The Mighty Van Halen-an honest tour review

Cafe Society
1

I have seen more than one show from the current Van Halen tour with DLR, and thought I’d give a review for the curious. I just saw the Kansas City show last night, and it seemed to be consistent with the others.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am an unabashed Dave fan. Van Halen post-1984 is an abomination against God Himself. With that out of the way, here’s the short version;

Eddie - Top of his game. There is none better.
Alex - Stellar.
Wolfgang- (EVH’s son, replacing the non-invited Mike Anthony on bass) - Fantastic skills, and developing more personality and stage prescence with each show.
Dave- You have never seen or heard Dave sing this well, except on the albums themselves.
Overall show - Note-for-note perfection, for over two hours. Every classic song you’d want to hear.

And I leave each show just a little more disappointed.

Because I never thought it was possible, but Dave has had his wings clipped. No more banter. No more improv. No more decending boxing rings, assless chaps, nor midget bodyguards. The only time Dave looks to really be enjoying himself is during the encore, Jump, when he gets to ride his enormous inflatable microphone around the stage. I bet it took two months worth of negotiations just to include that.

So, I think it is what it appears to be; a cash grab. Don’t get me wrong, though, in no way are they half-assing the music. It is almost perfect each night. But it was almost perfect every night when Dave was touring with a VH cover band for the last 10 years, but at least then he was in his element. I would rather see those shows again.

Those of you who don’t like DLR, and want him to get his shit together and just sing the songs correctly, you got your wish.

And the show is much worse for it.

I look forward to them finishing the tour, shaking hands, and never getting together again.

2

I love all Van Halen, but they are better with Sammy in almost every way. The music has more depth (most of it) and maturity, and they looked less pathetic as they got older with Sammy. Fifty-plus year-old members of a band acting like they did in 1984 and earlier is just sad on so many levels. Don’t get me wrong, the music they created then was smash-the-dashboard, kick-ass rock, the way it was meant to be, but they were right to move on without Roth.

I’ll admit the live shows are probably better with Roth, but the music was slightly better for me without him.

Of course, this is coming from a guitarist who loves to play all of Eddie’s riffs and solos, so take it for what it’s worth.

3

I think that your observations hold true for most any big RNR tour. The shows are keyed-in, they have to coordinate backing tracks, instrument chages, lighting effects, big-screen camera-shots, and video clips. Most ofthe corporate-sponsored, revenue-driven megatours aren’t set up for spontaneity. More’s the pity, say I.

4

I think that your observations hold true for most any big RNR tour. The shows are keyed-in, they have to coordinate backing tracks, instrument chages, lighting effects, big-screen camera-shots, and video clips. Most ofthe corporate-sponsored, revenue-driven megatours aren’t set up for spontaneity. More’s the pity, I say.

5

I wanna see David Lee “Loco Del Calor” Wolfgang van Halen in Concert. That’s the whole fuckin’ point. Energy baby, Energy.

6

I never had much use for post-Dave Van Halen. I heard the first album at a keg party when it first came out, but had no idea who it was. Bought several cassettes the next day until I finally nailed it. VH II was another favorite, and even though I bought the next few albums, the first 2 were always my favorites.

Saw Van Halen twice, the first time on their tour of the first album before VH II came out or about that time ('79). Awesome shows.

As for the Diamond Dave banter mentioned in the OP…

Van Halen was playing Amarillo. Not big time, but they were tearing it up. Many joints being smoked, many being trown on the stage (along with the usual bra/panties) when somebody throws a Cheech and Chong quarter pounder up on the stage.

Dave just shuts the band down, full stop. Total silence except for some crowd noise. Dave reaches down, grabs that hog leg and takes a big ol’ drag. The crowd goes wild. Dave exclaims “I guess everything really IS bigger in Texas”, throws the doob back into the crowd and the band fires right back up where they were, full tilt.

They tore the place down that night, still one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and all because of the band dynamic that existed in those early albums.

Sammy Hagar was great in Montrose, and Van Halen sold lots of records with him singing, but Van Halen had David Lee Roth out front.