I was there Mike. Been waiting for someone to open up a new thread so I can post a review.
Since the dawn of the internet and the initial blowup of a reunion with Dave back in the 90's I had waited for Van Halen to come to Edmonton with the Diamond One.
It happened yesterday and it did not dissapoint.
I had watched all the you tube coverage I could and I was prepared to be disapponted. No such thing. This band is firing on all cylinders right now. Bam! You really got me! The place goes nuts and there he is ....David Lee Roth fronting the band that is his god given right. Kudo's to Dave....he is singing his ass off. You can tell he is pacing himself for the length of the tour and it shows in his strength of his voice. Dave kicked ass.
I don't think I have ever seen Eddie play as well as I saw last nite. "I'm the One" was NAILED to a tee. Lots of improv harmonics through out the nite. He has all the confidence in the world and his smiles rivaled Dave's through out the nite. Hot for teacher was up tempo and everybody was in sync. It was not the sloppy mess it has been several times during this tour. Everybody wants some took Rexall place to a level of noise I have never heard. The cougar population are a wryly bunch. The setlist was the same as usual however the blimp was not around. I heard it crashed in Calgary(kinda like the Flames....couldn't resist) Other hilights for me personally Ain't talkin bout love and Atomic Punk. Ed stayed centre stage most of the nite and the vocals were his. Many times he ad libbed different lines during chorus' maybe just to prove to the naysayers. But Ed, get rid of the cord.
Alex ....he's Alex. Second best rock drummer out there bar none. Steady to a fault. I actuall enjoyed his solo for the first time ever. Man his face is showing wear and tear.
Wolfie is the shit. The taps during Romeo was great but I really enjoyed the heavy distorted start to Jamie's Cryin' by wolfie. It sounded great. He is coming into his own and has his own style for sure.
I can't say there was any week points of the show. I have heard people complain that this song should not be in the set and this one should. This band is at a level I thought was gone. It really opened my eyes as to how toasted Ed was in 04. This was a new high for me as far as concerts are concerned and I've been going since 1983. Time for a new album and lets do it again in a couple of years!
I'll get the pics up in a couple of days.
Best concert ever. I posted a whole review over at DiamondDaveLeeRoth.com, please head over there and read it. I just read the Edmonton Sun newspaper and they gave the band an amazing review 5/5 suns, thats the best rating I have ever seen for any rock concert. In 2005 Def Leppard only got a 2/5 sun rating, and Motley Crue pulled off a 4/5 sun rating. Please tell me someone taped the Edmonton show.
Pretty awsome concert, I was dissapointed in the guitar solo. It was to loud but Eddie was playing good and the songs were tight.
The songs that surprised me the most at the quality were Dance the Night Away and And the Cradel Will Rock..
The reason I'm a little dissapointed at the solo were as follows:
No distinguishable "Eruption"
No "Women In Love" intro
Eddie's constand battle with his patch cord, he stopped during the oh so important tapping section to untangle it from the peddal board.
__________________ VAN HALEN FOR LIFE
Bands I've seen:
VAN HALEN X2 Rose Hill Drv. Aerosmith X2 Cheap Trick Motley Cru The Who BB King Velvet Revolver Three Days Grace Robert Plant The trews Heaven and Hell Megadeth Roger Waters/ Best concert EVER Ozzy Rob Zombie In This Moment
Proud Threetard
5150
Last edited by Wolfgang_'99 : 12.10.07 at 04:07 PM.
VAN HALEN X2 Rose Hill Drv. Aerosmith X2 Cheap Trick Motley Cru The Who BB King Velvet Revolver Three Days Grace Robert Plant The trews Heaven and Hell Megadeth Roger Waters/ Best concert EVER Ozzy Rob Zombie In This Moment
There never seems to be any boots from Edmonton ever.
__________________ VAN HALEN FOR LIFE
Bands I've seen:
VAN HALEN X2 Rose Hill Drv. Aerosmith X2 Cheap Trick Motley Cru The Who BB King Velvet Revolver Three Days Grace Robert Plant The trews Heaven and Hell Megadeth Roger Waters/ Best concert EVER Ozzy Rob Zombie In This Moment
Pretty awsome concert, I was dissapointed in the guitar solo. It was to loud but Eddie was playing good and the songs were tight.
The songs that surprised me the most at the quality were Dance the Night Away and And the Cradel Will Rock..
The reason I'm a little dissapointed at the solo were as follows:
No distinguishable "Eruption"
No "Women In Love" intro
Eddie's constand battle with his patch cord, he stopped during the oh so important tapping section to untangle it from the peddal board.
