Van Halen
PNC Bank Arts Center
Holmdel, NJ
August 16, 1998

Set List - Click here!

Review by Paul Esposito - simplerhym@aol.com

Will keep this short---Band getting tighter every night. Hate to say it as a New Yorker, but the Jersey crowd was much more into it.

I was hoping for a set list change of greater magnitude, though. All they changed was subbing 'Fire In The Hole' for 'Dirty Water Dog'...JAMIE'S CRYIN' was back, and great for the second straight night, despite a slight lyrical flub by Gary...But, I would have preferred 'ROMEO', 'FEEL YOUR LOVE TONIGHT' and 'DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY'......

This is it for me for the III tour unless they come back in the winter...Can't complain though...THE OLD STUFF ROCKS, THE NEW BAND RULES, and I hope the rest of you get out there to cheer them on---THEY DESERVE IT....Maybe you guys will get HOT FOR TEACHER in your set lists.....Yours in a simple rhyme!!!!!!

p.s.....GOTTA STOP TEASING US WITH 'Everybody Wants Some'..LOL!

First off, Kenny Wayne Shepherd was AWESOME!!! He seemed like an exact duplicate of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He rocked and it seemed everone enjoyed it as much as I did. After he concluded with Voodoo Chile, much of the crowd at the PNC Band Arts Center was on their feet for Kenny Wayne.

Next was the Monsters of Rock, Van Halen. This was my second time seeing VH on this tour. I saw them at Madison Square Garden back on May 22nd. Let me tell you this, they kicked ass at the Garden and they kicked ass again at the Arts Center. Although, I would have to say that the show at the Garden was a little better since they played Dance The Night Away and Feel Your Love Tonight there rather than at the Arts Center, but they did play Jamie's Cryin' which was great to hear live.

As usual, the band opened with Unchained which is always rocking. The set was pretty much the same as when I first saw them this year until they played I'm The One, which I think is a better song to play live than Romeo Delight. They proved it at the Arts Center by rocking whole state of NJ down.

Alex kicked ass on the drums again as well as Eddie with his solo. Eddie's solo consisted of Primary, Cathedral, Eruption, and 316, and was played in the middle of Year To The Day which is an awesome song to hear live. Mike was outstanding on Somebody Get Me A Doctor, but it seemed as if Gary had to push Mike to be more excited at the show. Mike looked more pumped up for the show at MSG than he did here tonight.

I didn't hear Josephina at MSG, but it was good to hear it tonight. Many other people though didn't seem to want to hear this little duet with Gary and Eddie. They prefered Panama and Jump which they ended the concert with.

Overall, it was an outstanding show, but it was not better than the MSG show, in my opinion of course. I first saw VH back during the Balance tour and thought that show was awesome, but this concert was much better. VH can do without Sammy, but I think they would be even better if they had Diamond Dave back.

Let me start out by saying Kenny Wayne Shepherd was awesome!!!! He got the crowd on its feet and prepared them for what was coming: Van Halen 3.

VH started out with Unchained which is always a good tune. The best sounding tunes of the evening were When It's Love, Why Can't This Be Love, Humans Being, I'm The One, Somebody Get Me A Doctor and Jamie's Cryin', which was amazing.

Gary Cherone was decent but was no Sammy Hagar. My friend and I constantly were reminding each other of how much better this concert could have been with Sammy. VH sounded its best when Cherone wasn't screaming, I mean singing. Michael Anthony should be the new lead singer because he sounded awesome. The people around me were pretty pissed off with the way Cherone sounded. One guy in back of me was pissed off with Eddie during Cathedral for some reason while another couple were singing "Everybody wants some.. I wants some too" (this is what alcohol does to you!!)

The lighting was magnificent and really aided the show. Overall on a scale from 1-10 I give this concert a 7 just because the older songs sounded great. I saw Sammy on his Marching To Mars tour last September and that concert was much better than this one. Sammy concert still remains my favorite concert of all time. Hopefully their next album has some good material on it so they can actually play those songs on tour without having to use the older songs as a crutch. Although I must admit it was great to hear the older songs. My only wish is that they play Atomic Punk in concert sometime soon.

The band is already relying on Eddie so they mine as well play the songs that he jams in.

Wow! Last night was quite a night. Kenny Wayne Shepherd opened with a fantastic set that was really impressive. This kid's good! He even did a great version of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile".

But, Van Halen was even better! About 9:00 we heard some feedback coming through the amps, and Eddie came out soloing. Seconds later, the band was roaring into "Unchained". The energy within the crowd was incredible. And the band was so tight.

Gary Cherone! Gary Cherone! Gary Cherone! This guy is fantastic! All of my doubts were gone after three songs! He's got a great, powerful voice. Plus, he has so much stage presence. I've never seen anyone be so energetic while performing. He was running around, dancing, jumping, everything!

Eddie was fantastic. He looked so happy on stage, and he's got his hair back! He played an awesome solo, which was basically "Cathedral", "Eruption", and "316". For a guy with hip problems, he can sure get around.

Alex and Mike were excellent too. Alex pounded out a great solo. Mike showed us his vocal talents on "Somebody Get Me A Doctor". He was wearing a really funny Trojan shirt which said, "Ask Me For a Free Sample".

The band couldn't have given a better show. They sounded great, and the music was perfect. They blended old, kinda-old and new songs for a great mix. My personal favorites were "Jamie's Cryin", "Josephina", and "Panama". If you have a chance, check out Van Halen on the 3 tour!

I saw VH a couple of months ago in Philadelphia. That concert was great but this concert at the PNC Bank Arts Center was even better!! For the first time since the Roth days I saw the band get introduced as "The Mighty Van Halen" as Eddie ripped into "Unchained". They also played "Jamie's Cryin" and what a job they did!!!

Eddie was a maniac all night. This was the most active I have seen him in many years. The only disappointment was they did not play "Dance The Night Away" or "Romeo Delight". Does anyone know why Eddie is no longer wireless?? He keeps getting tangled in his guitar cord.

The worst part of the concert came near the end when a big fat guy behind us wearing a "Yankees" shirt crapped in his pants and had to be escorted out of the place!!!