Review by Larry Oney - poisonrockett@aol.com

I went, waited, listened to people chant FUCK Dave, waited and waited. Ticket says 7:30, Dave comes on after 11:00. I was not one of the many chanting fuck Dave and never would. But he was awful.

Looked great, mass energy but sounded bad. Another thing was the guitar player, I know he was not at an arena for a big show but dress the part. The same K-Mart shirt from all of the other pics on the net. The bass player, there was a guy who looked the role, a flashy and rock acting bassist, good choice Dave.

The worst thing was waiting for a scream from yesterday and hearing a rap. Go see Dave to see Dave but all of the reviews make it look as though everything he says is the same every night, just changes the city. "Love at first sight, doing it for money" etc. I loved Dave but the deck is out of cards and he knows it.

What a show, Dave is the only entertainer who could have walked onto the stage that night. The reason, the sellout crowd was chanting fuck Dave and Dave sucks while they awaited the return of the Diamond one. Well let's say the tarnished one.

His voice was off key as he attempted all of our Halen favs. Dave, we went there to hear your songs, I am too young for all of the Halen cuts. Really my boyfriend got me into Roth tunes and even he was surprised at how bad of a show Dave put on. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that they let people in the doors at 7:30 and he did not come on till after 11:00. Well another thing was that during the final song, Jump, the P.A. system shut down.

He sucked cause he did not care that the system cut him off. I saw Poison this summer and they had a technical problem and Bret Michaels told the people back stage that if it was not fixed someone would lose their job and they started the song over. I guess Dave does not need the fans like Poison does, after all they only had about 12,000 people at the show.

My buddies and I didn't know whether to think Dave was really cool or really pathetic. It was kinda hilarious to see him on stage interacting with all the chicks he wanted to get in the sack with later on. I mean c'mon, yeah his voice was ok and he could still sorta do the high kicks, but Christ does he look old. The bleach job on his hair made him look like Edgar Winter.

My friend Greg and I, who are life-long VH fans, were left with more questions than answers about Dave's future with VH. He could hold his own on stage but who the #%&! could put up with him? C'mon Dave, gimme a break!

We drove 2 hours down the road from Cleveland and I have to say it was worth it. First the negatives: Dave played a bar that holds about 700 and they sold way over a thousand tickets. As 8, 9 , 10, and finally 11:00 passed, the crowd became increasingly drunk, hot, and pissed off. A loud chant of "Fuck Dave" was heard as well as minor chants of "Sammy".

To Dave's credit, once he came out and started jamming, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He of course played the same set list as every other night on this tour. The guitarist played "Eruption" which drew a minor chorus of boos. He used the same cliches, which, if I hadn't followed this tour thru the net, would have been amusing. On the positive side, the band sounded good, and it was great to hear Dave sing the old classics.

Overall, it was a good concert but Dave needs to show a little more respect for his fans, mix up the set list, and be more spontaneous.

Diamond Dave! What a performance for a guy that is that whacked out! I've read all the other reviews for this show and it's true, everyone has a different experience of a concert, it all depends on what you focus on.

The doors did open at 7:30 and the Villa was filled to capacity. The Fire Marshall would have had a field day filling out citations for overcrowding. The bar owner is your typical businessman and it’s getting close to Christmas so, he wanted to make as much money as possible.

The Alrosa’s capacity is 800 and there were nearly a thousand people in this club. Sardine City on the floor, in front of the stage. Everyone started to get a little crazy because they were there for a couple hours waiting on His Highness. It was hot because of the overcrowding and the booze was flowing!

The reason the concert didn’t start until after 11:00pm was all Dave’s doing. I know the bar owner so, I was kept apprised of the situation all night. First, the bar set Dave up in a hotel close to the Alrosa. Dave, apparently, thought it wasn’t good enough for him (too dirty he said) so, without telling anyone, he left his hotel and went to another one. The club sent a limo to pick him up and he was nowhere to be found.

After Dave called the club to tell them where he was (Dave, if you need a road manager, I work cheap), the limo finally went and got him and brought him to the show. The entrance to the rear of the venue was blocked by a Ford Bronco (the club repeatedly announced over the PA that the Bronco’s owner had to move it). About 20 yards were between Dave and the rear entrance to the club and he refused to walk that far. He sat in the limo nearly a half an hour until they got the vehicle moved.

Dave finally hit the stage a little after 11 and put on, in my opinion, a really entertaining show. I have not followed Dave’s tour on the Internet so, his humor had me busting a gut. Anyone disappointed with Dave for using the same lines every show needs to get over it. Almost every band does it. Dave is half-comedian anyway and they all tell the same jokes at every show so, what’s the big deal?

Dave, for his seasoning, put on a terrific rock n roll performance. Sure, he didn’t move like when he was younger but fuck, he’s been doing this 20 years! Mick Jagger doesn’t shake his ass like he used to either and have ya seen Rod Fucking Stewart lately?

David’s voice sounded fine. Anyone expecting to hear him sound like a recording he made in the 70s is an idiot. I loved hearing all the old Van Halen with the original throat.

The band was adequate considering what they were trying to cover. They shouldn't have played Eruption, that was just asking for trouble. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t play Jamie’s Crying.

