they feel the need to make him barely audible? There were some nice breaks in the music where he sang and he sounded fine to me.....very strange, why would you re-unite with Roth and then make it so your not able to hear him very well.

I hope the sound issues are better is Vegas, as it is a very entertaining show, a nice novelty act after all these years apart at the very least.

For 35.00 , it was well worth it..........for 100 plus dollars, not quite sure.

If anyone saw them earlier, let me know if you had the same sound issues. Damn, I think I sound a little like Bronx Darren now :)

[jas & max]

Hey Randy!
My brother and I went to the Tuesday night show. I had heard the same issues regarding the sound leading up to the show. We were on the floor in the 28th row. From where we were sitting, the sound was exceptional. A buddy of mine went to San Diego and said it was not mixed well with the vocals being drowned out. The show was excellent with Dave really trying to force the smiles on his face. Alex is a decent drummer who fits Van Halen perfectly. Wolfgang needs to move a bit more, but I couldn't tell any major screw ups on bass. Eddie is so fun to watch and listen to. He's Eddie Van Halen...Nuff said. I went back to watch some of the old Fair Warning era videos. I think Dave is more ripped(and waxed) now than he was in his prime. I expected his voice to sound beat up. It wasn't. I expected him to skip a lot of the lyrics. He didn't. He has always been very flamboyant. He might be a bit too flamboyant now. I think he has toned down the swagger quite a bit. Maybe fear of EVH relapse. Maybe nice to have a massive payday again. Who knows? It was nice to go back to my teenage years to that night at the Forum and watch these guys play.

On the traffic note.......It sucked. The rain wasn't that big of a factor. I was scouting restaurants around 5:30. JT Schmids was packed with people and scalpers. I parked at Starbucks by the stadium theaters. We had dinner at the King's Fish. Left at 7:30, got parked at 8:15, and the show started at 8:30. It's no more than a quarter mile. For the Bruce shows in April(assuming this set list get mixed up a bit), we will park at the theater and walk over.
Merry Christmas!!!!!!

[MJMAC]

I saw the show in Indianapolis in October and had the same sound troubles that you were speaking of....it seemed that daves vocals were too low. Conseco Fieldhouse has sound issues anyway but the opening act(Bob Marleys son) sounded fine so I'm blaming this one on VH sound people. For $175 a ticket(face value..I got mine cheaper on ebay) the show should be perfect. It was a fun night though...with better sound it could have been a GREAT night...

[BigChill]

Hey Randy!
My brother and I went to the Tuesday night show. I had heard the same issues regarding the sound leading up to the show. We were on the floor in the 28th row. From where we were sitting, the sound was exceptional. A buddy of mine went to San Diego and said it was not mixed well with the vocals being drowned out. The show was excellent with Dave really trying to force the smiles on his face. Alex is a decent drummer who fits Van Halen perfectly. Wolfgang needs to move a bit more, but I couldn't tell any major screw ups on bass. Eddie is so fun to watch and listen to. He's Eddie Van Halen...Nuff said. I went back to watch some of the old Fair Warning era videos. I think Dave is more ripped(and waxed) now than he was in his prime. I expected his voice to sound beat up. It wasn't. I expected him to skip a lot of the lyrics. He didn't. He has always been very flamboyant. He might be a bit too flamboyant now. I think he has toned down the swagger quite a bit. Maybe fear of EVH relapse. Maybe nice to have a massive payday again. Who knows? It was nice to go back to my teenage years to that night at the Forum and watch these guys play.

On the traffic note.......It sucked. The rain wasn't that big of a factor. I was scouting restaurants around 5:30. JT Schmids was packed with people and scalpers. I parked at Starbucks by the stadium theaters. We had dinner at the King's Fish. Left at 7:30, got parked at 8:15, and the show started at 8:30. It's no more than a quarter mile. For the Bruce shows in April(assuming this set list get mixed up a bit), we will park at the theater and walk over.
Merry Christmas!!!!!!


Jason,

Thanks for the feedback, maybe the sound was a bit better from the 28th row, but I was back in the lower level by the soundboard and really struggled to hear Dave's lyrics, but it was a fun time never the less.

