Kevin's Watch

No FL dates scheduled as of yet and I don't really care.
Seen VH when they were an OPENING band way back around '77(?).
They blew away the main act (Black Sabbath) and thought VH was great!
However, over the years I cared less and less about them.
Like the classic stuff better than the newer songs.

I saw that tour too in Anaheim. Boston and some guy named Sammy Hagar also played...

....and I thought I was getting old.....

First time I saw them was the Diver Down tour.

A Gunslinger wrote:meh. He found a new sound, but his method of playing is more of a trick than anything else.

Kinda (IMO) like the difference between "craft" and "art". While it's not quite "audio macrame"...you get my point.

Again...only my opinion.

You clearly don't play guitar. That's quite literally the only point your post makes. Eddie took no shortcuts; you don't maintain his popularity with tricks. You may not care for his particular form of genius, but he's still a genius.

Thanks Cail!

Sadly, my first VH concert was at the Monsters of Rock tour supporting the OU812 album. I never saw them with Dave. But god, what a show that was! 80,000 people packed in an arena. Sitting miles away from the stage, and yet I could still feel the bass drum kicking me in the chest.

MoR was an awesome tour. It's a real shame there isn't a multi-DVD set of one of the shows.

I was surprised at the stage presence of Scorpions. They were like freakin' cheerleaders! And Kingdom Come was a surprise as well, even if they were Zepplin rip-offs. Dokken was so-so. But the band I'm the happiest about seeing (besides VH) was Metallica in their pre-suck days. Back when they used to play speed metal, or thrash, or whatever you call it.

Heh. Yeah, that was the time to see Metallica. There really wasn't a bad performance at the show I saw in DC. Dokken was great, even though the band was disintegrating at the time. And yeah, the Scorps really kicked ass.

www.mtv.com/news/articles/1567612/20070 ... alen.jhtml

In the days since Van Halen's August 13 announcement that a long-awaited reunion tour with founding frontman David Lee Roth was, indeed, on, the band's trusty fans haven't heard from the one man who could make a true VH reunion complete: original bassist Michael Anthony.

Instead, fans would eventually learn, Anthony has been replaced by guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son Wolfgang (see "Van Halen Reunite With David Lee Roth — Tour Kicks Off September 27"). Anthony hasn't granted any media interviews, and the band's followers have wondered why he's been excluded from what is already turning out to be a sellout, 25-date North American run, which kicks off in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 27. But on Tuesday, Anthony broke his silence in a pithy blog titled "Thanks for the support," which was posted on the musician's Web site.

"I want to thank everyone for all the support [you've] shown me during the past months," Anthony wrote. "It's all been pretty crazy, and I just wanted to bring you all up to speed."

With regard to the Van Halen reunion trek, Anthony claimed he was never even extended an invite. "It's not that I'm not touring with Van Halen because I'm going out with Sammy [Hagar, who fronted the band from 1985 to 1996 following Roth's departure, and then again from 2003 to 2005]. I'm going out with Sammy [as the Other Half] because I was not invited to do the [Van Halen] tour.

"Sammy told me that if I was asked to be part of the VH tour and decided to do it, it would be totally cool, and it would not tarnish our friendship in the least," Anthony continued. "Well, it's not to be, and life goes on. I'll still be out there with Sam, and I can't wait to do some partying with all of you." Hagar and Anthony's tour, which will feature the Mad Anthony Express, Los Tres Gusanos, the Other Half and Sammy and the Wabos, will kick off in Biloxi, Mississippi, on October 19 and run through November 17 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Anthony also urged fans to go easy on Wolfgang, calling the green bassist "a great kid" and adding, "Don't judge him too harshly — I'm sure he'll do just fine."

Missing, however, from Anthony's missive is any mention of the attempts Van Halen has reportedly made in recent weeks to erase Anthony from the band's 35-year history. Last week, fans lashed out at the band after photos of Anthony on Van Halen's official Web site were allegedly removed or replaced by an image of Wolfgang Van Halen; the pictures were restored within hours, soon after fans took notice and began sounding off on various VH message boards.

Nor is there a response in Anthony's blog to the rumors that recorded tapes will be used to re-create his distinctive backing vocals on the upcoming tour. Not surprisingly, Anthony also failed to make any reference to the recent reports that his name has been removed from the writing credits for the band's 1984 LP, 1984. Some of the band's fans first took notice of this little fact while reading the closing credits for the movie "Superbad"; Van Halen's hit song "Panama" is used in the film, but the song is credited only to Eddie and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth.

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers database, Anthony's name has been removed from the songwriting credits of 1984, but he's still credited with crafting material for the band's other studio releases.

Anthony could not be reached for comment as of press time; a representative for Van Halen had not provided comment from the band at press time.

Damn that's depressing. I wish they could have worked things out.

Depressing? It's disgusting. Of course, I'm biased, being a bass player, but seriously, it looks like Eddie has to have someone to fight with at all times.

I have to agree with the general gist here. Not having Michael Anthony is pretty poor. I'm sure Wolfgang is competent, maybe even good, but calling it a "Reunion" tour without the 4 original members seems dishonest at best. It's pathetic that these guys can be that petty.

And you sort of have to feel bad for Wolfgang too. I mean, the guy's what, 16? Yes, he's lucky enough to be touring with one of the best rock bands in the world, but I just have the feeling that he's going to catching a lot of flack from fans on this tour. And at that age, to be put in such close quarters with two such strong willed, and clearly unstable guys (EVH, DLR) for long periods.... Ugh.

Again, it seems that VH fans are still getting back something broken.

That said, I think the entire tour is sold out, so what do I know....

Mortice Root wrote: And you sort of have to feel bad for Wolfgang too. I mean, the guy's what, 16? Yes, he's lucky enough to be touring with one of the best rock bands in the world, but I just have the feeling that he's going to catching a lot of flack from fans on this tour. And at that age, to be put in such close quarters with two such strong willed, and clearly unstable guys (EVH, DLR) for long periods.... Ugh.

Eddie was 19 when he first formed his band and started playing in public. If he could deal with Dave at 19, I think his son can deal with Dave at 16 (remember, he's got his father and uncle there to look after him).

Wolfgang has already played with Van Halen on their 2004 tour. He'll do fine. They're a family of musical prodigies--their father was a jazz/classical musician. I think we're in for something special, especially when the new stuff comes out. (Wolfgang is a Tool fan. ) I can't wait to hear some youthful influence on this old band.

Oh, I wasn't concerned about his musical ability. I haven't heard him, but I'm sure he's very good at least, probably more. It was more a concern about his emotional stability, which, given both family and band history, I think is valid.

But either way, new stuff would be great. Maybe a live album too... they certainly could use another of those.

Malik23 wrote:[(Wolfgang is a Tool fan. ) I can't wait to hear some youthful influence on this old band.

I like Wolfgang already.

Tickets for Indy go on sale this Saturday (the 8th). I'm sure they'll sell out fast. It's been a long time since I've tried to get *good* tickets (I'm usually fine with the lawn), but this time I want to try for something better. And, it looks like they are selling out fast.

So does anyone have tips on how to score some good ones without paying $500 apiece?

Good luck with that.

I've looked into tickets and just can't justify over a grand for a pair.

As far as the album rankings go, here's my take:

5150
VH
1984 (the sheer friggin' confidence they had at that point...)
VH II
OU812 (similar confidence to 1984, but...)
Diver Down (close to being #1 if there wasn't so much dross)
Women and Children First
Fair Warning
F.U.C.K (sucked big-time)

I gave up after F.U.C.K.