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[Panama's Meanstreet]

Brutal Honesty comes into play here. How was the show you went to, how do you anticipate the next show will be, etc?

[unchainedguitars]

I thought "Wannabe" came off really well...christ, it feels like yesterday when that song blew up on MTV & Radio.

I guess the Spice Girls reunion is worth the price, but i would have enjoyed maybe a solo bit from Baby or something physical from Sporty.

Would i go again?
Yes.

[ravennaloveseddie]

I thought "Wannabe" came off really well...christ, it feels like yesterday when that song blew up on MTV & Radio.

I guess the Spice Girls reunion is worth the price, but i would have enjoyed maybe a solo bit from Baby or something physical from Sporty.

Would i go again?
Yes.

you scare me.

[unchainedguitars]

Don't get me wrong, Ginger moved really well....and God bless Scary with all the crap she's had to deal with.

And, yes, i cried during "2 become 1."

[Panama's Meanstreet]

I thought "Wannabe" came off really well...christ, it feels like yesterday when that song blew up on MTV & Radio.

I guess the Spice Girls reunion is worth the price, but i would have enjoyed maybe a solo bit from Baby or something physical from Sporty.

Would i go again?
Yes.

Funny, yes. Now, how about we talk Van Halen? It's, in all fairness what this forum is on.

[BadassMOFO]

It just dawned on me that the title says "reviews" when it should have said "=VH= '07 tour reviews". I would assume that is why U.G. was goin' on about the Spice Girls? and whatever?

Ravenna, how'd ya like to copy and paste your review from Philly (was it?)? Anybody else?

No more Spice Girls reviews here!

*** Please be governed accordingly. ***

[A.J. Massey]

Why don't you just delete the posts? WTH I'll do it for ya.

[A.J. Massey]

Why don't you just delete the posts? WTH I'll do it for ya.

On second look, their goes the whole damn thread.

[Ron4406]

My full attention to the show in Philly was tainted by a drunk kid that I had to knock out. Dont get me wrong, I had a blast. I just missed like three tunes cause of this drunk wackjob.
Im goin again at Hershey. This show I got 24th row seats. So I'll give a full review after the show. Its not untill mid March though.

[AlexPGrimes]

did they sing and dance naked??? that's the only way I'd go see the spice girls...

[vhjump]

I saw them in Chicago and I thought they were good. They were a little stiff though but i expected that.

[A.J. Massey]

I know a couple of people who went to that show. One of them paid for his ticket on Ebay and it turned out to be a fake ticket.

[zozo5150]

I know a couple of people who went to that show. One of them paid for his ticket on Ebay and it turned out to be a fake ticket.

I hate when I hear that. That sucks, what assholes to sell fake tickets on eBay. I sold some tickets on eBay, but they were actually real. With idiots like that people will start to get scared and not buy tickets off eBay. I already am. Only real ticket sales people for me.

[A.J. Massey]

Here's a couple of reviews I got from friends.

Yes, I was in the same arena! And as Eddie say, Seattle loves it's Van Halen. All I can really say is that Van Halen put on fantastic show. I have a semi hang over and I’m at work. So I’ll keep this short and talk in a hushed tune.

David Lee is sounding better then ever. I can’t believe they pulled off “I’ll Wait” and “Little Dreamer”. David was spot on. David was meant to be the lead singer of Van Halen, period.

Wolfgang’s got a little funk in him. Loved the groove he was putting down on “So This Is Love” I thought Wolf did more then a good job on the backing vocals.

Alex is the shit. How old is he? Solid performance and the back bone for this band. The place was rocking.

Eddie was amazing. He is sporting a goatee, or the beginning of one. Compared to what I saw on the 2004 tour, Eddie looks and more importantly sounds great. To watch him interact with Wolf would make any father proud. Eddie just looked like he was having fun all night.

I really was impressed with how tight the guys sounded.

Atomic Punk, Romeo Delight, Little Guitars, So This Is Love and Jamie’s Crying are the songs that really stood out for me.

