[SPOILER ALERT] Van Halen 2012 tour discussion

[Zint]

Looks like Dave decided to go with the Britney mic..

The Britney mic, thats funny. Did'nt Garth have that mic first?

I dunno...Madonna might have had it before Garth.

[James Bond]

Looks like Dave decided to go with the Britney mic..

The Britney mic, thats funny. Did'nt Garth have that mic first?

I dunno...Madonna might have had it before Garth.

And Sammy had it before both of them.

[dalsh327]

Looks like Dave decided to go with the Britney mic..

The Britney mic, thats funny. Did'nt Garth have that mic first?

I dunno...Madonna might have had it before Garth.

This is where it was made famous, but Kate Bush did it first... they had to use a wire hanger to make the headset for her.

[Turn_It_Up]

Still a handful of tunes left to go at the Indy show, but looks like tonight's tweak was to replace Mean Street with Hear About It Later. Dirty Deeds will be ecstatic.

Love they added HAIL, just wish they woulda picked another song(PW, cough, cough) to replace. But anyways, REALLY cool they are making tweaks show to show. Makes looking forward to your show(s) that more fun.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Turn_It_Up

[James Bond]

Still a handful of tunes left to go at the Indy show, but looks like tonight's tweak was to replace Mean Street with Hear About It Later. Dirty Deeds will be ecstatic.

Love they added HAIL, just wish they woulda picked another song(PW, cough, cough) to replace. But anyways, REALLY cool they are making tweaks show to show. Makes looking forward to your show(s) that more fun.

I do agree. You're right, they're replacing the wrong songs. No Mean Street? Ouch. That hurts.

We need to build a time machine, go back to 1963 (one year before the release of Pretty Woman) and stop Roy Orbison from writing the song. He never writes it, Van Halen can't cover it, it disappears from the set list forever!

[ITW 2012]

Mean Street should be a fixture. I'd give anything to hear Dirty Movies live.

[JONEZY]

Very cool they played "Hear about it later". One of my all time favorites.

[dalsh327]

Mean Street should be a fixture. I'd give anything to hear Dirty Movies live.

Wolf has Twitter, he actually has a say in the setlist. I'd like to see that one and Sinners Swing show up.

[Zint]

Any word on how Kool and the Gang is being received?

[JONEZY]

Any word on how Kool and the Gang is being received?

I talked to a guy who went to the first 2 shows. He said they were good, couldn't believe how many songs they played that he actually remembered from the old days. Unusual choice for an opening act, but so far it seems like its working.

By the way, the only song I remember from Kool and the Gang is "Celebration".

[Zint]

Any word on how Kool and the Gang is being received?

I talked to a guy who went to the first 2 shows. He said they were good, couldn't believe how many songs they played that he actually remembered from the old days. Unusual choice for an opening act, but so far it seems like its working.

By the way, the only song I remember from Kool and the Gang is "Celebration".

Oh cool,thanks for the info.I defintely plan to show up for their set.

I looked them up on youtube and actually knew more of their songs than I thought I did.

[James Bond]

Mean Street should be a fixture. I'd give anything to hear Dirty Movies live.

Wolf has Twitter, he actually has a say in the setlist. I'd like to see that one and Sinners Swing show up.

If I'm not mistaken the 2007/2008 set list was picked entirely by Wolf.

Let's Twitter the hell out of him asking him kindly to remove Pretty Woman from the set.

Any word on how Kool and the Gang is being received?

I talked to a guy who went to the first 2 shows. He said they were good, couldn't believe how many songs they played that he actually remembered from the old days. Unusual choice for an opening act, but so far it seems like its working.

By the way, the only song I remember from Kool and the Gang is "Celebration".

What about Ladies Night?

[tat2d1]

By the way, the only song I remember from Kool and the Gang is "Celebration".

I thought that too, then I remembered "Cherish", "Ladies Night" & "Tonight"

[Turn_It_Up]

By the way, the only song I remember from Kool and the Gang is "Celebration".

I thought that too, then I remembered "Cherish", "Ladies Night" & "Tonight"

You guys don't remember this?

