Van Halen
Riverport Amphitheater
St. Louis, MO
July 19, 1998

Set List - Click here!

Review by Chris Mossinghoff - CAMOSS@prodigy.net

The Van Halen Tour de Force is back!!!

It was a hot sticky night in St. Louis and Eddie and the boys just turned up the heat!! They opened the show with my favorite Dave-era song, Unchained. From there the boys fired off a set list of both classic and new tunes that rocked this town.

After Unchained they picked from the new album and played Without You and One I Want. These songs rock live. Alex and Mike layed down the foundation and Eddie was right on every note. From there they went on to Mean Street which I haven't heard live since the Fair Warning tour in 1981. When It's Love, Fire In The Hole and Why Can't This Be Love followed, and then they followed up with a blistering version of I'm The One.

Alex's drum solo came next. He did his usual solo, playing around and building until he was beating so fast that it sounded like the pistons of a huge harley. If his arm was recently broken, he has healed up very well. Dance The Night Away, and Feel Your Love Tonight followed. It was great to see the guys rock the old tunes.

In recent tours they only did one or two of the old ones and concentrated on just Sammy's songs. Humans Being didn't go over as well on stage as it does on the radio, but I really didn't like this song when it first came out until it grew on me. Maybe I'll have to hear this one live a few more times.

Mike took over the lead vocal duties with Somebody Get Me A Doctor. Mike is no Dave but he had fun with it. Eddie went into his solo while they were in the middle of A Year To The Day. He played Cathedral, Eruption and 316. He's still the king.

They finished the set with Right now and Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love. As they walked off stage the whole crowd was shouting "EDDIE EDDIE" until he came back with Gary to do Josephina on acoustic guitar. They closed the show with Panama and Jump. Two crowd pleasers that had to be played.

Eddie was playing out of his mind all night. He was smiling and running and jumping around. It's obvious that he's once again a happy guy and it definitely shows in his playing. Gary doesn't have the attitude of David Lee Roth strutting across the stage with his fist in the air banging out the "HEY HEY HEY" of Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love or the vocal range of Sammy, but I think as these guys get more familiar with each other they will only get better both live and in the studio.

Look for great things from these guys in the future. And why not, they've given us a lot of great things in the past. ROCK ON MIGHTY VAN HALEN!!!!!!

I have never been to a Van Halen concert before in my life! I have never been to any concert at all 'til now. But, when this show started, I felt my whole body go numb! This concert was the shit! You know what? FUCK SAMMY, AND FUCK DLR!!!!!!!

Gary gave a show worth seeing if you haven't already! The moment the lights went out we all stood up and gave screams the fucking dead could. The moment when Gary started singing "When It's Love", I got so emotional and almost started to cry! And I'm a guy. Which gives the impression how this show has affected me! I love this band!

The concert rocked the house here in St.louis! Gary over shot his predecessors in all the songs. Go see the concert! It's worth the money you'll spend! VAN HALEN FOREVER!!!!

It was the hottest day of the year in St.louis, Missouri (101 degrees), and what a way to spend it. I truly believe, like Eddie says, this is a new band, because they never played like this. The intensity and energy blew me away when Eddie exploded into Unchained, he was again like an atomic bomb.

Gary Cherone is it. Gary put every damn bit of energy into singing old VH tunes that we have not heard in a long long time. How long has it been since we've heard Somebody Get Me A Doctor, Unchained, Mean Street, I'm The One, Dance the Night Away, it seems like it was just yesterday.

Mikey, what a man, pulled out the Jack Daniels bass, and even sang lead vocals on Somebody Get Me A Doctor! Alex played those drums like he was going to be dead tomorrow, damn what a solo, everyone was standing for his ovation.

I must speak of Eddie again, he is superhuman, because NO ONE can play the way he did on 7/19/98, he is truly a god. All the new songs were played beautifully, including a duet of Gary and Eddie on Josephina.

To hell with all other concerts go see this one. On a 10 scale I'd give it an 11.

YEAH! YEAH! IT ROCKED! I think Van Halen rules! I sat in front row last night, and my fists are still pumping. It was awesome when Alex started wailing on the gong. My friend and I were jumping up and down screaming, 'YES, YES, ROCK, ROCK ON!'

Then I threw my Rams jersey on stage that said Van Halen on the back of it. Michael Anthony put it on and at the end of the concert he threw it back into the audience and some dude took off with it. That sucked. I was pissed.

I also liked how Gary Cherone looked in his tight black pants. He kept sticking his ass out and showing it off to the audience. It would have been cool if he was a chick. I liked it when Alex started banging on the gong. He is still not as good as Lars is though.

The concert rocked, except for when I missed I'm the One because there was a line in the john.

Sorry for the all-caps, we usually exclude reviews typed in UPPERCASE, but we decided to let this one through. Any punctuation mistakes or spelling errors have been left in. - Grant

I RELUCTANTLY SUBMIT THIS REVIEW FOR TWO REASONS: #1 I DOUBT IT WILL BE PUBLISHED AND #2 I AM DEEPLY SADDENED BY WHAT I WITNESSED AT LAST NIGHTS SHOW.

I WILL GIVE PROS/CONS IN ORDER TO HELP MY CHANCES OF GETTING PUBLISHED. (ASIDE: I HAVE BEEN A VAN HALEN FAN SINCE 1978).