I’ll add more, maybe. I’m just fucking hung over. Being at work doesn’t make it any better. We had a little water issue at the house with all the rain this area has. So in conclusion Van Halen put on one hell of a show. Now, I need to sleep!

turns out my wife needed earplugs badly, as we came in during Marley's set and she was already holding her ears. one of the ushers took mercy on her and gave her a pair. since VH were considerably louder, this really was a godsend as she surely would've given me the stink eye for not getting her plugs as I had promised. for me, no bother at all, I love it loud. VH came on at about 8:45 and rocked the joint. Ed played a white Wolfgang for most of the show. Wolf had his Frankenbass. at one point, Ed had a Bumblebee type Charvel that was obviously for the auction and used another BB as well as his Frankie (or was it a replica?) Wolfie also used a T-bird. Roth sounded great, better than I've ever heard him live. a great song list and they blazed through them one after another. Al's solo was the same ole, same ole frankly, and the jumbotron was on a one second edit so that kind of sucked unless you suffer from severe A.D.D. and seeing that the audience was mostly 40+ adults, I think we all would've appreciated a slower pace. I really couldn't tell what Al was doing because of the editing. Ed's solo was also the same thing as always, some Cathedral, some various tapping, Eruption. he did take one of Al's drumsticks and hit the strings, but it was hardly spectacular. I don't know fellas, but I'm just really bored of his solo. Dave had a little story to start off Ice Cream Man which was not without it's charm and it gave us a chance to calm down a bit. overall, they were tight and I do hope they make a record and then another tour. the trend lately with the band is to have a smaller stage, but quite honestly, after seeing the Stones show a few years ago, I kind of want them to do a huge show, with a million lights, a million watts of power and some good extended grooves in some of the songs. show em how it's done!

I went to the show with my brother and my father in-law. The festivities started off with a free shuttle ride to the Target Center from our hotel. It was cool being driven in with a bunch of classic Van Halen fans. Our driver kicked ass. He went over curbs and drove on the sidewalk to make sure we got there on time.

Once at the venue, first stop was the pisser. My brother had to pee like a racehorse. I have never seen anyone run into a concert that fast before. I guess our shuttle driver didn't help his cause going over curbs and stuff. Next stop beer.
Once that was taken care of, we all got our Van Halen t-shirts. I got the shirt with the crown and wings (it kicks ass), and my bro and father in-law got the Runnin With the Devil woman one (it kicks ass, too). That shirt says "Runnin' With The Devil since '78" on front and "Van Halen World Tour 2007" on the back. Makes ya wonder about the second leg, eh? I meant to get this really cool bumper sticker. It had the classic VH logo and said "I can barely see the road". I am pissed I forgot to get it.

I didn't really check out the opening act...had other priorities.

We had pretty decent seats in the lower level. Once Van Halen hit the stage, it was non-stop kick ass rock and roll at it's finest for the next 2 hours or so. From "You Really Got Me" to "Jump", they rocked it out. No other band can rock like Van Halen rocks. I got chills when they played "Romeo Delight", my favorite VH tune. Wolfgang did the "Come on Dave...gimme a break" part in "Unchained", which was pretty cool. It really looked like they were all having a very good time. The best concert I have ever been to, thats for sure. Yes, Mike was missed. I got over that pretty quick, though. Honestly, my only complaint is Van Halen waited so damn long to do this tour. They are showing thier age. Dave doesn't do all of the "screams" the way he used to, and his high kicks in those leather pants look kinda funny. I'd be nervous watching him jump from the drum riser like he used to in the the old days. Although for 3 guys in thier 50's, it's pretty impressive the way they rocked the joint.

I thought Eddie was dead on all night long. I didn't notice any fuck ups. Dave did his "I forgot the fucking words" schtick. I have never seen the "real deal" before, so I can only compare this to Van Hagar or Dave solo. I saw Dave last year at Summerfest in Milwaukee, and I thought he kicked ass then....but he kicked even more ass Wednesday night. I saw the Van Hagar reunion in 2004, and left the arena somewhat disappointed. I know it's Van Hagar, so that is kinda disappointing itself. But for a Van Halen (or Van Hagar) concert, I was left wanting more of something (not more Ronald McDonald, thats for sure). There really is just no comparison. One band ROCKS, the other one sings pop tunes about love walking in and aliens.

