Classic Van Halen footage from “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert”

January 24, 2011 63 Comments

Don Kirshner in 1976. Rock music promoter and producer Don Kirshner died last week of heart failure in Boca Raton, Florida, at the age of 76. Don was one of the people that helped put Van Halen on the map. His syndicated series,”Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert,” featured live performances of Van Halen from their 1979 and 1981 tours, which is the earliest professionally filmed live footage of Van Halen that is known to exist. Amazingly, the footage has never been officially released for home viewing, despite the fact that fans and collectors consider it to be some of the very best footage of the band that exists.

The syndicated “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” grew out of his involvement as a creative consultant for ABC’s “In Concert,” with Kirshner insisting that the acts play live rather than lip-synching their performances. The show launched on Sept. 27, 1973, with the Rolling Stones’ first American TV appearance in more than four years. Its 230 episodes, which ran through 1981, featuring a wide array of artists such as Van Halen, Kiss, ABBA, Sly & the Family Stone, Peter Frampton, the Ramones, the Eagles, Rush, Kansas and many others.

If it wasn’t for Don Kirshner, this classic Van Halen footage might never have been filmed. Thank you, Don!

Filed Under: Van Halen

karloff

very cool…
Hass

Awesome stuff. RIP Don.
Jim McClain

Great footage! Anytime I see a clip like that, I am reminded how much Mike meant to the “real” VH. Optimistic for the new album but Mikey is sorely missed.
drummerboy40

Nice to see theses vids. I’ve seen the Dance the night away one before but not the others, Old school rules!
J5150C

R.I.P. Don.
Joe

Pretty cool.

I wonder why the audio doesn’t match the video? Check out 1:50 where you see him tapping harmonics and hear him pulling up on the whammy bar..
Reggie Hayse

Great footage!!! VH needs to put out a old footage box set!!
Atomic Pete

Killer!!
Alex is such a powerhouse yet it never sounds like he
is over-playing.Even on a “pop” tune like DTNA.
Also, always loved the gtr solo on YNG.
Now, back to work on my time machine.
Dooley

Just like Ed Sullivan, I thought Don Kirshner was a geek back then. But they must have known something. They both were the ones who said “Put em on, and it’s gotta be live.”
DiamondInTheBuff

Effing awesome!

Agree with Jim McClain: Mike’s ball-blasted ultra high harmonies made a lot of the classics the great tunes they are! We’ll miss your presence in VH, Mr. Sobolewski!
No Mas Tony

• LOL @ ATOMIC PETE: Dude, you totally read my mind on that time machine thing. Keep working on it! And don’t forget to add the magic crystals.

• Why in hell can’t they put these videos and the Oakland show on a box set!?

• Jim McClain: I agree.

• I hope when =VH= tours next they do some more over-looked classics like “In a Simple Rhyme” and one of their 2 newer ones for the Greatest Hits release; preferably “Me Wise Magic”.
http://none 12beerstogo

Pretty maids all in a row.Go on and set em’ up-a.
51504VH

Wow!!! Weird to see Dave sing the songs like they were on the album but I personally liked it when he put his own twist to the songs during shows or I would have just stayed at home and listened to the albums.

They really need to put together anything and everything from ’74-’84…those were the ultimate Van Halen years.

VHND….pass it along that the fans want footage On Stage/Off Stage, Interviews, Demos, Photos of Van Halen from ’74-’84.

Call it “The Making” or “Everything Van Halen”

Any Suggestions???
Robert

The film editing on the 1979 VH2 clips is a bit rough in spots. Many of the clips do not match the audio, which leads me to believe that the film footage is from different songs from the same show, which makes me suspect that much more (if not all) the concert was filmed, which begs the question: “Is That true?!”

If so, share the wealth with the rest of us, Ed and Al!
Chris Van Harley

Words can not express how much I love shit like this.

BTW they cant release the Oakland footage because all of our heads would just explode due to the awesomeness. Its the only thing that could strike Chuck Norris down.
redarrow5150

What a fucking great clip. I hadn’t seen No Good before and that song totally rocked. Watching Ed play the guitar in these songs were epic…just fucking epic.
redarrow5150

By the way I just noticed Ed’s neck on his guitar was black and totally different. Wonder if it broke during the tour and his tech had to improvise?
Panama Red

Greatness. I love watching this footage, I wish there were more available to watch.
Of course the time machine thing Always pops up in my head too. Ha HA No Mas Tony – Don’t forget the crystals. YES, love that movie! But I would rather have a Delorean than something that shocks the hell out of your nuts so you can go back to ’83 and throw a pigskin over those mountains.

