Van Halen
Lakewood Amphitheater
Atlanta, GA
July 31, 1998

Set List - Click here!

Review by Eric Guenther - skachord1@aol.com

I just had the greatest experience of my life...*VAN HALEN* kicked ass in Atlanta tonight. From the first to last chord of the show you could just feel the energy from Eddie, Alex, Mike, and new comer Gary Cherone. (By the way who is David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar) that is what was going through my mind. This guy is incredible and Eddie was just as smooth as glass not one flaw and always making the songs sound better than on the album.

If you have a chance to see this tour you must. If you don't then you're losing out on a great time.

FANTASTIC! I've seen Van Halen three times w/ Dave (twice on Fair Warning, once on 1984), and twice with Sammy (5150, OU812), and this concert was one of the two best, ranking up there w/ Fair Warning in Portland, ME. No real surprises in the set list, although it was great to hear "I'm The One."

As far as Gary-I'm biased. I've been a VH fan since the beginning, and I was an Extreme fan for as long as they were around. I saw Gary w/ Extreme on the III Sides tour. He impressed me then, and he impressed me now. One of the fans at Lakewood brought a small banner with the III logo from Extreme. Very cool. Bottom line: Gary can flat-out sing, he's a great showman, and he treats every era of VH with equal respect. If you have doubts, GO SEE THE SHOW!! Also, don't miss the opening act. Kenny Wayne Shepherd was excellent.

I can't say anything about the rest of the band that hasn't been said before. Michael Anthony singing "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" was great, Alex held the whole show together, and then there's Eddie. Still the undisputed master, and he hasn't been this active on stage since Fair Warning.

Atlanta managed to get Gary out his black suit. It was hot and humid! Lakewood is outdoors, and after Eddie's solo, he still had the black pants, but opted for a sleeveless white tee. The crowd wasn't a sellout, but they were stoked. I read some reviews of other cities w/ flat responses. Not in Hotlanta. We were on our feet just about the whole time. The show is a fan's dream. All the great old stuff, fantastic new stuff. If you miss it, I don't know how you can call yourself a fan!

WOW!!!!! I can't believe I almost skipped this one. KWS was an awesome opener (as we have all come to expect from the guitar god in training). VH was simply breathtaking. The "show" was the biggest it's been in many years, with a great 3Ring Circus theme.

The set list was a welcome change from the Hagar days (not that it was ever bad with Sammy). It was great to hear some stuff from the ENTIRE 20 year catalog! Playing songs that haven't been in a live forum since '84 has obviously brought new life to the band. Ed, Al, and Mike look like they are having more fun than they've had in at least 3 tours. And Gary is just as exhausting to watch as he was onstage with Extreme. He is the consummate showman, knowing when to take center stage, and when to take it easy. Most importantly, it is obvious that he enjoys singing ALL Van Halen songs, and appreciates the band and its history, and the band obviously enjoys having his versatility, energy, pressence.

All in all, Van Halen is still, and always will be, a live show NOT to be missed.

One word suffices: AMAZING. I've seen these guys every tour since the first in '78 when they opened for Black Sabbath in Pittsburgh, and this is one of the best concerts I've ever seen them put out.

We were priviledged to witness one of the rare performances of "I'm The One" on this tour, along with the "Dance The Night Away/Feel Your Love Tonight" medley as a second encore.

They had a pretty full house at Lakewood Amphitheater tonight, and they seemed to revel in the fact that the crowd totally got into the tunes off the new CD early on. Me and my friends had 7th row stage left tickets, and had a great views of the band all night long. It was obvious that they were enjoying themselves and they completely blew away the audience with every tune. They all played at the peak of their abilities tonight.

For all you fellow guitarists, I've posted a detailed dissection of Eddie's solo. He was in top form, playing flawlessly thoughout. This is a thoroughly professional outfit firing on all cylinders, and you owe it to yourself if you are a VH fan to check them out.

I was skeptical when I first heard "3", because it does take some getting used to. But no longer. This tour rocks!!

Eddie's Guitar Solo:

• Cathedral Intro
• Feedback/Sustainer
• Cathedral-main theme with wah
• Eruption tapped triplets
• Fur Elise
• Descending Eruption triplets
• 316
• Back to YTTD ending

HOLY CRAP!!! For my first concert ever, this totally kicked. For all you non-believers out there, you will be believing after you go see them. They were awesome, but I expect nothing less from these four.

Gary was all over the place: up on the amps, behind Alex on the riser. He even dove head first over Mike's amps. I thought he was never going to get up, but then I saw this grinning face looking over the amps, and there he was, back at it again. I've heard tell that Dave was flexible, but Gary has him beat. You couldn't stop him.

Ed was amazing. AMAZING!!! I couldn't take my eyes off of him for most of the show. He knows how to captivate an audience. His solo was shorter than it used to be, but that doesn't make a difference. It was still wonderful.

Mikey was bouncing all over the place. He seemed to be having as much fun as the crowd. Hell, they all were. You could see Alex just smiling away throughout the whole concert. His solo was breathtaking. I have never seen anyone play that fast, and he is still wearing the neckbrace and arm cast. Now that, to me, is true love for his profession.

I want to thank the guys for playing a wonderful, spectacular show. You have made me an even bigger fan. I cannot wait until you come back. And when you do, I'll be there, right up front, smiling and having a blast.

VAN HALEN III FOREVER!!!!!!!!

I saw Van Halen for the first time live last night. All I can say is unbelievable! I thought all the guys were incredible, including Gary (although Gary doesn't seem to fit in the typical Van Halen motif). Neverless, I thought he did as good a job performing as DLR or Sammy. They blended their new songs and their classics magnificently. They proved to me that they are one of the most talented rock and roll bands of all time if not the most.

