June 19, 2004





Greensboro, NC, Hershey, PA, Buffalo, NY, and Philadelphia, PA, and Worcester, MA have all now witnessed the fury of the mighty Van Halen. Reports are pouring in from fans all over and the word is that you can't afford to miss this show when it hits your town.

The guys all appear to be having more fun than anyone can recall. The new songs are coming off great and the crowds have been fantastic at every venue. Eddie has been reaching out for high fives from the stage and has even signed some mid-show autographs the way Sam has been in recent tours and of course all the bannermania that follows Sammy at every show. Even the opening act, Silvertide, has been getting a good reception.

Mike has been seen wearing the classic VH shirt with the logo down the side of the front as he belts out the vocals the fans have been denied since the last VH tour. He is also once again taking a turn at lead vocals on Somebody Get Me A Doctor, much to the delight of the fans. He is also proudly featuring he new Jack Daniels bass in his solo spot.

One of the greatest moments in the show is Edward stepping onstage with the striped Kramer to play Up For Breakfast. There's something uncommonly poignient about seeing the axe that brought us so many classic tunes leading the charge with the newest material that is even now smashing its way through Billboard's Top Ten Mainstream Rock chart at position number six this week and rising.

It has been reported that Ed has been visibly overwhelmed by the reaction of the crowd when he takes his solo, thanking them profusely for their affection and promising that they are there to make up for lost time. He seems to be doing precisely that as he is more animated on stage than anyone can recall in a very long time. His health appears to be robust as he is no longer stationary but constantly in motion onstage, often giving the fans the "Flying Eddies" seen so often in the early years.

The new stage is an unexpected star of the show with a dozen charity auction and contest winners on either side inside the great rings of the band logo, inside the stage. The centerpiece of the stage is the giant screen housed in an enormous mock-up of a ship contact mine. Several tunes feature top notch production video behind the band and the camera work and live production is said to be the finest anyone has ever beheld. Hershey Park Stadium had its own stage and is the only venue thusfar not to feature the elaborate ring setup.

Wolfie is appearing at selected venues to accompany his father during his guitar solo just as at the rehearsal. This is expected to continue sporadically throughout the tour. The following setlist has been the foundation of each of the shows thusfar:

Jump
Runaround
A quick Who tribue with a moment from "My Generation"
Humans Being
Up For Breakfast
Mikey's Solo
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Poundcake
It's About Time
Al's Solo
Top Of The World
Unchained
Why Can't This Be Love?
Sammy's Solo - Eagles Fly/Deeper Kind Of Love
Learning To See
Best Of Both Worlds
Eddie's Solo
Dreams
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Right Now

Encore:
You Really Got Me
Panama
When It's Love

In the last couple of shows "Runnin' With The Devil" has supplanted "Somebody Get Me A Doctor", "The Seventh Seal" has replaced "Learning To See" and Sam has and played "Eagles Fly" in its entirety in lieu of "Deeper Kind Of Love". There are even reports that they have been working up "I'm The One" at the soundchecks!