This show was the opposite of the 2004 tour. I am satisfied now. All my Van Halen obsessing has been fulfilled. I can move on now. They finally gave me what I have been wanting. They could give a little more, in my opinion, but I will settle for this (for now).

The concert was worth every penny.

[ravennaloveseddie]

AJ--I thought you were going to copy my review from the other board and paste it here? Or did it turn out to be too long...?

[A.J. Massey]

I forgot about yours! I'll try and dig it up tommrow, it's getting late.

[ravennaloveseddie]

Ne'er mind, I got 'em!

Philly Oct 3, 2007
Just got home from tonight's show, exhausted from rockin' my ASS off, but had to post a short review:

Edward, as he always has, blew me away. He's simply the best guitarist I've ever heard. The dynamic between him and Dave was such a joy to see---hugging onstage, messing around with each other, trading jokes and dancing with each other---just like it used to be in the early days. F**kin' awesome.

Anyone who has any doubts about whether Wolfgang can bring it after tonight needs their hearing checked. I give extra large props to the kid--holding his own against the freight train that is his dad and uncle, even trading jokes with Dave, all in front of a dauntingly huge audience for the amount of experience he's got, and all the while with a smile on his face. While I won't say he was totally comfortable, I will say he was not un-comfortable either. And watching him and his dad together, well, it melted my heart.

Alex too, blew me away. Having not seen them for a very long time, I'd forgotten what he's like to watch live---holy crap! he's amazing! Great solo, great playing the whole show. Love him!

Dave, well, he's a pig. We know this. We still love him. He sounded great, he's getting back into the old shape---he did several high kicks and jumps which didn't look totally confident, but at least he's working on it....You can tell how joyful he is about this tour as well---I've never seen him look happier, and it's a good look for him.

All in all, I'd say I loved every minute of Van Halen. (Wasn't so thrilled with Kymani Marley, but I'm no great reggae fan--I suppose if you are, he was good.) The show was everything I wanted it to be and then some. The set list was heavy on the old stuff, some of which I'd never heard live, so again, amazing, and it went on and on and on....and no dang Ronald McDonald stuff thank goodness, (although I saw a guy in the parking lot with "Ronald McDonald Who?" t-shirt on...)

I have to disagree with earlier posters to this thread---or maybe the guys were just "on it" tonight---I honestly didn't catch any mistakes other than the fact that Dave never seems to be able to remember the lyrics....And "I'll Wait?" TOTALLY amazing---those other guys don't know what they're talking about, or maybe the guys were a little off on Monday. Not tonight!

And quit your whining about the keyboards being played offstage by someone else....how damn many hands do you think Edward has? He wrote the music,the fact that he isn't physically playing it at the moment doesn't make it any less cool in and of itself.

Ok, I can see I'm getting cranky now. I think I should wrap up and go to bed.

If you have the opportunity to go---GO!! You won't be disappointed...great great show....

[ravennaloveseddie]

And this one:

East Rutherford 11-3-07 Review (sorry this is pretty long)

Nov 4th, 3am: Just got back from East Rutherford, a three hour drive, and I'm still completely wired. Having seen the show in October in Philly, I can honestly say that the Boys just keep gettin' better. Another great show tonight--same set list naturally--some interesting happenings....

We had seats on the side of the stage again, only this time on Edward's side. A little further back behind--we couldn't see Alex because of the top of the ramp, but they thoughtfully had a large screen TV set into the side of the ramp that mirrored everything on the jumbo-tron at the back of the stage, and that was a treat, yes indeed...I'd say we were probably 60 yards or so, as the crow flies, from where Edward was playing most of the night. And we could see the sound technicians' board at the side of the stage in the pit as well (this becomes important later....)

