Forty years ago today, on August 12, 1986, longtime Van Halen fan and drummer Kurt Ekstrom attended his first Van Halen concert — a night he still remembers vividly four decades later.
Kurt has written numerous articles for Not So Modern Drummer and has appeared on the Drum History Podcast to discuss Alex Van Halen’s drums and gear. With the 40th anniversary of that first Van Halen concert arriving today, Kurt reached out to VHND to share his memories of finally seeing his musical heroes — and especially his drumming hero, Alex Van Halen — live for the first time.
Here’s Kurt’s story, in his own words.
40 Years Ago Today: My First Van Halen Concert
By Kurt Ekstrom
I started playing drums in the summer of 1982 after witnessing a band play at the local park on a flatbed trailer at my old home day in the town of Concord, NH. I was 11, and the guys in the band were all probably between the ages of 16 and 20.
Being a small 11-year-old who had played most of the sports with my peers, I discovered that I just did not care about the competitiveness and overall pushiness of the kids around me. I wasn’t completely without athletic skills, as I was a pretty fast runner. My small size just made it all the more challenging, and I grew tired of all the kids that would never pass a ball to anyone.
Watching all the guys in this band on this summer day had me mesmerized, and as I focused on each member, it was the drums that really took me in. I can still remember the look of those 1973 maple Cortex Ludwig drums with shiny chrome hardware and hollow logo Zildjian cymbals. A quick chat with the drummer after they finished pointed me in the direction of Barry Nelson at Frenche’s music for drum lessons.
As I progressed with lessons that summer, one band really stood out to me, and I was quickly obsessed with everything they did. Van Halen was the band, and Alex Van Halen was the drummer.
I can vividly remember staring at the back of the Diver Down record album my older brother brought home, looking at the pictures of the guys on stage. As it turns out, those photos were taken from a rare show in 1981 where Van Halen opened for the Rolling Stones. There were probably over 100,000 people in the audience, and Alex sat behind a massive 4-bass drum Ludwig set in a black-and-white Vistalite striped pattern.
I finally got a cassette player around Christmas or my Birthday (they are close together), and I started buying the Van Halen cassette tapes. I also bought a poster of Alex behind that black-and-white Ludwig set, and it hung on my bedroom wall all through high school. It is proudly displayed in my music room these days. As my obsession with Van Halen grew, so did my desire to see them and specifically Alex play live.
Van Halen released the 1984 album in early 1984, with the lead single JUMP coming out on January 1st. I loved the album then and still love it just as much today.
By the time Van Halen hit the road, I was 13, and they had a stop at the Worcester Centrum on March 16th. I begged my mom to go, but being 13 and the Centrum being at least an hour and 45 minutes from where I lived in New Hampshire, my chances were squashed. My mom told me that even though she did not understand how concerts and tours worked, Van Halen would likely come back in a few years and by that time, I would have a license and could go. I pleaded that I needed to see THIS tour, but again my words fell on deaf ears.
I can still remember lying in my bed wondering if Van Halen had hit the stage yet. That concert and a chance to see all four original Van Halen members were just not meant to be.
My mom was kind of right, as Van Halen returned in 1986 with a new album, new tour, and… new singer. I have a brother who is also close in age to me, as I am a year and 14 days older. We had some of the same friends, and we got invited to see the show. To say I was excited is an understatement.
What seemed like an eternity finally became the day of the concert. I still did not have my license, as I would be turning 16 in December of that year, but Chris Audet, one of the guys going, had his mom loan out her big Chevy station wagon to one of the moms of the kids that went. I don’t remember the exact number, but there had to be at least 7 or 8 of us ranging in ages 14-15.
I can remember riding down in this massive station wagon, listening to all the VH albums at a decent volume as we made the hour-and-45-minute drive to the Centrum.
Looking back on it now, I really have to thank this mom for putting up with us, as that is a long drive listening to music that was likely not her cup of tea. I was unaware of what her music preferences were, but I can only imagine what she thought of all those Van Halen songs being cranked up with a car full of teenage boys.
She also dropped us off, had to find something to do while the concert was going on, and then pick us all up afterward. This was all way before cell phones, so we had to make sure to meet her in the correct spot so that we would not all be stranded.
Aug 12th was also a Tuesday and coincidentally my mom’s birthday, so all of us had to go to school the next day, and my brother and I felt bad being gone.
Anticipation built up as we approached the Centrum and were dropped off outside the strange-looking structure. I just could not believe I would be in the same building as the guys that had been my musical heroes for the last 4 years.
This particular concert was my first real concert in a big venue under stage lights and a big PA system. I had seen Buddy Rich perform at a high school in 1984 when I was 13, but this was something different.
While I am a big Buddy Rich fan these days, jazz was not something I had any real exposure to, and at that age, I didn’t quite understand just how incredible Buddy Rich was.
Alex Van Halen was my absolute drumming hero, and now I was going to see and hear his drums live and in front of my eyes and ears. We found our seats and settled in.