The other thing that always enters my mind as well, is Mikey. Of course it will never be the same without him but I could publish a book on everything I’ve said about Mike Anthony at this website so I won’t get into all of that again right now.

I sure am glad that Don Kirshner had the foresight that he did. Great stuff.

Alex reminds me of Animal from the Muppets at 3:35 in to the video.
ringostore

The kiddie bands today don’t even have a clue how make music or stage rock like these dudes! It will never be the same.
95th Poker Player Who Isn’t Munch

Simply put…Van Halen is all business in the studio…and all fun when seen live. You want the concert to sound like the album??? Go See Bon Jovi or Def Leppard. I’ll take a dose of live =VH= over them any day.
Michael D

Oh, good times. I was there in ’79 at the L.A. Coliseum show and in Nov.’79 a the L.A. Forum. A memory that will last a lifetime!
VH Dude

I used to go to record shows and spend hours looking for bootleg Van Halen albums, picture discs, singles…anything rare Van Halen. Then I started mailing tape collector’s from the classified ads in the back of Circus and Hit Parader. It was a torturous process of waiting weeks and even months for a reply, then ordering something…and waiting all over again, checking the mail in anticipation every day! But I found tons of killer audio and video, and I still have this fantasy that more is out there – unseen to this day. These 3 clips are among the best, and of course Oakland is the VH holy shrine I guess. The internet made things easier, and there’s tons of fun and rare VH stuff online now, but I bet there’s still more (please let there be more). Nice of VHND to share some of the best from Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. Those were the good ol’ days, staying up late to catch a glimpse of Van Halen in their prime! RIP Don.
jeff adams

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, four of the baddest dudes on the planet. No one touched they guys. This is chilling. Oh how I miss the 70′s and Van Halen. They became a way of life.
jeff adams

Michael D. I was there too and the year before in Bakersfield, just north of LA. They opened for Sabbath, and blew them off the stage. We at least have those memories that we will never forget. The band was sooo bad ass, but Dave was the f’n man.
rockn

Awesome footage…..took me back to good old days of Rock N Roll when we would light a doobie b4, during and after the gigs…Now Your No Good is stuck in my head TY Don Kirshner and may u Rock with the ones who went b4 u…
http://www.jointfilms.com steve

cool clips… the VH Store should think about selling replicas of those old van halen shirts that Dave & Alex are wearing.
F’n Rockstar

Cocaine is a hell of a drug. Those guys were BLASTED!
nfdff189

rip don and i have seen this footage like 15 years ago i bought it on vhs. Cant wait till the new album and tour and i agree some other classics would be nice. I say in a simple rhyme,me wise magic, how bout light up the sky,
Mark

Never saw that version of Bottoms Up!

Thanks for posting!
Roth_Leaps_83

Most of the ’81 Oakland shows were captured on film. Dave admitted this during a Jim Ladd interview in his backyard in 1982. Check out YouTube to see it. Dave said the 3 videos that were released to MTV (Unchained, Hear About It Later, So This Is Love) were the only ones suitable for broadcast because of “technical problems” involving the rest of the show.

Common sense tells you that since there were 3 Oakland shows on that 1981 tour and all of them were filmed for anticipation of a concert video being released — then Eddie must have the master tapes and they probably contain enough decent footage to release a full-length Blu-ray of the entire show! I’m not sure what “technical problems” Dave was referring to but probably things like improper camera angles and soundboard recording snafus that complicated the process and so the band decided to scrap the entire project.

VH never released a DVD of the 2007-08 tour but they have SHITLOADS of video captured on that tour. You’d have to apply the same logic to the ’81 Oakland tour and probably other Roth-era tours. In other words, Eddie has film footage in his vault that would make VH fans jizz their undies 100 times over if we ever got to see it.

So the final question is this — why is Eddie still not releasing all this juicy footage in a “vintage boxed set” collection to make tons of cash? Will he wait until he’s a dusty corpse rotting away in the ground until VH fans can enjoy it? Makes no sense to me.
Let’s Rock

Those were the days. Damn good times!!!