Musically they were tighter than ever---Edward was/is amazing as usual (truth disclaimer: You'd be hard pressed to get me to say much negative about Edward--I'm kinda biased about him...sue me... ) That being said, I am also a musician, and there's nobody out there that impresses me more than he. His melodic lines are unique and beautiful, and his keen sense of rhythm and where a song is going give him the ability to weave in and out of the melody in a way that I've never heard anyone else accomplish. Dave is really stepping it up--his voice was in top notch shape tonight, there wasn't any of that pitchy-ness I heard in Philly--he's listening to his bandmates a lot better and it shows. They hit their 3 part harmony perfectly in 'Dance the Night Away' (where they've been doing a chorus a capella and getting the crowd to sing along?)--and I mean Perfectly. It's my fave Van Halen tune, and I was listening for it tonight, and it...well, it brought tears to my eyes it was so balanced and blended and beautiful. Nicely done, gentlemen...Some have talked about "voice enhancements" on the tour, and I have to say that if there are any, other than the weird but cool tech effects they've been using periodically on Dave's voice (like on his fade out at the end of 'Little Dreamer'), I could not detect any such thing tonight. Alex, again, rocked the roof off the place! He is simply the best drummer I've ever heard. His speed, his creative cadences, his more than obvious "I LOVE my job" attitude...He has no match. His solo kicked ass and then some. Wolfgang, however, is the real star of the evening---he is SO much more comfortable on stage, in just a month's time. His skill level has increased by leaps and bounds. He played what I'd call two "mini solos" tonight, starting off two different tunes (and sadly, my sleep deprived brain cannot recall which), and I say again, if anyone has any doubts after this evening if the boy can bring it, they need their head examined. Tap harmonics are difficult to pull off clearly on a guitar, let alone a bass, and he's got it down!! Way too cool....I couldn't be prouder if he were my own son. And this now brings me to the really interesting part of the evening....