I left before the encore (had to work the next morning) so, I didn’t get to see what happened when the PA fizzled. A friend told me about it the next day. Another one for the Van Halen contract rider file: Rick, the owner of the Alrosa, told me that the contract he signed to get Dave into the club required him to fill Dave’s dressing room with a certain number of “attractive women”. Rick was scurrying around the club all night picking out Cowtown’s finest dancers and such to appease Diamond Dave.

The music industry needs more people like David Lee Roth. He is the definition of Rock Star and Frontman. Van Halen needs more people like him too. SEE YA!

After seeing last night's Roth show, all of the pieces of the Van Halen picture came together. Although VH has kept rocking hard since the split, there has always been a missing element. That element was Dave!

While the show rocked hard, and was a huge crowd pleaser, it also proved that Dave's missing element is still Ed, Alex, and Mike. Don't get me wrong, the band dished it up with no complaints (they ended the show by blowing out the sound system). But it was obvious that while these guys could play every note VH ever wrote, they didn't have the STYLE that VH still has. The same is still being said about Sammy and Gary.

It is amazing to see how clear the picture is. Reading the reviews of past Roth shows, seeing VH live, and seeing Roth live, everyone comes to the same conclusion. Both acts are PURE rock and roll. Both acts are a GREAT time. There is energy and passion in both shows, but Dave, Ed, Alex and Mike are a set. And the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Last time I was lucky enough to see David Lee Roth was back home in Seattle...a while back. David Lee Roth is as hot as ever. The show was absolutely fantastic!!! David's talented band seemed to have a great time on stage. The venue was absolutely perfect as well - the Al Rosa Villa.

Not only has David's talented voice, stage presence and charisma not waned one bit, but, he is as sexy and hot as ever. Yes, sure, I'd love to see Van Halen reassemble with David. But, David Lee Roth and his own band are just awesome!!! Their performance was heartpounding, mind exploding, hormones raging!!! He is a grrrreat fantasy.

David Lee Roth is definitely David Lee Roth, which is one of his biggest assets and one of his biggest drawbacks. The show started late, really late. I think the delay was close to two hours. Then he came out and did the same set list that he has done for basically every other show on this tour. That wouldn't be a bad thing if I hadn't read other reviews.

All of Dave's antics are obviously rehearsed, and it's the same shit in every town with no diversity. A little of Dave was cool as hell, but after 45 minutes of the same shit (the mic's my cock, so I'll play with it) I was getting pretty tired of it. Dave's jump kicks are basically his only stage move. Kind of a one-trick pony. Him jumping off the drum stage showed that age has slowed him down. Dave's bit with the mic stand was impressive, though.

The music itself was very good, though the band seemed off on a couple of songs. The funniest part was when the fuses blew during Jump, and the concert ended with the emergency lights on in the club. If the concert had started even remotely on time I would have said it was a good show, but if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't go.

I've seen some great concerts before, but Dave destroyed any thought of those past concerts. I wish everyone was fortunate enough to witness what I saw in Columbus. It wasn't a concert, it was an experience.

If there was any doubt who the best lead singer for Van Halen is, they were all laid to rest on December 9th! He surpassed all my expectations and by the end of the show I wanted more, even though I had to get up for work in 4 hours.....but who the HELL CARES!

If you are skeptic, just go see it for yourself.....I promise you it will be the most fun you'll ever have!

I went to the Alrosa Villa to see the man who I consider to be one of the greatest Rock N' Roll frontman of all time. I was seriously disappointed. Dave put on a show that barely equalled what your average cover band could do.

First, the show started way too late. Dave did not come onstage until 11:00. What made it worse was that at about 10:00 or so, you had the bar owner and some local radio idiots telling the crowd that Dave "would be out in a second." He didn't go on until an hour later! It wasn't worth the wait.

Musically, Dave's band was OK. They definitely were not VH sound alikes. Bart Walsh sounds like your average Joe copping Eddie's licks and style, but much was missing from his performance. Playing Eruption was a mistake. To me, he would have been better off playing the songs in his own style, but Dave probably wouldn't approve. Although a credible musician, the drummer did not live up to the praise that had been heaped upon him in previous reviews. He has nothing on Alex. The Bass player was good and sang many of the high parts that Dave just cannot reach anymore.

As for Dave, he sings at about 75% of what he used to do. I am not sure that he could handle a full tour with VH if they would take him back. He still has the low tones and mid range stuff, but the screams are definitely gone and the highs were sung by the bass player. Dave still can entertain the crowd. If you go to see Dave, you expect him say all of his stock cliche lines.

I think much of the blame for this show sucking should be put on the bar owner. He sold way too many tickets for the show. It was extremely crowded and tight. From what I have heard, he had to pay a lot to get Dave to play and most likely would need make his $ from bar sales. It seems to me that one way to ensure a big bar tab is to make the crowd wait an extra 2-3 hours for the show to start. What else are they going to do but drink?

Sentimental fans looking for a nostalgia trip will continue to come out to see Dave this year, but don't expect it to sound like the real VH, because it doesn't.

Hot For Teacher
Panama
Little Guitars
Dance The Night Away Mean Street
Runnin' With The Devil
Eruption
You Really Got Me
So This Is Love?
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Little Dreamer
Atomic Punk
Ice Cream Man
Everybody Wants Some
Yankee Rose
Tobacco Road
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Jump

DLR Solo: 02
Van Halen: 16

Total: 18

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