I would love to get a hold of some VH footage from the Day of Rock and Roll in the New Orleans Louisiana Superdome, Summer of 1979. Side note, Sammy Hagar was there as well.

After reading past post, 51504VH you may be correct about what Wolfie can do; play guitar, play drums, play bass but he cannot sing to save his life. Listen and watch these videos. VH needs Mikey.

Another side note, Mike Anthony can play the guitar and the drums and the bass!!

But that is the past.

The Nation Waits
Shyboy

If you look in the dictionary under “Cool” you will see the Mighty Van Halen!! I would take a broom and imitate Ed on the guitar when i was really young…now I have a wolfgang and still not any better than when I would have that broom. Those guys are the coolest!!
bbl70

Yeah. This is some of the best live footage of VH available. The first time I had ever heard of VH was on Don Kirshners Rock Concert back in the 70s. I remember being an eleven year old kid and totally blown away by VH. Awesome stuff.
bbl70

Too bad there is no live video from the Women and Children first tour. If there is and I am missing it, please share. Thanks VHND.
Somebody said Fair Warning

Yep, those WERE the days, allright!

32 years ago….sigh

And, until Michael Anthony rejoins the band, they’re NEVER going to sound the same again……..

Call this recent line-up a reunion if you want, but it’s not..
jeff adams

They should have never bagged “Your No Good” in concert. That song had a great feel to it. They Van Halenized that tune along w/ all the other covers they did. Dave, Ed, Alex, and Mike = COOL.
SCAR

Sex, Drugs and Van Halen, what else could you ask for????
temple5150

Anyone notice both Eddie and Mikey are playing different guitars throughout the montage….not a big deal? Well, also the guitars switch back and forth throughout the songs too — yes, the same songs….still love this “live” stuff though…
RA 8 1 2

Watching makes me sad about Mike. Just wish we could see all 4 original one more time. As much as I respect Ed as a player, the Wolfgang decision still bothers me. Nevertheless, I cant wait to hear the new stuff. Im sure it will be rockin.
Dan

Loving Mike and his BV on Bottoms Up.
KozHalen

Van halen Rocks! I only wished I had seen the original 4 more than just 1984 tour. So awesome!!!! Ain’t no band around now that can touch the bands from that era!!!!
Kayser Sozay

Want to know what pure despair feels like?

Imagine you are a musician in a headlining band, standing on the side of the stage watching VH open for you. That is despair.
Tommy Boy

Kayser…That’s why everyone wanted to be like them. So envious, so jealous. They had all the talent, the charisma, the chicks, the vibe and that goddamn unmistakable thundering sound we all know and love! Such despair indeed to be stomped so eloquently, passionately and repeatedly by the best.
On Fire ’78

WOW! I had never seen the ‘you’re no good’ video before! That was awesome!! Well, we can all appreciate the timelessness that these images represent-A DAMN GOOD TIME AT A VH SHOW!!

I am fortunate enough to have seen them in their prime on the WACF ’80 Invasion, Fair Warning and 2 nights in 1984.

I always said that if DLR ever came back, i would go again (10x on’07-’08 tour) b/c i boycotted the entire Van Hagar era seeing that that WASN’T VH. One look at these videos is evident that this is the case. Mikey is missed but i can live with Wolf. See you on tour in 2011!!
Jor-L5150

the “audio” might be live- it sounds that way- with roth’s vocals being different, but the footage is a “montage”, not as bad as RHRN but almost.

wish we had an official cd-set of archival live/demos….

but thats what we always say…
Panama Red

Kayser Sozay – HA HA!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!
D.O.A.

Kayser…Booyah! Damn that’s funny.
Top Jimmy James

Really diggin’ that ‘Bottoms Up!’ instrumental…
Top Jimmy James

“# jeff adams says:
January 25th, 2011 at 9:59 am

They should have never bagged “Your No Good” in concert. That song had a great feel to it. They Van Halenized that tune along w/ all the other covers they did. Dave, Ed, Alex, and Mike = COOL.”

Agreed. They were amazing with covers no matter how much Ed supposedly despised them.
SEAN

Pure Evil. I fucking LOVE IT! Van Halen!!!