It was the loudest concert I have been to, but still the best. I actually liked Ed's solo especially the Cathedral and clean guitar sections.
It was the loudest concert I have been to, but still the best. I actually liked Ed's solo especially the Cathedral and clean guitar sections.
Cathedral was butchered/ so was 316, Thats my thoughts. But it was loud, but the good kind of loud.
__________________ VAN HALEN FOR LIFE
Bands I've seen:
VAN HALEN X2 Rose Hill Drv. Aerosmith X2 Cheap Trick Motley Cru The Who BB King Velvet Revolver Three Days Grace Robert Plant The trews Heaven and Hell Megadeth Roger Waters/ Best concert EVER Ozzy Rob Zombie In This Moment
I was excited and nervous as we drove to Rexall last night.
Excited about seeing this show that's been receiving increasingly positive reviws.
Nervous because i had my 9 year old son with me and i wasn't exactly sure what kind of seat we had, and nervous because i felt like i was taking my kid to see some really important old friends, and hoping those friends coulds live up to all the hype i've given them over the years. This was to be his first "real" concert, and a great bonding trip for he and I.
There was much to gain, or lose.
So, first things first, we get to Rexall and grab a bite (thanks to Chef for the eats on the way down) , and then go for a walk to check out the stage. He's getting excited, so we go find our seats, which were, quite literally, the best seats in the house. 3 rows up, in the first section next to the stage on Eddie's side, with a perfect view of everything on stage, and an eye level view of everything going on Ed's side of backstage. I was twenty feet from those of you who in the ILAA seats, and you probably paid 4 times the price. I was eye level with the band, while you craned your neck upward all night.
Kymani Marley yada yada yada.
By this time the kid thinks i'm the greatest because of the seats, and then the lights went out, the music started and i saw the best VH show i've ever seen.
I wont go through the whole set, you already know it by now, but it was 2 and a bit hours of full throttle VH, and we never sat down. The smile on my son's face, switching to awe every time EVH ripped into a solo was something i'll never forget.
And then, the his huge brute of a guy, i suspect Eddie's bodyguard or whatever walks over and motions for me to come talk to him. As i go over he reaches out his hand, and gives me two of Ed's guitar picks and says "Give these to your boy".
So as i return to my seat, my kid says "what was that about?"
I told him to stick his hand out and said "Eddie said to give you these".
And that, my friends, sealed the deal.
And that is the beauty part of this band, they are the soundtrack to many lives,through the good parts and bad parts in your life and theirs. But last night really turned into one of the great nights of my life, and VH was their again.
Dave's great, although the boy said the way he smiles all the time was a little creepy!
Wolfgang doesn't replace MA, but in the same way that SH didn't replace DLR.
Two different bands.
He can play, and he can sing, and he fits right in, and i suspect it's him i owe for getting this thing going, so i'm all for the Wolfman.
Alex Van Halen gets better everytime i see him, and i think gets overlooked beacuse of his little brother.
And lastly Edward, who is the reason i came to the party in the first place. His playing is second to none, he looks healthier than he's looked in a long while, though a steak or two wouldn't kill him. And most important, he looks happy. He has always been a hero of mine, we share the same name, and we've shared several of the same vices, with varying success.
At the end of the show, Eddie came to the mike and said "Sorry this took so long" and my kid asked what he meant by that.
I told him that it could mean several things.
I know what it means to me, you can decide what it maens to you.
Last night one of my heroes made me look like a hero, and we both gained a lifelong fan.
Long live Van Halen.
__________________ The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
Brett would have set up a review thread, but he's been over at Staples trying to score some tickets.
Actually, I think he's over on Coldwater Canyon with Brad Starks shoveling out Ed's swimming pool.
__________________
"Roth is really back. And Van Halen is really on the road with him,
and they are playing really old, kick-butt songs. People are digging
it. Critics are digging it. It seems to be working. They're adding
dates. No one thought they'd add dates." Ryan White San Diego Union Tribune
"While the set list has been pretty much established since opening night of the "Van Halen Reunion" tour, seeing it in print versus hearing it roll out in its glorious whooping, screeching, power chord glory is something like seeing one of those panoramic postcards of the Grand Canyon versus standing along the edge of it." -excerpt from a Review of the 2007 Tour
I was excited and nervous as we drove to Rexall last night.
Excited about seeing this show that's been receiving increasingly positive reviws.
