Mitch Malloy and an all-star group featuring guitarist Pete Thorn paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen with a set of Van Halen classics last weekend in Florida.
The concert, which took place on October 9th at Mattie Kelly Arts Village in Destin, Florida, was a celebration of Eddie Van Halen’s life and work and initiated by Malloy, who was very briefly the lead singer of Van Halen in 1996. Malloy was offered the job as lead singer of the band after the departure of Sammy Hagar, and before the arrival of Gary Cherone but opted out after Van Halen appeared at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards with David Lee Roth.
Malloy, who is currently the lead singer of Great White, was joined on stage by Thorn, who established a career as a highly sought after session musician (James Blunt, Daniel Powter, Alicia Keys, Pink) while also performing onstage alongside such legendary artists as Don Henley, Chris Cornell and Melissa Etheridge. He performed the set with an EVH Frankenstein replica guitar. Rounding out the lineup was Phil X bassist Daniel Spriewald and session drummer Wayne Killius.
Below are some performances from the EVH tribute concert:
“Unchained”
“Eruption”/”Runnin’ With The Devil”
“Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
“Feel Your Love Tonight”
“Mean Street”
“Panama”/”Jump”