As for a place for the Bruce pre-party in April, JT Schmidts is the perfect place location wise, but high price drinks and very crowded in the bar area and patio. It can be close to difficult to get food and drinks served to you in it's peak time before the shows.

I would suggest a place a bit further down Katella, off Struck ave called Danny K's. Very huge sports bar with better prices and parking. It is walkable to the arena, just a bit further from where you walked from, but not much, and if you get there early enough, the parking is free.

Glad you enjoyed the Van Halen show, like I said for 35.00, it was the best bargain in town :)

See you in April !!

[mhafinancial]

His divorce from Valerie Bertinelli became effective today. Not sure which one is better off. :biggrin:

[flap]

We'll be seeing them in Vegas on the 30th at mgm. I hope the sound improves. I saw them in Fresno a few years ago with sammy and michael. It was a great show. I think it was sammy's B-day that night and they had a great time on the stage that night.

[blaktransam]

Saw them in Chicago earlier in the tour (Allstate).
Really good show.

The only comment I have about the sound was that it was literally the loudest concert I have ever attended.
My ears truly hurt afterward.

[Brucesheep]

Saw them in Chicago earlier in the tour (Allstate).
Really good show.

The only comment I have about the sound was that it was literally the loudest concert I have ever attended.
My ears truly hurt afterward.

Maybe you are not use to Heavy Rock shows? AC/DC is a louder concert no matter where you are sitting in the arena. You will hear the ringing the next day.

[blaktransam]

Apparently not! Although a vintage model, the bta is not just out of the showroom you know.

[BronxDarren]

I'm going to see them in March at MSG, so I'll be sure to let you know how the sound compares. it's a total joke to not be able to hear Dave's vocals!!! Maybe they're using Bruce's sound people?

if you wanna hear crystal clear sound, with a perfect mix and completley audible vocals, go see Stevie Wonder. if I was Bruce or someone in his camp and I went to see Stevie, I would be really, really embarassed. It's like the Patriots compared to the Dolphins. One is a big league, professional team, and the other is a joke.

[texasbossfan]

saw van halen last night in houston and all i can say is eddie hasn't looked and played so good in years. just watching him is worth the show. as the rest of you have mentioned the vocals were muddied. but a lot of shows at toyota have this problem (note to bruce's sound people - DO A SOUND CHECK ON APRIL 14).

since eddie came to houston for his cancer treatment, i was very pleased that he didn't have a cigarette hanging from the fret of guitar. not sure if he just didn't want his doctors here to see it or has he quit that evil cancer stick.

and another note, it sure looked like he was wearing a wedding ring. in the blog i read today, it said valerie was at the dallas show. hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

both eddie and david are the fittest 50+ years olds i have seen in a long time. as much as i know bruce works out, do you think he has a six pack like the 2 of them? they probably have less than 10% body fat between them.

great show, first concert of the year and more to come. john fogerty in march at the rodeo and hope he puts on as great a show as he did 2 years ago at the rodeo. even the sound is better at the cavernous reliant stadium than at toyota.

so bruce, please check the sound at toyota, i sure don't want to read how bad the sound was in the blogs like i have for van halen, bob seeger and clapton in the last 12 months. i know the sound can be good. it was for u2 and my brother said stevie wonder sounded great.

[jas & max]

TBF,
Has the setlist changed?
You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight (with lyrics added from the Who's "Magic Bus")
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Alex Van Halen drum solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Eddie Van Halen guitar solo medley
Ain't Talkin''Bout Love

Encore:
1984 (intro)
Jump

[texasbossfan]

same setlist. and from what i read about the dallas concert same story before ice cream man that dlr knows the fill-in-the-blank city like the back of his hand.

it was a fun show, the crowd was really into it. pretty much everyone stood throughout the whole show. just wish the sound would have been better. i don't know why a few bands can have great sound, but the majority have muddied sound. let's hope bruce's soundmen get it right in april.