Supposedly this was all Dave's doing--he lobbied Ed hard for Kool & The Gang and Ed finally gave in.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Turn_It_Up

[ironmt]

No Jamies Cryin Is a huge letdown. One of there best songs In my opinion.

[Zint]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq0KMvYZeic

[moreblack]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq0KMvYZeic

that's the one I know the band for, although not from Pulp Fiction...

[tat2d1]

No Jamies Cryin Is a huge letdown. One of there best songs In my opinion.

I agree. I can't believe they are choosing to play Pretty Woman over Jamie's Cryin'.

[James Bond]

No Jamies Cryin Is a huge letdown. One of there best songs In my opinion.

I agree. I can't believe they are choosing to play Pretty Woman over Jamie's Cryin'.

There's plenty of songs that should be chosen over Pretty Woman. Hell, I'd actually take Dancing in the Street over Pretty Woman if they want to do a Diver Down cover song.

I never thought I'd be saying that.

[Turn_It_Up]

Sounds like an eventful show at the United Center in Chicago last night. I hate that place for concerts, why I chose the Allstate Arena show instead.

Air conditioning fans were blasting at Dave, his headset cutting out, Dave fuming at the crew. etc. Good thing is, he actually went back to a mic, hope this lasts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhdm6xCQKBE

Mean Street back in the setlist, so maybe they'll be alternating with HAIL.

==================

Concert review: Van Halen at the United Center

February 25, 2012

Greg Kot | Music critic

Van Halen was pretty much all business Friday at the sold-out United Center, and that’s saying something when that eternal hedonist, David Lee Roth, is involved.

The ’70s metal giants are back with three-quarters of their original lineup, with Eddie and Alex Van Halen joined by Eddie’s 20-year-old son, Wolfgang, on bass. They were an impressive power trio, throwing up a brick wall of sound with the youngest Van Halen in particular stepping up his game. On a 2007-08 tour, Wolfgang was an understandably timid teenager replacing band cofounder Michael Anthony. On Friday, his vocal harmonies were strong and sure, and his bass playing was agile enough to slip between Alex’s stampeding kick drums and Eddie’s slaloming guitar leads.

On a spare stage, backed by a wall of amplifiers and an IMAX-style video screen that essentially blew up the on-stage proceedings to Godzilla proportion, the band slammed out 24 songs in two hours. No fuss, few frills, only a confetti shower for the closing “Jump.” With the exception of some piped-in keyboards and a rhythm guitar track on one song, the band did all the heavy lifting itself. This was the kind of ballad-free heavy that suggested a grand piano being dropped from a 20th-floor window, closing in on the pavement with intimidating size and speed.

Sometimes it looked a little too much like work, especially for the normally flamboyant Roth. He entered with a scarf-and-glitter outfit befitting a circus barker and a broad grin. But he was soon complaining about the weather conditions (“There’s some kind of blower … shut it off!”), his microphone, the need for a water bottle – he was distracted presence for most of the show. Once a showman who was as much about acrobatics as singing, Roth focused exclusively on the latter this time.

He moved stiffly, without much bravado. No jumping, strutting, preening – compared to his former jive-talking, jive-walking self, he was positively inert. Instead, he tried to point his voice in the right direction, and about half the time he nailed the high notes. Otherwise, he sounded ragged and strained. It’s early in the tour, but you have to wonder how well his voice will hold up two months down the road. Or his attitude. In the future, he might try spending more energy on his performance than chewing out the band’s roadies.

Only a handful of tracks from the quartet’s latest album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” infiltrated the classics-heavy set list. With their shout-along choruses, “Tattoo” and “She’s the Woman” sounded pretty much like the old Van Halen, and why not? Several of the “new” tunes were recycled from the band’s early demos. What the fans paid to hear were the likes of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Panama,” which endure as flashpoints for a generation on familiar terms with shag carpets and boogie vans. Not everything has aged as well, though. “Hot for Teacher,” for example; it’s difficult to defend that one remaining on the play list now that Roth is no longer in spandex.

Still, even the tritest songs had Eddie Van Helen playing on them, and that’s almost always a good thing. After a decade of health problems and intra-band struggles, he looked and sounded rejuvenated.