PROS:

1. IT WAS REFRESHING TO HEAR 4 OF THE "OLD" VAN HALEN ERA SONGS.
2. EDDIE REALLY SEEMED HAPPY & TO BE HAVING A GOOD TIME.
3. EDDIE IS STILL ONE OF THE GREATEST GUITAR PLAYERS OF ALL TIME.

CONS:

1. RIVERPORT SOLD TO LESS THAN 50% CAPACITY UNTIL OFFER-ING LAWN SEATS (REGULARLY $20) FOR $5 WITH AEROSMITH TICKET. I AM OBVIOUSLY NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS LESS THAN THRILLED WITH THE "NEW" SOUND. P.S VAN HALEN WITH HAGAR SOLD OUT QUICKLY EVERY TIME IN ST LOUIS.
2. CHERONE CAN NOT REACH THE HIGH NOTES AND I THOUGHT HIS RENDITIONS OF THE HAGAR ERA SONGS IN PARTICULAR WERE PATHETIC.
3. CHERONE IS A "GOOF" ON STAGE; HIS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS ARE RIDICULOUS & HIS BODILY MOVEMENTS AMATEURISH.
4. CHERONE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AT WORKING THE CROWD TO ANYWHERE NEAR THE HYSTERIA OF ROTH/HAGAR.

I REALLY DOUBT I AM THE ONLY FAN WHO FEELS THIS WAY. I STILL BOUGHT THE ALBUM & LISTENED OBJECTIVELY DOZENS OF TIMES. YOU SEE, AFTER THE CONCERT I REALIZE I STILL LOVE THE MUSIC. THE VOCALS ON "3" ARE THE THING THAT I CAN BARELY STOMACH. CHERONE/EXTREME ARE NOT IN VAN HALENS CLASS. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER VAN HALEN CD OR ANOTHER CONCERT TICKET AGAIN AS LONG AS GARY CHERONE IS THE LEAD SINGER.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS.

This review is the opposite. Somebody please lend this guy a shift key...

as a true fan I enjoyed the show. but i found it to be a let down. to me gary didnt seem to blend in with the band maybe its just me but it was next to impossible to replace dave and was done perfectly with sammy. it doesnt matter who you bring in next because nobody will be able to fill the shoes left to fill.it was sad to see dave go and even worse to see sammy go .i know i dont know all of the suroundings but arguably one of the greatest bands ever was with sammy! i have traveled all over the country to see these guys but i wont anymore.atleast not to see gary.

The concert rocked. While the event did not sell out like past tours, the 10,000 or so fans who did attend were treated to a awesome time.

The band itself just keeps improving. Singers may change but the nucleus of the band remains the same.

Gary's ability to take great songs and make them "his" is incredible. Although the singing was different it was still astonishing.

I would definitely purchase tickets again.

Very energetic! Gary is a great showman. Eddie led the crowd in chants several times. His energy and stage activity was well above the expected for a man with a hip problem. He did not disappoint the crowd. He met and surpassed all expectations!!!

The concert was being videotaped so the band was in great form. Noticed that Angie Everhart was standing in front of me during the concert. I heard that she is dating Gary. (He definitely could not keep his eyes off her).

There is not one negative thing that could be said about this concert. It kicked some major ass!! Gary's vocals were wonderful. Eddie is just a guitar god! Michael & Alex are always great. The rapport between the members of the band was fantastic. I was thrilled!!

By the second song of their set you couldn't help but think "Sammy who?" Van Halen is better than ever!! (Even if the stinking radio stations around here don't think so.)

I cannot say enough good things about the concert. It totally rocked!! Best 39.50 I have spent in a long time!

Last night I saw the greatest the band on Earth deliver one of the best, if not the BEST performance ever. VANHALEN rocked a sold-out crowd at Riverport once again, but this time was different. For two hours we were treated to a mixture of new, not so old, and old VH music. What made this show the best ever? His name is Gary Cherone and he flat out ROCKED!

First of all, Gary Cherone. This man made a city full of skeptics true believers after last nights show. St. Louis is (in general) full of Hagar freaks, which made it even more interesting to watch the crowd embrace this guy. His energy and vocal ability is second to none. And that is what made the difference in last nights show. There was no useless verbal crap heard, in contrast to past VH shows, just good old VH music at it's best.

Next, Eddie was truly AMAZING last night. We all know that he is the KING, but even more impressive was the smile he displayed through the entire show. This guy must be the happiest man alive and it showed last night. The only complaint I have is that his solo could've been a little longer, but the 95 degree weather might have had something to do with that.

Which brings me to my next point. I don't think that the heat bothered Michael Anthony in the least bit because he was all over the place. I did miss hearing his solo, but he made up for it when he took the lead vocals on "Somebody Get Me A Doctor". This guy truly gels this band together and it was very evident last night.

Last and certainly not least, Alex Van Halen. Wow, this guy tore it up last night. I guess what impressed me the most was a part in his solo where he played along with another drum track. He was absolutely amazing.

So in closing, I've got one thing to say. THIS IS A MUST SEE SHOW FOR ANY VH FAN PAST OR PRESENT! All the skeptisism that existed in St. Louis has vanished and a new apprecitation for the greatest band on Earth is evident. I can't wait to see these guys the next time around!