[thejudge]

TBF,
Has the setlist changed?
You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight (with lyrics added from the Who's "Magic Bus")
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Alex Van Halen drum solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Eddie Van Halen guitar solo medley
Ain't Talkin''Bout Love

Encore:
1984 (intro)
Jump

Exact same setlist as in OKC last week. I think they play the same one each night.

[jas & max]

Too bad on the setlist. I would have thought it would be changed up just to break the monotony a bit. Still a great show.

[thejudge]

Too bad on the setlist. I would have thought it would be changed up just to break the monotony a bit. Still a great show.

Wolfie is actually the one who picked/designed the setlist. Only songs from 1984 and earlier, no Van Hagar songs allowed.

[jas & max]

Very cool Wolfie designed the setlist. I was pretty confident that no 5150 and beyond would be played. I was hoping for a change of ANY kind in the day to day setlist. I'm glad they're back together.

[Woolworth Cat]

Not buying the "Wolfie designed the setlist" line in the least. Typical VH PR. This show was designed top to bottom by Ed and Al, with perhaps some input from Wolf and Dave. No surprise they would not play anything post 1984, not with Dave at the helm.

But Ed (one of my first rock heroes and whom I still greatly respect for his musical abilities) is still a Class-A jerk. Not inviting M. Anthony along was classless. Throughout the circus that was VH through its relevant years, Mike and Sam were the sober and reasonable ones. Due to Ed's ego, we now get a watered-down, Anthony-less version of VH at ridiculous prices.

[thejudge]

Not buying the "Wolfie designed the setlist" line in the least. Typical VH PR. This show was designed top to bottom by Ed and Al, with perhaps some input from Wolf and Dave. No surprise they would not play anything post 1984, not with Dave at the helm.

But Ed (one of my first rock heroes and whom I still greatly respect for his musical abilities) is still a Class-A jerk. Not inviting M. Anthony along was classless. Throughout the circus that was VH through its relevant years, Mike and Sam were the sober and reasonable ones. Due to Ed's ego, we now get a watered-down, Anthony-less version of VH at ridiculous prices.

Anthony is touring with Sammy's band now, maybe one reason why he wasn't invited.

[Woolworth Cat]

Anthony is touring with Sammy's band now, maybe one reason why he wasn't invited.


No, it's the other way around. Ed has a beef with Sam (go figure) and was miffed that Mike toured with him and the Wabos while VH was on its long, indefinite hiatus. Well documented that Ed did not want Mike on the '04 tour with Sammy, but relented when Mike agreed to be paid on salary rather than as a full-fledged member.

Don't mean to be a wet blanket on the VH love. They were my favorite band for many years, and I saw them every tour from '81 through Sammy's first in '86. But Ed's ego has trumped the fans for a long time. If the Roth ouster was debatable, the Cherone for Sammy move should lay waste to any doubt as to whose ego controlled. Just have a hard time supporting Ed through this current project that wishes to ignore Anthony's contributions, not for illness or unwillingness on Mike's part, or for any other legit reason.

[thejudge]

No, it's the other way around. Ed has a beef with Sam (go figure) and was miffed that Mike toured with him and the Wabos while VH was on its long, indefinite hiatus. Well documented that Ed did not want Mike on the '04 tour with Sammy, but relented when Mike agreed to be paid on salary rather than as a full-fledged member.

Don't mean to be a wet blanket on the VH love. They were my favorite band for many years, and I saw them every tour from '81 through Sammy's first in '86. But Ed's ego has trumped the fans for a long time. If the Roth ouster was debatable, the Cherone for Sammy move should lay waste to any doubt as to whose ego controlled. Just have a hard time supporting Ed through this current project that wishes to ignore Anthony's contributions, not for illness or unwillingness on Mike's part, or for any other legit reason.

Trust me, I would have much rather seen Mike instead of Wolfie. But I also am one that likes Sammy better than DLR. Sammy, IMO, has a much better voice, whereas DLR is more of a 'showman'.

The fact that Eddie wants to or has removed Mike's name from all the credits on past projects speaks volumes about Eddie's ego.

[flap]

http://quicksilverscreen.com/watch?video=25326