There were some pretty major equipment problems tonight, from both Dave and Edward's standpoints. I noticed Dave motioning to the sound guys in the pit to turn it up kind of early in the show, and when it didn't happen he actually walked over, called one of them up the stairs and had a pretty animated discussion with him during one of Edward's bridges, somewhere around "Somebody Get Me a Doctor' or 'Beautiful Girls.' The next three songs went off without a hitch, including Dave and Edward hiding from each other on either side of the drum riser during 'Everybody Wants Some' and doing that "can you top this weird noise I'm making?" game I so love to watch them play. I'm trying my best to remember, but I think it was during 'So This is Love' that Edward started having problems hearing through his monitor. He looked over at the guys in the pit and motioned for them to turn it up, and motioned at the monitor. More than once during the song. 'Mean Street' sounded ok, but Edward still looked like he was having some sort of problem hearing. And then during 'Pretty Woman,' it was hard to hear Edward's guitar above the rest of the band. Again, he was communicating with the pit that something was wrong, but seemed to be getting no response. After Alex's solo, 'Unchained' sounded really good, a good balance of everything, but right in the middle Edward got a blast of Horrible feedback from his mike, so much that he actually recoiled from it, and it looked like it hurt...Then stuff really started to go awry... 'I'll Wait' started, and again Edward was obviously having trouble hearing through the monitor--he actually got down on his knees and put his ear up to it, motioning to the sound guys the whole time like, "See? I can't hear anything!!!" Through the next 4 songs he became increasingly frustrated---there were times again when it was hard to hear his guitar above the rest of the band, not because they were louder, but because it just wasn't loud enough. It almost seemed to be fading in and out of the correct volume...He was literally begging the sound guys to help him, and I mean on his knees, gesturing "I can't hear", BANGING his guitar on the stage, repeatedly telling them to cut something off; I thought he was going to cry at one point he looked so frustrated--and he made it so INFINITELY clear to all of us in our section that he couldn't hear, I don't know how the techs weren't getting it. And he was doing this all the while maintaining a level of performance that astounded me, given the problems he was having. By the end of 'Little Guitars,' the guy had just had enough. When 'Jaime's Cryin' started and he couldn't hear out of the monitor again, he kicked it off the drum riser in utter frustration. Then he turned and said (it was the first time I've ever been able to clearly read someone's lips) "Fix this!" and pointed to the monitor and went back to playing. Several seconds later, when he STILL couldn't hear, he dragged it over almost to the top of the stairs (tho' still facing him) and again clearly said, "Fix this!"and went back to playing and singing. After several more moments of what looked like non-action from the techs, he leaned over and yelled, "FIX IT! NOW!"--I know these were his words because they got picked up by the pa system, very clearly. I was a little afraid of him by then, to tell the truth--he was pretty darn pissed off. But I will say again, he kept playing and kept singing--he never missed a vocal cue. (I will stipulate here that I am NOT a sound technician, so I don't know what exactly was happening. I will say, however, if there is a problem you're working on, and whatever you're doing isn't solving the problem, TRY SOMETHING ELSE!) At the end of the song, he walked over, handed off his guitar, and then picked up the offending monitor and literally threw it down the stairs into the pit. (At this point, I felt so bad for him that I started chanting, "Eddie! Eddie!" and got the entire crowd in my section to chant it along with me--I wanted him to know that we'd seen it all and were on his side...I hope it helped...) Luckily he had some moments to cool off, since Dave was starting 'Ice Cream Man' next...And where does Wolfie fit into this whole shebang?? Well, he never missed a beat---he stepped up his playing when Edward's guitar inexplicably kept fading in and out and he carried the tunes like a seasoned professional, filling in the missing tones to keep the sound rich and familiar. He was calm, he kicked ass and took names---he really did an impressive job tonight. I can't wait for them to make a new album to hear what else he can do! Things seemed to go fine the rest of the night, although at one point I caught Edward glaring at the guys in the pit. His solo went off great---loved loved LOVED it when he played with the feedback at the stacks. That just kills me....
Now some might say that Edward's actions tonight were the actions of a prima donna jerk who's ruled only by his ego. I have to disagree strongly. When Edward entered rehab earlier this year, he posted a note on the VH webpage explaining that he didn't feel he could give his fans the 110% they deserved from him until he had gotten himself back on track and healthy. And at the press conference announcing the tour, again he spoke of giving the fans the utmost that Van Halen can give, of making sure they were at the top of their game before they came out to play with us all. Given those sentiments, I see Edward's actions tonight as those of a man who has great committment to giving his fans the best performance he has in him. And because of the problems he was having, he was frustrated that he wasn't able to live up to his own standards. Frankly, I think that'd piss anybody off. And you know what? That kind of committment only makes me love him more.

So again--another amazing show. If you get the chance, go see it. You'll be happy you did.

[A.J. Massey]

Thanks alot Ravenna!

[ravennaloveseddie]

No problem! I only wish there was another show I could catch so I could write another epic! haha!

[A.J. Massey]

No kidding! Maybe you can catch them in Arizona.

[ravennaloveseddie]

No kidding! Maybe you can catch them in Arizona.

Ah...ya got my hopes all up. I just checked their site--there isn't a show in AZ, darn it! I'll just have to wave at them as I drive by Dallas on the 26th....*sniff*

[A.J. Massey]

I'm sorry, they must have already played AZ.

[IronicA]

Van Halen at Amway Arena: Guitar genius and other stuff...
OrlandoSentinal.com


David Lee Roth, Ronald McDonald, Gary Cherone.

Whatever.

The guys in Van Halen had just better hope that the band’s guitarist doesn’t decide to quit.

On Thursday at a sold-out Amway Arena, it was Eddie Van Halen’s thunderous, inventive squall of feedback and machine-gun arpeggios that lifted Van Halen’s reunion show from mere nostalgia to something approaching high art.

It was fitting that it was his guitar that introduced the opening "You Really Got Me," and injected that song and others with the intricate subplot that balanced frontman Roth’s more predictable shtick.

As an aging rock star, Roth is no Mick Jagger. At times, he wasn’t even a Steven Tyler.

