Van Halen
Entertainment Centre
Adelaide, AU
April 27, 1998

Set List

Review by Shayne - quakeslayer@hotmail.com

For 15 long years I've been listening to Van Halen, waiting for the day they toured Australia. I was so jealous of fans in the US who had seen them multiple times in their 20 year history. However, the wait was over, and Van Halen were coming to Australia!

A mere 1 hour after their Adelaide concert, I'm still gob-smacked! The wait was well and truly worth it! There were no fireworks, no snazzy shooby-do-wop girls in spandex, just kick-ass rock, Van Halen style! In a time when samplers and drum machines and girls in tight skirts rule the charts, Van Halen showed tonight what REAL talent is. Classy chops from Eddie the axe-meister, a classic solo from Alex, vocals and tight bass from Mike, culminating with vocals from Gary that blew me away. This man not only sings, he PERFORMS in the updated Van Halen. Not ever seeing Dave or Sammy in real life, one could have been forgiven for thinking he WAS Sammy in some of the songs - he gave that much to the performance that my early thoughts of "missing Sammy" in a live performance were blown out the door.

The single negative was perhaps not enough volume (my wife didn't complain of sore ears!!) but it was truly forgotten in the mix of old and new. After hearing Jump, the last song, I walked out on such a high... Edward Van Halen truly is THE guitar god, and seeing him live was simply unforgettable.

All I can say dudes is COME BACK SOON! Van Halen ROCKED Adelaide in `98!!

I have been lucky enough to catch the mighty VH on a couple of previous occasions during my backpacking treks across America. Last night was special, because last night my mates and I experienced something we have waited 20 years to see. Van Halen right here right now in my own home town of Adelaide. The band cooked !! . VAN HALEN mach III are the real deal and you guys in the USA are in for a treat.

Gary Cherone is an awesome vocalist and frontman and his charisma is infectious. The whole band seemed to be genuinely "getting off" on each others playing.

Michael Anthony's bass playing is as solid as a rock and his vocals are an integral part of the overall sound. That's not news to any long term fans of the band, I'm sure.

I'm normally not big on drum solos, unless they offer something a little different. Alex Van Halen rocks. His solo was both interesting and entertaining. The sequenced section definitely impressed a few drummers in the crowd and last but not least, the main man, Edward Van Halen.

As previously stated, I've been fortunate enough to catch the band in the USA on some past tours. Last night I had a ball checking out the expressions on the faces of all the local guitar players who were studying every lick and soaking up every note as Ed cut loose. There were a hell of a lot of wide eyes and open mouths. Awesome stuff, but hey that's what we came for.

Highlights : Roth era songs, Gary Cherones energy, Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, Michael Anthony singing Somebody Get Me A Doctor, Gary, Eddie & Michael trading lines during Why Cant this be love.

Lowlights : It took 20 fucking years to get here !!

Footnote : By pure chance I managed to catch the band at the airport today as they left for Perth. I'm stoked that I had a chance to meet and talk briefly and get some autographs. The whole band were very open and relaxed and were extremely affable to everybody. Absolutely no sign of any bullshit rock star pretension.

Thanks again for a great gig and we look forward to seeing you back in OZ soon. Please don't make it 20 years !!

Simply the most awesome thing I have ever seen. Just being in the audience with my favourite rock group ever was my ultimate dream come true. Gary was superb. Alex's solo was the most mind mashing thing I have ever seen, Eddie was superior and Mike was just purely being himself !!!!!!!!!!!!

The heart, the soul, the energy was well and truely plastered across Adelaide last night. From Unchained, Without You, One I Want, Mean Street, Humans Being, Why Can't This Be Love, When It's Love, Dreams, Fire In The Hole, Panama, Year To The Day, Josephina, Jump, Somebody Get Me A Doctor.....the list is too long to remember!!!!!!!!

Alex was incredible - his latino solo with sequences surprised everyone with its sheer power and intensity. Gary was a masterful vocalist and great stage man, Mike was obviously half pissed before the show, and Eddie's short but sweet solo just rocked.

IT TRULY WAS A DREAM COME TRUE AND A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. VAN HALEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU HAVE MADE MY NUMBER ONE DREAM COME TRUE.

Absolutely, mindboggling, unbelievably fucking brilliant. I had front row on Mikes side. I pounded his bass for part of Panama. Had tour program signed by all four guys and photos. Gary has an amazing stage presence and clearly proved he was the right man for the job. Fucking hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I thought I would hold off reviewing VH until I had been to two shows, to give a different perspective from what has been posted on the site - ie a regular punter.

The first, in Melbourne, was the culmination of a 16 year wait! Ever since I heard Pretty Woman the band had been my all time favourite and I thought they would never come. I have lived on this web site for the last couple of months to get an update on all things related to the Oz tour and so here it goes.

Despite having prior knowledge of the set courtesy of these reviews, I got to my seat in the Melbourne Tennis Centre totally pumped at what to expect. With two mates, we sat well towards the back, just left of centre. My initial thought was ‘Hell, those Speaker Banks are small!’. However, I soaked the atmosphere up and soon found out what kind of sound they delivered. The lights dimmed with my mates still having drinks and they only caught the opening blast of Unchained as they raced to their seats. The clarity and punch of the Brown Sound was unbelievable!!