Near the end of the set, he commanded the stage by himself for seven minutes. First he flopped down on the stairs leading up to the drums like a kid in his bedroom: a boyish grin, jeans, gym shoes, and his guitar. He tap-danced on the strings, then drifted off into a space odyssey that suggested a soundtrack for an unmade science-fiction movie. He swiveled, wielding the guitar like a weapon, emitting a low, moaning chord that reverberated around the arena. He’s that rare ’70s guitar icon who still sounds like the future.

Van Halen set list Friday at the United Center:

1 You Really Got Me (Kinks cover)

2 Runnin' With the Devil

3 She's The Woman

4 Romeo Delight

5 Tattoo

6 Everybody Wants Some!!

7 Somebody Get Me A Doctor

8 China Town

9 Mean Street

10 Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison cover)

11 Drum solo

12 Unchained

13 The Trouble with Never

14 Dance the Night Away

15 I'll Wait

16 Hot for Teacher

17 Women in Love

18 Girl Gone Bad

19 Beautiful Girls

20 Ice Cream Man (John Brim cover)

21 Panama

22 Guitar solo

23 Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

24 Jump

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-25/entertainment/chi-van-halen-concert-review-van-halen-at-the-united-center-reviewed-20120224_1_concert-review-united-center-david-lee-roth

Edited February 25, 2012 by Turn_It_Up

[James Bond]

[dalsh327]

It is interesting that Dave isn't working the stage as much as he did on the last tour, maybe the wear and tear from martial arts and jumping around all these years caught up to him. That last tour was more about getting a lot of the old songs played live again, and I think it was pretty close to doing the songs in chronological order, even though they'd jump back and forth on a couple of songs. But a 25 song setlist is more than people got back in the day.

Everyone knows they took too long to reunite. Had they done this back in '98, age wouldn't have been an issue then. But the fact that they're even together and put new music out is still hard to believe. There's nothing to criticize. They don't have to be doing this, they all have enough money.

But if this is their last tour, it's a good one to go out on. If they don't record any more new music, it's a good loose end they tied up. Whatever feud existed between Ed and Dave, they've put that aside. It sounds like they get along as good now as they did when they started working together. I don't think it's just about the money, but they had a friendship, knew each others' parents, hung out even when they weren't working together, but once it got big, so did the egos. I think they all appreciate what they have more now than they did back then. Will they ever be great friends though? No. Mick and Keith won't, either. They have history, but because you know you've gone in completely different directions as people, it's kind of hard to reconnect on that level. Some do though.

[Turn_It_Up]

It is interesting that Dave isn't working the stage as much as he did on the last tour, maybe the wear and tear from martial arts and jumping around all these years caught up to him. That last tour was more about getting a lot of the old songs played live again, and I think it was pretty close to doing the songs in chronological order, even though they'd jump back and forth on a couple of songs. But a 25 song setlist is more than people got back in the day.

Everyone knows they took too long to reunite. Had they done this back in '98, age wouldn't have been an issue then. But the fact that they're even together and put new music out is still hard to believe. There's nothing to criticize. They don't have to be doing this, they all have enough money.

But if this is their last tour, it's a good one to go out on. If they don't record any more new music, it's a good loose end they tied up. Whatever feud existed between Ed and Dave, they've put that aside. It sounds like they get along as good now as they did when they started working together. I don't think it's just about the money, but they had a friendship, knew each others' parents, hung out even when they weren't working together, but once it got big, so did the egos. I think they all appreciate what they have more now than they did back then. Will they ever be great friends though? No. Mick and Keith won't, either. They have history, but because you know you've gone in completely different directions as people, it's kind of hard to reconnect on that level. Some do though.

Good post. Everything we get at this point is gravy. Too bad all the money now in touring 'cause personally, as much as I dig catching a live show, I'd be more than willing to sacrifice touring and just have them concentrate on knocking out a couple more studio albums while Dave's voice is able. Ultimately, ADTOK gonna be with us alot longer, and provide alot more pleasure than any show(s). Shit, just capture one of these on DVD/Blu-Ray and I'm set.

Hopefully Sammy's totally burned bridges with EVH with all the comments about Satch being the better player, etc., 'cause that would be a huge letdown(for me) if they ditched Dave and went with a future Van Hagar tour. As you said, even if they do nothing more after this record and tour, it's a hell of satisfying bookend and closure for alot of us that we never thought we'd get...