The opening act was the ’70s group Bachman Turner Overdrive, as Sammy Hagar was friends with Randy Bachman. I knew several of their songs, and even though they were great, I just couldn’t wait for them to finish so Van Halen could hit the stage.
I’ll never forget watching BTO as their drummer Garry Patterson was playing this tiny little four-piece set of Yamaha drums. They looked small on the big stage, and all I could wonder was where Alex’s drums were? There was equipment on the stage that was covered with sheets, but I figured it was the guitar amps as the sheets covered a very large area.
BTO buzzed through a set of their hits, and finally they said their goodbyes as roadies came on stage and quickly removed their equipment.
As I sat and waited for Van Halen to come out, I was shocked to see that the sheets covering what I thought were a row of amps were actually Alex Van Halen’s drum set!
It was massive compared to the set Garry had just been playing with BTO, as it had 4 clear Vistalite bass drums, clear Octobans at the front, Simmons toms, and an acoustic snare drum. The set was rounded out with a wide array of Paiste 2002 cymbals and a large Paiste gong behind everything. I just could not believe how large the set looked.
Finally, the squeal of Edward’s guitar in the dark brought the house lights up and Van Halen bound out as Alex headed for his drum set. The sound was at maximum volume, and it sounded incredible as the band burst into the song You Really Got Me. One roundhouse drum fill on those Simmons toms and the sound of those electric drums rattled my teeth and shook the floor.
While everyone around me was going crazy, I just stood there transfixed on Alex. There were no big screens to watch close-ups, and we were seated pretty far back. I still could not believe that the guy on the poster that adorned my bedroom wall behind a massive set of Ludwig drums was in the same building as I was playing his heart out to a sold-out crowd.
Edward’s guitar sounded like heaven juxtaposed with Alex’s drums. Mike filled out the bottom end, sang beautiful harmonies with Edward as Sammy sang his heart out, running around the stage.
The show was intense, and as the band rang out the last notes of Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin, I was left standing there in a daze as the house lights came on and we started to make our way out.
I can vividly remember the sounds of heavy traffic scrambling to leave the venue, with VH blasting out of the cars.
I bought a T-shirt and tour book (which I still have) and proudly wore that shirt to school the next day, still buzzing and exhausted from little sleep.
It may have been another show on the massive tour VH did that year, but it is a memory that I will have forever.
I was so impressed with the live sound of Alex Simmons’s drums that I saved up all my hard-earned summer job money and bought a set of them in 1988. They cost a small fortune back then as they were all the rage. I still have them in my drum room.
I can still remember the show like I was there yesterday, and it’s hard for me to believe that 40 years have gone by.
On a cool note, I was graciously invited to do two episodes on the Drum History Podcast discussing the gear that Alex used over the years. I am a Ludwig drum historian, so Bart from the podcast had me on previously for two other episodes. It took two episodes to discuss Alex’s gear as there was just so much to cover.
Unknown to Bart and me, we recorded these two episodes before we found out that Alex was going to have a big auction selling off a lot of his Van Halen drums and memorabilia.
It turns out that Alex had met with Jaques Van Gool, who runs Backstage Auctions, and they discussed what would be included in the auction.
Jaques was able to ask Alex questions when they met in Los Angeles, but in the end, everything being sold had to be trucked back to Houston, where Jaques is from, and all of the stuff had to be cataloged, photographed, and given proper descriptions.
Because Jaques could not call Alex every day to ask him questions about everything, Jaques was tasked with doing the research to figure out what was what.
Doing research pointed Jaques to the two episodes I did for Drum History Podcast. Apparently, Jaques watched both episodes and was able to get a much better idea of what he was looking at.
I had no idea any of this was going on, and one day after the auction had ended, a strange call came up on my phone, and the location was listed as Houston, TX. Normally I would have thought it was a scam, but for some reason my instincts were to take the call.
It was actually Jaques calling me to explain what had happened and say thanks to Bart and me for doing the episode.
It was really cool to know that something I did affected the auction Alex had, whether Alex was aware or not.
It was really cool to see the 5150 tour set in that auction, as it brought me back to my 15-year-old self standing there in amazement as my favorite band filled that large venue.
I have a pair of Balance-era drumsticks and some laminated backstage passes thanks to Jaques.
I also had my bucket list moment when I finally got to meet Alex at his New Jersey book signing, which he did in October of 2024.
Sadly, I lost my mom last August, and the anniversary of this concert and my mom’s Birthday make me think of her and miss her.
Lastly, I just want to give a big thank you to Alex for over 40 years of inspiration! I still play the drums as I gig in two bands, and Van Halen is still my band.
“After 40-plus years of drumming, listening to VH, seeing the shows starting when I was 15, I finally got to meet the man. The drive was long but was so worth the traffic and the wait amongst 400 other VH fans. Thank you @alexvanhalenofficial for the years of inspiration and for giving up your time for us. It meant a lot to a lot of us to make this happen, especially this guy who was 12 years old again, staring at the big AVH poster that was on my wall as a kid and now resides in my drum room. It was a very quick encounter, but one I won’t forget.”