So I get a text message from the guitard, in the band that I recently joined, yesterday morning asking if I was free last night. I figure he wants to call an inpromptue (sp?) rehearsal last night. Nope !!! He's got and extra, free, section 104, Van Halen concert ticket for me !?!?
So I went and had a blast. These folks are really going out of their way to make me feel welcomed into the new band, how refreshing. Anyway, VH was better than I thought they would be. I'm a long time fan, saw them on their 1st tour with Sabbath in 77 or 78, and 7 times since then. I was one of the haters, pissed about the raw deal that Mike got this time around. I had not intended to see them again, for just that reason.
So, how did they do ? David actually was in decent voice, and hit most of the screams/high notes. He looks great, for a 50-ish guy. He was ripped to shreds, very fit looking. He can still do the high karate kicks and everything. He actuially sounded better last night than he did back in the day, IMO. Eddie, looked fit and healthy. His playing is just as good as ever. He's even got this new technique where he taps the strings over the pickups getting false harmonics, while at the same time noodling with the volume control. It sounded like a really funky keyboard of some type. Rumors of his technical demise are greatly exagerated, IMO. He seemed very happy to be there. I hope he can keep it together.
Onto the kid....Wolfie definitely has talent. That being said, I didn't care for the way he played some of the songs. The typical VH song has Eddie wailing away on a riff, with a steady pumping bass in the background for support. Wolfie chose to double dad's riffs in a lot of spots where I thought the traditional bass parts would have been better. His tone flat out sucked, when you could hear him. He did do a couple little bass fills in unexpected places in songs, including a tapping/chord thing, that I thought were pretty neat. They had him EQ'd to sound like a 2nd guitar, and overall, the music suffered due to this approach. Vocal wise, he was right on the money. All those high harmonies we remember were there. Overall though, I miss Mike. Now for Alex, OMG
*** happened to him. I know he's had back/neck problems for years, but they're really starting to take their toll on his body. He appeared frail, thin and weak. He played the parts well, but the fire that I remember was sorely missing. He looks like the friggin' Crypt Keeper now. Time has not been kind to Alex, and he was supposed to be the healthy brother !?!?!?!?
They played all the hits you'd expect from VH1 thru 1984, plus a couple of nuggets you wouldn't expect. It was cool to see "So this is love" live. Overall they sounded fine. But, you can definitely see that they have lost a step or 2. They were somewhat subdued onstage, and like I said before, that old fire seems to be missing. All in all though it was still an enjoyable show, and I still think that they blow many of the modern bands out of the water.
Last minute/unexpected concerts are always the most fun. As a side note. I got the venue early enough that I was parked right up front, where the employees etc. exit. When I got back to my truck, the parking guy runs over and says can you move your truck real quick for me. It seems I was blocking DLR's tour bus from exiting the arena
. As I'm walking past the bus, a head and a hand pop out the side window. I get a "thanks man" and a high 5 from the man himself, it was DLR.
How cool is that ? Yes, it was a good night