Nervous because i had my 9 year old son with me and i wasn't exactly sure what kind of seat we had, and nervous because i felt like i was taking my kid to see some really important old friends, and hoping those friends coulds live up to all the hype i've given them over the years. This was to be his first "real" concert, and a great bonding trip for he and I.
There was much to gain, or lose.
So, first things first, we get to Rexall and grab a bite (thanks to Chef for the eats on the way down) , and then go for a walk to check out the stage. He's getting excited, so we go find our seats, which were, quite literally, the best seats in the house. 3 rows up, in the first section next to the stage on Eddie's side, with a perfect view of everything on stage, and an eye level view of everything going on Ed's side of backstage. I was twenty feet from those of you who in the ILAA seats, and you probably paid 4 times the price. I was eye level with the band, while you craned your neck upward all night.
Kymani Marley yada yada yada.
By this time the kid thinks i'm the greatest because of the seats, and then the lights went out, the music started and i saw the best VH show i've ever seen.
I wont go through the whole set, you already know it by now, but it was 2 and a bit hours of full throttle VH, and we never sat down. The smile on my son's face, switching to awe every time EVH ripped into a solo was something i'll never forget.
And then, the his huge brute of a guy, i suspect Eddie's bodyguard or whatever walks over and motions for me to come talk to him. As i go over he reaches out his hand, and gives me two of Ed's guitar picks and says "Give these to your boy".
So as i return to my seat, my kid says "what was that about?"
I told him to stick his hand out and said "Eddie said to give you these".
And that, my friends, sealed the deal.
And that is the beauty part of this band, they are the soundtrack to many lives,through the good parts and bad parts in your life and theirs. But last night really turned into one of the great nights of my life, and VH was their again.
Dave's great, although the boy said the way he smiles all the time was a little creepy!
Wolfgang doesn't replace MA, but in the same way that SH didn't replace DLR.
Two different bands.
He can play, and he can sing, and he fits right in, and i suspect it's him i owe for getting this thing going, so i'm all for the Wolfman.
Alex Van Halen gets better everytime i see him, and i think gets overlooked beacuse of his little brother.
And lastly Edward, who is the reason i came to the party in the first place. His playing is second to none, he looks healthier than he's looked in a long while, though a steak or two wouldn't kill him. And most important, he looks happy. He has always been a hero of mine, we share the same name, and we've shared several of the same vices, with varying success.
At the end of the show, Eddie came to the mike and said "Sorry this took so long" and my kid asked what he meant by that.
I told him that it could mean several things.
I know what it means to me, you can decide what it maens to you.
Last night one of my heroes made me look like a hero, and we both gained a lifelong fan.
Long live Van Halen.
Oh man thats a great VH moment right there.
It was a great show like you said, All the songs were played at full force and the band was full on asskicking mode.
__________________ VAN HALEN FOR LIFE
Bands I've seen:
VAN HALEN X2 Rose Hill Drv. Aerosmith X2 Cheap Trick Motley Cru The Who BB King Velvet Revolver Three Days Grace Robert Plant The trews Heaven and Hell Megadeth Roger Waters/ Best concert EVER Ozzy Rob Zombie In This Moment
I really enjoyed the show. Van Halen is back and kicking Ass.
Had OK seats, 2nd row blues about even with the sound board. Sound was a little muddy up there. Crowd was kinda lame in the blues, most people sitting down the whole time. But that didn't stop me from standing most of the time, rocking out, and pissing off some nasty cougars behind me. THey complained to the Rexall seat attendant who just laughed at them. All you people in the blues, if you sat and you're reading this- YOU SUCK!! That aside, the crowd was full, a sell out from what I could see, and pretty loud. Lower bowl and floor were standing the whole time Rocking out
I gotta say I really enjoyed watching Dave. His vocals were on and I really enjoyed his whole shtick, even though it's cheezy at times. He is just a magical fit for this band who were all just loving each other on stage. They all were just having a great time playing, and it was awesome to see.
Al has got to be the best rock drummer ever. He was a rock the whole time. I dug his part of the solo where he played with the sequenced track. Very cool.
Ed is back and on fire!!!!!!!!!! I really liked his solo. I didn't think he butchered cathedral or his other instrumental tunes. He played parts of them and just improvised. I thought it was right on. Ed's in fine shape, and happy. Cheers to the king
Wolf did a great job, and from the reviews of earlier shows till now it seems like he's matured. He looks about as comfortable as a young pimply kid could. He's got the VanHalen blood for sure. He'll only get better. Hopefully with him on bass, a new generation of VH fans will be reached.
Edmonton?
Penguin Pass
Linear Mode