If you get a chance to check out any of Van Halen's upcoming dates, definitely do! VAN HALEN LIVES!

BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!!

Believe the hype because its all true.

Van Halen blew Atlanta wide open last night. I can't count the number of concerts I've seen, but this was the fourth and best Van Halen show I've seen. I've seen the VH boys on tour in '88, '91, '94, and now this tour. Without a doubt this is the most fun I've ever seen the band have during a show. In all the concerts I've seen from Aerosmith to Judas Priest to Kiss to Ted Nugent to ZZ Top to Bon Jovi to David Lee Roth solo to the Stones to the Who, I've never seen a group this alive. These guys were jumping around the stage like they were a band of twenty year olds.

Gary Cherone was all over the stage singing like no one I've ever seen. The guy has energy and stage presence out the wazoo. He was constantly running from one end of the stage to the other, on top of Al's riser, jumping on and off the speakers at the side of the stage. By the last two encores, I could tell Gary was beginning to get weak-kneed. Gary is a consumate show-man and seems to have helped the band gel together.

Eddie has his fire and his chops back. Believe what everyone is saying about his playing. I've never seen him play as good as he did tonight. He sounded like he was twenty again. He played the old songs note for note as good as he did back then with no sloppiness or missed notes. This guy is back and better than ever.

Mike and Al were amazing. It's good to finally get to hear Mike's singing voice. He can really sing. Him singing 'Somebody get me a doctor' really is as cool as everyone says. Mike is the kind of guy you'd like to hang out with. Al looked like he was in a train wreck with his neck and arm brace, but he amazes me that he's never sounded better. His drum solo was great and just the right length. Some drummers go on forever, but Al kept it at a length that no one go bored.

This group is truly a band now. There seem to be no egos, just one band. Before they played 'Panama', Mike, Gary, and Eddie all stood on the front of Al's riser to do a call and response with the crowd. Gary would hold his mike stand over Al's cymbals and Al would sing, then Gary would hold the mike out to the crowd while Mike and Eddie would pump up the crowd. These guys seem to be full of joy and having the time of their lives.

I would only change one thing about the show. Do away with the time honored tradition of the opening act. While I really enjoyed Kenny Wayne Shepherd and would pay to go see him in concert, I went to the show to see Van Halen. They've got a twenty year career, and I would much rather hear them play more songs. They are a supergroup who people want to hear play for three hours. How about it guys?

It was a hot night in Atlanta in more ways than one! I have never seen a show that could even come close to what those four guys did last night.

I had read the reviews from previous shows, but was a bit skeptical. After they finished Unchained as their opening song, I was sold. First and foremost, Gary is THE MAN. That guy is non-stop. He must have made 800 laps around the stage without ever letting up. A true showman with an incredible voice to back it up!

It was great to see Mike hammering on the old JD bass while belting out "Somebody Get Me A Doctor". He should sing lead more often.

Alex had a great solo especially with the additional music added on at the end. And that brings me to Eddie.

I'm sitting here trying to think of words to describe it and can't. At the beginning of his solo he played an extended version of Cathedral with a little Wah Wah pedal to spice things up. This was great because I took my little brother with me who is not quite the Van Halen fan that I am, however he loves Cathedral and to hear him play it in that manner was really special!

At the end of the show, after THREE encores, they looked as if they could play all night. You can tell that they are having a lot of fun and that reflects on the crowd BIG TIME. Everyone had the time of their lives in Hotlanta last night because of a little four piece rock n roll group from California. Thanks guys, we had a blast!

As a Van Halen fan since the 70's, I am sorry to say that this is the beginning (or maybe the end) of the end for Van Halen.

The show in Atlanta, GA was nothing but a joke. The only thing good about it was that I did not have to pay for the tickets, they were free from SRO Mgt. As most people might think or realize, Gary is nothing more than a fag. The way he moves and acts on stage is appaling. Van Halen is a rock band, not some freak show. Even what I consider as the 15 most precious minutes in any rock concert (Ed's guitar solo) was dull. The crowd was in a state of shock and did not even cheer.

The times of having 20 plus thousand fans are gone and replaced with empty reserved seats and over 1/2 the lawn being available. The only good memories will be hearing old vintage Van Halen from the Dave years attempted to be played once again.

As for questions that run through my mind....Try and answer this. If Ed and Alex dislike Dave and Sammy so fucking much, why the hell do they play 80% of the concert with their songs. And as for Ed and Alex saying that Dave and Sammy have LSD (Lead Singer Disease)...then they themselves have ED (Egomaniac Disease). Thus, people in glass houses should not throw rocks!

To end the review of the Atlanta show. After 1 1/2 hours, my wife and I (along with 100's of other fans) decided that it was time to leave. Have you ever heard of such a thing, leaving a Van Halen concert early? Well, as I said above, this is the beginning of the end of Van Halen.

What can you say! Absolutely the best stage performance I've ever seen in concert. I wasn't expecting much from Gary (given that he's the "new guy"), but it's like he's always been a part of the family. The guy's lungs must go down to his toes; he did a damn good job with the old songs.

Ed is the king.......not much can be said other than he works a stage just as well as his fret board. [If you've ever seen Ed live you'll know what I mean.] He did drop his pick though...tee hee hee!

Alex was powerful! To be so accident prone (falling ceiling tile and the like), he put on a flawless performance.

Did anyone know Mike could sing like that? Unreal! The only thing I wanted to see and didn't was a bass solo. When I've seen VH before, he did an awesome solo. I was looking forward to that but his performance was still top notch.

The one thing I really love about seeing VH live is watching them on stage having a good time. The don't try, they just do....and they have a blast which in turn puts on the best show.