Van Halen
Blockbuster Pavilion
Devore, CA
July 04, 1998

Set List - Click here!

Review by Charlie Walker - buffalo7@aol.com

Yet another amazing VH show! It was awesome to see Edward and the boys rip into Unchained. It was very cool to see Ed's attention to detail using his old MXR phaser for Unchained.

From there, they followed with the one/two punch of Without You and One I Want. These songs live captured a spirit and conviction which seemed lacking on VH3. Gary sang his ass off on Mean Street and Romeo Delight. You can see that he absolutely loves what he is doing. I had given up hope of ever hearing the old tunes again when Sammy was on board.

An odd note was Ed's choice of material for his solo spot. After playing Cathederal, he gave us a brief snippet of Eruption followed by the intro to 316. After this, he segued back into Year to the Day. Short but sweet. For an encore, Ed and Gary performed How Many Say I. Hats off to these guys for pulling off a sensitive tune to a crowd of 50,000 rockers.

Van Halen has successfully reinvented themselves again. The third time is indeed the charm.

While this was my third Van Halen concert, it was the first for my two younger brothers. Having grown up listening to VH with me, they have come to love their musicianship and music just as much as I do. I must admit, I approached the concert with hesitation, not knowing what to expect from new frontman Gary Cherone.

I was floored. Gary tore up the stage, possessing the energy that I imagine hallmarked the early days of VH when the boys were much younger. All thoughts of comparing Gary to David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar went out the door as he did justice to all the old tunes while also making his mark on tunes from "Three."

Of course, Michael, Eddie and Alex were perfect, as always. I did wonder why Alex was wearing a neck brace and if it would hamper his playing...but it didn't, and once again he jammed. The old tunes sounded great and there was a sense of electricity from all four band members that I never saw during previous tours. Maybe it was being in California again, where it all started so many years ago. Maybe it was a sign of a fresh start for the band, signaled by their opening number, "Unchained." Whatever the case maybe, all doubts about the future of Van Halen were erased, and no sooner did the concert (finished) did (I) wish to see it all over again.

It was fitting that I was celebrating the Fourth of July, the birthday of America, with the greatest from America, past, present and future. The future looks good.

Whoever said Van Halen would never be the same was right, however if that is good or bad I can't say. Having seen Roth solo and two Hagar era Van Halen concerts I think I've run the gambit of the Van Halen experience in the past ten years, and I have to say their concert last night was up to par.

The concert was leaps and bounds above my two previous ones because I was always guessing what was going to played next. In Hagar days they just played their new album, Hagar hits, and four Roth songs. Last night they switched from Roth to Hagar and then to current stuff so smoothly and often that it gave a great sense of the band's history, and kept me on my toes about what to expect which ending up being anything. To be honest almost missed hearing new songs like Josephina, and Once.

Cherone handles his duties well. Having said that his duties in the band are visiblly different than Hagar's. Hagar was a band mate, an equal, who even took a solo like the others, however, Cherone is there to sing the songs. He often stepping back from center stage to let Eddie do his solo, or even let Mike sing a couple of songs.

Seeing Cherone as lead signer is almost like watching a Van Halen fan get up from the crowd and start singing, half the time he just sits back and watches. However, Cherone, also, clashes with the rest of the band who is still the hard rocking, and t-shirt wearing guys we used to know. Cherone, however, is lanky, dressed (at least in our show) all black, and is in constant movement. This truely sets him apart when compaired to Alex Van Halen who was in neck brace and seemed barly able to move. None of this detracts from Cherone who gave a great performance, however, his stage presence is a definate switch.

While the show had a lot of fun moments in watching the new group dynamic, and guessing what was coming next, the concert did have a three disapointments. First, while I enjoyed Mike's singing efforts he did not do his bass solo. Also, the show seemed to run a little short, while they played a large amount of material the crowd could have handled a lot more, especially, since the tickets with all the sur-changes are at near $50. Lastly, while, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitar player on the planet he is not and should not be a vocalist, while his piano work on How Many Say I is great he should leave the the singing to Cherone.

However, when all is said and done I enjoyed this concert as much as I did the two Hagar ones I went to, proving to me that I like, no Love, Van Halen, and it doesn't really matter who sings David, Sammy, Gary, or even Mike (Note: Eddie should not sing.) I just love Van Halen, and always will.

Believe it or not, lightening may have struck this band for the third time.

Yes, tonight (July 4, 1998) Van Halen played their hometown Los Angeles area show in Sammy's old backyard of San Bernadino, and let it be known that they made believers out of the skeptics loyal to Mr. Hagar. Van Halen still kicks ass!

