Van Halen
Pine Knob
Clarkston, MI
September 3, 1998

Set List - Click here!

Review by Rachel McCauley - MIKEMCCAULEY@prodigy.net

The concert last night at Pine Knob was excellent!! My husband & I were completely impressed, and we are Van Halen concert "veterans". It was awesome hearing all the old tunes, and yes the band was really into them. You could tell they were having fun....and their energy shined into the audience.

The new stuff off III was equally awesome, this new stuff comes off better live and everyone had the same crazy "gonzo" reaction to them just like the old stuff. "Jamie's Cryin'", "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" and "Right Now" were all perfect. "Fire In The Hole" and "Humans Being" were my personal favorites.

Gary did a SUPER JOB and he has my approval and heart.. (Husband was impressed and he was a skeptic!)

I read reviews before the show so I knew what to expect. I also noticed the reviews are pretty much submitted by guys, so it's great to get a female's point in here.

As mentioned, husband & I are concert "vets" and my Van Halen memories/thoughts always make me smile...The one thing I am in total awe of is how ordinary, self-respecting, sane males go thru a total transformation at a Van Halen concert. Its like they "morph" or "Halenize" into this high energy, air-guitar playing, testosterone- driven machine! Seriously, at every concert the males completely let loose and enjoy themselves, getting lost in high energy fantasies..we females love it! This complete "feel great", "can do anything" buzz spills over to us and we enjoy the ride...it's like a concert perk.

We left Pine Knob at 11:00 but got home around 2:00AM due to a few "pull over", "gotta due it now" stops... Husband was in his "Halenize" transformation. This is a secret we women share when we go to a Van Halen concert; we love what it does to our guys! (That's why we have HUGE smiles at the concert!)

Gary, Ed, Mike and Al, on behalf of females at your concerts.....Thank You!!!

Uh, I'm tired....Somebody get me a doctor. I just got back from the Van Halen show at Pine Knob, it was unbelievable. I saw them at the Palace in May, and this performance was even better than the great show they did then.

I was in row A, made eye contact with all the band members a million times, loved the set list (it was a nice surprise to hear "Jamie's Cryin'", "Dance The Night Away", "Feel You're Love Tonight" and "Josephina", which weren't played last time).

Sammy and Dave? Who are they? I think it's safe to stop calling Gary "the new guy" because he has belonged in Van Halen since he was first born, it just took him a while to get there, but damn, it was worth the wait, he's the man, 'nuff said.

Eddie?.....c'mon people, need I say more? The name it self should make every guitar player fall to his knees and pray he could be that great someday. Mike?...awesome, he kept giving me thumbs up signs and smiling at me, awesome bass and lead vocals on "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" Alex...best drummer around, once again..nuff said.

You MUST see Van Halen, it's not an option, it's an order. You would be missing out on the best performance of your life, and that would be a shame. VAN HALEN FOREVER!

For the second time this year I saw the mighty Van Halen. I was at the last show in Detroit, just a few months ago, and for this show I got an even better seat. I thought I would be able to be more critical at this show. I tried to look at the show from a musician's standpoint and focus on every little detail of the show. I must say, even if I would have sat behind Alex's kit, or at the side of the stage I would not be able to find anything negative about their performance. It was outstanding, and every song sounded that much tighter at this show.

Every note and harmony part was there. All the songs were brilliantly sequenced and the new songs from '3' all have a live edge to them that just stung the audience. The new songs sound totally different from all the other Halen albums but do not lack any of the quality or musicianship. If "Fire in the Hole" is not catchy then I do not know what is. The riff that starts that song is rockin' to the bone. It strikes a nerve for any rock and roll musician.

I don't think there should be any arguments over who is better for vocals in this band. Each of the men that have played with this band have all shaped it in their own way. Gary Cherone deserves just as much credit as the others. I think he showed that tonight to a lot of people and he has probably showed it every night on this tour.

What I really liked about the show was the constant praise that the band had for Detroit; after all it is Rock City. "So this is how its going to be?" says Gary at the beginning of Mean Street, and from that point on the audience just connected with Van Halen. Claps and cheers turned into roars and the concert was just four songs into its progress. I don't think ten people even went for a piss while the band was playing because nobody wanted to miss anything. Of course not, one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time was right in front of their eyes.

Imagine not losing any of the adrenaline you had after more than twenty years of making albums and touring, keeping the same edge and creativity that you had when you began. How these guys do this without losing a thing is what we should appreciate Van Halen for.

The concert was nothing short of fantastic, and I mean fan-tastic because they connect immensely with their audience, and all of their fans. There is a spirit that never will die, that is the spirit of rock and roll, and Van Halen has kept this spirit alive.

If you get the chance to go see this show get off your ass and go, you will not be disappointed and you might catch the same spirit that sometimes feels like it has drifted away.

Words can not describe the show Detroit saw tonight. VAN HALEN was firing on all cylinders tonight. DETROIT FANS lived up to the billing ROCK CITY tonight, and the band seemed to feed off it. This was by FAR the best audiance AND the best SHOW I have ever had the pleasure of being associated with.

Gary was in rare form tonight, never missing a note all night. Mikey was blistering on lead vocals on "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" and Alex was typical Alex, a never ending heart pounding experience that will never be matched, he is the best rock n roll drummer ever, and it shows.

Eddie was exhausting, just watching him made me wanna st down. I DONT CARE HOW MANY TIMES I SEE HIM (FIVE SO FAR), HOW MANY TIMES I HEAR HIM, OR HOW CLOSLY I WATCH HIM, I WILL NEVER BELEIVE WHAT I SEE, the man is a God in his own right.

Finally got to hear Feel Your Love Tonight/Dance The Night Away tonight...... Awesome! Oldies dominated the highlights, guess the fans have been waiting so long they really have a ball with em.

CONGRATS DETROIT AND 101 WRIF, IT WAS A GREAT SHOW AND THE BEST AUDIENCE EVER!!!! Thanx to VAN HALEN for 3 great shows in Michigan. Gary, you ARE the man. till next tour....... HAPPY TRAILS

This is the second time I have seen Van Halen on this tour and I can really say Gary Cherone is part of the band. They seemed to be more comfortable with each other and gave a Kick Ass show full of piss and vinegar. Eddie is and always will be the Guitar God and proved once again Why.

They played a set that would satisfy any Van Halen fan old or new. They lit the Pine Knob Music Theater on fire with Jamie's Cryin', Dance The Night Away, Unchained and Feel Your Love Tonight as well as new hits such as Without You and Fire In The Hole.

Mike and Alex also added their rhythmic talents to make this one September Night I won't forget for a while. Hats off to Van Halen, the World's Greatest Rock Band. Keep Rockin Boys!