Edited February 26, 2012 by Turn_It_Up

[tat2d1]

I'm pretty much counting on this being the last VH album. I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not, IMO they finished with a killer album.

[Turn_It_Up]

More on the Chicago show and issues with the sound crew. Easy to see why Dave was so pissed:

=====================

Van Halen Live in Chicago 2012

by Anthony Kuzminski

United Center February 24, 2012 - When Van Halen released their first album of new music with David Lee Roth in twenty-eight years, the world at large had their switchblades opened ready to tear them apart, however, when A Different Kind of Truth arrived it wasn't met with disdain but a collective whisper of It's really good…isn't it? Van Halen did the unfeasible; they created an album that stands with their preeminent work. The most common question fans ask of their aging rock heroes is Why can't they make music like they used to? Capturing the same energy and chemistry from decades before is an impossible feat. It's the same reason why hooking up with your high school sweetheart thirty years later is destined to fail. You've both grown and the people you were all those years ago are gone. A Different Kind of Truth is a commendable successor to 1984 and to many die-hard fans, they consider it a perfect addition to the six albums Roth had previously fronted. While few in the mainstream press have ever taken Van Halen seriously, in the realm of hard rock those first six records are deemed as stone-cold classics that hundreds of artists in the decades that followed attempted to copy but no one could ever touch. Those first six records are near perfect and are one of the greatest runs of recordings ever released. Led Zeppelin had arguably six masterpieces in a row and Bruce Springsteen did the same between 1975 and 1987. Whenever an act creates at such a high level of output and quality, any attempt at ever recreating the magic is viewed with a cynical eye. A Different Kind of Truth finds the band mining their early demos for ideas and the final thirteen song record surprisingly embodies the very ethos of Van Halen.

With a new album in tow, the band has hit the road once again and while on paper it has much in common with the 2007-08 tour, this time around the band has coalesced into an unyielding band of brothers ready to slay anyone in their path. The bare bones stage had a pair of microphones, some steps leading up to the drum kit and an A-Grade high definition screen behind them. The music was front and center with little distraction and for 110-minutes, Van Halen arrogantly and marvelously defied all expectations. During the evening's third song, She's The Woman the three Van Halen's (bassist Wolfgang, drummer Alex and guitarist Eddie) congealed into a glorious three-piece molten orchestra. The 2007 tour largely seemed to be a warm-up for this one. Wolfgang has grown into his role offering rock-solid backing vocals and four string cadences, Alex continues his madmen drumming yet never missing a beat and Eddie offering up fearless and foreboding fret exercises worthy of his rock God status.

Sixteen of the songs were performed every night in 2007-08 but there was a new exigency to many of them. Hot For Teacher featured the three musicians as a cohesive whole replicating every last note to total exactness with Eddie's cutting blues riffs at the forefront. At one point during the song, Alex Van Halen was so in tune with his drumming that his sun glasses flew off. Instead of waiting until the song concluded, you could see him probing the floor for them while never missing a single spastic snare hit. I'll Wait is often dismissed by many for the overlaid keyboards, but in concert, you observe the enchantment of Eddie Van Halen's six-string splendor. Most yearn for the fret board flash, but to see his strapping rhythm playing on I'll Wait was extraordinary. His playing was utterly in sync with his brother and son creating a colossal musical wall Roth was able to wail over. While the monster hits Unchained, Dance the Night Away and Panama received the loudest roars from the crowd, it was the four new songs and deep cuts that the band seemed to relish. Mean Street and China Town found the band euphoric with Eddie flashing the crowd with a smile big enough to light the arena. Tattoo is ten times more playful in concert than on record and the back-to-back pairing of Women In Love and Girl Gone Bad found the band digging deep into the past. Neither song had been performed for nearly three decades before this tour yet the performances were faultless with nary a bum note in sight. These album cuts are a welcome addition to the set lists and fans are hoping the band continues to offer up these few chosen rarities every night. If there was any minor complaint from the show, why not offer up more songs from A Different Kind of Truth since it's been so well received? Blood and Fire, Outta Space and Stay Frosty have all the ingredients of vintage Van Halen and would delight the fans of the record and to the casual fans-they would most likely mistake it for classic Vann Halen.