I'm a devoted Van Halen fan. That's not to say that I've liked every move that the band has made through the years, but I've stuck with them. Van Halen's first album changed my life (...can you relate to this? If I had to explain, you wouldn't understand). I've seen at least one show from every tour that Van Halen has ever hit the road with (no this isn't a fucking "I've seen them more than you have" challenge, so spare me from your flaming e-mail messages). Indeed, they're as hard-driving today as ever!

Eddie was simply masterful! I swear I don't know how he can continue to get better and better, but he does. Perhaps more so today, at this venue, he was more masterful than at anytime before. I've stood in his face for many, many shows and have never seen him enjoy being a guitar God more than he did tonight. Eddie has the power. It's his world, we just live in it.

Alex was rock solid as usual, delivering an ever steady drum solo and commanding a huge ovation from the 30,000+ crowd, although he's beginning to look like a crash victim fresh from the paramedics' outpatient center. (We love you Alex, we're just starting to worry about you.) And Mike continues to be the winner of Rock's "we want to party with that guy" award. But the big story tonight was the new guy, Gary Cherone.

I could go on and on about how Gary had to put forward his best performance in front of his first L.A. audience concert. About his un-Van-Halen-like clothes (the same black jacket, pants and silk shirt you've undoubtedly seen him in in pictures/videos on stage, which is completely different from Roth/Hagar's "show your bulges" pants and T-shirts). About his slinky (the only word that comes to mind) moves, twirl-y dancing, and legs-crossed poses. However, times are different with this band. Whatever they did in the past is in the past. We must move on. This is the band now. The predictable argument is hardly worth the debate. What eventually will be clear is the fact that Gary Cherone has proven himself worthy to be the front man of the best Rock and Roll band in the world. Tonight Gary fulfilled his biggest challenge on the road with Van Halen to date. He earned my respect by delivering a powerful and eye-opening performance, right there in Sammy's old ‘hood. Although there were no chants of "GARY, GARY,,," the fans cheered him and (eventually) accepted him. First step accomplished. He could have hoped for nothing better. (We're fickle fans in L.A.... we whined and complained so much about our football teams here that we lost both of them in the same season with no replacement yet!)

Welcome to L.A. Gary, and congratulations on a successful first concert here. We look forward to seeing you back here with the VH boys real soon!

As a bonus tonight, Van Halen provided a huge fireworks show after the concert. It was a hit! Well done guys!!!

I can't think of a cooler way to spend America's Independence Day than with America's premiere party band, Van Halen! Their July 4th concert ROCKED! Monster Magnet and Johnny Lang opened the show and there was a fireworks display afterwards (I think Alex's kick drums were louder)!

I also attended the previous concert on July 3rd at the Del Mar Fair in San Diego. That was a much smaller venue than the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavillion but I didn't notice much difference in the two performances. Each gig was busting at the seams with energy and excitement!

Ed's guitar sounds HUGE! It's hot and heavy and reminds me of his early album sound, but even better! He doesn't have much reverb or echo on his guitar but he had his old flanger and phase pedals out there. I could only see three guitar cabinets behind him: two striped with a plain one in between. His solo spot in the middle of "Year to The Day" was mainly composed of "Cathedral," the last half of "Eruption," and "316."

During "Dreams" a fan managed to get on stage and started hugging Eddie and talking to him before security pulled him away but Ed didn't miss a note! Edward seemed to be having a much better time than three years ago on the "Balance" tour and supplied the fans with ample jumps and grins.

I don't think Mike's bass was loud enough but he was awesome on back-up vocals (even trading lead lines with Cherone) and he ruled on "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" with the Jack Daniels bass!

Any extra sound room was completely engulfed by Alex's drums! He played incredibly well regardless of the neck brace and arm cast. I can't get over how his bass drums kick you in the chest! The second part of the drum solo with the background track was cool and different.

Finally, CHERONE IS THE ULTIMATE VAN HALEN FRONT MAN FOR THE 90'S! This guy is amazing live and he sings the old songs just as well, if not better, than Roth or Hagar did! He is all over the stage and the fans! He actualy jumped up on Mike's shoulders during "Jump" and he stood on every cabinet on the stage at least once! The really cool thing is that Gary doesn't have some insecure ego to stop him from singing songs he didn't write! I hope he will be Van Halen's lead singer for a long, long time.

If you don't believe he's great, you should go see them live. It was an awesome concert from an awesome band! I can't wait until next time! THANK YOU, VAN HALEN!

The night started with Monster Magnet. The lead singer was out of it, and got upset at the audience for not supporting him more. He didn't deserve it. Then, thankfully, Johhny Lang hit the stage. An excellent bluesman at such a young age. He cleaned up on guitar. Their songs were soulful and his guitar work was emotion-packed. Then came the band we were waiting for.

