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October 6, 2007
Van Halen concert review
There’s been a rash of reunion tours in the past two months that have played Connecticut – The Police, Crowded House, Genesis – but none of those comebacks was as unlikely as the one between Van Halen and its original lead singer, David Lee Roth.
Bad blood over Roth’s departure from the band in1985 has led to more than two decades worth of verbal sniping in the press, so when this tour was announced, even the least skeptical VH fans had to raise their eyebrows. Even though there was tons of money to be made, could Roth and his longtime nemesis, guitar god Eddie Van Halen, play nice together and keep things on track.
The two made like best friends at the press conference this summer announcing the reunion tour, smiling and mugging for the cameras, but you had to have doubts they could pull it off. Even as recently as three weeks ago, a source at the Mohegan Sun told me that the rumor was that the project wouldn’t last long enough to make it to the casino’s arena.
But, Friday night, there they were: Roth front and center, surrounded by Eddie to his left, drummer Alex Van Halen directly behind him, and, bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son, to his right. (That figures: Van Halen finally gets Roth back for the first time in two decades and bassist Michael Anthony gets replaced.)
Admittedly, I rolled my eyes when I first heard of the planned reunion. Past attempts at reconciliation have all ended badly, so I just chalked it up as a money grab by a couple of aging rock stars searching for relevancy. If it came around the area on a day that was convenient, I’d check it out, but I certainly wouldn’t have gone out of my way to see the show.
Well, I’m certainly glad it came around because it was a tremendous concert. There was a certain joy in hearing nothing but the songs from the six albums Roth made with the group from 1978 through 1984. Not that the records and tours with Roth’s replacement, Sammy Hagar, weren’t fun, but to many people the original lineup was the only Van Halen that really mattered.
Even though Van Halen kept some of the Roth-era hits in the set lists with Hagar, it just wasn’t the same.
Friday night’s concert started, fittingly enough, with a cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” the first single from Van Halen’s debut album, and from then on, it was one classic-rock gem after another.
Roth, who turns 54 Wednesday, has always been one of rock music’s preeminent showmen, but he’s wise enough at his age not to try to act like he did when he was 25. He limited his mugging, preferring to play the rock star instead of the jester. He may not be as strong vocally as he was when he was first leading VH, but who other than the most optimistic fan could have expected him to be?
The common thread through Van Halen’s three decades of success has been Eddie’s innovative guitar playing. He set the bar high from the start and his imitators still haven’t caught up. He alone makes Van Halen a sight to behold.
As for 16-year-old Wolfgang, he did well, joining with uncle Alex to form a tight rhythm section. I would have liked to have seen Anthony with the band – his soaring backing vocals were missed – but if this is as close to seeing the original band as I’ll ever get, I’ll take it. On the plus side, no Anthony meant no bass solo.
There was, alas, a lengthy drum solo after the group’s take on Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman,” but that provided a chance to run up and grab a Diet Coke.
Eddie’s guitar solo, coming after a rousing rendition of “Panama,” is a different story. It is not to be missed. Reviews of previous shows on this tour remarked that his time alone on stage goes on too long. I disagree. His solos aren’t just him noodling around with his guitar, but rather well-structured pieces that incorporate many bits of the instrumentals that have appeared on VH albums. It wasn’t essential to the show, but it kept me in my seat.
If you were on the fence about dropping scalper prices for tickets to one of the five upcoming VH appearances in the region, know that if you can afford it, it’s definitely worth checking out. These shows are in Boston (Oct. 30), East Rutherford, N.J. (Nov. 3), Worcester, Mass. (Nov. 6), Uniondale, N.Y. (Nov. 8) and at New York’s Madison Square Garden (Nov. 13).
According to the Van Halen Web site, www.van-halen.com, all of these are listed as sell-outs, except the Worcester show. Check with Ticketmaster for availability, as quite often there are extra tickets released to the public closer to the date of the show.
The set list
You Really Got Me/I’m the One/Runnin’ 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/Unchained/I’ll Wait/And the Cradle Will Rock/Hot for Teacher/Little Dreamer/Little Guitars/Jamie’s Cryin’/Ice Cream Man/Panama/Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love
Encore: Jump
Posted by Sean on October 6, 2007 6:45 PM
Comments
Van Halen is my favourite Hard rock band. I like their songs. Van Halen has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide. They really have captivated millions of fans worldwide ,for that, their tickets are hard to come by and often sky high. Thankfully I found a website where I found cheap ones. Now I will have the chance to attend all the concerts with low prices. here is the link:
http://www.ticketsinventory.com/concert/van-halen-tickets/
Posted by: mileyyCyrus at March 26, 2008 5:24 AM