Although in impressive physical condition, Roth often looked more like a clown as he stomped around the big runway that snaked around the stage and out into the floor like a giant "S." It takes more than a sequined jacket and top hats to create a rock ‘n’ roll circus, as it turns out.

It also wasn’t helpful that an inhospitable sound mix rendered his shouted vocals almost unintelligible on many of the numbers. At least it favored the guitars and drums, the band’s most compelling assets anyway.

On bass, Eddie Van Halen’s teenage son Wolfgang was capable, even if he wasn’t charismatic. One might have imagined that he could have incited some visual mayhem on stage, but he mostly stood still and concentrated on the music.

More integral to the operation was drummer Alex Van Halen, who turned the ultimate arena rock cliche — the extended drum solo — into something special at the end of "Pretty Woman." That was cool, even if he did bear an uncanny resemblance to Spock on the giant video screen behind the band.

One thing can be said of this reunion trek: it offered plenty of bang for the buck. Van Halen’s main set was a solid two hours, powered by a generous assortment of hits that included "Dance the Night Away," "Runnin’ With the Devil," "Beautiful Girls," "Hot for Teacher" and "Panama."

What was it about Roth that didn’t make it? Compared with the acrobatic image of the old days, his strutting made him look a little like your dad imitating David Lee Roth.

He made the biggest impact when he was strumming acoustic guitar and waxing nostalgic about the good old days in the introduction to "Ice Cream Man."

Roth’s moment in the spotlight was shortly followed by a blazing 15-minute solo guitar showcase for Eddie Van Halen, in which his feedback drenched sonic excursions involving his famous finger-tapping and an electric drill were both over-the-top and thoroughly compelling.

By comparison, the one-song encore of "Jump" looked more like a bloated routine than something inspired — even with confetti shower and giant inflatable microphone.

For inspiration, Van Halen needs little more than its resident guitar hero.

[ravennaloveseddie]

Dallas - April 24, 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Went to the show at the American Airlines Arena tonight. To be honest, there were good points and not so good points. The opening act was a guy called Ryan Shaw, kinda reggae, kinda rock...dude has a set of pipes on him, I'll give him that...wow...and he's skilled at scat singing, really good at it...that sort of improvisational singing is hard to pull off well, and he did so very nicely. He's got a nice bluesy style when he's not singing reggae. I wasn't irritated by him as I was by Kymani Marley. And now...the main attraction!

First off, the set list:
You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Running With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Alex's solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot For Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Edward's solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
1984
Jump

I enjoyed the show...it seemed to me to be the same set list as on the first leg, but I don't have record of that so I don't know for sure. The band was tight, really tight and they all looked healthy and well rested. One thing I was interested to see was that there wasn't any huggy/kissy stuff going on anymore between Edward and Dave, but they still looked genuinely happy to be onstage together, like they were enjoying themselves. There were a lot of smiles and jokes being traded onstage, it was nice to see again.

The sound problems that plagued the first leg of the tour seem to be a thing of the past, thank goodness...The sound was clearer than the other shows I saw, much more crisp and balanced. I could hear each of their instruments and each of their voices discreetly, nothing muddied or missing.

Edward has his rig set up directly in front of Alex's drum riser now...wonder if that's helping him hear better...and he's still using the long electrical lead for his guitar...He started out the evening playing a new Peavey Wolfgang, switched for And the Cradle...to some black & white guitar with an odd marking instead of a name on the headstock (looked like a circle with an arrow through it - maybe one of the ebay guitars?), went back to the Peavey at Hot For Teacher, then switched to the Frankie at Little Guitars, which he played for the remainder of the evening. His playing was solid, at turns soulful, then rockin', then all out bluesy...He got into some really bizarre yet intriguing noises during the intro to Everybody Wants Some - scratches and screaming harmonics...weird stuff that I hadn't heard him do at the other two shows, but that I remember from way back in the day...I caught a few licks of Smoke on the Water towards the end of And the Cradle...that made me laugh. And in the middle of Somebody Get Me a Doctor, while he was trading licks with Dave & His Magic Voice, they got into something really ballsy and blues soaked that I didn't recognize, definitely a tune cos Dave was singing words...whatever it was, it kicked ass, and then it was gone. I was a little disappointed by his solo - it started out with a little Eruption, then went into an extended cut of Cathedral (which produced some crazy harmonic overtones in this arena - I had to close my eyes and just float with it - way cool), then he just went back into Eruption again, and then it was over. Way Too Short, IMO, and not enough variety (I was hoping for a little 316 in there.)