I sat in the front row and could see Eddie warming up behind a somewhat enclosed area. A couple minutes later the lights went out. Ed ran onto the stage and opened it up with "Unchained." The crowd immediately roared. Johhny Lang was good on the guitar, but Eddie has such a total command of the sound. He blows everyone away.

Gary had his hair dyed blonde. He wore the regulary black outfit with flared-bottoms. One song flowed into the next. Before you know it, Alex is doing his drum solo. He does 10 times more than any other drummer could do. He's the Eddie of drums.

What was most interesting was his brother Ed, watching the drum performance from the sidelines. He was moving his head and hands as if he was the one on drums. After Al finished, Ed ran over to shake his hand. You gotta love that.

They tore each song up. Gary moved freely about the stage, not afraid to do anything or go anywhere. Halfway through the show a fan made his way up on the stage and went to Eddie, who was in the middle of a song. Ed looked up at him and saw the guy was no threat. While continuing to play with his left hand, he put his right arm around the guy for a little squeeze. The guy was ecstatic. He was then escorted off the stage by security.

Ed was the happiest you've ever seen him, and without any help from Jim Beam. The band had a lot of fun on stage, making the audience have the best time imaginable. Ten years from now, everyone will be referring to now as "the good old days." It was great to be a part of it.

I saw the mighty Van Halen on July 4th at the Blockbuster Pavillion. As soon as the lights went down, I got goosebumps. Eddie walked out, waved to the crowd and started into Unchained. After that, Gary reassured everybody that they would be rockin' some very old songs. They played Mean Streets, Romeo Delight, Aint Talkin' 'Bout love, and of course the 1984 two. They played about 4 Sammy songs, and a couple off of the new album..

The Guitar solo ROCKED!!! I have never heard him play Eruption so great!! HE IS TRULY GOD! Mike sung lead vocals for Somebody Get Me A Doctor, and played his legendary Jack Daniels Bass. Gary's stage antics were a little weird, but he did indeed pour everything he had into that show. I give the show a 10+....great show!!

July 4th, 1998 - Van Halen, Johnny Lang, Monster Magnet at the Blockbuster Pavilion (So Cal).

Monster Magnet - ZZZZZZZ!

Johnny Lang - Where the hell did this kid learn to sing and play the blues like that? He's freakin' great!

Van Halen - This was the best Van Halen show I've seen since the "Fair Warning" tour. This band is hungry again. They're not going through the motions live like on the "Balance" tour. Gary Cherone has given Van Halen a much needed kick in the ass.

There was a huge walk up crowd to the show. There were probably 20,000 at the Blockbuster Pavilion. The highlights for me were "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love", "Romeo Delight", "Humans Being", "Somebody Get Me A Doctor". The crowd was into it. There was a great vibe.

The Van Halen 3 songs sound a lot better live. "How Many Say I" sounded better live even though I think it's the worst song on the CD. Gary nailed all of the Hagar songs with ease and did a great job with the Roth tunes. The man is a freakin' hurricane live. Mike and Eddie were bouncing all over the place. Al looked like he'd just been in auto accident, but he was smiling a lot during the drum solo and throughout the performance.

The few low lights were not hearing different VH3 songs like "Dirty Water Dog" and "Ballot or the bullet" live. They could've played longer than 1 hr 50 min. "How many say I" should not be part of the encore and "Jump" just doesn't work live.

Overall, this what Rock and Roll is all about. Having a great time with 20,000 of your closest friends.

To keep this short and simple, I think that this show kicked ass!! For all of you who doubted Gary's capability of filling Sammy's shoes, he did a damn good job at this show. Even though his vocals aren't as good as Sammy, his onstage performance was awesome! Gary has now gained my respect as a member of Van Halen.

As for the rest of the band, Eddie's playing was nothing short of amazing! Nobody in the world can top his guitar playing ability. I wish that they would have played two shows in the Los Angeles area because I would have been at both. One last thing, a concert isn't a concert without a fight, right? This was my first ever concert experience and was happy to see a fight break out right in front of me. What a trip!!

I enjoyed this concert immensely and want to go again somewhere and recommend to everyone that you try and see them sometime!!

Simply Amazing! I just want to welcome Gary aboard. At first I was skeptical about Gary performing Dave and Sammy era tunes, but after them riping through Unchained, Without You, One I Want, And Mean Street, he seemed as if he was in the band for twenty years.

Mike gave us a damn good rendition of Somebody Get Me a Doctor. I now wonder why they just didn't have him step up and take over front man duties.

I was also "extremely" impressed with Right Now and Dreams. I never thought any one but Sammy could sing those songs.

The only complaint was Year to the Day. It killed alot of the shows energy. However, Eddie's solo brought me back to life.

The entire band was on and extremely tight. I have seen Them seven times and this was by far the best so far.