Van Halen concert. FUCKING SWEET.

[major tom]

I'll just copy this from my LastFM journal.
http://www.last.fm/user/Co-Z/journal/2008/01/27/632228/


just got back from Van Halen's awesome concert. Frickin' sweet.


(Please note that these pictures aren't mine, I got them from Google. They're from other concerts earlier in the tour.)

When I arrived, the opening act began, Ky-Mani Marley. I missed the first two or three songs he played, but from what I saw, half the songs were Bob Marley covers and half were his own songs. I don't really care for Ky-Mani's own songs. It's a blend of rap and reggae, really, and I don't like either genre too much. But I did like his covers of I Shot The Sheriff and No Woman, No Cry. His 30 minute set ended, and after a 30 minute wait, the main act came on.

Dave was the big thing in this concert. David Lee Roth's voice still sounded the same. He still did a wild performance, just the same as the old days. And the women still loved him. So what was the change between Dave, then and now? Only one thing: the length of his hair.

I loved the way he performed. There's a special thing about how Dave sings- he never sings a song the same way twice. Dave didn't sing one song without singing it a bit different than we know it. This really boosts the live experience.



Eddie continued to practice his gutiar skills. It was amazing to see him perform all of those crazy solos the same way he does in the studio. Also, this concert was on his 53rd birthday. A radio station had a giant card around the corner at the House of Blues for people to sign, but I didn't really see a point in going there to wait in a long line for it. Although it woulda been cool to tell someone one day "Hey, I got to sign Eddie Van Halen's birthday card!". Much like Dave, the only thing that changed between now and then was the length of his hair.



Alex did everything right too. He had a drum solo, and during it the rest of the band was off stage. He did a great performance. In the middle of it, he began clapping and the crowd caught on. Suddenly the whole audience was following his beat. Just like his brother, he did great. Unlike Dave and Eddie, his hair didn't change.

Then we've got Wolfie. I really would've preferred Mike to be there so I could see the whole band, but Wolfie was still good. His bass made me jealous. It was a Fender Jazz, except with a custom paint job.



Man, I want that bass.

Anyways. He did the bass right, and even had a short bass solo. What amazes me more is how he vocally made a good replacement. If you're a big VH fan like me you know that the backing vocals have really added to the VH sound, and Michael Anthony was the most important voice among them. Wolfgang did the backing vocals just like Mike.

They played a lot of great songs, from hits like You Really Got Me (the opening song) and I'll Wait to fan favorites like So This Is Love? and Somebody Get Me a Doctor. They played every song I wanted to hear, so I'm happy.

During Somebody Get Me a Doctor, they put the song to a stop and went into blues mode. They played a bit of the blues classic Spoonful, based on the version by Cream, and with Dave shouting "Eddie plays the intercourse ing blues tonight!" they went back to the song. Also, during Everybody Wants Some!!, they took a break from the song and played Magic Bus. After the Magic Bus part, Dave said something about how he'd take the Magic Bus and go to your front door and blablabla... and say "I like the way the line runs down the back of your stockings".

I left twenty minutes before it was over. The only songs I'm for sure they must've played when I wasn't there are Jump and Panama, but I don't really care. It's better than being stuck in traffic for an hour.

Best concert I've ever been to. If Van Halen's coming to your town soon, GO!


As I said in the journal... go if you can. Van Halen may not exist in a few years from now, who knows what might happen. I've gotten to see my favorite band live before they die, and that feels great.

[Kaz]

I had planned to go to a show of theirs in October, but I don't have that kind of money to spend on tickets, unfortunately. Money was the only thing holding me back.

I'm still mad about it. The ticket prices to their shows are outrageous.

[HoganM]

My favorite hard rock band, wish i was there. I'm probably going to go next time they come to Madison Square Garden, always wanted to see Eddie play guitar :(

[major tom]

I had planned to go to a show of theirs in October, but I don't have that kind of money to spend on tickets, unfortunately. Money was the only thing holding me back.

I'm still mad about it. The ticket prices to their shows are outrageous.

I bought the tickekts eight hours before the show off a Craigslist guy. During the week of the concert, especially the day it happens, tickets are a lot cheaper. Some people can't go, and that's how I got reeeeally good seats for 100 each.

My favorite hard rock band, wish i was there. I'm probably going to go next time they come to Madison Square Garden, always wanted to see Eddie play guitar :(

Yeah, he does really cool stuff. Dave would make these motor noises into the mic and Eddie would imitate them on his guitar. They did stuff similar to Dave and Steve Vai's guitar and human conversation in Yankee Rose.