I found out later the next day that the rig was a new one from the states and damn, did it deliver.

The set ran exactly the same as the tour opener in New Zealand, with the exception being “Why Cant This Be Love’’ which was added. Every aspect of the show from the Sound and Lights blew my mind, with the backdrops adding a bunch of colour.

I read that the band indicated they wouldnt play many hits and so would have liked a couple of obscurities but I am not complaining when all the gun songs were rolled out. Right Now, Aint Talkin' 'Bout Love and Panama were delivered as I expected, and some!

It took until Fire in the Hole until the dead boring Melbourne crowd got off their butts and into the show, however this was typical of their response at big events, sporting and musical alike. Their response at Kiss and Pearl Jam was much the same according to mates who travelled from Adelaide, my home town.

But even with this, the first show blew me away and left my mates with jaws dropping (Hello There!!). It exceeded even my huge expectations. And this was from a seated position up the back after a 700km drive. Bring on Adelaide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A week later, the home town gig was on us, with the added bonus of having tickets for me and 10 friends three rows from the front. Everybody was stoked, with this being the closest that most had got for any show.

Once again Unchained fired it up but the crowd went along with it from song one - a typical awesome Adelaide crowd. Ed wheeled out the sames Peaveys described in previous reviews and proceeeded to stun everybody that I could see. I had tried hard not to tell anybody about what they were to see but you could tell everybody was getting off on the way Garry worked the crowd, the tightness of the band and especially the crazy sense of humour that VH have.

And this is in addition to the awesome songs and musical talent, that goes without saying.

So the set list missed Dirty Water Dog but I ended the show still in awe of everything I hear from Ed. Going from his solo spot to Right Now left me stunned even after two shows.

And after standing in front of Mikes Bass cabinets and seeing an innovative 3 phase solo from Al, I have new appreciation for their chops.

And so endeth the lesson on two truly religious experiences. Even those who hadn't heard much of band were blown away. The band seemed humbled and genuinely stoked, which goes along with what everybody has heard about this group of guys - great talent with no egos.

Ed promised that it wont be too long before another trip, but I think this one will get me through for a while. I just wish I could get to Perth tomorrow night for the Tour Closer.

They are the best band in the world!

Well! What can I say about a band I've been waiting to see for 20 years. Unfortunatly I missed the two songs that I would have liked to see because of being late. But all that aside. The band just rocks to death and the lighting was specy to say the least. Fire in the hole was just a lighting spectical supreme. But I have to say that it was really terible and I think they should come out again next year with a new album and do it all again.

Maybe I won't miss the first two songs. As for the new singer Gary, I thought he did a awesome job as did the rest of them. Special thoughts go to Mick for his long service as a non family member. Cheers for a great show and hope to see you next time. Ed and Alex you rock!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Words cannot describe the feeling I had standing 6 rows away from Van Halen!! I was in awe. When it's Love made me cry - as it has been a favourite ever since it was released, and Right Now was fantastic! Without You and all the songs they did off the new album made me realise that even though they might have a new singer, they are still, and always will be Van Halen. Their sound is still there. They have this flair that only VH has.

My life is complete now that I have seen them live. If only they could come again................

Brilliant - pre-gig I was kind-of sceptical about Gary (especially not having heard the new album yet - sorry), but post gig, not a problem..... he seems to know when to take a back seat, and let the others drive - keep up the good work.

4th VH gig, 3 previously times in the UK (including the upstaging of Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium in 95) and this has to be the best of the lot.

Shame you guys didn't play some more of the older stuff - but other than that, I couldn't have had a better 39th birthday party !!!

While seeing the Adelaide concert, I was absolutely stoked at the show that Eddie put on for his fans. It has now been 2 weeks and I wish that I could've seen him play in the US.

At our show they played some extremely awesome song such as: Why Cant This Be Love, Humans Being, When It's Love, Panama, Right Now, 316, Dreams, Jump and Without You.

I still can't believe that I have seen him live though. It was the best $55 dollars I have ever spent in my life, and I say to anyone that has contemplated going, that they should just go with out question. You're a fool if you miss it. Although one song I thought should have been played was Once. I appreciate your time and say that Eddie is always a legend.

I have waited since 1984 to see Van Halen, it was the most amazing show I have ever seen. The first note sent a shiver down my spine. I could not believe that I finally have got to see my music idols play LIVE.

After all these years Eddie is still able to play the songs perfectly, it gave me hope that there is going to be many more great Van Halen albums to come. Mike and Al do the greatest job keeping the music tight and lively.

The addition of Gary, well what can I say but this guy CAN sing and damn he has some great moves on stage.

Being only a few feet from the stage I felt as though I was part of the band, as they are great at making you feel like you are special. They gave the feeling that they love playing to the people. The stage was not flashy, there were no pyro's, but that made it better it felt like a gig at a local club and everyone, even the people at the back really enjoyed the show and damn they were louder than the band on some occasions.