Dave was in fine fettle, as only Dave can be. His costuming has changed a little: he's not sporting the endless parade of the same jacket/different color that he couldn't seem to get rid of last year. His voice sounded great, for most of the show. Towards the end, during Little Guitars, you could tell his voice was starting to get tired...but that could be because all night he was employing his newly rediscovered shriek - that high pitched signature yelp of his? He's got it back, and he's very proud of that fact, as well he should be. Nobody can shriek like Dave...And of course he had some cockamamie story to introduce Ice Cream Man..this one was about his ex-girlfriend's dog, Detox, that he had trained to put it's front paws on the wall, as if it were being frisked by a cop, whenever he shouted, "Detox! It's a bust!"...As far as his antics go, they were pretty much the same as last year, except he didn't do that stupid "hang the hat on his weenie" trick during Dance the Night Away, for which I was glad. He did f*ck up during Panama, he was off beat and it was really obvious as there are some striking lighting effects going on at that particular point of the song, keyed to the beat, and he just wasn't hitting it...And sadly, the enormous inflatable mic hasn't been popped by a disgruntled fan yet...But hey, it went with the enormous (and enormously stupid looking) Napoleon hat he donned for 1984!

Wolfgang was once again, really good. His skill has increased again since I saw him last. He starts Romeo Delight with tap harmonics...very cool. And he's completely alone onstage (except for Uncle Alex) playing the beginning of So This Is Love...which he did with swingin' style. His vocals are so much better than they were - he's obviously more sure of himself than he was, and he's got more skill with which to back that sureness up. I didn't get the same excited feeling I got from him this show as I did before though...it seemed like since he's a little less on the edge with his confidence, and he's not quite gotten the showmanship thing down, he was just a little too laid back in his performance for me (this from the girl who said Mike Anthony was trying too hard...) - his hair was hangin' in his eyes hiding them, and he smiled but not quite as often as he had been...maybe he was just having an off night, personality wise...he wasn't the same perky Wolfie I'd seen previously.

Alex was the Man, as usual. He plays with his heart like his brother does...I've never seen a faster, more accurate drummer live than Alex Van Halen. And he just loves what he's doing; it's obvious that being onstage, making their music is what brings him happiness...He plays intricate beat patterns; his cadences are never boring. And man can he bring the thunder! But again, when it came time for his solo, it was pretty much the same Alex Van Halen drum solo he's played time and time again...not that it wasn't captivating and amazing, it was just nothing new. And no flaming gong. That should be required.

All in all, it was a rockin' show. Most of the tunes were great, some kicked ass in a major way; those songs, I think, that the band really enjoys playing: Mean Street, Unchained, Jamie's Cryin'...and then some were just kind of phoned in: Little Dreamer, Little Guitars were both played passably but with not a whole lot of energy. They came one right after the other, and in the latter half of the show, so that might have something to do with their rather standard issue performances. I still say it's worth the ticket price if you haven't seen them yet. It was worth my ticket price to see them all doing what they love, once more.

[A.J. Massey]

Thanks for the reviews guys. I really appriciate them.

Ravenna, it sounds like you had a good time.

Perhaps the "strange marking" on the headstock look like this:

[ravennaloveseddie]

I only got a quick glimpse or two of it on the jumbotron, but you could be right...that looks very much like what I saw...

[A.J. Massey]

Chances are you saw one of the new CHarvels. Check out Rons thread in "Eddie's Guitars" and see if he played one of those.