11/14/07: Finally had the chance to see the new/old Van Halen at MSG last night. I have heard mostly rave reviews about the show so was excited to see it for myself. The scene outside the Garden was electric, really reminded me of an old school show. Clearly this tour is doing huge business! The tickets are not cheap, but MSG was packed to the rafters. Not a ticket to be had at any price for this show outside and they easily could have done more nights (I'm sure they will be back!). Inside felt like a party for 20,000, and with a reggae flavored opener that didn't fit the bill at all, the beer lines were very long in the hall while the warm up act was on. All the material in the show was from the 1984 album back. One of the great benefits of Roth back in is that these guys can now pull from what are the strongest VH albums, and play songs they haven't touched even in the Hagar years. The set was a mix of the many hits from this lineup (Dance The Night Away, opener You Really Got Me, Hot For Teacher, Panama, Cradle Will Rock, I'll Wait, and the lone encore Jump), as well as some album cut gems that made me most excited (Little Dreamer, I'm The One, Romeo Delight). Really, just about anything from the Roth era is great, and even though I loved the set, I thought of countless greats not in the show after I left. Guess you can't play them all! This is no knock on the Hagar era. Some great stuff there as well, but this is all about Roth and the crowd ate it up! The stage set was pretty modest, with a small riser for the drums, some lasers, and a ramp that was barely used into the crowd. Here's a breakdown of the band member performances:

David Lee Roth: Far and away the biggest surprise of the night for me. He was better than he has ever been, ever! Vocally he has never been better. Not sure if he took lessons or is just trying harder, but he sang GREAT by Roth standards. He was Diamond Dave, but not to the point of being to over the top and annoying. He had his signature "Look At All The People Here Tonight" and "I forgot the fucking words man" lines, but knew where to draw the line. He was on top of his game and looked thrilled to be off of the club stages he has played recently. He was in great shape physically and vocally and appeared totally sober. Again, just enough "Diamond Dave" without being overbearing. The stage belonged to him the entire night and he really was great in all ways. And this is coming from a guy that was thrilled when he was originally replaced by Hagar! You could really see how happy DLR was to be back in the band he helped form, and he even kept the stage banter to a tolerable limit. Super job.

Eddie Van Halen: I last saw EVH play on the 2003 reunion tour with Hagar and it was a disaster. He was wasted, sloppy, and you could not even recognize the songs. Thank God this tour was delayed for him to go to rehab, because it paid off, and there is nothing more important than him staying clean to this lineup surviving. He appeared happy, healthy (even though he was still smoking!) and sober, and his playing was back to being in top form again. The guy is simply one of the best that has ever lived and he showed why last night. The one negative would have to be in his stage performance. He was almost nailed to one spot on the stage the entire show! Unlike previous tours where he would walk/run around and be active, he stays totally anchored in front of a monitor just a few feet from his brothers drums the entire show! Never went near the front of the stage let alone the ramps out in the crowd. Not exactly sure why. I was seated just 3 rows up parallel to the stage and watched him walk down the stairs during the drum solo and he was moving a bit slowly, so not sure if it's a medical issue (he did have hip replacement) or something else, but the stage performance end of his playing was not anywhere close to what it once was. Even still, when you play like he can, he is still the focal point. He also seemed really happy to be on stage with his son, brother and Roth, and did take a rare stroll or two near Wolfie's mic for a very brief time. The guy is one of the all time masters and you have to cherish every chance you get to watch him work, and I did.

Alex Van Halen: Smaller kit and riser then past tours. Really one of the great under rated drummers in rock. Did a great job holding it all together. Would have rather heard 3 more songs than his solo though. Not a knock on his solo, just so many great VH tunes, but I guess it gave a blow to the other guys.

Wolfgang Van Halen: The X factor of this tour. I am on record saying it is crazy Michael Anthony is not a part of this and I still feel that way. Not a knock on Wolfie, but Anthony's stage presence and happy go lucky vibe was missing, not to mention his vocals (more on that in a second). For a 17 year old Wolfie did a great job. Imagine playing on stages to crowds that big on a tour this important at 17! He can clearly play bass and there were some nice moments with Dad on stage, but that's about it. As you would imagine, no stage presence at all, and it looked at times like he was a contest winner that had won a chance to play with Van Halen. I can't stress enough that I am NOT dissing him. For his age and experience level he did a fine job and I didn't expect him to be great on stage, but Michael Anthony should be in the band, as simple as that.

One of the big questions raised when it was announced Anthony was not in was who will handle all the backing vocals? That is a key part to the bands sound and Anthony was the main voice. Well the answer as far as the live show to that question is nobody. Hate to say this but I would bet anything that VH are using sampled/recorded backing vocal tracks to supplement Wolfie and Eddie. It was incredibly obvious where I was sitting. I was also hearing some of the monitor mix from my angle and it was even more obvious. The backing vocals were way to good! There were like 100 voices, everything pitch perfect, and sometimes just Wolfie in front of a mic! To me there is no question stuff is being piped in, either with samples or off stage singer, but I would say samples from what I heard. There are two songs in the set with keyboards (Jump and I'll Wait) with no keys anywhere on stage, so I doubt the band really care that they appear to be supplementing their sound. I mean it's completely obvious with those songs! But I must admitt it started to become a bit distracting by mid set because they were so loud and so perfect, it was a little much. I'm sure Eddie and Wolfie were in the mix somewhere, but there was a lot of off stage help in that department no doubt. That being said, I doubt anyone really cared for the most part. The crowd was standing the entire time and just thrilled to have these guys back. And I was to! This is simply one of the great rock bands of all time, with some of the greatest music ever, and this show is all about celebrating that. Where it goes from here is anyones guess, but with the $$$ being made and the good vibes on stage, it looks like it will last for a while. Let's hope that's the case and also hope for some new music at some point that's half as good as the songs played last night.

As a quick side note, THANK YOU to everyone who said hi to me at the show and on the street at MSG. Just an awesome feeling to know so many care about what I do and many thanked me for being someone who plays the deep VH cuts all the time. As always I appreciate the support. After the show I headed to the MSG studio where we showed footage of the bands first 3 songs and I did some commentary on camera about the show.

[Return to Current Headlines]