Van Halen
Sangyo Bunka Center
Iwate, JP
October 26, 1998

Set List - Click here!

Review by Dana and Kayla Ward - kdjward@heronet.or.jp

AWESOME! ENERGETIC! RIVETING! Three words that come to mind after seeing VH in concert in Iwate, Japan 26 Oct. Being stationed in Japan, its hard to get to see concerts as most are only in Tokyo so THANK YOU Van Halen for making a stop in the small but very loyal Iwate.

Several American families drove 3 hours to Iwate to get to the concert and it was more than we expected. Gary Cherone is fabulous and this is by the far the best Van Halen yet! The energy between all the guys is very evident and it is easy to see that they work together well.

This was my first Van Halen concert as well as a first for my 13 year old daughter..we had a great time together and she really enjoyed seeing Van Halen..I want her to know what real Rock & Roll is about and she definitely saw it that night.

The drum solo by Alex Van Halen and the guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen stopped my heart!! I can't describe in words how wonderful they all are. A special thanks to Howie, Matt and Hal, part of the VH crew, for chatting with us, you guys were great for talking with my daughter and signing her book..she was thrilled and thanks for the copy of the Set List....she treasures it! Even though she didn't get her dream to meet the Band, she had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed it when I yelled "Van Halen Rocks" during the silence!

Mr. Cherone, Mr. E. Van Halen, Mr. A. Van Halen and Mr. Anthony, thanks so much for the great music and the memories we will treasure forever! KEEP ON ROCKIN! And we look forward to the next album!

It's unbelievable concert that Van Halen came to Morioka. The long dreamt of concert began at last. It was their only concert in Northern Japan.

7:00pm. The audience screams whenever they see a crew member walk across the stage. 7:10pm. The stage becomes suddenly dark. Eddie appears with a striped Wolfgang and begins to play the intro of "Unchained". Sangyo Bunka Centre exploded the moment the four group members were bathed in light.

The old and new songs were well balanced and complimented each other. The energy of an Alex drum solo reminded me of the Van Halen of old. An appreciative audience is a sweaty audience. And Eddie's naked chest dripped with his exertions on the guitar. Eddie played a fantastic guitar solo and Michael drank Jack Daniels straight from the bottle as he played his custom Jack Daniels bass. The power of the concert grew steadily until it climaxed in Alex's gong of "Right Now".

Gary melts into the band completely and the teamwork is very good. Gary's trademark is throwing a microphone stand high in the air while moving like a pantmime.

As for the encore, the band ripped into "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" to the delight of the audience. Josephina was fantastic. Eddie and Gary make a great combination. It was broadcast the next day as well.

Despite the fact that I saw the set list on the Internet and knew that the last 3 songs were the wonderful Josephina and the two classics "Panama" and "Jump", I tried not to let this knowledge diminish my excitement. Then, I jumped, jumped, jumped no less than 1m, 2m, 3m, in the very front row of Sangyo Bunka Centre....and the concert was finished.

Eddie, Alex, Michael and Gary, Thank you for the wonderful concert. Gary said "You were the best audience in Japan", but I say "This was the best concert I've seen in Japan".