It's important to note that Kool and the Gang are opening the entire US tour. While this may appear to be severe miscasting on someone's part, what became apparent almost instantly is that their placement as openers is a splendid gift from Van Halen to their fans. I know this may be impractical to grasp, but Kool and the Gang performed a feisty, fervent and monumental set of ten songs. Their full-bodied arrangements (complimented by eleven members onstage) were reminders they are much more than a pop band but a funk-soul group of musicians capable of conquering stadiums. I saw the band from their first note to their final and they paced themselves wonderfully. Tonight, Midled and Too Hot may not have been well-known to the Van Halen crowd, but you couldn't help but be awed by the sheer awesomeness of their strength as a live entity. Watching them you soon realized that anyone who had made jokes about the band before the show was eating their words. By the time they tore through Hollywood Swingin' and Jungle Boogie those arriving at their seats remained standing not so much out of respect but because the music demanded it. Jungle Boogie will forever be enshrined in multiple generations minds because of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and the tour de force extended jam of the song never wandered. The band consisted of the core instruments (singer, bass, drums, two guitars) along with a percussionist and a five piece horn section. The band was able to employ use of some of the screen behind them and as a result, the crowd was more engaged culminating with Ladies' Night, Get Down On It and the tear-down-the-walls performance of Celebrate. The band delivered one of the most riveting and invigorating opening sets I've seen by any act in recent memory. The crowd's reaction to Celebrate was almost as jubilant as it was to Jump. In short, if you hold tickets to an upcoming Van Halen concert, it's integral you arrive in time to catch Kool and the Gang's entire set as it will rock you just as hard as Eddie Van Halen's guitar.

The only snag to the concert was that portions were plagued with sound problems. I mention this only because several other reviews have pointed out David Lee Roth's antics as a result of the issues. Roth had performed the first three shows of the tour with a head-microphone which proved to be unusable after three songs in Chicago. He went to get a wireless microphone only to have it handed to him without any sound. He surged to the front of the stage, picked up a wired microphone at the tip of the stage and made sure the show proceeded without missing a beat. As someone who had a front row seat to the side of the stage, Roth was upset because there appeared to be virtually no urgency to fix the issue. As a result, Roth's performance was impaired by the old school wired microphone he had to carry with him for the remainder of the evening which often tripped up Eddie in the process. If I were in Roth's shoes, I would have had the same reaction, especially the incapability of the crew to fix the issue for nineteen songs. Roth soldiered on in typical Diamond Dave fashion proving to be the ultimate showman with a rock solid voice. Roth never receives the credit he deserves as many in the audience long to see the voracious comic book hero from their youth enshrined in YouTube videos, but he's a legendary front man for many reasons, but is rarely given the props for his commanding voice and how well it solidifies with Van Halen. In Chicago, despite the handicaps placed in front of him, he largely went above and beyond attempting to give the crowd everything he had.

The 2012 edition of Van Halen is a surprisingly vital and relevant entity. The album and tour are unexpectedly great showcasing a band that is at the top of their game. I can't say there's an insatiable hunger which infused their days of youth, but there is an unbridled desire to prove to everyone wrong. After their performance in Chicago I can say without question they are not washed up and wholly worthy of their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their performance in Chicago, even with a few obstacles in their course, is evidence to their drive to leave an impression that will not soon be forgotten. Not only have Van Halen delivered an old school classic album worthy of comparison to their classics, but they're taking the stage every night ready to leave a pint of blood on it. They've left the theatrics home and instead are delivering a thunderous take on garage rock highlighted by Eddie Van Halen' piercing guitar strengths which are at the peak of their powers. While Roth is the showman and up front and center, Eddie's guitar playing was mesmerizing not in a nostalgic manner but in an eye-opening realization that he's every bit as good as he's ever been. He's an innovator and his note-for-note reproductions of Eruption and Cathedral during his solo are a testament to not just his importance to the electric guitar but to all incarnations of Van Halen; a band that has often been imitated but whose sound has never been replicated and never will be.

http://www.antimusic.com/reviews/12/Van_Halen_Live_in_Chicago_2012.shtml